The Human in Flight

Publisher Summary Technological advances since the early days of flight have significantly transformed the aircraft cockpit and have altered the relationships among the human pilot, the aircraft, and the environment. Consistent with technological advances in aviation, the role of the pilot has evolved from one characterized by sensory, perceptual, memory, and motor skills to one characterized primarily by cognitive skills. This chapter aims: (1) to trace the technological evolution of the aircraft cockpit and of the flying task; (2) to describe issues inherent in the naturalistic side of the hybrid ecology, the need for correspondence, or accuracy in perception and judgment, in dealing with external environmental factors such as ambiguity and probabilism of cues, and the dangers of errors in correspondence; (3) to describe issues inherent in the electronic side of the hybrid ecology, including the need for analytical and consistent use of information, the need for coherence, or rational use of data and information in dealing with the internal, electronic environment, and the dangers of coherence errors; and (4) to discuss the integration of the two sides of the hybrid ecology and challenges for the design of Next Generation (NextGen) aircraft.