Citation

Palmisano S, Favelle S, Sachtler WL. J. Exp. Psychol. Appl. 2008; 14(3): 236-246.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia. Stephenp@uow.edu.au

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/a0012659

PMID

18808277

Abstract

This study examined three visual strategies for timing the initiation of the landing flare based on perceptions of either: (a) a critical height above ground level; (b) a critical runway width angle (Psi); or (c) a critical time-to-contact (TTC) with the runway. Visual displays simulated landing approaches with trial-to-trial variations in glideslope, lighting, and scene detail. Twenty-four participants (8 private pilots, 8 student pilots, and 8 nonpilots) were instructed to initiate the flare when they perceived that their TTC with the runway (30 m wide by 840 m long) had reached a critical value of 2 seconds. Our results demonstrated a significant effect of flight experience on flare timing accuracy and dominance of the height-based strategy over the runway-width-angle and TTC-based strategies.

Language: en