The Development of a Composite Score for Evaluating Nap-of-the-Earth Navigation

Interviews with experienced nap-of-the-earth (NOE) instructor pilots (IPs) indicate there are two major observable factors to consider in measuring the skill of an NOE navigator: navigational accuracy and speed. It was deemed desirable, therefore, to combined accuracy and speed into a single composite score so that NOE navigators can be compared even when they navigate with different styles (slow and accurate versus fast with course errors) over routes of different lengths. The score thus obtained should be a quantifiable, objective measure of the navigation performance of an aviator navigating at terrain flight altitudes. This measure of terrain navigation is designated by the acronym, TENAV.