A Simulation Evaluation of a Human-Centered Approach to Flight Deck Procedures and Automation for en Route Free Maneuvering

Introduction In June 2004, research teams at the NASA Ames and Langley Research Centers conducted a joint human-in-the-loop simulation investigating the feasibility and operational benefits of a free flight concept under consideration by NASA's Distributed Air Ground Traffic Management (DAG-TM) effort. The goal of DAG-TM is the expansion of airspace capacity and, to this end, several concepts have been developed and evaluated as part of this effort. The concept evaluated in this simulation was called En Route Free Maneuvering. The premise was that greater efficiency and capacity could be gained through a redistribution of roles and responsibilities, and attendant decision-making, to the aircraft operators (e.g., flight crews) and the air traffic management system (e.g., air traffic controllers). The envisioned solution requires new human-centered operational paradigms enabled by advances in decision support tools: information sharing; communication, navigation, and surveillance; air traffic management technologies; and procedures supporting distributed separation responsibilities.