Depiction of Vertical Flight Paths for NextGen Arrival and Departure Instrument Flight Procedures

2019PDFResearch PaperAeronautical chartsAir pilotsFlight pathsApproachArrivals and departuresHuman factorsAir traffic controlVertical flight pathsNextGenUnited StatesChandra, Divya CJohn A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)United States. Federal Aviation Administration. Human Factors DivisionVolpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference CenterCharts for instrument approach procedures have a vertical profile view that pilots can refer to during the final stages of the approach to the runway. However, there is no similar view of vertical flight path on charts for arrival and departure procedures. We studied whether a depiction of vertical flight path is feasible for arrivals and departures and whether it could help pilots manage procedures such as Optimized Profile Descents (OPDs), which are becoming common in the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). We identified sample procedures with challenging features including multiple flight path transitions, multiple constraints, course reversals, and many waypoints. Then we developed low-fidelity static prototypes and gathered informal feedback from airline pilots and chart developers. Based on their feedback and prior research, we developed a list of design considerations for both static and dynamic displays of vertical flight path for arrivals and departures.79