Evaluating a de-cluttering technique for NextGen RNAV and RNP charts

The authors propose a de-cluttering technique to simplify the depiction of visually complex Area Navigation (RNAV) and Required Navigation Performance (RNP) procedures by reducing the number of paths shown on a single chart page. An experiment was conducted to determine whether charts with fewer paths (“Modified charts”) allow improved access to information in terms of time and accuracy compared with charts that are currently used (“Current charts”). Data were collected from 28 airline and 19 corporate pilots. Results show that pilot response times were significantly improved with the Modified charts. For approach procedures, the mean response time was 16.9 seconds for Current charts and 10.7 seconds for Modified charts. For departure procedures, the mean response time was 16.2 seconds for Current charts and 13.2 seconds for Modified charts. This difference in response time between Current and Modified charts was consistent across the different procedures (approach and departure), pilot types (Airline and Corporate), and chart manufacturers (FAA and Jeppesen) included in the study. Additionally, pilots answered questions correctly 99.5% of the time with no difference in response accuracy between Current and Modified charts. Note, this experiment only evaluated the potential benefit of separating paths across multiple pages and did not explore the drawbacks to this de-cluttering technique.