Evaluation of Glare as a Hazard for General Aviation Pilots on Final Approach

Rogers JA, Ho CK, Mead A, Millian A, Beben M, Drechsler G

FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine - Civil Aerospace Medical Institute

关键词: Human Factors;    Aircraft Simulation;    Solar Panel Glare;    Airport;    Pilot Hazard;   

RP-ID  :  DOT/FAA/AM-15/12

美国|英语

来源: Federal Aviation Administration

【 摘 要 】

Solar power is a growing source of energy for airports and for their communities. While solar power panels provide a useful means to generate revenue and to provide energy locally, it does pose a potential hazard in the form of glare. In the current study, pilots were exposed to glare during a series of flights in a flight simulator, and their perceived impairment was recorded.During the approach phase of each flight, we simulated glare from one of four possible angles (0, 25, 50, and 90 deg left of straight ahead) and for glare durations of either 0 (no glare control), 1, and 5 s. The glare was simulated using halogen lamps that, under the lighting conditions of our lab, approximated the visual effect of solar glare. Subjective measures of impairment were recorded for each condition. There was a significant main effect of glare duration and a significant main effect of glare angle.Impairment was perceived as being worse for glare sources that are straight ahead of the pilot and of longer duration, with a gradual decline in impairment as the glare source moves toward the side of the pilot. However, there was no significant interaction between glare duration and of glare angle.