Limited Study of Flight Simulation Evaluation of High-Speed Runway Exits

The provision of high-speed runway exits is one of several alternatives to increase airport runway capacity through reductions in runway occupancy time. The Runway Exit Design Interactive Model developed at Virginia Tech proposes new geometric design standards for high-speed turnoffs and an algorithm to locate optimal runway exits. The results from a limited flight simulation study that was conducted to assess the operational suitability of high-speed runway exits developed at Virginia Tech are presented. The flight simulation experiments were conducted at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City in a Boeing 727-200, 6-degree-of-freedom, full-motion-base aircraft simulator. The study used six FAA pilots rated in the Boeing 727-200 aircraft to obtain information about the operational suitability of the proposed high-speed exits. Pilot responses were extracted from questionnaires that were administered during the flight-simulation experiments. Aircraft state variable time histories extracted from the flight simulator computer were analyzed to verify the dynamic behavior of the aircraft as high-speed runway exits were negotiated. Two statistical experiments were carried out to evaluate the acceptance of the high-speed exit designs: (a) a two-factor analysis of variance test to verify differences in runway exit speeds and (b) nonparametric tests of pilots questionnaire responses. The results suggest that a new generation of high-speed runway exit geometries could be used to increase runway exit speeds without compromising safety or inducing extra workload on pilots.