A simulator study of advanced head-up display symbology for use in general aviation aircraft

Abstract

Cockpit displays for instrument approaches in general aviation aircraft have lagged behind other classes of aircraft. As the electronic displays of commercial airliners and corporate aviation trickle down to these smaller personal aircraft, head-up displays (HUDs) are considered to make general aviation safer and more useful for personal aircraft owners. Artificial intelligence software is being developed at Texas A&M University and many companies and is aimed at improving the safety record and productivity of this class of small airplanes. A HUD has been proposed to serve as the display interface for the development of this pilot advisory software. The display interaction with pilots is being investigated in a fixed-base simulation in preparation for installation on a research aircraft to be used to validate the software and its usability by general aviation pilots. This first three HUD configurations, incorporating integrated analog/digital display of airspeed and altitude, runway outline, and instrument landing guidance of three different types has been evaluated by six general aviation pilots of widely varying background and experience. Significantly, but not surprisingly, all six of these subjects preferred these new displays to conventional panel instruments. Likewise, all six of the pilots performed the instrument landing task measurably better using a display that incorporated a tunnel-in-the-sky format. But, at the same tune, they disagreed significantly in their qualitative assessment of their performance with this display: half of them thought they performed better with a more conventional display.