Requirement of Navigator in C-17_Jun 12

8/14/2019 Requirement of Navigator in C-17_Jun 12

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REQUIREMENT OF NAVIGATOR IN C-17 AIRCRAFT

INTRODUCTION

1. The IAF has one of the largest transport aircraft fleet in the world. It has aircraft ofvarious types in its inventory ranging from aged workhorses like HS-!"# A$-%& and I'-(to modern state of art aircraft like I'-"# )m*raer# ++,# AAS and -1%/,. The transportfleet has proven its mettle *oth during war and peace in various operational roles likeair*orne assault operations# *om*ing *y A$-1 ) role# and air logistics in $orthern and)astern sector. It has also rendered yeoman service during national and internationaldisaster relief operations *ringing succour to the victims and pride to the nation. ith therecent ac0uisition of force multipliers like AAS# AA# -1%/, and the planned inductionof -1 the transport fleet will transform into a truly potent force# at par with the *est in the

world.

&. 2odernisation is the key to out-manoeuvre an opponent in the *attle field oftomorrow which is envisioned to *e fluid# multidimensional and populated with agile# widelydispersed fighting units. As part of the modernisation of the IAF# the induction of the -1#which has a cockpit crew complement of pilot# co-pilot and load master# has already *egun.This is a departure from the traditional airlift crew complement that included additional crewmem*ers to handle navigation and aircraft systems 3navigator and flight engineer4. Thee5tensive use of cockpit automation pro*a*ly allowed this crew reduction. ecent researchhas shown that automation can rather than decreasing workload# actually increase cockpitworkload *eyond that of less automated aircraft during those periods where workload isalready traditionally high. The mission of the -1 is likely to see a less e5perienced crewflying ultra low-level in a high threat environment# talking to multiple controlling agencies#and trying to get into a location they have never seen after a 16 hour dou*le air-refuellingflight. These issues warrant operational consideration when employing the -1 on some ofits most demanding missions.

AIM

%. The aim of this service paper is to study and analyse the re0uirement of a navigatoras the *est suited additional crew mem*er in the -1 in order to enhance operationalefficiency# decision making and provide the *est redundancy to automation.

OPERATIONAL PHILOSOPHY OF C17 IN USAF

C-17 Design

!. The -1 is 1! feet 36% m4 long and has a wingspan of a*out 1/ feet 36& m4. It is

powered *y four 7ratt 8 hitney F11-7-1// tur*ofan engines. )ach engine is fully
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reversi*leand rated at !/#!// l*s 31"/ k$4 of thrust. The aircraft re0uires a crew of three3pilot# co-pilot# and loadmaster4 for cargo operations. argo is loaded through a large aftramp that accommodates rolling stock# armoured vehicles# trucks and trailers# along withpalleti9ed cargo. The cargo compartment is "" feet 3&(."& m4 long# 1" feet 36.!: m4 wideand 1& feet ! inches 3%.( m4 high. The cargo floor has rollers for palleti9ed cargo that can

*e flipped to provide a flat floor suita*le for vehicles and other rolling stock. hen re0uiredit can airdrop 1/& paratroopers and their e0uipment. The ma5imum payload of the -1 is#6// kg# and its 2a5imum Takeoff eightis (6#%6/ kg.

6. ith a payload of (// kg and an initial cruise altitude of &"#/// ft 3"#6// m4# the-1 has an unrefueled range of a*out "// nautical miles 36#&// km4. It has a cruisespeed of a*out !6/ knots 3"%% km;h or /.( 2ach4. The aircraft is designed to operate fromrunways as short as %#6// ft 31#/(! m4 and as narrow as :/ ft 3& m4. In addition# it canoperate from unpaved# unimproved runways and use the thrust reversers to *ack theaircraft and reverse direction on narrow ta5iways.

C-17 Aut!"tin P#i$s%#&

(. In the early 1:"/s# the aviation industry *egan to em*race the new capa*ilities madepossi*le with the growth in computer technology. As the automated systems and levels ofinformation availa*le to pilots grew# accidents and incidents related to the new systems alsogrew# as aircrew took time to get familiar with them. The increased automation also madepossi*le smaller crew si9es *ecause of the a*ility to automate the systems traditionallymonitored and controlled *y dedicated navigators and flight engineers. This is theenvironment in which the dum*? cockpit approach. If you don@t know what itdoes# don@t touch it# and it won@t do anything?. This philosophy was designed to allow forthe lower e5perience level and more demanding missions of the average military pilot. Atrade off in this decision was that >an e5pert in the -1 cockpit will have to push more*uttons to command a specific action than his airline counterpart.?

". The automation philosophy outlined in the directive that governs flight operations forthe -1 supports this *y saying >pilots should use appropriate levels of automation asre0uired *y the flight conditions - their first priority is to fly the aircraft?. It goes on to say that>The Automatic Flight ontrol System 3AFS4 and 2ission omputer 324 are intended toaid in workload management# not complicate it. As the flight situation changes# pilots shouldnot feel locked into a level of automation.?

:. The implication of such a design philosophy is that even an e5perienced pilot willhave to give a significant amount of time and attention towards making automation work theway it should. Another fall out of this design philosophy is that the pilot will *e forced to

divert his attention from flying the aircraft to tackling pro*lems of automation in situationswhere his first priority should *e to fly the airplane.

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C-17 Missin Des'(i%tin

1/. The nature of military operations involves flying into unpredicta*le and sometimeshostile environment which often re0uires e5ecution of challenging flight manoeuvres

designed to limit e5posure to other e5ternal threats. Some of these manoeuvres includeformation flight with multiple aircraft occupying a relatively small airspace# e5tended low-level flight re0uiring constant manoeuvring *oth to avoid terrain and to use it for threatavoidance# specially designed threat avoidance approach and departure procedures whichinvolve greater manoeuvring and clim*;descent rates than normally used# andlandings;takeoffs on short;austere unimproved runways which the crew may never haveseen *efore. Further# changes in routeing due to tactical re0uirements or revised threatperceptions would *e the order of the day. The -1 is designed to *e capa*le of flightmanoeuvres which allow it to operate in this environment. These capa*ilities increaseworkload and themselves may *ecome threat sources.

11. Another consideration related to the mission of the -1 is that of flight duty periods.Flight duty period# is the period that starts when an aircrew reports for a mission# *riefing# orother official duty and ends when engines are shut down at the end of a mission. Thestandard flight duty period for a two-pilot crew in the -1 is 1( hours. =uring contingencyoperations# it is not uncommon to have this standard flight duty period e5tended *y an houror two *ased upon the nature of the operation. ith an additional pilot# a crew may *econsidered >augmented? and have their allowa*le flight duty period e5tended to &! hours.

C(e) St"n*"(* O%e("ting P('e*u(e

1&. To enhance flight safety and efficiency in aircraft operations# the crew standardoperating procedure provides for seamless integration of aircrew# discourage individualpractices and provide standard area of responsi*ility for the pilot flying 37F4# pilot monitoring3724 and the loadmaster 3'24. For e5ample# under =efensive Tactics the 7F is responsi*lefor maintaining situational awareness 3SA4# avoiding terrain# manoeuvring the aircraft#integrating defensive inputs and visually ac0uiring threats. The 72 is responsi*le formaintaining SA# clearing terrain# visually ac0uiring *oth air and ground threats# maintainingvisual separation from other friendly aircraft# giving a visual picture to the rest of the crewand radio communication. The loadmaster is the key element in the defence of the aircraft.His responsi*ilities are to maintain SA# assist the visual ac0uisition of air and groundthreats# maintain separation from other friendly aircraft and direct initial defensive

manoeuvres to the 7F.

1%. Some of the other tasks and duties of the loadmaster as given in the flight 2anualare as follows-

3a4 To guide the pilot during push *ack and start.3*4 To advise the 7F on ta5iway slope trends and suggested speed changes.3c4 To monitor the primary AT fre0uency during all critical phases of flight 3e.g.departure# AA# ''$# arrival and airdrop4.3d4 To *uild and maintain Tactical SA prior to the mission and during e5ecution.

3e4 To familiari9e with mission charts# terminology and techni0ues for proper chart

reading in the tactical; low level environment.

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3f4 To actively participate in the mission preparation process and *e availa*le toassist the crew in planning for o*Bective area analysis# load factors# ground times ande5ecution checklists.3g4 To listen and communicate on several radio fre0uencies while e5ecutingtactical missions.

3h4 To use and follow correct communication procedure on ;T and I;.3g4 To *e thoroughly familiar with proper authentication procedures whencommunicating with aircraft and ground controllers.3B4 To plot mission threats on a *ulls eye chart and update the current tacticalpicture to the crew.

1!. The loadmaster# who is normally placed at a station in the cargo compartment# hasto *e in the cockpit to carry out most of these duties. This is an area that is not as familiar tothe Flt Cunners of IAF# as his station is in the cargo compartment. Further# e5periencegathered during the flying of many missions *y the


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flight parameters and profile# the other pilot maintains a continuous watch on the other acposition in the formation and warns in case of e5cessive closure. Thus *oth the pilots arethoroughly engrossed in manually flying the ac in close formation and have little energy ortime to keep track of fast changing tactical situation in terms of weather# with A= and) fighter elements# T contact and instructions from AAS;A) ac# ground position of

ac etc. These can *e monitored and updated *y an automated system. The responsi*ility ofupdating information in the 1 it is *eing done *y an additional crew mem*er 3A24 or aloadmaster.

1. In the IAF an A2 may not always *e availa*le and the load master does not havethe re0uired e5pertise. The $avigator is the only crew in cockpit who is fully aware at all thetimes a*out these aspects as all of these are part of his Bo*. Hence a navigator is the crewmost suited to take any decision like change of route *ecause of any ground threat# go-no-go *ecause of unfavoura*le ground environment in terms of surface winds# visi*ility#securing of =E *y advance party and change of plan to 7lan +# drop at alternate =E# e5actground position of own ac and other ac in the formation at any time. Thus any mission

related decision *y captain may not *e the *est decision as he does not have the fullSituational Awareness. $avigators# on the other hand# can take such mission relateddecision with an uncluttered mind as he has the *est situational awareness among thecrew.

1". The success of most of the operational roles of transport ac hinges on theprofessional competence and skills of the additional crew mem*er. For e5ample *om*ing#7ara trooping# 7ara drop# cargo drop# low level tactical e5ercises are carried out well *y theIAF with the help of the navigator. +ut as of now we are strongly e5pecting that# in the 1#either the captain or the co-pilot along with the automated systems undertake this or leave itto the in e5perienced loadmaster. In the ed Flag e5ercise in


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against *oth internal and e5ternal threats# and can greatly enhance flight safety andcapa*ility to deal with an uncertain environment. ith these considerations in mind# aformal evaluation of the potential *enefits of a navigator for those missions that are themost demanding may *e warranted.

&1. =uring operational missions such as air*orne assault operations# *om*ing# 7aradrop etc navigator# *y virtue of his duties# has *etter Situational Awareness than the pilotand is *etter informed to take any mission related decision. Therefore# there is need tointroduce the third crew mem*er as a navigator wherein he is the crew who is *est suitedand competent to take on mission related and operational tasks as compared to any other*ranch. This concept will go a long way in enhancing mission related decision making#enhance 2# improve internal and e5ternal threat perception# and increase operationalutili9ation of the 1 aircraft.

RECOMMENDATIONS

&&. The following are recommended-

3a4 $avigator should *e part of the 1 cockpit crew for all operational roles.

3*4 In case of missions and e5ercises where navigator plays a pivotal role like7ara trooping# air*orne assault ops# cargo drop# *om*ing# AA# low level tacticale5ercises# ultra low level missions# a navigator should *e detailed as the additionalcrew mem*er.

3c4 In case of T or scheduled flights the re0uirement of the navigator would*e only for con Trg and consolidation of e5perience.

3d4 'oadmaster should *e a*le to carry out duties of flight engineer as andwhen re0uired.

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Re!"(+s ,& St"tin C!!"n*e(

1. The re0uirement of navigator in any platform is to *e decided taking into account thefollowing three factors-

3a4 $7 value of the ac3*4 hether the ac is envisaged to *e used in a military role3c4 )rgonomics of the ac

&. Typically two men crew ac are deployed only on T roles# even though the $7value of *oth the ac and the airspace in India would warrant a three men crew. In the caseof the 1 ac# since the ac is likely to *e deployed in the T+A and also in all Air Transportroles# the re0uirement of a navigator is inescapa*le. The load master of the IAF is note0uipped to handle ;T# make the flight plan and carry out duties that are typically done *ythe navigator in the IAF.

%. Strongly recommended for reconsideration of the complement of crew for 1 ac ofIAF and inclusion of navigator as part of flight crew.

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Requirement of Navigator in C-17_Jun 12