Development of an Empirically-Based Index of Aircraft Mix

Details

• Creators:
  Pfleiderer, Elaine M.
• Corporate Creators:
  Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
• Corporate Contributors:
  FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Air Traffic Controllers Aviation Operations And Traffic Management Workload
• Publication/ Report Number:
  DOT/FAA/AM-03/8
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Oklahoma ; United States
• Edition:
  Final Report
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration
• Abstract:
  The present study is part of an ongoing effort to identify objective predictors of subjective air traffic controller workload. The study begins with a comparison of the salient variables governing en route controllers’ perceptions of the performance capabilities of a sample of aircraft and the actual performance of the aircraft in the en route environment. A group of 24 Certified Professional Controllers (CPCs) from Kansas City (N = 17) and Boston (N = 7) en route centers provided estimates of cruising speed, climb, and descent rates for a sample of 24 aircraft types. A matrix of squared Euclidean distances derived from summary measures (i.e., means of estimated speed, climb, and descent rates) was used to construct a classical multidimensional scaling (CMDS) model representing controllers’ perceptions of the performance capabilities of each aircraft type. A second matrix was derived from means of speed, climb, and descent rates for the same 24 aircraft types computed from a sample of live air traffic data collected from the Kansas City and Boston en route centers. This matrix was used to construct a second CMDS model representing actual aircraft performance. Interpretation of the dimensions of the CMDS model of ATC estimates suggested that Dimension 1 was related to engine type, whereas Dimension 2 was primarily associated with aircraft weight class. In the model of SAR data, both engine type and weight class were predominantly associated with Dimension 1. Results are used to develop a measure of aircraft mix (i.e., the mix of aircraft with different performance characteristics) to be added to a suite of controller activity and taskload measures.
• Format:
  PDF
• Collection(s):
  FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:f1ea8ff9b53327bea9c14cc633e91867e3e430d400d2759afe145a5d0b8122a1
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/40482/dot_40482_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 933.37 KB ]