Assessing Pilot Workload in Flight

Abstract

Currently, the most used and probably most reliable methods of estimating levels of pilot workload in flight are those based on some form of subjective reporting by experienced test pilots. But subjective opinions are susceptible to bias and to pre-conceived ideas and so the use of a second and more objective measure to augment these opinions would seem to offer distinct advantages. This paper describes the way in which a pilot's heart rate can be recorded to support, or occasionally question, his subjective rating of workload. A small number of examples from RAE Bedford trials are presented to illustrate the technique, and a short description is given of the BAe 146 Crew Complement Certification exercise. Finally, a current flight experiment to compare heart rate levels and workload ratings in a more scientific manner is described.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 1984
Accession Number
ADP004109

Entities

People

  • Alan H. Roscoe

Organizations

  • Royal Aircraft Establishment

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Biomedical
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Airplanes
  • Control Systems
  • Data Analysis
  • Flight
  • Flight Decks
  • Heart Rate
  • Human Factors Engineering
  • Jet Transport Aircraft
  • Measurement
  • Observers
  • Performance Tests
  • Psychophysiology
  • Task Forces
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Transport Aircraft
  • Workload

Readers

  • Aviation Science / Aeronautics.
  • Theoretical Analysis.