A Comparison of AH-64 Pilot Attitudes Toward Traditional and Glass Cockpit Crewstation Designs

Computers and multifunction displays (MFDs) are an integral part of several current Army rotary-wing aircraft. The cockpit design with these types of systems is sometimes called the "glass cockpit." MFDs and computers are also an integral part of the cockpit designs for planned future aircraft. A recent study noted that aircraft with a glass cockpit design have higher accident rates than corresponding aircraft with the traditional cockpit design. This finding suggested that the differences of crewstation design needed to be examined. To identify significant differences, this study assessed pilots' attitudes toward traditional and glass cockpit designs in the AH-64 Apache helicopter. The study identified which aspects of the different cockpit designs were most favorable or troublesome to the pilots, and identified differences in opinions across pilots who flew traditional or glass cockpit designs. The results of the study showed that in general pilots prefer the glass cockpit design of the AH-64D. However, AH-64D pilots did identify issues of higher mental workload and greater difficulty maintaining proficiency after long periods away from the aircraft.Army Aeromedical Research Lab Fort Rucker AL is the author of 'A Comparison of AH-64 Pilot Attitudes Toward Traditional and Glass Cockpit Crewstation Designs' with ISBN 9781423508977 and ISBN 1423508971.