Comparison of the visual perception of a runway model in pilots and nonpilots during simulated night landing approaches.

Relative motion parallax, a cue that can contribute to visual judgments of glide path angle, was studied for its effect on simulated nighttime approaches in two experiments: 1) 16 pilots and 16 nonpilots adjusted the slant of a model runway to make it appear horizontal under nighttime conditions on both dynamic trials, as the model approached them, and on static trials, with the model stationary; 2) 12 pilots and 12 nonpilots performed the same task in dynamic trials while viewing the model in a dark field as before, and while viewing the model within a window which provided a stable visual frame of reference. Neither flying experience nor the visual frame of reference enhanced sensitivity to relative motion parallax. However, some errors were smaller in pilots, indicating that flying experience enhances other runway images cues. Direct judgments of approach angle magnitude indicated overestimation by an approximate factor of 2. These findings indicate large visual illusions in the nighttime situation and suggest that the ineffectiveness of relative motion parallax may be an important part of night approach problems.