This paper covers an analysis of the energy management task during the approach phase as well as the design of an experiment supporting this analysis. The energy management task is analyzed using the concept of energy rate demand, which expresses the amount of total energy to be lost in comparison to the minimal energy rate the aircraft can attain at the current speed and configuration. Energy rate demand is explicitly defined by the altitude and speed profile and indicates the demand put on the aircraft by the approach trajectory. A number of approach trajectories are analyzed including a conventional approach, a Continuous Descent Approach (CDA) and a new, experimental, Constant Energy Rate Demand Approach (CERDA). An experiment has been carried out using a total energy-based perspective flight-path display. The results are used to assess the benefits of adding energy information to a tunnel-in-the-sky display and to gain more insight into the energy management task by comparing the different types of energy management as well as energy rate demand with workload and performance. The hypothesis that adding energy information to a baseline tunnel-in-the-sky display will increase the pilot’s energy awareness is supported, however, the hypothesis that the workload would decrease with the energy display has been rejected. No relation could be found between energy rate demand, workload, and performance, rejecting the hypothesis that the performance would decrease and the workload increase with increasing energy rate demand.
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