The investigation of pilots' eye scan patterns on the flight deck during an air-to-surface task

Abstract

Twenty qualified mission-ready F-16 pilots participated in this research. The ages of participants are between 26 and 46 years old (M=33, SD=6); total flying hours between 400 and 3,250 hours (M=1358, SD=882); F-16 type flying hours between 101 and 2,270 hours (M=934, SD=689). Eye movement data were collected by a head-mounted ASL (Applied Science Laboratory) Mobile Eye which was 76 grams in weight, combined with F-16 flight simulator, a dynamic high fidelity trainer that replicates actual aircraft performance, navigation and weapon systems. The scenario is an air-to-surface task. Participants have to intercept the proper route and turn toward the target at an altitude of 500 feet with speed of 500-KIAS, then performing a steep pop-up manoeuver to increase altitude abruptly for appropriate reconnaissance, following by dive and roll-in toward the target to avoid hostile radar lock-on. When approaching the target, subjects have to roll-out, level the aircraft, aiming at the target, release the weapon, and finally pull-up with a 5 ∼ 5.5 G-force to break-away from the range. The results show significant differences in pilots' number of gaze points among five different AOIs, F (4, 95) = 533.84, p