Abstract

In unstable flight, especially in instrument flight rules (IFR) conditions, a pilot must trust their instruments to make a safe recovery. In a standard general aviation aircraft, these instruments are visual in nature. The artificial horizon, altimeter, vertical speed indicator, and heading indicator must all be individually scanned by the eye and then interpreted by the pilot before action may be taken. In unstable flight, when the inner ear of an unseasoned pilot is veritably screaming that something is wrong, this process may prove to be difficult, if not impossible.

The purpose of this project will be to study the effects of haptic display integration on unstable flight recovery. Test subjects will be required to recover from simulated unstable flight conditions in micro-gravity with varying levels of haptic interface to their flight instruments. The purpose of micro-gravity is to safely recreate the disorientation experienced by a pilot in unstable flight.