COMPARISON OF HELICOPTER COPILOT WORKLOAD WHILE USING THREE NAVIGATION SYSTEMS DURING NAP-OF-THE-EARTH FLIGHT

Three different generic navigation systems were examined for their effects on copilot/navigator workload and performance during nap-of-the-earth (NOE) flight. The navigation systems examined were: (1) the conventional 1:50,000 scale topographic hand-held map, (2) a Doppler navigation system in conjunction with a hand-held map, and (3) a projected map system driven by Doppler signals in conjunction with a hand-held map. Eighteen subjects performed copilot/navigator duties in an Army JUH-1H utility helicopter flown by a pilot from the US Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory (USAARL), Fort Rucker, Alabama. Data collected include copilot/navigator eye movements, pilot-copilot communications and aircraft flight path. From the summary statistics, it appears that automatic navigation systems like the ones used in this project may reduce navigation workload and improve navigation performance.