A Proof of Concept of an Airborne Visibility Indicator

Every year U.S. Army and civil aviation loses lives and aircraft due to spatial disorientation experienced during periods of minimal visibility or inadvertent entry into instrument meteorological conditions. Flights sometime end catastrophically when an aircraft flies into terrain or water. It is the duty of the pilot-in-command of a single-aircraft mission, or of the air mission commander in a multi-aircraft operation, to determine the prevailing visibility through which they will be traveling. U. S. Army rotary-wing pilots have always had to use their judgment and experience to subjectively assess the enroute visibility. As weather deteriorates, pilots must rely on their subjective analysis to formulate a course of action: to proceed, alter, or abort the mission. Advances in state-of-the-art technologies may be able to provide military and civil pilots with objective visibility data presented via a cockpit instrument (an Airborne Visibility Indicator (AVI)) which could provide the necessary objective real-time information from which an informed decision to proceed with or abort a mission can be made. Prior to the actual expense of developing such an instrument, this proof of concept project was conducted to determine if such a concept was practical, would enhance situational awareness, and serve as a countermeasure to inadvertent entry into visual conditions conducive to spatial disorientation (SD). In general, data from this proof of concept investigation indicated that an AVI would be a useful tool, was favorably received by aircrews, and was a countermeasure to SD. Based on the findings and conclusions of this proof of concept project, it is recommended that the development of an AVI be continued and a USAARL Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) proposal topic be submitted for consideration.