Monocular Vision and Landing Performance in General Aviation Pilots: Cyclops Revisited

Thirteen low-time, but current, private pilots flew 18 monocular landings (with an eyepatch placed over the non-dominant eye during the downwind leg) and 18 normal binocular landings. To assure equal effort under both conditions, pilots were told that they were in a spot landing contest with from $200 to $40 in prizes awarded on the basis of total accuracy on both monocular and binocular trials. No pilot was familiar with any prior research regarding monocular/binocular landing ability. Monocular landings were as accurate as binocular landings, but monocular approaches were flown higher/steeper, those landings tended to be longer and harder, the pilots judged them to be poorer, and they reported greater anxiety during the monocular landings. These results more nearly duplicate one study with military jet pilots but failed to confirm a second study which showed that similar low-time pilots landed significantly better monocularly. The results of that study (Cyclops II) must be considered an artifact of the methodology used. Evidence to date suggests that both high-time and low-time pilots can land as accurately monocularly (not better) but that monocular approaches and landings are flown differently.