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2009 Annual Forum
View Abstract
Cockpit Systems Design and Pleasure of Flying: From Conception to Realization
Pascal Alberti, Université de Technologie de Compiègne, pascal.alberti@utc.fr
Mustapha Mouloua, University of Central Florida, mouloua@ucf.edu
Pierre-Henri Dejean, Université de Technologie de Compiègne, pierre-henri.dejean@utc.fr
The pleasure of flying has always intrigued and fascinated a wide variety of pilots, ranging from aero club members to professional and military pilots, for the quest of the high skies. Since the first mechanized airplane flown by the Wright brothers, the aerospace industry has witnessed a remarkable progress in the design of planes of all sizes and engines. One common characteristic that these pilots exhibit is the joy and pleasure of flying. In our industrial societies we are not only satisfied by a product that fulfils the function it was designed for, but also want this product be a good source of experience and pleasure.
There are several industrial methods to aid creativity. These methods are often based on processes of definition, structured objectives, and on the functionality of the products as proposed by the enterprise and needs of the market. However, these methods do not often take into consideration some human factors principles (such as human experience, satisfaction, pleasure, etc.) rapidly meet their limits. The aim of this study was to demonstrate a creativity process articulated around the comprehension of human factors design in relation to pilot’s experience and pleasure. It was conceived that such human factor aspects would enhance pilot’s experience and pleasure in flight.
Seventy French pilots with valid licenses participated in this study. They completed two questionnaires consisting of a qualitative survey to find out more about these pilots as a social group, and a quantitative survey of their flight experience with emotion, sensation, identity, and pleasure. We then tried to compare the notions of pleasure identified in the activity of flying a plane, aspects symbolizing the stronger sensations, and the aspects of tranquility and avoidance. We selected horse riding and motorcycle riding as two examples of activities for which these notions appear to be perfectly transferable to aviation.
Based on these surveys, we have also derived six types of pilot profiles related to pleasure. These profiles included pilot’s characteristics which are related to activities of (1) high-sensation seeking pilots, (2) cross-country and leisure flight course, (3) mechanical knowledge of aircraft, (4) adventure and discoveries, (5) calm and serenity of flight, and (6) historic and commercial flight aspects. A dual profile (high-sensation seeking and calm and serenity) was selected to be incorporated in our design concept for developing a new cockpit system. This was implemented through a process of matching this dual profile to a specific part of the cockpit (seat and yoke).
The cockpit model was then developed by a French aviation company in collaboration with a design team from UTC. This product was then displayed at the Oshkosh (USA) air-show as a demonstration project. Data from the survey of French pilots and interviews with visitors at the Oshkosh air-show were analyzed.
The results of this study indicated that most visitors at the air-show had a very positive reaction to our innovative cockpit system. 78% of these visitors noticed quickly the specific design features of the seat. 87% of these people made a comparison with the motorcycle or equestrian saddle. In addition, 95% considered the seat to be comfortable and the posture to be efficient. While these results are only preliminary, we intend to further evaluate this cockpit system by increasing our sample size in a controlled environment such as a laboratory and to isolate the main element of the cockpit (the seat) from the rest of the other new cockpit elements.
