Comparing Active and Passive Just Noticeable Difference Thresholds for Stall Abruptness in Symmetric Stall

Aerodynamic stall has been a critical factor in recent aircraft crashes, leading to revised regulations for simulator-based stall prevention and recovery training. However, the updated regulations still lack an objectively defined level of accuracy for simulators' stall models that ensures effective pilot training. To help determine this required accuracy, this paper investigates how the Just Noticeable Difference (JND) thresholds for deviations in a stall model's ‘stall abruptness’ parameter translate from a passive observer setting (typical JND experiments) to an active flying scenario (realistic training task). An experiment was performed in the SIMONA Research Simulator with 16 active pilots, whose sensitivity to stall abruptness variations was measured in both these scenarios. In the passive scenario, pilots' JND thresholds were measured using a staircase procedure in a symmetric stall maneuver flown by a stall autopilot. In the active scenario, the method of constant stimuli was used to determine the JND thresholds when the pilots themselves actively flew the same stall maneuver. The average JND thresholds for the passive and active scenarios were estimated by fitting a psychometric curve to the combined responses of all participants. Overall, the passive JND thresholds for the stall abruptness parameter, with an average Weber fraction of 0.11±0.094, were lower than those measured in an earlier experiment (0.16±0.14), indicating a higher sensitivity. Furthermore, the psychometric curve of the active experiment was found to lie entirely to the right of the passive psychometric function: the active JND threshold was found to be five times higher than the passive JND threshold. Overall, this indicates a decreased sensitivity to changes in stall abruptness -- and hence a reduced demand on its modeling accuracy -- when pilots are flying a stall themselves.