Study pilot workload during approach and landing

[Freshfighter]

I'm an engineering student from Belgium and I study at the faculty of aerospace engineering of the Technical University of Delft, The Netherlands. I'm currently doing a human factors study about the difficulties of an approach and landing. So i thought maybe this is a good place to reach many pilots of different experience at once. I'd be very gratefull for the feedback you could provide me on the next questions. They're quite general but will give me a good starting point for a more detailed study.

Note: where applicable please differentiate between IFR and VFR approaches.


1) Which fase (initial descent, ILS approach, approach stability, flare, touchdown, taxi) of an approach and landing do you find most difficult and why?

2) Which specific tasks during approach and landing do you find most difficult to combine?

3) Rank the following general tasks from high workload to low workload: Flight management task, Manual control task, Scanning and monitoring task, Air Traffic Control task.

4) Which external factors (e.g. bad wheather, disagreements with other crewmembers) do you find the most influencing on the general pilot workload?

5) Any other comments.

Extra information; if you could provide me with general information about yourself, this would be much appreciated:
- general aviation, commercial or military pilot?
- estimate of flight hours

Many thanks in advance!!!

[Freshfighter]

Pls reply, it will only take a couple minutes and you could really help me out here, since I don't have that much time left to complete the study!

[FlyingForFun]

I would guess the reason you haven't had any replies is because they are particularly difficult questions to answer!

I'll have a go. I only have very limited IFR experience, and I've never yet done an approach in actual IMC, so I'll limit my answers to visual approaches.

1) With very low hours (e.g. as a student pilot), the high workload of getting everything done downwind was hard. The roundout/flare was impossible. As I became more experience, the downwind checks became second nature, and the actual landing became hard. As I moved to faster and more complex aircraft, the landing itself has gradually become easier (but certainly isn't easy) but the downwind checks get harder with each additional complexity.

2) Life is a lot easier if you try not to combine things.

3) I really can't answer this question very well at all. Flight management tasks should hopefully be complete by the time you're on the approach, except for the approach and landing checks. Manual control will depend on the aircraft, the airfield, the weather, the traffic and many many other factors. Scanning and monitoring will again depend on lots of factors, mainly the level of traffic. And ATC will depend on lots of things - many of the airifields I fly to don't have ATC at all (but communication may still be just as important - possibly even more important - than at a controlled field, depending how busy the field is).

4) It is not the factor itself, but the intensity of the factor which is important. A bit of weather shouldn't cause any concern, whereas serious windshear at 50' with a crosswind that's near limits will (and I'd guess this is even more important on an instrument approach). Having stayed up late because you wanted to watch the end of the film last night shouldn't cause any concern, but the only time I've damaged an aircraft while landing it, one of the main reasons was fatigue that was well beyond staying up late to watch the end of a film.

Hope that helps with your study, even though I can't directly answer any of the questions.

FFF
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[Tinstaafl]

Your question is too broad to be answerable. There are so many variables that at different times any one of any of the things mentioned - and more - can be more, or less, of a limit than the others. Depends on the day: weather, traffic, particular aircraft qualities, airfield qualities/equipment/navaids/type of approach,single/multi crew, overall experience, particular experience in similar or same circumstances, other crew experience, recent experience, unserviceabilities, etc etc.

Some of the categories of tasks you've used encompass some of the others eg 'flight management' vs the other tasks you've mentioned. I understand 'flight management' to be all factors that relate to one's conduct of the flight including the choice of information sources, assignment of attention priorities, decisiions based on these things, execution of these decisions & finally a review process to determine outcomes & response.

[Freshfighter]

The task question is indeed underexplained and specified: i'll try to correct this.

flight management task: collection of all discrete tasks, so tasks tha have a limited time span, e.g. doing the landing checklist

manual control task: the continuous task of manually flying the airplane. If the autopilot is used, this can be replaced by an intensive continuous monitoring task.

scanning and monitoring: continuous task of perception of information on the state of the aircraft. So scaaning is the acquisition of data and understanding it, while monitoring stands for the guarding-function of the pilot with respect to the aircraft-state.

ATC task: includes the obvious comm tasks and the less obvious tasks imposed by the consequences of ATC-dictated altitudes and speeds. Both discrete tasks and continuous tasks.

[Freshfighter]

I'd like some replies if possible! Pls help me out!!!

[noisy]

All approaches flown VMC

1) Descent from cruise is a non-event
Approach stability is hard work. Judging the height above or below the approach path is particularly hard work as I don’t realise at first that I am deviating. Perception of runway alignment is easy as you can see that the rwy centre line should be vertical. Keeping that line vertical is something I find hard, particularly in a crosswind when the nose does not line up with the runway heading. The flare is still impossible for me in any crosswind.

2) Descending turn from base to final to arrive at height, heading & airspeed, whilst maintaining a visual lookout and radio awareness.

3)
High workload: Manual control
Scanning + monitoring
Low workload: ATC

Flight management tasks should be complete by the end of the downwind leg.

4) I find general pilot workload is increased by general stress caused by non flying tasks. E.g. pre-flight under time pressure. Refuelling from the (busy) pump. Documentation. Bad car journey to the airfield etc. etc. …..

I’m a PPL student with approx 15 hours. I responded to your post as I thought it might help me crystallise my thoughts about the way my studies are going. It took me half an hour. You may have more success if you approach your nearest flying club or an airline. These questions would be easier if asked in person to a large sample of pilots.
Sorry I can’t be more helpful. Good luck with your course.

[Polly Gnome]

Freshfighter

It is really difficult to answer your questions, but as you are a student I will have a go. (But as noisy suggests, it would be better to ask some pilots in person - Commercial pilots seem to fit your criteria better.)

It is late here and I am half asleep, so I hope the explanations are clear. By the way I am a fairly experienced PPL with an IMC.

1 Initial descent isn't particularly difficult if you have the runway in sight. This is because you keep the 'picture' of the runway where it should be. Descending on deadside/joining circuit and turning final are more difficult as even more observation is needed. ILS approach is OK ONCE you are established. Gentle movements should keep you steady. This is because the instrument is easy to follow as long as you are gentle. I found flare the most difficult to learn . It is especially challenging in a gusting cross wind as you have to keep correcting. This is because you use visual clues from the end of the runway and from your peripheral vision to judge the flare. Your perception changes with speed, width/length of runway and even texture of runway (I find it easier to flare on a grass runway than a tarmac). Taxi is not difficult unless there is a strong wind. Correct use of ailerons will help.

2 None really - final approach and landing is the busiest time. Calling 'final' is an automatic response, if I am overloaded I just 'click' to acknowledge rather than speak. I find an ILS approach in cloud AND using the radio difficult as my mind is fully occupied operating the aircraft in IMC/following instruments. However, practice improves this.

3 Aviate then navigate then communicate so -
Manual control task - aviate first, if you don't you have BIG problems. However for a single pilot (with no autopilot) in IMC, scanning and monitoring (I presume you mean instruments) is related to controlling the aircraft and is really difficult. It needs constant practice. Flight management - not sure what you are referring to, I think this relates more to commercial aviation. Communicating with Air Traffic Control comes with practice, but is obviously more important to commercial aviation than to me.

4 Weather obviously is a great factor in pilot workload. It is far easier to fly on a nice calm day than in IMC. However don't assume a nice summer's day is easy - haze can make navigation difficult to the point where you are almost in IMC, updrafts can make the aircraft bounce and it is difficult to hold an altitude.

5 I do not find interaction with crew members a problem as I only will fly with people I am comfortable with. There is a saying that you leave 50% of your mind on the ground when you fly. It isn't quite true, but so much of your mind is involved with flying that you have no space capacity to argue. If you do you are liable to have problems.

[chrisN]

VFR approaches in a glider:


1) approach stability most difficult - trying to monitor airspeed at the same time as lookout for conflicting traffic in the air and movements on the ground which might affect landing (gliders often land at aerodromes where there is not just a defined runway but a larger area shared by many gliders for landing).

2) Which specific tasks during approach and landing do you find most difficult to combine? Lookout and airspeed monitoring.

3) Rank the following general tasks from high workload to low workload: 1. Scanning and monitoring task, 2. Manual control task, 3. Flight management task, 4 Air Traffic Control task (rarely applies to gliding - have not found it a problem when going into aerodromes with ATC).

4) Which external factors (e.g. bad weather, disagreements with other crew members) do you find the most influencing on the general pilot workload? Other gliders sharing the same thermal, and other ground movements when approaching to land.

5) Any other comments.

Glider pilots' workload perceptions change with experience and circumstances, much as a car driver experiences. When first solo, manipulating the controls takes conscious thought, like operating the clutch and gears correctly in a car. After about 100 hours (typically - but varies of course) the control manipulations becomes more automatic, like a driver no longer has to think what to do to change gear. Finding a thermal, getting to its centre, and staying there, still require a great deal of attention.

After about 1000 hours (again, varying from one to another), thermalling becomes more automatic too.

Extra information;

I am primarily an amateur glider pilot, with about 1500 hours. I also gained a PPL for powered aircraft, but no longer use it.

Good luck with your research project - any chance of telling us the outcome, or making it available to interested people when you have finished it?

Chris N.
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