| Title | Combined effects of altitude and high temperature on complex performance. |
|---|---|
| Record ID | 39128 |
| Personal Name Creator |
Chiles, W.D.; Iampietro, P.F.; Higgins, E.A.; Vaughan, J.A.; West, Georgetta; Funkhouser, G.E. |
| Corporate Creator | Civil Aeromedical Institute |
| Corporate Contributor |
United States. Office of Aviation Medicine |
| Publisher | Civil Aerospace Medical Institute |
| Publication Date | 19710400 |
| Language | English |
| Abstract | Nine well-trained subjects were tested on a complex performance device designed to assess functions of relevance to aircrew activities. The tests, which involved tracking, monitoring, and mental arithmetic, were performed during exposure to altitude (14,000 feet) and heat (60 C.) both singly and in combination. Several physiological measures were taken. Exposure durations were 30 minutes for each condition with both pre- and post-testing. The only clear-cut effects of the conditions were significant differences across the environmental conditions on a perceptual-motor tracking task related to manual aircraft control. Altitude was clearly a more powerful variable than temperature in this study. This was evidenced by the fact that performance under the temperature-plus-altitude and the altitude-only conditions were approximately the same; performance under the temperature-only condition was significantly better than performance for either of the other two conditions. There was some evidence that the two environments in combination produced a persistent effect on performance that did not dissipate with return to normal conditions. Measured physiological functions of the subjects were within the tolerable range. |
| Rosap ID | dot:20937 |
| Rosap URL | https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/20937 |
| TRT Terms | Flight crews; Air pilots; Heat; High temperature; Altitude; Pressure; Physiological aspects; Temperature; Heart rate; Skin; Performance measurement; Arithmetic; Reaction time; Motor skills; Task analysis; Signal lights; Color; Red; Green; Error analysis; Percent; Training simulators; Experiments; Performance tests; Hypoxia; Supersonic aircraft; Tracking systems; Monitoring; Humidity; Atmosphere; Environment; Human subject testing |
| General Subjects | Flight crews; Air pilots; Heat--Physiological effect; Altitude--Physiological effect; Pressure; Body temperature; Heart beat; Performance--Measurement; Performance--Testing; Arithmetic; Airplanes--Monitoring; Reaction time; Motor ability; Task analysis; Signal lights; Colors; Red; Green; Errors; Percentage; Supersonic planes; Humidity--Physiological effect |
| Classification | NTL - AVIATION - Aviation Human Factors; NTL - ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT - Aviation Energy and Environment; NTL - SAFETY AND SECURITY - Human Factors; NTL - SAFETY AND SECURITY - Aviation Safety/Airworthiness |
| Geographical Coverage |
United States |
| Report Number | FAA-AM-71-17; DOT/FAA/AM-71/17 |
| Resource type | Tech Report |
| URL | https://ntlrepository.blob.core.windows.net/lib/39000/39100/39128/AM71-17.pdf |
| Format | |
| Database | NTL Digital Repository |