IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2019 - 78

Understanding How Satellites and Software
Applications Operate
Satellites, tablets, and software applications can be
described as relatively recent technological developments and are not necessarily part of high school education. Do GA pilots know how satellites operate? Do
they understand that a tablet can turn off at any time
or that an Internet connection can be lost when in
flight? These concerns not only arise for older GA
pilots, but for younger pilots as well. Technologies
evolve rapidly and even younger people might fail to
follow developments. A willingness to learn about
science and engineering, bearing in mind that the
background of GA pilots varies from engineering to
finance, from pilot to pilot. To combat this, technologies often feature in seminars run by flying clubs and
pilot associations and in pilots' magazines, in an
attempt to inform the GA population rather than to
teach them how to use the technologies. In the end it
is still up to the individual pilot to take an interest and
use his/her initiative.

Pilots relying on Global Navigation
Satellite Systems could find
themselves flying in conditions
beyond their capabilities.
Mounting the Tablet on the Cockpit Panel
Traditionally, paper aeronautical charts are placed flat
on the knees of the pilots along with all the other
paper documents the pilots carry on-board. From discussions with pilots,1 the tablet is often placed on the
knee, probably as a natural reaction to the replacement of the paper charts, or it is mounted on the top
of the cockpit panel. The location of the tablet is really
a preference of the pilot. If the pilot needs to touch the
screen during the flight the tablet will be placed at a
distance where the pilot will be able to do so. In addition, in cases where the software application uses the
GNSS receiver of the tablet for positioning, the tablets
need to be placed at a position that enhances the performance of the receiver, e.g., close to the window.
Similar performance issues apply for the external
GNSS receivers, as the receiver should be within reach
of the pilot who either reads or touches it. It is worth
1

Interviews: N = 27 general aviation pilots flying in Finland, Norway and the
United Kingdom in 2015.

noting that there are no best practices as to where to
mount the tablet on a panel that was designed well
before tablets appeared.

Engagement of the Pilot with the Tablet: Digital
Information and Presentation
The presentation of information on a tablet is not at all
standardized. Color pallets vary among software applications, as does the size and font of letters. These variations degrade pilot performance [11], [12]. Considering
GA demographics, older pilots are likely to be longsighted affecting their ability to read. Understanding the
scale of the map is again another issue, as the features
presented change perspective as the user zooms in and
out. In a static manner, the presentation of icons affects
the engagement of the user with the device. In a simulation study with general aviation pilots [13], pilots
responded faster when icons were associated with the
cause of the failure than when they were associated
with a related aircraft indicator. Furthermore, studies of
which weather information pilots are more likely to
review indicated that pilots are not necessarily interested in all of the weather parameters, implying the importance of prioritizing presentation of weather information
to pilots [14].

Misperception that the Tablet is a High
Level Automated Technology
Despite the increased amount of information, a tablet
only shows a portion of the available aeronautical information, in particular, the pilot's aircraft position, airspace details, and the terrain. It does not show nearby
traffic nor does it make decisions for the pilot. Pilots
search for information, e.g., weather information, and
look out the window to become aware of traffic. As
GNSS performance cannot yet be completely precise
and accurate to the required level for such a safety critical activity, pilots still need to navigate visually. Until
further developments are made, these technologies can
only be used as information providers and only for certain aspects, e.g., terrain and airspace features and
weather information.

Reliance on the Technologies
Studies of pilot decision making when a GNSS was
available indicated that pilots could rely on the GNSS
and find themselves flying in conditions beyond their
capabilities, including navigating in adverse weather
conditions [15]. Presenting this spatial information on a
graphic display with a moving map, i.e., on a tablet, the
pilots are overwhelmed with information. The aircraft's
position is visually co-presented with respect to the
nearby airspace and the terrain. In the future, with additions of graphic information for weather and nearby

IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

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SEPTEMBER 2019

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2019

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