AN AT-SEA EXPERIMENT FOR THE COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF RADAR PILOTING TECHNIQUES

This report describes the second of two at-sea evaluations for a U.S. Coast Guard program to determine the effectiveness of various fixed, floating, and electronic aids to navigation on harbor pilotage. During this experiment the USCG Cutter RED BIRCH made 52 transits of straight channel legs in the upper Chesapeake Bay with local pilots using four different pilotage techniques. They were: visual pilotage on ranges, traditional radar pilotage, radar course cursor piloting on a RACON (Radar Beacons), and pilotage using the Sperry CAS II PATH display. The experiment used pilots' accuracy of judging their position within the channel as a primary measure for comparing effectiveness of the pilotage techniques. Results indicated that visual pilotage produced the best performance and that traditional radar pilotage was substantially poorer. The effectiveness of course cursor piloting on RACONS showed promise as a valuable technique, providing some of its implementation problems can be overcome. Use of the PATH display for pilotage proved only as effective as traditional radar, but there were indications that additional experience by the pilots would have substantially improved their performance. Recommendations are included both for improving the design of equipment and for further development of piloting techniques associated with the hardware.