Supplementing Haptic Feedback in Flight Envelope Protection Through Visual Display Indications

Haptic cues on the side stick are a promising method to reduce loss of control in-flight incidents. They can be intuitively interpreted and provide immediate support, leading to a shared control system. However, haptic interfaces are limited in providing information, and the reason for cues may not always be clear to pilots. This study presents...

Touchscreens for Aircraft Navigation Tasks: Comparing Accuracy and Throughput of Three Flight Deck Interfaces Using Fitts’ Law

Objective: Use Fitts’ law to compare accuracy and throughput of three flight deck interfaces for navigation. Background: Industry is proposing touch-based solutions to modernize the flight management system. However, research evaluating touchscreen effectiveness for navigation tasks in terms of accuracy and throughput on the flight deck is...

Airborne Conflict Resolution in Three Dimensions

The advent of automation in the cockpit has greatly affected the nature of the tasks on the flight deck, as well as requirements on the flight crew. Although the introduction of automation in aircraft undeniably improved performance and safety, it also increased complexity in the cockpit. In addition to knowledge of basic flight information,...

Ecological Approach to Pilot Terrain Awareness

The upgrade of the flight deck instruments from electro-mechanical dials and gauges towards computer-driven systems and interfaces was a necessary step to accommodate the increasing demands in flight technical performance and safety. The upgrade was a relatively slow process, however, where new systems were developed and installed as soon as the...