This study examines the usefulness of providing cockpit automation training to career-minded pilots using automation equipment commonly found in small training airplanes. After mastering a set of tasks and maneuvers of varying difficulty using a small-airplane GPS navigation computer, autopilot, and flight director system, eight student pilots were then tested on their ability to complete a sim...

Billings (1996) and other researchers (e.g., Vakil, Hansman, Midkiff, & Vaneck, 1995) have concluded that pilot models of flight automation systems are incomplete and that these models cause operation and training problems (e.g., Mangold & Eldredge, 1995). Sherry and Polson (in preparation) describe a complete model of the avionics. This report summarizes that model and its application to the d...

A quasi-tailless flight investigation was launched using the X-31A enhanced fighter maneuverability airplane. In-flight simulations were used to assess the effect of partial to total vertical tail removal. The rudder control surface was used to cancel the stabilizing effects of the vertical tail, and yaw thrust vector commands were used to restabilize and control the airplane. The quasi-tailles...

A vision-based system for detecting and classifying moving obstacles in a cluttered environment using a single camera mounted on a small unmanned aerial vehicle is presented. Feature correspondences between successive image frames are found using the SIFT algorithm, and a model of the background motion is generated by Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC). The transformed frames are then differenced...