A next generation flight simulator using virtual reality for aircraft design (work in progress)

Abstract

A multidisciplinary team of five engineering students in the undergraduate program of Oral Roberts University is continuing the development of a fully functional flight simulator to assist in the design of original aircraft. Through faculty and staff guidance and a plethora of data from the previous team's endeavors, much progress is expected by April 2020. The ultimate goal of this project is to develop an innovative approach to deepen the understanding of aircraft design through the use of the flight simulator. With this technology, students can produce realistic motions of flight through virtual reality and six degrees of freedom of a Stewart platform with revolute joints. The flight simulator provides a state-of-the-art learning tool for students. Linking the HTC vive virtual reality headset to the mechanical part of the system provides an exciting learning experience. However, improvements have been made to the previous team's original design. Bigger motors that have been installed on the Stewart platform provide a larger torque for a better experience and also help with carrying the weight of the user sitting in the flight simulator chair. Modern engineering tools shows how various engineering skills and software are used in coordination to create a functioning system. This gives prospective college students a good perspective on what engineering entails. At the same time, aircraft design students can make use of the flight simulator to mimic projects they might encounter in their professional careers. Full-size industry flight simulators are very expensive to build and operate. Our smaller flight simulator is less expensive, giving more opportunity for virtual reality flight simulation. As part of a growing engineering department, Oral Roberts University offers an aircraft design class. The flight simulator will enable students to practically test their theoretical predictions and make necessary adjustments. The advantage is that students can then make more than one virtual aircraft and analyze the differences and similarities to get a better idea of what factors are most important in aircraft design. Students can also experiment with random variables to see what effect they will have on the flight simulation.