SIMULATION TESTS OF FLIGHT TECHNICAL ERROR IN 2D/3D AREA NAVIGATION (RNAV) USING A MULTIPLE WAYPOINT RNAV SYSTEM WITH AND WITHOUT A FLIGHT DIRECTOR SYSTEM

Six pilots participated in a series of flight simulation tests employing solo pilot techniques which were conducted at the National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center (NAFEC) in the cockpit Simulation Facility in order to measure Total System Crosstrack (TSCT) and Flight Technical Error (FTE) using a multiple waypoint storage 2D/3D area navigation (RNAV) system. The tests were designed to assess pilot performance as a function of the interexperimental variables: (1) 2D RNAV mode versus 3D RNAV mode, (2) flight director versus no flight director, (3) insertion of an impromptu waypoint into a previously entered flight plan, and (4) different route structures. Performance was measured on the variables: horizontal tracking, vertical tracking, airspeed control, and procedural performance. Major findings include less TSCT error in the 2D mode, improved tracking accuracy using the flight director, and FTE consistently less than the amount budgeted in AC-90-45A. No statistically significant differences were found for the impromptu waypoint entry; however, one-third of the impromptus resulted in either blunders or procedural errors (including wrong information entered or large overshoots at the waypoint prior to the impromptu segments).