THE OUTSIDE VISUAL CUES REQUIRED TO HOVER A HELICOPTER OR V/STOL AND TO LAND A FIXED WING AIRCRAFT USING ARTIFICIAL DISPLAYS IN A SIMULATION ENVIRONMENT.

THE OUTSIDE VISUAL CUES REQUIRED TO HOVER A HELICOPTER OR V/STOL AND TO LAND A FIXED WING AIRCRAFT USING ARTIFICIAL DISPLAYS IN A SIMULATION ENVIRONMENT. EXPERIENCE HAS SHOWN THAT EVEN WITH THE MOST ADVANCED MULTIPLE WINDOW, COMPUTER GENERATED DISPLAYS, PILOTS HAVE A CONSIDERABLY MORE DIFFICULT TIME PERFORMING HOVER TASKS AND LANDINGS IN THE SIMULATOR THAN IN FLIGHT. THE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS OF THE REDUCED VISUAL CUE ENVIRONMENT ARE NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD, PRIMARILY BECAUSE IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO SIMULATE THE FULL SPECTRUM OF VISUAL CUE ELEMENTS WITH EXISTING DISPLAYS. THE APPROACH TAKEN IN THIS PROJECT IS TO OBTAIN THE REQUIREDINFORMATION IN THE REAL WORLD ENVIRONMENT OF FLIGHT TEST BY SELECTING A RANGE OF VISUAL ENVIRONMENTS AS WELL AS BY DEGRADING CERTAIN COMPONENTS OF THE VISUAL CUES ARTIFICIALLYWITH SPECIAL LENSES WORN BY THE PILOT.