Perspective Format for a Primary Flight Display (ADI) and its Effect on Pilot Spatial Awareness

A perspective format for a “Tunnel-in-the-Sky” primary flight display was evaluated in a part-task experiment to determine if it provided improved spatial situation awareness compared to a conventional electronic attitude director indicator. Body referenced visual direction to targets on the ground was used to measure spatial situation awareness. Underestimation of visual direction previously observed in laboratory conditions was replicated in the part-task environment. Conditions under which the the “Tunnel” display could provide less biased and more accurate situation awareness were also investigated.