Date of Award

12-1993

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Degree Name

Master of Aeronautical Science

Department

Graduate Studies

Committee Chair

Dr. John Wise

Committee Member

Dr. Daniel Garland

Committee Member

Dr. David Abbott

Abstract

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 IIsi® 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 distances 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.

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