Effect of a range ring and of intruder vertical rate on pilot perception of separation on a cockpit display of traffic information

This study was conducted to determine the effect of a range ring and intruder vertical rate on pilots' perception of aircraft separation as viewed on a cockpit display of traffic information. A group of 30 pilots from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University participated as subjects. SuperCard® Version 1.6 software and a Macintosh Ilsi® personal computer were employed to generate the simulation of a cockpit display of traffic information. Each pilot monitored 80 unique scenarios in which they determined, as early as possible, what the vertical miss distance would be when a single intruder passed ownship. The pilots' decision time and perceived vertical miss distance were compiled for each scenario. Range ring did not have a significant effect on the perception of vertical miss with regards to time or error while vertical rate had a significant effect on time and error. Exploratory research was also performed on miss distance and approach angle.