Effects of Visual, Seat, and Platform Motion During Flight Simulator Air Transport Pilot Training and Evaluation

Access to affordable and effective flight-simulation training devices (FSTDs) is critical to safely train airline crews in aviating, navigating, communicating, making decisions, and managing flightdeck and crew resources. This paper provides an overview of the Federal Aviation Administration- Volpe Center Flight Simulator Human Factors Program examining the requirements for the qualification and use of FSTDs. We will summarize past research investigating the need for a full hexapod-platform motion system, describe regulatory and industry developments, and report on current activities

NextGen Flight Deck Data Comm: Auxiliary Synthetic Speech Phase I

Data Comm—a text-based controller-pilot communication system—is critical to many NextGen improvements. With Data Comm, communication becomes a visual task. Interacting with a visual Data Comm display may yield an unsafe increase in head-down time, particularly for single-pilot operations. This study examined the feasibility of supplementing Data Comm with synthetic speech. To this end, thirty-two pilots flew two experimental scenarios in a Cessna 172 Flight Training Device. In one scenario, ATC communication was with a text-only Data Comm display, in the other, communication was with a text Data Comm display with synthetic speech that read aloud each message (i.e., text+speech). Pilots heard traffic with similar call signs on the party line and received a conditional clearance (in both scenarios); in either scenario, pilots received a clearance that was countermanded by a live controller. Results indicated that relative to the text-only display, the text+speech display aided single-pilot performance by reducing head-down time, and may have prevented participants from acting early on the conditional clearance. Supplementing text Data Comm with speech did not introduce additional complications: participants were neither more likely to erroneously respond to similar call signs, nor to ignore a live ATC countermand

Identifying Representative Symbology for Low Visibility Operations/Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (LVO/SMGCS) Paper Charts

The Volpe Center developed a questionnaire to examine the representativeness of symbol shapes and the usefulness of information depicted on Low Visibility Operations/Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (LVO/SMGCS) paper charts. One-hundred forty-four pilots were shown a series of symbol shapes and responded “Yes” or “No” to whether they considered each symbol shape representative of a given information type. Symbol shapes were presented at increasing levels of context. Pilots then rated the usefulness of information depicted on LVO/SMGCS charts. Pilots identified representative symbol shapes for a geographic position marking, instrument landing system (ILS) hold line, runway guard lights (RGL), stop bar, and the combination of RGL and a stop bar. The general shape was usually perceived as representative regardless of variations in features such as border or fill. Pilot opinions of usefulness generally reflected findings for symbol shape representativeness

Using Enhanced Flight Vision Systems (EFVS) for Low-Visibility Taxi in Transport Category Aircraft

Two studies (using Boeing 777 and 737 simulators) examined flight crews’ use of an Enhanced Flight Vision System (EFVS) for low-visibility taxi operations. Twenty-five flight crews completed 21 short taxi scenarios under combinations of the following: Runway visual range (RVR: 300, 500, and 1000 ft); EFVS on head-up display (on/off); Airport infrastructure - 3 levels. The use of EFVS produced fewer route deviations, most at 300 feet RVR with edge lights and standard centerline or routes with LVO/SMGCS “enhancements” (without centerline lights). Larger turn angles and lower visibilities were associated with slower rates of travel. Crews detected the obstacle on the right-side most of the time and twice that of the left-side obstacle. Regardless of EFVS, crews had more route deviations on larger (\u3e90 degrees) turns and right turns, possibly from loss of visual references in the turn. Recommendations are provided regarding benefits and limitations of EFVS for low-visibility taxi with suggestions for additional research

NextGen Flight Deck Data Comm: Auxiliary Synthetic Speech Phase I

Data Comm—a text-based controller-pilot communication system—is critical to many NextGen improvements. With Data Comm, communication becomes a visual task. Interacting with a visual Data Comm display may yield an unsafe increase in head-down time, particularly for single-pilot operations. This study examined the feasibility of supplementing Data Comm with synthetic speech. To this end, thirty-two pilots flew two experimental scenarios in a Cessna 172 Flight Training Device. In one scenario, ATC communication was with a text-only Data Comm display, in the other, communication was with a text Data Comm display with synthetic speech that read aloud each message (i.e., text+speech). Pilots heard traffic with similar call signs on the party line and received a conditional clearance (in both scenarios); in either scenario, pilots received a clearance that was countermanded by a live controller. Results indicated that relative to the text-only display, the text+speech display aided single-pilot performance by reducing head-down time, and may have prevented participants from acting early on the conditional clearance. Supplementing text Data Comm with speech did not introduce additional complications: participants were neither more likely to erroneously respond to similar call signs, nor to ignore a live ATC countermand

NextGen Flight Deck Data Comm: Auxiliary Synthetic Speech--Phase I

Data Comm—a digital, text-based controller-pilot communication system—is critical to many NextGen improvements. With Data Comm, communication becomes a visual task. Although Data Comm brings many advantages, interacting with a visual display may yield an increase in head-down time, particularly for single-pilot operations. This study examined the feasibility of supplementing the visual Data Comm display with an auxiliary synthetic speech presentation. Thirty-two pilots flew two experimental scenarios in a Cessna 172 Flight Training Device. In one scenario, ATC communication was with a text-only Data Comm display; in the other, the text Data Comm display was supplemented with a synthetic speech display annunciating each message (i.e., text+speech). In both scenarios, pilots heard traffic with similar call signs on the party line and received a conditional clearance; however in just one scenario (counter-balanced between communication conditions), pilots received a clearance that was countermanded by a live controller before it was displayed. Results indicated that relative to the text-only display, the text+speech display aided single-pilot performance by reducing head-down time; and it may have prevented participants from acting prematurely on the conditional clearance. Supplementing text Data Comm with speech did not introduce additional complications: participants were neither more likely to erroneously respond to similar call signs, nor to ignore a live ATC voice countermand. The results suggest that the text+speech display did not hinder single-pilot performance and offered some benefits compared to the text-only display. --U.S. Department of Transportation websit