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March 2017 35 Years in the Making Lessons to be learned from helicopter development In Brief Updates and Events Pushing the Envelope We explore the complex Jetpack testing programme Virtual Flying Looking at the growth of virtual reality as a pilot training tool

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Page 1: Martin Aircraft - Martin Jetpack48688801-0447-457d-a... · technologies at the UAV industry conference 08 MARTIN AIRCRAFT COMPANY LIMITED MARTINJETPACK.COM MARTINJETPACK ... Coast

Martin Aircraft February 2017

Martin Aircraft

Martin Aircraft

March 2017

Martin Aircraft February 2017

Martin Aircraft

Martin Aircraft

March 2017

Martin Aircraft February 2017

Martin Aircraft

Martin Aircraft

March 2017

35 Years in the MakingLessons to be learned from

helicopter development

In BriefUpdates and Events

Pushing the EnvelopeWe explore the complex

Jetpack testing programme

Virtual FlyingLooking at the growth of virtual

reality as a pilot training tool

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Martin Aircraft February 2017

Martin Aircraft

Martin Aircraft

March 2017

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35 Years in the Making

VP Sales & Customer Delivery, Michael Read, considers parallels between thedevelopment of the helicopter and that of the Martin Jetpack and explains whyMartin Aircraft is following its current path.

In Brief

Updates and events.

Pushing the Envelope

Earlier this year we took a look at the flight test programme of the Series 1 Jetpack and reviewed the complexities of testing and how it impacts Jetpack commercialisation.

Train Virtually Anywhere

Emanuele Colognato, Martin Aircraft’s Flight Sciences & Special Projects Leader takes a look at the growth of virtual reality and its use as a tool for pilot training.

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Editor's Comment 4

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Welcome to this edition of the Martin Aircraft newsletter. With this new format we are aiming to give our share-holders and enthusiastic followers better insight into the processes and procedures of an aviation company that is also a technology start up. We also share ideas and insights from some of our fantastic people - great people make a great product.

Our main feature this quarter is on the testing process and aims to give you some insight into the rigours of our programme and the time and care necessary to ensure we have a robust product that is fit for purpose. Many people across the company are involved in the test process and we spoke to a small number of them about their experi-ences to date.

We hope you enjoy the new format.

EDITOR'S COMMENT

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YEARS IN THE MAKING

New technologies can bring with them a lot of un-certainties. There are uncertainties about how the market may respond, how the technology will perform throughout its life and most importantly, whether the new technology will be a good business decision. As the die was cast many years ago on the development of the Martin Jetpack as a new technology, we have undertaken a strategy review to examine whether we can contain the uncertainties that are associated with delivering a new technology to the market.

To reduce these uncertainties, we first needed to examine what our market really looks like and which industry, we should target within that market. The temptation for new technology businesses is to try to be all things to all people rather than having a very focussed view on delivery. Like other start-up compa-nies, Martin Aircraft has vacillated between a vertical view of the market, where goods are offered to a spe-cific industry, and a horizontal view, where our product would meet specific needs across a number of sec-tors. In a sign of maturity away from being a start-up we are now very focussed on a pathway to delivery.

We are an aviation business that builds airworthy aircraft, yet we have a completely new way of flying within a very established and safety driven industry. Exactly the same aircraft can be flown both manned and unmanned, and soon as part of a mule train where a number of Jetpacks are controlled simulta-neously by the pilot on a manned Jetpack or remotely. The Jetpack does not fly like a helicopter nor like an aeroplane, yet it flies like both at times. We are a publicly listed, internationally invested, internationally located that has been on the development pathway for 35 years. It’s no surprise that there are a number of factors with which we need to grapple to maintain our focus.

When inventing the future, we should take lessons from the past but not obsess over it. The development of helicopters first began shortly after the manned

flight of aeroplanes. In the mid 1910s in France and the USA, enthusiasts began tinkering with various types of rotorcraft, none of which looked like what was to become the layout of the helicopter as it is more com-monly designed today.

Approximately 10 years later, in 1924, Etienne Oeh-michen won 90,000 Francs for the first closed circuit in a helicopter (it was more of a quadcopter). The flight lasted 7 minutes 40 seconds. This was proof to the industry that it was worth paying attention to this technology.

At the 35-year mark on the timeline, in 1950, the first widespread use of a helicopter occurred with the Bell 47G (the helicopter commonly used by “MASH” units). It had a “specialist” role in the Korean War to ferry sick and injured soldiers a few kilometres away to a trauma centre.

Thousands of lives were saved using a small number of helicopters. It was very rudimentary (the soldier was on a stretcher strapped to the side of the aircraft, not in it), but it proved that the technology delivered a capability worthy of further investment.

Various helicopters then went through the Type Certi-fication programme before being flown in commercial

VP Sales & Customer Delivery, Michael Read, considers parallels between the development of the helicopter and that of the Martin Jetpack and explains why Martin Aircraft is following its current path.

35Leadership Message

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roles in the mid 1960s (50 years on the timeline) and in private/recreational roles in the mid 1970s. It is unlikely that helicopters will ever become a “personal” aircraft, in other word used for the daily commute or similar by a wide number of people, due to onerous licencing re-quirements and the complexity involved in flying them.

In a very similar vein, Glenn Martin began his jetpack journey in 1981. Ten years later he had a working prototype and while some way from today’s jetpack, it proved that there was the potential for a viable commercial product and so he set about establishing a company in 1998.

Martin Aircraft has now developed and fine-tuned the initial Jetpack design to create a viable product for delivery to specialist markets. We assembled 4 of these aircraft in late 2016, almost exactly 35 years after the concept was developed and in the same amount of time it took for helicopters to be ready for specialist use.

Helicopters being developed today can do aerobatics, carry extremely heavy payloads, fly faster than ever imagined possible for a helicopter and have a range of originally unimagined uses. And so the question can be asked, "Where we will be in 50 years?". Will people be doing aerobatics with jetpacks and flying them akin to the way helicopters are used in all kinds of roles today? Most probably. However, we believe it will happen on a much faster timescale than the helicop-ter industry due to our ability to iterate faster. We are building upon history to create the future and we have all of the tools of the aviation and start-up industries to assist us.

The question then remains how we translate this into a viable strategy for the company. Based upon the les-sons available from the path that helicopters took, we have decided on the following steps to commercialise our Jetpack:

• Conduct a Capability Demonstration to potential Specialist customers in New Zealand.

• Continue working with those Specialist cus-tomers who want to use the Jetpack in ei-ther a manned or unmanned capacity. Theaircraft will remain in the Experimental category while this occurs and Specialistcustomers are very comfortable with theintroduction of such technology in itscurrent form.

• Achieve Type Certificate to enablecommercial operations for manned or passenger aircraft.

• Continue this development and certifi-cation in New Zealand due to its highly

advantageous aviation environment. The ratio of regulator to innovator in NZ is possibly unparal-leled anywhere in the world and the NZ govern-ment imperatives are fostering NZ to become the “Silicone Valley” of aviation for all aircraft (manned, unmanned, space, and others).

• Once operational lessons are learned, a Type Cer-tificate obtained and customers trained, deliver the aircraft to commercial markets.

• In the future offer the aircraft to private/recrea-tional users.

We believe this a realistic and pragmatic approach to the introduction of a new technology and new aircraft to the market. We have a clear vision, a clear path and most importantly, a world-class team that can deliver the results.

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Andrew Jackson , RPAS Operator & UAS Analyst, investigating new technologies at the UAV industry conference

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Martin Aircraft has been accepted as a speaker at the Australia and New Zealand Search and Rescue Conference on the 24 May 2017 on Queensland’s Gold Coast in Australia.

The Search and Rescue Conference is a platform for Search and Rescue practitioners to share ideas, dis-cuss case studies, and take a critical look at some of the new developments in technology that are poised to fundamentally change the way they go about their business. Mike Read will be presenting on the capabil-ities provided by the Martin Jetpack as an Optionally Piloted Hovering Air Vehicle (OPHAV).

New Zealand’s third national UAV Industry Confer-ence was held on 13-14 February 2017. Mike Read, VP Sales & Customer Delivery, gave a presentation to an audience of over 150 delegates from a diverse range of industries about the optionally-piloted capabilities of our latest Series 1 Jetpack.

The presentation was well received with a number of people commenting on the impressive amount of progress the Martin Aircraft Company had made over the last year.

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IN BRIEF UAV Industry Conference.New Zealand

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Martin Aircraft with its US Alliance partner Avwatch attended the 2017 Center for Homeland Defense and Security Alumni Professional Exchange (APEX) held in Monterey, California, on 22 and 23 February.

A gathering of leading alumni from the Homeland Defense and Security sector, the APEX workshop provides alumni with the opportunity to learn about and reflect on critical homeland security issues from different perspectives while visiting with classmates, expanding networks with professionals from other cohorts, and catching up with instructors. Commercial entities do not normally attend such an event but as Chris Kluckhuhn, Founder & CEO of Avwatch, is an Alumni Member an exception was made, providing a unique opportunity for Martin Aircraft to meet leaders from across sectors of Homeland Security.

Chris Kluckhuhn and Catherine Stuart, VP Sales North America for Martin Aircraft, manned a busy booth with the large 3m x 2m Series 1 Martin Jetpack banner greeting delegates as they entered the conference hall, prompting an immediate visit to the booth. The auction prize of a Martin Jetpack polo shirt, cap, patch and a simulator ride for four people attracted fierce competition with the happy winner a Police Chief from San Bernardino, California. Several excellent contacts were made at the event and Martin Aircraft is following up further contact.

Martin Aircraft is busy refreshing its web site and augmented reality app to reflect the change in our strategic focus and update our imaging to the latest Series 1 Jetpack and simulator.

Look out for the new app over the next few weeks and watch as the Series 1 Jetpack comes to life before your eyes. The App also allows you to watch videos of the Jetpack, review its special features, and study techni-cal information and diagrams.

If you haven’t yet downloaded our app click here http://www.martinjetpack.com/multimedia/apps.htmlto download our current app and print the marker and you will be prompted to update the app when the new version is published.

Center for Homeland Defense and Security APEX Event, USA

Martin Aircraft Web Site and AppAustralia and New Zealand Search and Rescue Conference, Australia

Upcoming

Past Events

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There is an expectant hush in the control room. Easwaram “Iceman” Krishnaswamy, the Flight Test Director responsible for the execution of the test programme, runs through his final preflight challenge response checklist with the flight, engine and flight test instrumentation stations. Outside, tethered to a 6 degree of freedom test rig, the Martin Jetpack Series 1 Prototype gleams in the early morning light. This is not the start of the test process, nor is it the end, but this is a key step in the programme. In the next few minutes it will become clear whether the months of planning, design iterations, cutting edge engineering and careful implementation will produce the expected results, an aircraft that flies as designed.

“All aircraft undertake testing programmes to de-termine the aircraft’s operational parameters and to ensure it is performing to design and flight test specifications,” explains Director of Test Operations, John Guy. “For established aircraft, tests are carried out within the umbrella of the type certification and gener-ally amount to fine-tuning. This is where we expect to be in a few years, but right now we have a completely new type of aircraft. While we have been able to take considerable learning from previous prototypes of the Jetpack, the Series 1 has a new airframe and a new engine, which is unusual in aircraft production as it is typically one or the other, but generally the norm for a new type of aircraft such as the Jetpack. This means that you can be fairly certain that it will perform in the way it has been designed, but you tend to hold your breath until it is airborne and performing as expected.”

The testing programme itself began months ago even before the first of the Series 1 Jetpacks, Prototype 14, came off the production floor with the detailed plan-ning of the programme. “In any testing programme,” continues Guy, “you have issues that you expect that don’t occur and others that arise unexpectedly. While you can factor in weather, small design im-pacts, maintenance and reserves for large issues, you can’t plan for every contingency; if you tried your test

programme would run for years. Nevertheless every flight test engineer expects at least two major events to occur that set the programme back. In the Jetpack’s case an early test issue was around the engine cooling system, but I’m happy to say this is now resolved and the programme is continuing to progress.”

The execution of the Jetpack testing programme starts with independent supplier based tests including the running of the engine, testing of the fuel bladder, parachute, flight control system and airframe, and drop testing the landing gear. Some of the elements are then tested again once they are on the aircraft, like the fuel bladder, which was tested by the production team once they had attached it to the Jetpack.

Once assembled the aircraft is handed over to Florian Krebs and his Off Aircraft Testing team. Krebs, who joined Martin Aircraft Company as Team Leader Test Engineering in 2015, says “There are a number of in-dustry standard functional tests that need to be carried out before you can go off and fly an aircraft, starting with electrical and mechanical tests. Only after test issues are resolved can the aircraft be handed over to the Test Operations teams for engine runs, initial flights and flights to the edge of the envelope.”

Being part of the Test Operations team involves a number of challenges in itself. Ben Trip, a former navy avionics technician and now a Flight Ops Technician at Martin Aircraft explains that it is not a simple matter of a handful of people flying the aircraft outside its hangar and making a few adjustments.

“The process involves a skilled team getting the Jet-pack ready to run and doing the background prepa-ration. This involves not only activity based around the aircraft itself, such as basic maintenance and fine-tun-ing of the engine before it can be released for testing, but also the identification of suitable remote locations for testing, general permissions from landowners and local council agreements, and weather monitoring

continued page 13..

PUSHING THEENVELOPEWe look at the flight test programme of the Series 1 Jetpack and review the complexities of testing and how it impacts Jetpack commercialisation.

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so that the integrity of the data tests are not compro-mised by adverse conditions.”

Coordinating the maintenance of the Jetpack falls to Simon Jones, Crew Chief for the Aircraft, and he is responsible for and ultimately has the final say in whether or not the aircraft is released to go flying. His role is to track and account for all work carried out on the aircraft, liaising with Engineering to find configuration changes for testing and scheduling the correct maintenance work that needs to be carried out between run days. He also liaises with the Flight Test Instrumentation team to ensure the correct data is be-ing captured so analysis can be carried out. “Ultimately I need to ensure we have the right people on board to resolve issues quickly,” he says. “Often on test days we are at the mercy of the weather conditions. Any time delays can have a significant effect on whether the

scheduled tests take place or they are pushed back to another day. It is my job to ensure that when faults or issues occur we are immediately talking to the right people in the Engineering team who can determine how to correct the issue and enable us to continue with the test plan.”

The Test Operations team begins with ground testing the Jetpack, ensuring all electronic systems, including the fly-by-wire systems and navigation systems, are functioning correctly and are picking up signals accu-rately, the airframe can sustain stress, and the engine functions safely and efficiently. Any issues will be fed back to the Design and Engineering teams and adjust-ments made accordingly. It is then the responsibility of Noel Rogers, Head of Maintenance, and his team. “Eventually my team will be responsible for maintaining Martin Aircraft’s fleet of Jetpacks but for the moment

Flight Test Instrumentation Engineer Amina Afra capturing flight test data. (Below) Flight Test Director, Easwaram "Iceman" Krishnaswamy briefs Pilot Andrew Jackson on test flight. (Opposite Page) Noel Roger's team performs test site preparations and maintenance.

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Assembly Technician, Kieran Gregory, performing routine maintenance on Series 1 engine.

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we are supporting the test programme, carrying out maintenance on the Prototype 14,” says Rogers. “This can at times be frustrating but equally amazing when it all comes together. Essentially we are pioneers in this aspect of aviation, writing the rules and overcoming hurdles that no-one has ever faced.” Now, with the completion of ground testing of the Pro-totype 14, it is time to get the Jetpack airborne. Flight testing looks at elements such as how much fuel the Jetpack burns during flight, what the safe operating speeds are, maximum speed, navigation equipment functionality, GPS accurate readings, flight controls and engine systems.

Initially the Jetpack is tested in an unmanned capacity. This allows engineering and technical design esti-mates and predictions to be validated and ensures the aircraft is fit for purpose before manned flight. Remote piloting of the Jetpack today falls to former airline pilot instructor Andrew Jackson, who is Martin Aircraft’s RPAS Operator and UAS Analyst. Comment-ing on his role at the company, Jackson explains, “After three years of teaching aerobatics I was looking for a new challenge. I transitioned to unmanned systems and then the opportunity came up to join the biggest, most exciting project I could find. The Jetpack is an

optionally piloted vehicle, which means it can be flown manned or unmanned. In terms of the new Series 1 Jetpack, flying it unmanned before we fly it manned is useful to accelerate the testing process.”

Jackson’s role is to fly the Jetpack according to the de-signed tests and report back post flight from the pilot’s perspective. His report will be added to the comput-erised data and interpreted by the flight test engi-neers, the flight physics team and the aircraft systems analysts. They will then use the data to build knowl-edge on how to improve performance and deliver the capabilities that customers have requested.

“Flying the Jetpack unmanned can be just as exciting as manned flight,” says Jackson. “This is especially the case when the aircraft exceeds expectations, such as happened recently on a high-speed test run involving the Prototype 12 Jetpack.” However, a single mistake, such as disorientation or pilot error, could result in sig-nificant damage to the aircraft and set back the testing programme.

“Having a great team behind me and meticulous preparation and practice go some way to mitigating the risks on an untested aircraft,” Jackson continues.

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Director of Test Operations, John Guy.Photo courtesy Holmes Solutions.

Holmes Solutions, 6-DoF winch unit. Photo courtesy Holmes Solutions. Mark Thomson, Senior Engineer, Holmes Solutions.Controlling winch operations.

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”But to ensure the safety of the ground crew and limit damage to the Jetpack, you need to ensure you have a robust safety system in place.”

This is where the 6 Degree of Freedom rig (or 6-DoF as the crew likes to call it) comes in. “The Jetpack is an expensive piece of equipment,” says John Guy. “If there are any issues with the aircraft we want to expose these without putting the aircraft and ground crew at risk. With 6-DoF the Jetpack is essentially free flying but in the event of an incident the winch operator can quickly draw in the cable and prevent the aircraft from dropping to the ground.”

The specialist Full 6 Degrees of Freedom rig was designed by Holmes Solutions, another Christchurch based company that specialises in engineered solu-tions. “Essentially Martin Aircraft was looking for a solu-tion where they could test the aircraft in flight without the risk of damage to the aircraft should a major issue occur,” explains Mark Thomson, Senior Engineer at Holmes Solutions. “We initially designed an automatic tether system involving the Jetpack being tethered to a cable attached to a crane from above and having three ground tethers. However, due to issues with the sensor elements getting tangled and radio signals dropping we switched to a manual system. This proved to be the right choice when we were testing the Prototype 13 Jetpack when one of the tethers wrapped itself around one of the concrete blocks anchoring the aircraft. At this point the Jetpack was tipped sideways. An automatic system would have lowered the aircraft to the ground causing major damage. However, using a manual system I was able to immediately send the cable upwards to catch the Jetpack.”

However, the 6-DoF test rig is just one of the factors that Flight Test Director Iceman needs to oversee this morning. Much like a conductor he needs to orches-trate the process so that everyone and everything work in accordance with his devised test plans at the allot-ted times. This includes the technical team, the aircraft support crew, aircraft safety, dealing with issues, mon-

itoring the radio and communications, and ensuring that the individual systems on the aircraft, such as the engine and the cooling systems, are working together. If there is an issue, Iceman is responsible for ensuring it is fixed, assessing whether risks are within an accept-able level, and making the call to abandon for the day if necessary. He further needs to ensure that data for the day is fed back to the right teams before he hands over to maintenance.

Today’s tests involve measuring strain, vibration and temperature data of the Jetpack in flight as well as testing general aircraft handling. Flight Test Instrumen-tation Engineer, Amina Arfa, is one of those responsible for monitoring systems and ambient conditions on the Jetpack. Data is wirelessly transmitted from a data acquisition system (DAQ) on the Jetpack to her laptop at the ground control station. The same DAQ used on aircrafts of major aviation companies.

A mechanical engineer formerly involved in stress analysis at a helicopter company in France, Afra was attracted to Martin Aircraft as much for its location in New Zealand as the chance to work with cutting edge technology. “Four months ago,” she says, “instrumen-tation was a minor part of the company. It has now progressed to a state where the aircraft is fully instru-mented with comprehensive outputs. Because the Jetpack is a new aircraft, all tests need to be carried out from the ground up and the challenge is interpret-ing unexplained behaviour and feeding this back to the Design team to analyse”.

Arfa is only one of the many engineers and aircraft support crew joining Iceman in the control room for this first tethered test flight. If today proves successful the testing programme can be stepped up until the aircraft reaches a satisfactory performance level to progress to verifying take-off and landing, thrust going in and out of the ground effect (down near the ground the airflow is different), and initial translations when it comes out of hover. Only once the Jetpack is perform-ing at a satisfactory level for these flights will testing

move to the first free untethered unmanned flights and then on to manned testing.

But for now everyone is waiting for it to fly. Out on the field Rogers and his team complete the engine start and make their way to outside the testing zone. The Jetpack is hoisted into the air. Slowly Andrew Jackson increases the thrust and suddenly the Jetpack moves above the tether cable. It’s flying free. Flawlessly Jackson takes the Jetpack through is prescribed list of tests. Despite the breeze that has come up the Jetpack responds almost perfectly, justifying the faith the company has put in it. As the Jetpack returns to the ground and the engine is cut the control room erupts with excited chatter. For a short while everyone allows themselves to enjoy the exhilaration. Then it’s time to analyse the data, address any of the minor issues that arose, and get ready for the next round of testing.

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Above, Paco Uybarreta, Head of Aircrew & Testing and Chief Test Pilot, flying the Series 1 Jetpack Engineering Flight Simulator.Page right, 1986 VCASS System. Photo courtesy The National Archives Catalog, USA.

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TRAIN VIRTUALLY ANYWHEREEmanuele Colognato, Martin Aircraft’s Flight Sciences & Special Projects Leader, takes a look at the growth of virtual reality and its use as a tool for pilot training

1966. Inside one of the labs of the Human Engineering Division of the Armstrong Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, a team of visionaries were working at what would become, 50 years later, a consumer level device that would put the average Joe at the controls of a fighter plane, either for training or merely for fun.

What was then a reality made of very expensive elec-tro-hydraulic platforms, collimated displays and hun-dreds of interconnected switches linked to kilometres of wires, has now become a virtual reality made pos-sible by a sub-$1000, 500g head mounted “box” that catapults you directly into a virtual cockpit, replicating system-by-system in the highest fidelity possible your favourite fighter jet or helicopter cockpit.

There are no hardware fault occurrences for this type of flight simulator. No recurrent yearly check-ups needed of their states. Everything works, or doesn’t, depending on the training you are doing in your air-craft. And best of all, it sits in your man-cave and it is driven by an affordable PC.

Even though it has been 50 years coming, virtual reali-ty is at its infancy still in terms of technology readiness. There are a few hurdles to overcome, motion sickness in certain situations or conditions being one of them, but what it delivers already, compared to other flight simulation platforms, is enormous cost savings, much higher portability, and a very versatile deployable and reconfigurable platform.

If we add the sensation of motion to the virtual reality equation, we now have a cutting-edge platform for flight training that gives the pilot physical feedback in terms of kinematic changes in position, velocity and acceleration. The more these feedbacks are synchro-nized with the sounds and vision the head-mounted displays provide, the better the body “accepts” the ex-perience. At Martin Aircraft the primary use for our full motion virtual reality simulator is to support flight test-ing rehearsal and flight training. We intend to continue the development of the platform to be an engineering flight simulator on which we could test specific “mod-els” and behaviours, in specific conditions, and drive the design and development of the Jetpack.

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The simulator uses a Matlab Jetpack model, which is being refined constantly to be representative of the flying and handling characteristics of the current gen-eration of Jetpacks. A model based design approach has the added benefit of being able to actually “fly” the aircraft, even if it is virtually.

But the use of Virtual Reality can be extended to any field, in any industry. I see a time when, while our test pilots rehearse flying routines on our simulator, our maintenance team lead is holding a virtual training course for Jetpack technicians around the world, each one sitting in their own cosy office with no implication

as to cost and travel time, and engineering is analysing its latest design in 1:1 scale, walking around the virtual Jetpack along with our ergonomics and electrical teams.

Virtual Reality has many implications in many indus-tries. It is a fast-growing technology that is predicted to reach $120bn in revenues by 2020 and grow from there. With our full-motion, 6 DOF Virtual Reality Jetpack Simulator we are certainly at the forefront of that technology and will continue to push forward to remain in that position.

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