Operational Experience with and Improvements to a Tunnel-in-the-Sky Display for Light Aircraft

Andrew K. Barrows, Keith W. Alter, Per Enge, Bradford W. Parkinson, and J. David Powell

Abstract:	A prototype GPS-based primary flight display has been developed at Stanford and is being used to evaluate operational issues through piloted simulation and flight testing. The display makes flying by instrument reference safer and easier by presenting an “out the window” view of the world, allowing the horizon, runway, and desired flight path to be seen even when flying in clouds. The flight path is depicted on the 3-D display as a tunnel through which the pilot flies the airplane, and predictor symbology provides seamless guidance along straight and curved flight paths. Differential GPS data is provided by the Stanford Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) and Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS) prototypes. Flight testing on a four-seat Piper Dakota has demonstrated enhanced ease of use over current displays, precise navigation on complex flight paths, and the potential for increased safety through situational awareness. Recent flight testing has also highlighted several operational issues that are addressed in this paper. The improvements described here were evaluated with simulation and flight testing on increasingly challenging flight profiles. Instrument approaches (including missed approaches and holding patterns) were flown with both conventional instrumentation and the tunnel display to allow comparative testing while maintaining compatibility with current ATC operations. Non-precision procedures were improved by the addition of glideslope information to provide a stabilized final approach. Flight technical error (FTE) and runway-relative position are used as the basis for comparison. The display was also used to fly profiles typical of those used in the remote sensing field to explore the ultimate achievable path following accuracy for such niche markets. This da~a is development of TERPS approaches. expected to be useful in the standards for future instrument
Published in:	Proceedings of the 10th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1997) September 16 - 19, 1997 Kansas City, MO
Pages:	791 - 799
Cite this article:	Barrows, Andrew K., Alter, Keith W., Enge, Per, Parkinson, Bradford W., Powell, J. David, "Operational Experience with and Improvements to a Tunnel-in-the-Sky Display for Light Aircraft," Proceedings of the 10th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1997), Kansas City, MO, September 1997, pp. 791-799.
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