Development and Evaluation of a Modified VFR Lighted Flyway Marker

362 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2000.In air-to-ground visual search, size and color are the most important factors during daytime observations. Several testing schemes were developed to evaluate the effects of colors, color combinations, marking patterns, and size on the perceptibility of an object. Based upon these results, a commercially available structure manufactured by Sprung Instant Structure was obtained and modified to serve as a prototype marker. Flight evaluations of the prototype marker were conducted at the University of Illinois ATREL facility and Schaumburg Regional Airport. Based upon the results obtained in this study, the recommended size for the marker was a fourteen-panel structure with a 60-foot diameter and 26 feet in height. The colors and marking that were most conspicuous were tangerine orange and yellow, in an alternating, solid-colored pattern. For nighttime detection, computer simulation was utilized to determine the most conspicuous flashing pattern for a MVLFM beacon. According to the computer test results, the flashing characteristics of the Morse code letter 'S' resulted in the quickest detection, as confirmed by flight observations. Based upon findings in the literature and flight observations, the MVLFM beacon should be green in color. The results of this study indicate that the prototype could be implemented as a visual marker along the VFR flyway in the Chicago area. Further investigations will be necessary to fully understand the capability of the MVLFM as well as its impact on aviation around the Chicago area.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD