Design and test of military cockpits

The IT revolution is dramatically affecting modern military cockpit design. Modern displays add multiple dimensions that contribute to being able to provide more information to the pilot. The abundance of information now available to the military pilot can easily overwhelm him. Whereas automating cockpit functions reduces the pilot workload, automation reduces the flexibility that the military pilot requires. Automation complicates the flight test of the cockpit. With automated tasks, the pilot is in a monitoring role where contemporary workload scales are ineffective for measuring pilot workload. Development of a pilot workload rating system that incorporates the cognitive pilot workload will improve cockpit designs. While efforts continue to focus on improving cockpit automation and the use of modern electronic display systems, reducing the effects of fatigue on the pilot will prevent pilot performance from being degraded and will result in an overall improvement in capability.