GLARE SENSITIVITY OF PILOTS WITH DIFFERENT AGES AND ITS EFFECTS ON VISUAL PERFORMANCE OF NIGHT-TIME FLYING

The glare in the visual field during nighttime flying is a potentially insecure problem for the pilots as it reduces the contrast of the visual target and causes psychological discomfort. Meanwhile, the glare sensitivity will be changed with the increase of the age of the pilots. In this article several lighting conditions with different values for the variables related to glare have been set to simulate different degrees of glare. Participants were divided into two groups according to the age. For each lighting condition, both groups were assigned the same visual task, including the fast reaction to the obstacle, and the detection of the Landolt ring appearing on displayer. Subjective evaluation for each lighting condition was also involved. With data analysis, the glare sensitivity of different age groups has been confirmed including suggestion for cockpit lighting design with consideration of the glare avoidance and aging problem of pilots.