Advanced Head-Up Display (HUD) Symbology: Aiding Unusual Attitude Recovery

Abstract

The head-up displays (HUD's) of today's fighter aircraft present numerous symbology formats to the pilot which are essential for successful perfomance of a variety of flight tasks from navigation to weapons delivery. One common element in all of these formats is the pitch ladder, designed to provide the pilot with aircraft attitude even in the absence of external visual cues. Unlike the head down attitude director indicator (ADI), the HUD pitch ladder's intent is to aid the pilot in recovering from an unusual attitude while staying head-up. The purpose of this research was to compare the relative effectiveness of two changes to current pitch ladder symbology designed to enhance the pilot's ability to recover from unusual attitudes –the use of angled pitch bars versus standard straight pitch bars, and multicolor versus the standard monochromatic symbology. The results showed that, in extreme unusual attitudes, the use of both the angled pitch bars and color contributed to better flight performance. In the non-extreme attitudes however, where the horizon line is always visible, the standard symbology was sufficient for recovery.

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