Pilot performance during simulated approaches and landings made with various computer-generated visual glidepath...

Area of Science:

• Aviation Human Factors
• Flight Safety Engineering

Background:

• Nighttime approaches in reduced visibility, known as the "black hole" environment, pose significant challenges to pilot performance.
• Visual glidepath indicator systems are crucial for maintaining safe approach paths.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantitatively assess the effectiveness of four visual glidepath indicator systems (2-bar VASI, 3-bar VASI, T-VASIS, PAPI) in a simulated "black hole" environment.
• To compare pilot performance and observing behavior across different visual glidepath indicator systems.

Main Methods:

• Two simulator experiments were conducted.
• Pilot performance was evaluated during approaches using T-VASIS, 3-bar VASI, PAPI, and 2-bar VASI.
• Observing behavior was analyzed in approaches with T-VASIS and 2-bar VASI.

Main Results:

• Pilot performance was highest with the T-VASIS, followed by the 3-bar VASI, PAPI, and 2-bar VASI.
• Approaches without ground-based glidepath indicators were consistently low and highly variable.
• Observing response frequency increased with proximity to the runway threshold and was significantly higher for the T-VASIS.

Conclusions:

• The T-VASIS system appears most effective for enhancing pilot performance in challenging nighttime approach conditions.
• The rate of observing the visual glidepath indicator is a significant factor influencing approach performance.