Visual tasks in helicopter shipboard landing

The purpose of this research was to identify visual scene content important in helicopter shipboard landings, particularly in the hover phase, for further study in a research simulator. A second purpose was to illustrate the use of a methodology (Protocol Analysis) which may hold promise for many areas of human factors research. Discussions with pilots, reviews of relevant Naval Aviation Training and Operational Procedures (NATOPS) manuals and observation of simulated helicopter shipboard landings suggested that the visual elements required in helicopter shipboard landings may depend upon whether experienced or inexperienced pilots are flying, a simulator or an aircraft is flown, the environment is day or night, or the pilot seeks to acquire or maintain a skill level. A scenario involving an experienced pilot flying dusk/night approaches in a simulator was intensively studied. As he flew each approach, the pilot dictated real-time verbal protocols of his visual and control activities. These protocols were subsequently partitioned by the authors into nine phases defined in terms of range or altitude from the ship, and the visual tasks required in each segment were described. An outcome of this analysis was a list of visual cue augmentations that may be useful for providing augmented feedback in training.