Flight Deck Research Articles

Aircraft Cockpit Window Improvements Enabled by High-Strength Tempered Glass

<div>This research was initiated with the goal of developing a significantly stronger aircraft transparency design that would reduce transparency failures from bird strikes. The objective of this research is to demonstrate the fact that incorporating high-strength tempered glass into cockpit window constructions for commercial aircraft can produce enhanced safety protection from bird strikes and weight savings. Thermal glass tempering technology was developed that advances the state of the art for high-strength tempered glass, producing 28 to 36% higher tempered strength.</div> <div>As part of this research, glass probability of failure prediction methodology was introduced for determining the performance of transparencies from simulated bird impact loading. Data used in the failure calculation include the total performance strength of highly tempered glass derived from the basic strength of the glass, the temper level, the time duration of the load, and the area under load.</div> <div>A high-strength transparency construction developed using advanced technology tempered glass could produce significant weight saving estimated at 28% for a typical Boeing 737 jetliner window, or about 11.5 kg for the four windows of the Boeing 737 flight deck.</div> <div>The conclusions from the principals developed in this research for an advanced transparency construction including a 0.378-in. thick high-strength core ply could reduce the probability of failure from bird strike loading from 4,503 to 953 parts-per-million (PPM). A 0.500-in. thick high-strength standard thickness core ply could reduce the probability of failure from bird strike loading from 4,503 to 1.7 PPM.</div>

Design method for warship flight deck structures subjected to high temperature and wheel loads

Design method for warship flight deck structures subjected to high temperature and wheel loads

Interpersonal Skills in a Sociotechnical System: A Training Gap in Flight Decks

Interpersonal Skills in a Sociotechnical System: A Training Gap in Flight Decks

'I’m a Pilot First, Female Second': Why Flight Deck Gender Imbalance Persists and the Case for Allyship

'I’m a Pilot First, Female Second': Why Flight Deck Gender Imbalance Persists and the Case for Allyship

Back to the future: On the typography of electronic flight deck documentation

Prompted by a series of air accidents in the 1980s, Dr Asaf Degani's 1992 report, “On the Typography of Flight Deck Documentation,” reshaped the design of documents such as manuals, maps, charts, and checklists. His report addressed key principles of typography in printed documentation and provided 19 recommendations for best practice. These are now being applied to contemporary digital documentation. Consequently, our research team, comprising of practicing type designers, revisited the original report to determine whether the suggested conventions remain applicable in a contemporary setting. The findings highlight that some recommendations were based on misconceptions due to inconsistent terminology and now obsolete technologies, which led to a generalization of isolated typographic settings. This is problematic, given that absolute guidelines can only be applied to one specific typeface at a time, due to the varying characteristics of letterforms among different typefaces. Therefore, this single-source review aims to reset the baseline of typographic understanding, rekindle the conversation about legibility in flight safety, and highlight the importance of a more comprehensive approach to typography to improve legibility and, thus, safety. It follows the original report’s structure, providing reflections on Degani’s findings and updated information as required. Further, we provide revised recommendations, directions for future research and an outlook into the future of typography, which is currently undergoing unprecedented technological changes.

Experimental and numerical investigation on a trimaran airwake, geometry modification

The aerodynamic interaction between a helicopter and a trimaran ship's flight deck can be complex and have an impact on handling quality and performance, especially in turbulent conditions. This article presents research on the flight deck geometry of a trimaran vessel without the presence of a helicopter. Both Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) were used to analyze the effect of wind velocity on air pressure in the flight deck region. The study proposed and evaluated different geometries of the top structure at several air velocities to minimize pressure differences. The results of the numerical simulation were validated by experimental measurements using PIV, which showed that the effect of the Reynolds number on the non-dimensional pressure near the top structure is negligible except for the biggest Reynolds number (Re = 50e6), while at x/L = 0.5 the significant difference can be seen, however, the same result found for Re = 38e6 and 50e6. At the farthest distance (x/L = 1), the pressure difference for different Reynolds numbers case studies is negligible. Among the various geometries assessed, the maximum non-dimensional pressure differences along the lines show the highest value occurs for the base geometry (A) while geometries C and F show lower values, which have chamfering along the middle and side horizontal edges at a 45-degree angle and chamfering along all vertical and horizontal edges at a 30-degree angle.

Flight Deck Simulation of Complex Clearance Information Entry During Relative Spacing Arrival Operations

Interval management (IM) uses Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast to provide greater air traffic system throughput and efficiency by improving inter-aircraft spacing precision. The IM Dependent Staggered Approach (DSA) application enables aircraft within a pair to achieve a spacing objective when arriving to parallel, dependently scheduled runways. These operations may require lengthier or more complex IM clearance communications that, coupled with manual entry of ownship route information and forecast winds, can result in a more challenging setup task than has been previously examined. An experiment with 16 pilots was conducted to examine the flight crew acceptability, feasibility, and technical assumptions related to conducting IM DSA operations in a metering environment with voice communications. Results show flight crew errors during entry of the clearance elements into the Cockpit Display of Traffic Information traffic display, especially with a long and highly complex IM clearance. The manual entry of ownship route and forecast wind information also appeared to increase the complexity of the entry task and the potential for errors. Recommendations are made to the Federal Aviation Administration and equipment manufacturers regarding IM communications and the design of related flight deck displays to avoid entry errors and, when they occur, indicate the source to pilots.

From the Flight Deck to the Bedside: Core Aviation Concepts Applied to Acute Care Physical Therapist Practice and Education.

The health care industry has sought to reduce errors and patient harm by drawing upon human factors research developed largely in the aviation industry. However, literature that explicitly applies human factors concepts to physical therapist practice is scarce. Therefore, this clinical perspective highlights the key concepts in aviation safety and training that should be considered for application to physical therapist education and practice in the acute care setting, including the law of primacy, pilot in command, crew resource management, situational awareness, the instrument scan, currency versus proficiency, the advanced qualification program, and the use of checklists. The authors identify, discuss, and apply existing parallel concepts in physical therapist literature. The authors then challenge acute care physical therapists, academic faculty, and clinical instructors on ways to integrate these concepts in practice.

Development of an Unmanned Mobile Current Turbine Platform

A prototype low-flow (~0.5 m/s) marine current turbine for deployment from a small unmanned mobile floating platform has been developed at Florida Atlantic University for autonomously seeking and harnessing tidal/coastal currents. The support platform is an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) in the form of a catamaran with two electric outboard motors and with capabilities for autonomous navigation. An undershot water wheel (USWW), aided by a custom flow concentrator, has been selected as the basic design for the marine current turbine, which is mounted on the stern of the USV. The concept of operation is that the unmanned surface vehicle would navigate to a designated marine current resource, autonomously anchor at the location, align itself in the current, and deploy the USWW turbine using a custom cable-lift deployment mechanism. As the USWW harnesses the local current, an onboard power-take-off (PTO) device converts the harnessed mechanical energy to electricity which is stored in onboard batteries. The selected PTO utilizes a spur drivetrain/gearbox coupled with a NuVinci Ball-continuously variable transmission (CVT). It is estimated that the small prototype turbine system will produce over 12W power for currents over 0.5 m/s. The automated anchoring system consists of an electric winch, a Rocna anchor, anchor chain/rode and a line locking mechanism designed to aid in taking tension off the winch. Preparations have been made to test and demonstrate the application of the platform in harnessing tidal currents in the Intracoastal Waterway in South Florida and coastal currents at locations off Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The preparations include obtaining the necessary environmental permits for conducting in-water testing; developing required mitigation measures in protecting local wildlife and their habitats; and identifying potential in-water test sites and surveying them for their suitability in terms of current resource, bottom type, water depth and local boat traffic. Application of the marine current turbine platform to serve as an unmanned mobile floating recharge station for small aerial drones will be demonstrated. For this purpose, the USV includes a flight deck for landing and takeoff of small aerial drones whose batteries would be recharged via a wireless direct-contact recharging pad powered by the onboard batteries. Modeling in support of turbine design and parametric studies in support of optimization of the performance of the system will be discussed. Scaling of the prototype system in terms of size and capacity will be discussed.

The Role of Human Factors in Evaluating and Updating Requirements for Flight Deck Displays and Controls

The remarkable level of safety of aviation operations is due, in part, to Federal Aviation Administration requirements and guidance that govern civilian aviation activities in the United States National Airspace System. At times, these requirements and guidelines need reevaluation and updating—for example, due to a known change in the pilot workforce or with flight deck technology. This paper provides examples of when this may be necessary, and explains the role that human factors research plays in this process. One objective of this paper is to make the case that it is necessary to periodically review and update requirements and guidance, even if the equipment or technology haven’t changed; often the human operators have changed or additional information is now available. Additionally, the process described here may be applicable to international aviation authorities, other federal agencies, and the private sector, as a best practice and critical safety initiative.

Key Constructs, Measures, and Considerations for Human Factors Researchers in the Advanced Air Mobility Domain

The emergence of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) has seen the design of new electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that will be utilized to serve the AAM market and associated use cases. Before operations commence, aircraft manufacturers must obtain a government-issued type certificate proving that the new aircraft meets prescribed safety levels. Human factors is an important aspect of AAM certification as the proposed designs have significant changes to how pilots will interact with the aircraft. Published certification standards create an opportunity for human factors researchers to generate meaningful ties between the research being conducted in their laboratories and the work being conducted in the industry to prove the effectiveness and safety of AAM systems. To facilitate this, the current effort identified human factors language used in the certification documents that is related to information processing on the flight deck and relevant to AAM aircraft. This language was then mapped to constructs and associated measures studied in the literature. This mapping can serve as a guide for human factors researchers to ensure the relevancy of the research being conducted for this emerging domain.

Cognitive Processing Disruptions Affecting Flight Deck Performance: Implications for Cognitive Resilience

The flight deck of a commercial aircraft has become progressively digitized and operates in multiple modes with displays and indicators that require increasing levels of comprehension. Examining several aspects of cognitive processing is important to understand how threats to safety might occur and what actions might be taken to reduce severity or to eliminate the threat altogether. This paper presents the elements of cognition to consider, relevant characteristics of working memory and cognitive processing speed, types of disruptions and how they are addressed, results from overload or confusion, and the need for effective cognitive resilience to recover and repair the threat. Data from Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) databases indicate 30% of cases could represent a distinct threat of cognitive overload. These are evaluated to identify sources and likelihood for surprise disruptions and to assess the potential of cognitive resilience. Adaptation of the CRM-TEM model is considered for potential application in training and investigations.

Assessing safety through agent-based simulation for aircraft carrier flight decks

Aircraft carrier flight decks are dangerous work environments that require high degrees of coordination between humans in and around aircraft. It is impossible to run experiments in such settings to determine if new policies and rules could reduce the risk of injury. In order to explore possible safety improvement strategies in such settings where deaths still occur, an agent-based simulation environment was developed that allows for exploration of the impact of new procedures and technologies during aircraft launches. In this Optimal Manning Simulation (OMS), safety is measured through unexpected halo violations, where people inadvertently enter a bubble of high risk around an aircraft. An analysis with OMS demonstrated that safety-focused agent-based simulations could uncover not only where personnel face high risks but also when such risks could significantly increase. Thus, OMS can be used not only in a descriptive and predictive manner but also prescriptively to inform future policies.

Effect of Twin Island Configuration on Airwake Aerodynamics over Generic Aircraft Carrier using CFD

The technological advancements have led to the evolution of numerous concepts in an aircraft carrier’s topdeck design, the twin island concept being the latest entrant. An aircraft carrier’s bluff body geometry presents many challenges to the pilot, landing on deck being the most critical. The present study aims to undertake a computational investigation of the aerodynamic analysis of a Twin Island GAC (Generic Aircraft Carrier) conceptualized vis- à-vis its base variant. The flow over the twin island GAC flight deck and downstream is analysed using various transverse planes perpendicular to the flow direction as detailed in the paper. Subsequently, a parametric study was undertaken for understanding the effects of longitudinal translations of the two islands with respect to the baseline GAC position. The results depict the advantage of certain variants of twin islands over a single island, and ~68 % reduction in turbulence is achieved along the glideslope by one of the variations which could aid in reducing pilot workload. The data can act as a catalyst for utilization and incorporation in future floating platform designs and further studies in this field.

Increasing connectivity: Using operator event sequence diagrams to assess the integration of new technology within the flight deck

AbstractGrowing interest in “connected services” is set to revolutionize the design of future transport systems. In aviation, connected portable Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) would enable some of the traditional and more arduous preflight activities (e.g., route planning) to be conducted away from the flight deck. While this offers the opportunity to improve efficiency, any potential changes to the performance of the system need to be considered alongside the possible negative outcomes. The impact of EFBs on flight operations is assessed using Operator Event Sequence Diagrams (OESDs), which allow the operator interactions with technological systems to be mapped across different scenarios. This paper presents two OESDs: one focusing on current practise and one representing a “future” scenario whereby connected EFBs are commonplace. Our analysis predicts a 44% reduction in flight‐crew operational loading due to increased connectivity in the flight deck. Not only does the analysis highlight the reduction in operations but it also presents the utility of OESDs in the development of the connected EFBs of the future as well as their broader use in understanding the impact of new technologies on performance.

Examining the Future of Automation in Commercialized Flight and its Impact on Airline Pilots

The purpose of this study was to focus on the perceptions of an automated (unmanned) flight deck and its intended implementation in the U.S. airline industry. The objective was to understand fully autonomous aircraft’s influence on commercial pilots, as well as investigate the effects on the U.S. airline industry and human-machine interaction. Commercial airline pilots, including ranks of both Captains and First Officers (FO) in Part 121 scheduled service, were the research population for this study. The sample population number was 15 U.S. airline pilots offering various diversity in age, gender, years of service, airline employer, and military or civilian flight experience. The semi-structured qualitative research consisted of developing a deeper understanding of the pilots’ perceptions of the three-pronged approach: (1) the psychological barriers and motives of the pilot, (2) the differences in aircraft ground-based safety and training, and (3) pilots’ understanding of the timeliness of entry for unmanned flight deck operations to reach FAA standards. The study consisted of participant interviews utilizing a series of ten structured and semi-structured interview questions. The findings concluded that pilots are aware of the workload changes that are present with implementing fully autonomous aircraft in the Part 121 category. Two themes became evident when discussing workload changes. First, the role of the pilot changes from a single flight focus to a multi-flight monitor. Secondly, as technology advances, the pilot’s physical workload of hand flying an aircraft will constantly deteriorate. Furthermore, the advancement of a fully automated flight deck and its effects on the U.S. airline industry can potentially have significant impacts on the psychology of commercial airline pilots. While pilot responses varied based on individual experiences, attitudes, and adaptability, there were several psychological responses identified in this study, including (1) loss of control, (2) uncertainty toward technology, (3) job insecurity, and (4) adaptability. Last, the advancement of a fully autonomous flight deck will obviously create additional concerns for U.S. airline passengers. The most significant concerns for passengers included (1) safety, (2) trust, (3) passenger-pilot relationship, and (4) understanding of technology. Passengers will always question if modern technology has been thoroughly evaluated and if it can react to unexpected situations as safely and effectively as a human.

Conceptual Definition of A New Very-Light-Jet Aircraft Configuration

Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) is a world leader in the design and manufacturing of business aircraft. IAI has developed and introduced to the market several biz-jets (Westwind I and II, Astra-AKA Gulfstream G-100, and Galaxy- AKA Gulfstream G-200). All these aircraft have been in the midsize and recently "super-midsize" category. During the last two years, IAI has been evaluating a new aircraft design, the ProJet that belongs to the new, emerging category of "very-light jets" (VLJ). This lightweight twin turbofan aircraft is characterized by its small size and low target price, compared to existing IAI designs. The ProJet will be certificated to FAR23 normal category requirements, including single pilot operation. The ProJet exploits newly developed technologies and capabilities, such as: new, small and efficient turbofan engines; advanced low cost and sophisticated avionic systems; advanced low cost mechanical and electrical systems; rapid and efficient development and production methods. All these attributes will provide the capability of introducing a very low cost aircraft into the emerging new VLJ market sector. The ProJet is a twin turbofan, low wing, T-tail airplane utilizing an all-metal airframe; designed in accordance with damage tolerance requirements. It features a comfortable pressurized cabin with optimized seating for 6 occupants, including 2 pilots, and excellent performance. The ProJet will have a VFR range of 1200nm, a cruise ceiling of 41,000ft, and a cruise speed of 365kt. It will take-off and land on runways shorter than 3000ft. Generous allowance for baggage stowage is provided in the pressurized internal baggage compartment, and in the external rear baggage compartment. The ProJet flight deck features an all-glass cockpit with an integrated avionics package, designed for ease of operation and reduced workload. Composite materials are utilized in flight control surfaces and secondary structures. Two FADEC controlled turbofan engines mounted on the upper aft fuselage supply the ProJet power. Each engine generates about 1300 pounds static installed thrust at ISA +10°C.

Safety in Healthcare: From the Flight Deck to the Operating Room.

The recent health crisis has increased the workload and the stress levels of healthcare professionals around the world. Such stressful working environments are conducive to an increased incidence of medical errors. Implementing education and training specifically focused on human and organizational factors can promote teamwork and decrease the risk of error. Such techniques have been extensively deployed, most notably in commercial aviation. Numerous tools have been developed to reduce the risk of error associated with routine tasks, forgetting a task and handling alarm situations during commercial flights. Many of these tools can be transferred to the healthcare sector. After a brief recap about the importance of the working environment, this narrative review aims to highlight several specific tools used in commercial aviation that can be readily transferred to the operating theatre.

Estimation of the Fan Rotational Speed Using Flyover Audio Recordings

Aircraft noise emissions affect societies around the world by impacting the population’s health and land use planning. This calls for simulation tools able to predict these types of noise emissions with high accuracy. A crucial aircraft parameter to achieve satisfying precision is the rotating frequency of the low-pressure shaft of the turbofan engine, called N1. N1 determines the engine’s power use and is here estimated acoustically from ground-based microphones. A new method for dynamic N1 estimation is presented, which is more robust as compared to earlier approaches. It makes use of different aircraft sound characteristics and combines two methods. The first method tracks multiple fan tone harmonics over time within a de-Dopplerized sound pressure spectrogram. This frequency-tracking task is solved by dynamic programming to find the global optimum. The second method relates to buzz-saw noise, and is thus applied to departures only. The buzz-saw fundamental frequency is estimated in the cepstral domain. Both submethods are separately validated and assessed with concurrent sound pressure measurements and flight deck recording data of N1. The new robust N1 estimation method will be applied in noise measurement campaigns with the goal of improving current aircraft noise emission models.

SFS2 off-bow airwakes: Effects of Reynolds number and atmospheric boundary layers

The present work is concerned with identifying effects of Reynolds number and time-varying full-scale atmospheric boundary layers on the characteristics of the SFS2 ship airwake for a 0 deg headwind and -15 deg, -30 deg, and -60 deg off-bow winds using large eddy simulation. Reynolds number effects between a 1:50-scale wind tunnel model (Re1/50 = 2.9x106) and full-scale ship (ReL = 160x106) are investigated for a non-atmospheric boundary-layer inflow at 0 deg, -15 deg, -30 deg, and -60 deg wind angle. Atmospheric boundary-layer effects are studied for atmospheric boundary layers with two distinct levels of shear for a 0 deg headwind and -60 deg off-bow wind. Overall, headwind airwakes demonstrate Reynolds independence and full-scale atmospheric boundary-layer independence on the mean velocity profile sampled at multiple locations above the SFS2 flight deck, but notable changes in energy content and turbulence intensity both inside the airwake and in the freestream when full-scale atmospheric boundary-layer effects are simulated. The statistical quantities and flow field characteristics of off-bow airwakes are more sensitive to both significant changes in Reynolds number and inclusion of full-scale atmospheric boundary-layer effects.