COCKPIT WARNING SYSTEMS COMPARATIVE STUDY
Abstract
This study was conducted to determine the relative merits of supplementing aircraft visual/annunciator panel malfunction warning systems with a general alerting tone or with a voice recording identifying specific malfunctions. When a malfunction occurred, subjects pushed the one illuminated switch of sixteen malfunction indicators located on the annunciator panel. Subjects also performed a navigation task in which they momentarily positioned, under cross hairs, a series of navigational checkpoints displayed on rear- projected aerial strip photography. The photographic imagery moved across a 10- by-10-inch viewing screen at three simulated aircraft speeds: 340, 1160, and 2260 knots. One malfunction warning occurred during the last half of each test period. Although navigation performance (number of navigational checkpoints detected) decreased as simulated speed increased, this performance did not vary with the warning systems. The strictly visual annunciator panel malfunction warning system was the poorest system tested. The addition of a general alerting tone resulted in quicker and usually less variable responses at all aircraft speeds than did any of the other systems.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1969
- Accession Number
- AD0695462
Entities
People
- Almon J. Bate
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory