FEASIBILITY TEST OF TELEVISED RADAR.
Abstract
The usefulness to general aviation pilots of ground-to-air relay of airport surveillance radar was tested in VFR weather. TV equipped aircraft flew standard routes in the Boston, Massachusetts, area employing the televised picture for traffic and navigation information, while comparison data runs were flown without the new display. All 14 pilots reported some degree of success in using the televised radar picture, 11 reporting it easy to identify their own blips, 10 stating that radar aided visual search for traffic, and 12 finding that the TV-radar information helped in navigation. Major determinants of success appear to be the quality of the picture and the degree of prior radar familiarization. Records were made of impact upon performance of normal pilot duties. On nine flights the Command Pilot recorded a potential safety factor, apparently related to over concentration on the television. On TV flights about one-half of the subject pilots' time was spent attending to TV, although there was evidence of a learning curve after some practice. While preparatory to any limited implementation further experimentation will be required to improve the location and quality of the display and to determine the optimum rules of use, it was concluded that televised radar in the cockpit is feasible in concept. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1966
- Accession Number
- AD0650205
Entities
People
- Richard L. Sulzer