Human factors flight trial analysis for 2D situation awareness and 3D synthetic vision displays

This article describes the human factor analysis from flight trials performed in Reno, NV. Flight trials were conducted with a Cheyenne 1 from Marinvent. Thirteen pilots flew the Cheyenne in seventy-two approaches to the Reno airfield. All pilots flew completely randomized settings. Three different display configurations: 1) Elec. Flight Information System (EFIS), 2) EFIS and 2D moving map, and 3) 3D SVS Primary Flight Display (PFD) and 2D moving map were evaluated. They included normal/abnormal procedure evaluation for: 1) Steep turns and reversals, 2) Unusual attitude recovery, 3) Radar vector guidance towards terrain, 4) Non-precision approaches, 5) En-route alternate for non-IFR rated pilots encountering IMC, and 6) Taxiing on complex taxi-routes. The flight trial goal was to evaluate the objective performance of pilots for the different display configurations. As dependent variables, positional and time data were measured. Analysis was performed by an ANOVA test. In parallel, all pilots answered subjective NASA Task Load Index, Cooper-Harper, Situation Awareness Rating Technique (SART), and questionnaires. The result shows that pilots flying 2D/3D SVS perform no worse than pilots with conventional systems. In addition, 3D SVS flying pilots have significantly better terrain awareness, more stable 180°deg turns, and enhanced positional awareness while taxiing on the ground. Finally, even non-IFR rated pilots are able to fly non-precision approaches under IMC with a 3D SVS.