Tom22 Posted October 7, 2009 Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 (edited) Do color displays on instruments influence pilot performance and if so in what ways? I’m curious to see thoughts on this subject. Thanks for the responses. Edited October 7, 2009 by Tom22 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoFlyer Posted October 7, 2009 Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 (edited) I'm not sure I understand what you mean by color displays. Do you mean the green, yellow, and red markings that denote various limitations? If so, of course they influence pilot performance. It gives an easy to read "quick reference" for limitations, enabling a pilot to easily determine the status of that parameter. If the color marking wasn't there you would have no easy way to quickly reference that gauge, and could easily exceed a limitation while you are trying to read the gauge. A good example is the TOT gauge on a turbine helicopter; without the color markings it would be very difficult to determine if you are exceeding start limitations before it's too late and you've hot started the aircraft. Edited October 7, 2009 by PhotoFlyer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom22 Posted October 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 (edited) I'm not sure I understand what you mean by color displays. Do you mean the green, yellow, and red markings that denote various limitations? If so, of course they influence pilot performance. It gives an easy to read "quick reference" for limitations, enabling a pilot to easily determine the status of that parameter. If the color marking wasn't there you would have no easy way to quickly reference that gauge, and could easily exceed a limitation while you are trying to read the gauge. A good example is the TOT gauge on a turbine helicopter; without the color markings it would be very difficult to determine if you are exceeding start limitations before it's too late and you've hot started the aircraft. Good response, but why not use different shades of gray to designate limitations? For example, light gray would indicate normal operations and dark gray would designate exceeded limitations. Edited October 7, 2009 by Tom22 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arotrhd Posted October 7, 2009 Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 #1: FAA said so. #2: Differential colors are easier to visually discriminate for general population than gradations of B&W; also, gradations require higher levels of controlled lighting and will take longer to process. Hint: we are daytime VFR creatures who utilize more of our cones (color perception) than rods (darkness) - that's 'hows we survived these ages, as you know all too well. #3: See #1. Ok, for real...I'll use pt. 27: TITLE 14--AERONAUTICS AND SPACE CHAPTER I--FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PART 27--AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS: NORMAL CATEGORY ROTORCRAFT--Table of Contents Subpart F--Equipment Sec. 27.1322 Warning, caution, and advisory lights. If warning, caution or advisory lights are installed in the cockpit, they must, unless otherwise approved by the Administrator, be-- ( a ) Red, for warning lights (lights indicating a hazard which may require immediate corrective action): ( b ) Amber, for caution lights (lights indicating the possible need for future corrective action); ( c ) Green, for safe operation lights; and ( d ) Any other color, including white, for lights not described in paragraphs ( a ) through ( c ) of this section, provided the color differs sufficiently from the colors prescribed in paragraphs ( a ) through ( c ) of this section to avoid possible confusion. -WATCH FOR THE WIRES- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palmfish Posted October 7, 2009 Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 Good response, but why not use different shades of gray to designate limitations? For example, light gray would indicate normal operations and dark gray would designate exceeded limitations. Why not use shades of gray for traffic lights? A dark gray light means stop, a medium gray light means caution, and a light gray light means go. Stop signs would be dark gray too. And construction zones, crosswalks, etc. would be marked by medium gray signs. Speed limit and other advisory signs will remain light gray/white. While I'm thinking about it, I don't really need that 60" plasma TV either. I think I'll save the money and go find a 13" black and white set for my home theater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom22 Posted October 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 (edited) Good observation Palmfish! We all know that we use color-coding in our society; for example, green means go and red means stop. Does this carry over to instrument displays? If you saw some green on a weather radar display, does this give you the okay to fly through it? After all, green means go. Well, the answer is it depends, right? Moreover, if we are performing aerobatics in an airplane and pulling heavy G loads than one of the first senses to go is color vision. Did you know that? How might color-coding on instrument display affect cognitive processing in this situation? I’ll have to dig up a study from Wright-Patterson AFB that might change your perspective on this subject. I like colors too guys. I’m not advocating going to black and white. Edited October 7, 2009 by Tom22 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom22 Posted October 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 #1: FAA said so. #2: Differential colors are easier to visually discriminate for general population than gradations of B&W; also, gradations require higher levels of controlled lighting and will take longer to process. Hint: we are daytime VFR creatures who utilize more of our cones (color perception) than rods (darkness) - that's 'hows we survived these ages, as you know all too well. Good insight Can you cite what FAA publication #2 of your response is in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arotrhd Posted October 7, 2009 Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 Tom- As I have completed my grad studies relating to wire strike avoidance & education(ERAU-EC '02), eye physiology & cognition were not necessarily the focus of my research, but were discussed. Maybe not the FAA per se, but you asked for it... SAE Publications: Available from SAE, 400 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA 15096-0001. AS264D Instrument and Cockpit Lighting for Commercial Transport Aircraft ARP571 Flight Deck Controls and Displays for Communication and Navigation Equipment for Transport Aircraft ARP1068 Flight Deck Instrumentation, Display Criteria and Associated Controls for Transport Aircraft AIR1093 Numeral, Letter, and Symbol Dimensions for Aircraft Instrument Displays ARP1161 Crew Station Lighting - Commercial Aircraft ARP1782 Photometric and Colorimetric Measurement Procedures for Direct View CRT Displays ARP1874 Design Objectives for CRT Displays for Part 25 (Transport) Aircraft ARP4032 Human Engineering Considerations in the Application of Color to Electronic Aircraft Displays, 1998 ARP4067 Design Objectives for Electronic Displays for Part 23 Aircraft ARP4102 Core Document, Flight Deck Panels, Controls and Displays, 1994 ARP4102/4 Flight Deck Alerting Systems ARP4102/7 Electronic Display Symbology ARP4256 Design Objectives for Liquid Crystal Displays for Part 25 (Transport) Aircraft, 1996 ARP4260 Photometric and Colorimetric Measurement Procedures for Airborne Direct View Flat Panel Displays,1998 ARD50083 Human Factors Issues Associated with Cockpit Display of Traffic Information (CDTI) ARP5108 Human Interface Criteria for Terrain Separation Assurance Display Technology AS8034 Minimum Performance Standards for Airborne Multipurpose Electronic Displays, 1993 FAA Publications: Available from Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20591. HF-STD-001 -Human Factors Design Standard, 2003. (See especially Sect. 8.6) Available for download at http://hf.tc.faa.gov/hfds FAR Part 23 -Airworthiness Standards: Normal, Utility, Acrobatic, and Commuter Category Airplanes FAR Part 25 -Airworthiness Standards: Transport Category Airplanes FAA Advisory Circular No. 25-11. Transport Category Airplane Electronic Display Systems, 1987 FAA Advisory Circular No: 120-76 Guidelines for the Certification, Airworthiness, and Operational Approval of Electronic Flight Bag Computing Devices, 2002 FAA TSO-C113 -Airborne Multipurpose Electronic Displays, 1986 DOT/FAA/AR-99/52, DOT-VNTSC-FAA-98-5 Guidelines for the Use of Color in ATC Displays. Cardosi, K. Hannon, D., 1999 DOT-VNTSC-FAA-00-22, Human Factors Considerations in the Design and Evaluation of Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs), Version 2. Chandra, Divya C., Yeh, Michelle, Riley, Vic, and Mangold, Susan J., DOT/FAA/AM-01/17, Human Factors Design Guidelines for Multifunction Displays. Mejdal, S., McCauley, M.E., Beringer, D.B. 2001 DOT/FAA/OAM-TM-03-01 Multi-Function Displays: A Guide for Human Factors Evaluation. Chamberlain, R. M., Heers, S. T., Mejdal, S., Delnegro, R. A., & Beringer, D. B., 2003 ANSI/AIAA Publications: ANSI/AIAA R-023A-1995 Human-Computer Interfaces for Space System Operations, 1995 RTCA Publications: DO-174 Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Optional Equipment which Displays Non-Radar Derived Data on Weather and Ground Mapping Radar Indicators, 1981 DO-173 Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Airborne Weather and Ground Mapping Pulsed Radars, 1980 RTCA DO-243 Guidance for Initial Implementation of Cockpit Display of Traffic Information DO-185A Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System II (TCAS II), 1997 Other Publications: ICAO Doc 9758-AN/966 Human Factors Guidelines for Air Traffic Management (ATM) Systems, First Ed., 2000, International Civil Aviation Organization. NATS Standard for the Use of Colour on Air Traffic Control Displays, 1998. Metcalfe, C., & Reynolds, L. ( R&D Report 9834). London: National Air Traffic Services Ltd. mil-std-1787B Military Interface Standard: Aircraft Display Symbology mil-hdbk-87213 Military Handbook: Electronically/Optically Generated Airborne Displays air std 10/56D Electronically and Optically Generated Displays Formats and Symbology for Fixed Wing Aircraft air std 10/72 Electronic Colour Display Systems air std 61/113/3e Colors and Markings Used to Denote Operating Ranges of Aircraft Displays air std 61/116/6d Human Engineering Design Criteria for the Use of Aircrew Station Controls and Displays air std 65/14B Airfield Marking and Lighting Color Standards (ICAO Publication Annex 14, Vol. 1, App. 1, 2nd d., July, 1995) Non-Aerospace Guidelines and Standards for Color Usage ISO Publications: ISO 9241-1 Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs): - Part 3: Visual display requirements ISO 9241-1 Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs): - Part 7. Display requirements with reflections ISO 9241-1 Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs): - Part 8. Requirements for displayed colours ISO 13406-2 Ergonomic requirements for work with visual display terminals employing flat panel technology - Part 2: Ergonomic requirements for flat panels DIN EN 29 241 Ergonomic Requirements for Office Work with Visual Display Terminals (VDTs). (Same as ISO 9241) ASTM Publications: ASTM E 308-99 Standard Practice for Computing the Colors of Objects by using the CIE System ASTM E 1455 Standard Practice for Obtaining Colorimetric Data from a Visual Display Unit Using Tristimulus Colorimeters ASTM E 1682-96 Standard Guide for Modeling the Colorimetric Properties of a Visual Display Unit ASTM E 1347-97 Standard Test Method for Color and Color-Difference Measurement by Tristimulus (Filter) Colorimetry ASTM E 1164-94 Standard Practice for Obtaining Spectrophotometric Data for Object-Color Evaluation ASTM D 1535-00 Standard Practice for Specifying Color by the Munsell System ASTM E 1360-90 Standard Practice for Specifying Color by using the Optical Society of America Uniform Color Scales System ASTM D 2244-93 Standard Test Method for Calculation of Color Differences from Instrumentally Measured Color Coordinates Other Publications: CIE Publication No. 15.2 (1986) - Colorimetry, 2nd Edition NASA –STD-3000, Vol. 1. Man-Systems Integration Standards, Rev. B, 1995. mil-std-1472F Human Engineering Design Criteria for Military Systems, Equipment, and Facilities mil-hdbk-87213 Military Handbook: Electronically/Optically Generated Airborne Displays Invitation to PM me if...always looking out for other Eagles. -WATCH FOR THE WIRES- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom22 Posted October 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 Awesome! Glad to see other Eagles on the forum. Thanks for the PM invitation and I will let you know if I need any insight or help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomer Pylot Posted October 7, 2009 Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 Green means go on the weather radar too. I wouldn't hesitate to fly through an area of green return, based solely on that. I've flown through yellow many times, and it's usually only moderate to light rain. Often green returns don't even reach the ground. But you have to remember that all the colors on a weather radar are false colors, produced by a microchip, and you need a more complete picture if it's available. But in night IMC, without other aids, green is certainly go. But avoid the magenta at all costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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