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The objectives of this study were to assess the effects of differing formats of forward-looking primary flight display (PFD; electronic attitude-direction indicator, full-color terrain, uniformly brown terrain) on general aviation (GA) pilot recoveries from unknown attitudes and to determine if recovery assistance embodied in the display could be useful. Total recovery times and control reversals were examined as indexes of performance for 40 GA pilots, and the recovery times were subjected to a comparative analysis using both a parametric difference analysis and an equivalence testing technique. Results suggest that for the specific conditions investigated, terrain-depicting PFDs supported performance that was equivalent to that observed with the standard attitude indicator. Equivalence testing is recommended for cases where it is desirable to determine if one device or system provides for performance that is equivalent to another.

An operational evaluation of the automatic dependent surveillance system and cockpit display of traffic information (CDTI) provided an opportunity to examine how pilot use of CDTI enabled them to maintain predefined spacing intervals from other aircraft. Seventy percent of the controller -issued traffic calls resulted in positive visual acquisitions (83% displayed on CDTI). Approximately 55% of the approach clearances that included instructions to "follow that traffic" involved communication problems and operational concerns. In light of the findings and the participants' comments, changes to proposed procedures and supporting phraseology will be constructed and evaluated for the approach spacing application.

In 3 experiments, we examined maneuver choice, flight safety, and mental workload across 3-dimensional (3D) perspective and 2-dimensional coplanar cockpit displays of traffic information in a free-flight simulation. In Experiment 1 (30 pilots), we examined dimensionality issues; in Experiments 2 and 3 (18 pilots each), we examined the effects of traffic density, dimensionality, and vertical profile orientation. Collectively, these data may be modeled by trade-offs between the display types: The coplanar suite suffers from scanning-related integration that increases with conflict density; the 3D display suffers from perceptual ambiguity. This research informs our understanding of how displays modulate performance in free-flight environments.

Ergavionic principles governing the design and operation of an airplane cockpit were discovered through simulator and flight experiments starting during World War II and continuing through the 1970s, but their systematic application has not happened. These principles deal with control location and operation, display integration and pictorial realism, and control/display direction-of-motion relationships. Systematic application of these principles would make the job of flying an airplane so much easier and safer that hundreds of lives would be saved every year, and in the decades to come, thousands of lives.

Thirty-six participants were tested on their ability to orient toward the nearest airport based on the manner in which information was presented on a global positioning system (GPS) area navigation display. Results indicated that use of the tabular, text-only format normally found on such displays was significantly slower and less accurate than either a map display of nearest airport information or a text display that included an orientation symbol. Additionally, pilots ignored information from the heading indicator, focusing on the GPS to perform the task. Discussion focuses on the need to support pilot decision making.