THE INFLUENCE OF DOMINANT EYE ON TASK PERFORMANCE WHILE FLYING USING NIGHT VISION GOGGLES AND FLIGHT AND MISSION DATA

INTRODUCTION: Helicopter pilots fly at night using Night Vision Goggles with flight and mission data (HUD) displayed to one eye. This configuration may pose a conflict of immersion either in the outer world or in data displayed, thus ignoring the other. The influence of eye dominancy and pilot's habit regarding HUD displays on performance and flight safety is unclear. METHODS: 26 helicopter pilots experienced in flying with HUD displays, participated in a prospective study in which they performed tasks in different levels of scenario and display loads using a HUD simulator. Performance was measured by reaction time and success rate of finding events in the scenario and in the HUD for both eves.