Geographic Orientation in Aircraft Pilots: Contemporary Charts and Pilot Performance

摘要

Three different aeronautical charts were evaluated in terms of their relative effectiveness as visual navigation aids. Geographic orientation performances of three groups of pilots were measured under conditions of simulated, VFR, flight. One group used the Sectional Aeronautical Chart, another used the Operational Navigation Chart (ONC), and a third used the Pilotage Chart (PC). After a practice sortie, each pilot flew two test sorties over different routes of simulated flight. The poorest performances were achieved with the PC on one route and with the ONC on the other route. Pilots using the Sectional performed as well as or better than those using either the PC or the ONC on both routes. It was concluded that the relative effectiveness of aeronautical charts is specific to the terrain over which the pilots must navigate. The PC was an effective navigation aid when used over terrain having a substantial number of visual landmarks, but was less effective than the other charts when used over terrain having few available landmarks. (Author)