NASA's Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) project is developing technologies with practical applications that will help to eliminate low visibility conditions as a causal factor to civil aircraft accidents while replicating the operational benefits of clear day flight operations, regardless of the actual outside visibility condition. The paper describes experimental evaluation of a multi-mode 3-D exocentric synthetic vision navigation display concept for commercial aircraft. Experimental results...
Topics: ATMOSPHERIC MODELS, CLOUD COVER, CLOUD PHYSICS, CONTAMINATION, RADIATIVE TRANSFER, CLOUD HEIGHT...

Automation-induced complacency has been documented as a cause or contributing factor in many airplane accidents throughout the last two decades. It is surmised that the condition results when a crew is working in highly reliable automated environments in which they serve as supervisory controllers monitoring system states for occasional automation failures. Although many reports have discussed the dangers of complacency, little empirical research has been produced to substantiate its harmful...
Topics: MULTILAYER INSULATION, PERFORMANCE TESTS, THERMAL ANALYSIS, X-38 CREW RETURN VEHICLE, DEGRADATION,...

Research was conducted onboard a Gulfstream G-V aircraft to evaluate integrated Synthetic Vision System concepts during flight tests over a 6-week period at the Wallops Flight Facility and Reno/Tahoe International Airport. The NASA Synthetic Vision System incorporates database integrity monitoring, runway incursion prevention alerting, surface maps, enhanced vision sensors, and advanced pathway guidance and synthetic terrain presentation. The paper details the goals and objectives of the flight...
Topics: ASTRONOMICAL MODELS, GLOBULAR CLUSTERS, POPULATION II STARS, CHRONOLOGY, STELLAR PARALLAX,...

Eight 757 commercial airline captains flew 22 approaches using the Reno Sparks 16R Visual Arrival under simulated Category I conditions. Approaches were flown using a head-down synthetic vision display to evaluate four tunnel (''minimal'', ''box'', ''dynamic pathway'', ''dynamic crow s feet'') and three guidance (''ball'', ''tadpole'', ''follow-me aircraft'') concepts and compare their efficacy to a baseline condition (i.e., no tunnel, ball guidance). The results showed that the tunnel concepts...
Topics: AEROTHERMODYNAMICS, X-33 REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE, COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS, THERMAL PROTECTION,...