Abstract: The author makes the observation that spatial concepts presented in
orientation and mobility skills training for persons who are visually impaired or blind are
very similar to concepts learned in basic aviation training by sighted pilots. It may be
possible for persons with visual impairments who have become highly skilled in
navigating complex urban environments to make use of these skills while operating a
small aircraft under certain circumstances.
Author’s notes:
The author wishes to acknowledge Lt. Col. Byron P. Mathewson of the United
States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Mary-Anne R.E. Richards,
Doctoral candidate, University of Northern Colorado, and Loana Mason, Graduate
Research Assistant, National Center on Low Incidence Disabilities, University of
Northern Colorado, Greeley, Colorado for their assistance in critiquing the manuscript.
Orientation and Mobility in an Aircraft
By: Charles Farnsworth Jr.
Graduate Research Assistant
National Center on Low-Incidence Disabilities
University of Northern Colorado
As a 16 year old, I well remember the feeling of excitement and accomplishment
that I had finally reached adulthood when I was issued my first driver’s license. Even
more exhilarating was when at the age of 17 my flight instructor informed me that he
was going to entrust me to operate a training aircraft on my own. Adolescents who are
blind or visually impaired may view their inability to drive as an obstacle and may
perceive this to negatively impact their self-worth (Sacks and Silberman, 2000). It is my
belief, however, that these young persons may be able to be trained to safely operate
small aircraft under certain circumstances while accompanied by sighted flight
instructors. This activity could provide an opportunity for students who are visually
impaired or blind to enhance their self-worth and self-esteem.
Making turns and using compass directions are basic components of orientation
and mobility instruction for students who are visually impaired or blind. A very thorough
understanding of the cardinal directions of north, south, east, and west is central to the
student’s ability to travel from place to place safely and gracefully (Lydon and McGraw,
1973). These spatial concepts taught to persons who are visually impaired or blind
eventually provide the basis for independent orientation and mobility in urban areas
which are very similar to the concepts presented to aviators during their initial training to
become pilots. Persons who are visually impaired or blind develop a mastery of
sensory perception as well as highly developed cognitive mapping skills in order to
successfully navigate busy urban streets, buildings, subway and bus stations, and
shopping malls. The concepts of up and down, lateral movement, distance
measurement, landmark recognition and compass direction contribute to the
accomplishment of these tasks without the benefit of sight. Aircraft pilots must also
master these concepts. Please note that this is my perception as a sighted pilot and no
data is presently available to substantiate this belief. However, this may be an
interesting topic for future research.
According to Potter (1995) both sighted and unsighted individuals develop the
spatial reasoning necessary to understand and use spatial reasoning concepts at about
the same rates. Furthermore, this rate of development corresponds to psychological
“stage theory” as presented by Jean Piaget (Potter, 1995). Hence it would be
considered unusual for a person who is blind to be able to develop advanced spatial
reasoning skills prior to age 9. Assuming then that sophisticated spatial reasoning has
been developed along with adequate orientation and mobility skills training over a
period of seven to ten years, a person who is blind, aged 14 or 15, may possess the
spatial reasoning and cognitive mapping skills necessary for successful navigation of
urban areas and could theoretically be trained to perform several of the tasks necessary
in the operation of a small aircraft. It is important here to stipulate that “a blind or
visually impaired person under the direct supervision of an instructor pilot may
be able to fly in straight and level flight in no more than a 1g (gravitational force)
flight regime” (B. Mathewson, personal communication, October 6, 2004).
A 1g flight regime is significant for a student that is visually impaired or blind
because any gravitational force that results in acceleration greater than 1g will have a
negative impact upon sensory feedback from the vestibular system or inner ear. The
neurovestibular system provides information concerning the direction and magnitude of
forces of gravity and acceleration acting on the body. This feedback is necessary in
order to maintain spatial orientation and equilibrium (Nicogossian & Parker, 1982). The
primary components of the inner ear responsible for providing this information are the
otolith organ and the superior, lateral and posterior semicircular canals. The shifting of
crystals of calcium carbonate in the otolith organ caused by movement experienced in
an automobile, elevator or aircraft provide neurological information for interpreting linear
acceleration (Martin & Clark, 2000). The lateral, posterior and semicircular canals are
oriented perpendicular to each other thereby corresponding to all dimensions in space.
These canals are responsible for providing neurological information with regard to
angular acceleration or the perception of motion and orientation in space (Martin &
Clark, 2000). The neurovestibular system becomes increasingly sensitive to changes in
gravity and acceleration in persons who tend to participate in athletic activities
(M.A.R.E. Richards, personal communication, October 4, 2004). Students who are
visually impaired or blind and who tend to lead physically active as opposed to
sedentary lifestyles are likely to have developed highly sensitive neurovestibular
systems and may be able to transfer these sensory mechanisms used for cane travel or
travel with a guide dog to operation of the basic controls in an aircraft.
Assuming theoretically that a student who is visually impaired or blind is
interested in learning about controlling an aircraft in flight the two aircraft that I would
recommend for this are the Schweitzer 233A glider or the Cessna 150 powered aircraft.
Both have dual control systems and are very reliable for training purposes. The student
pilot who is blind or visually impaired may prefer the Schweitzer 233A glider simply
because it’s lightweight design and extensive wingspan make the controls very
responsive. Also, a glider does not require an engine for flight thereby enabling the
student to concentrate on sounds made by airflow alongside the aircraft fuselage and
wings without the sound of an engine in close proximity.
As a student pilot at the age of 17, I had to be taught to rely upon several special
instruments in addition to visual cues while flying. This was somewhat difficult as I had
anticipated simply transferring most of the visual skills of driving an automobile to the
operation of an aircraft. A common misconception is that while on take-off and landing
a pilot seems to rely upon visual cues only. However, if the pilot lifts the nose of the
aircraft too soon while performing either maneuver, there is the danger of crashing the
airplane on the runway. The pilot must rely heavily upon instruments that present
changes in airspeed and altitude to make these transitions safely. I am not
recommending that a person who is blind or visually impaired attempt to take-off or land
an aircraft. However, a correlation exists in that a pilot must rely upon auditory, tactual
and sensory feedback from specialized instrumentation in addition to visual cues to
perform a successful take-off or landing of an aircraft.
Once airborne, the pilot makes the aircraft climb to a designated altitude and, on
a routine cross-country flight, a compass heading is selected to travel in a straight line
between two landmarks such as two different airports separated by a relatively large
distance. It is at this stage that a person who is blind or visually impaired could
theoretically take control of an aircraft. This would be possible because the student pilot
who is blind or visually impaired would simply need to use many of the spatial reasoning
skills that he or she had developed in successful route navigation of urban areas.
Jacobson, Kitchin, Garling, Golledge and Blades (2002) contend that visually impaired
or blind persons’ spatial abilities are in fact the same in process and function as exist in
sighted persons. In order to maneuver an aircraft the student pilot who is blind would
need to develop his or her tactual, auditory and neurovestibular senses to get a “feel”
for when the aircraft is in straight and level flight, climbing, descending or turning. This
would be a kinesthetic learning process as most aircraft such as the Schweitzer 233A
and the Cessna 150 have dual sets of controls (Kershner, 1970). The student pilot who
is blind or visually impaired would initially keep hands and feet in loose contact with
rudder pedals and aileron control (similar to a steering wheel in an automobile) while a
qualified flight instructor demonstrated these maneuvers. Sighted student pilots
develop similar skills by having a hood placed over their eyes depriving them of all
peripheral visual cues except the instrument panel. This condition could be duplicated
for student pilots who are blind or visually impaired with adapted instruments providing
auditory rather than visual feedback. One purpose of this training is to prepare for the
undesirable eventuality of accidentally flying into clouds or darkness and the
subsequent loss of visual references.
Successful navigation of an aircraft from one fixed point on earth’s surface to
another requires the same compass direction and cognitive mapping skills required for
orientation and mobility by a student who is blind or visually impaired in a complex
urban setting. It may be possible that a student pilot who is visually impaired or blind
may find navigating an aircraft between two or more fixed points on earth’s surface is a
great deal simpler than navigating on foot along a complex urban route. The reasons
for this are that the aircraft is traveling at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour,
usually in a straight line without the interruption of intersections, sidewalks, curbs, fire
hydrants or other obstacles to negotiate. If the flight plan is a round-robin route
consisting of three or more points of contact then specific compass headings will be
selected for each leg of the trip. As the student pilot who is blind would make use of a
large-scale representation of the earth’s surface, he or she would quickly be able to
internalize this pattern using the same Euclidean logic necessary to accurately conserve
angles and proportionate distances as when navigating along urban city blocks.
One point which may cause concern over the operation of an aircraft by a
student pilot who is blind or visually impaired would be the inability to use visual sensory
information to avoid possible collision with other airborne aircraft. With regard to this, I
would heartily recommend always having the services of a trained and sighted flight
instructor for assistance. However, it is plausible that this danger could also be
minimized by the use of auditory radar detection equipment on-board the aircraft or by
following directional instructions given by ground-based radar stations.
It is important to consider the possible benefits that recreational aviation training
may offer students who are blind or visually impaired. This activity would serve to
provide reinforcement and motivation for students to learn new orientation and mobility
techniques as well as enhancing self-esteem and self-concept (L. Mason, personal
communication, October 26, 2004). Eric Weihenmayer, who is blind and has climbed
seven summits including Mt. Everest stated recently in an interview “I really started rock
climbing when I was 16 as a result of the fact that I couldn’t play baseball or basketball
anymore, like other kids” (Weihenmayer, 2002). Like Weihenmayer, students who are
blind or visually impaired may be able to find in recreational aviation training an
additional opportunity to do something extraordinary despite the fact that ordinary
activities such as the operation of automobiles may not be accessible to them.
References:
Jacobson, R.D., Kitchin, R.M., Garling, T., Golledge, R.G. & Blades (2002). Rethinking
theories relating to the spatial abilities of vision impaired and blind people.
Unpublished manuscript in preparation. Retrieved July 2, 2003 from
http://garnet.acns.fsu.edu/~djacobso/haptic/nsf-und/contents.html
Kershner, W.K. (1970). The student pilot’s flight manual, Ames: Iowa State University
Press.
Lydon, W.T., & McGraw, M.L., (1973). Concept development for visually handicapped
children: a resource guide for teachers and other professionals working in
educational settings. New York, NY: American Foundation for the Blind Press.
Martin, F.N., & Clark, J.C., (2000). Introduction to audiology. Boston, MA: Allyn and
Bacon.
Nicogossian, A.E., & Parker J.F, (1982). Space physiology and medicine. National
Aeronautics and Space Administration. U.S. Government Printing Office.
Potter, L.E., (1995). Small-scale versus large scale spatial reasoning: educational
implications for children who are visually impaired. Journal of Visual Impairment
and Blindness 0145482X, Mar/Apr95 part 1 of 2, 89, 2.
Sacks, S.Z., & Silberman, R.K., (2000). Social Skills. In A.J. Koenig and M.C. Holbrook
(Eds.), Foundations of education: Vol. 2. Instructional strategies for teaching
children and youths with visual impairments. New York, NY: American
Foundation for the Blind Press.
Weihenmayer , E., (2002) Interview with Erik Weihenmayer: blind climber completes
seven summits, plans on eighth. Retrieved October 27, 2004 from
http://climb.mountainzone.com/2002/story/weihenmayer/html/weihenmayer_8.ht
ml