Recommendations for managing complexity in electronic chart information displays

Data-driven charts (DDC) are electronic information charts that are drawn from an onboard chart database onto the installed forward displays in an aircraft flight deck. A DDC management system is intended to display only the electronic chart data which is relevant to a mission or flight on the moving map or navigation display. We anticipate that the utility of such electronic information charts will increase as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) transitions to future operations such as performance based navigation in the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). We developed display recommendations for integrating instrument flight rule (IFR) procedural chart data into an avionics suite using a pilot-centered approach involving a variety of methods including analysis, prototyping, and simulator evaluation with pilots as participants. Display concepts were based on alternatives for declutter of chart elements and management of textual information (i.e., chart notes). In this way, we were able to explore human factors issues related to implementation of electronic information chart capabilities in forward displays on the flight deck. To support the FAA's Aircraft Certification and Flight Standards specialists who will evaluate new and modified flight deck avionics and their use for certification and operational approvals to enable NextGen capabilities, a number of recommendations addressing minimum requirements for flight deck implementation of such displays and their associated controls were produced. Specific recommendations address integration of chart elements, including intuitive display, quick access to the electronic fixed chart viewer with all notes and procedures, chart declutter, and allocation of chart data across displays. We anticipate that the recommended requirements for DDC systems will enable such systems to simplify flight deck display content and facilitate flightcrew access to the specific, relevant navigation and guidance information that is needed to monitor taxi and flight path conformance, and to plan for subsequent flight segments while also attending to other tasks on the flight deck. This display management technology could improve flightcrew performance and make flight and taxi operations in the NextGen environment more efficient without compromising safety.