aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

training, a view-limiting device simulates

instrument meteorological conditions In aviation, instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) are weather conditions that require pilots to fly primarily by reference to flight instruments, and therefore under instrument flight rules (IFR), as opposed to flying by outside visual ref ...

(IMC) by restricting a pilot's

field of view The field of view (FOV) is the angle, angular extent of the observable world that is visual perception, seen at any given moment. In the case of optical instruments or sensors, it is a solid angle through which a detector is sensitive to elec ...

only to the

flight instruments Flight instruments are the instruments in the cockpit of an aircraft that provide the pilot with data about the flight situation of that aircraft, such as altitude, airspeed, vertical speed, heading and much more other crucial information in f ...

. They are worn by pilots who are working toward an

instrument rating Instrument rating refers to the qualifications that a pilot must have in order to fly under instrument flight rules (IFR). It requires specific training and instruction beyond what is required for a private pilot certificate or commercial pilot c ...

, which allows a pilot to fly under

instrument flight rules In aviation, instrument flight rules (IFR) is one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other is visual flight rules (VFR). The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) ''Instrument Fl ...

in conditions that do not permit

visual flight Visual flight or visual attitude flying is the control of an aircraft via outside references (such as the sky or the runway in takeoff). For aircraft, the primary visual reference used is usually the relationship between the aircraft's "nose" or c ...

. They are also used by instrument-rated pilots while practicing instrument flight to maintain competency. Examples include foggles and the IFR hood. Foggles are glasses that have been frosted on the top half of the lenses to simulate foggy conditions. In 2021 The Instrument Conditions Awareness Recognition and Understanding System (ICARUS) Smart View Limiting Device was developed. ICARUS uses Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal Film or Smart Glass to electronically change between simulated VMC and IMC to aid pilot training. This capability allows pilots to actually train for VFR into IMC which often leads to

spatial disorientation Spatial disorientation is the inability to determine position or relative motion, commonly occurring during periods of challenging visibility, since visual system, vision is the dominant sense for orientation. The auditory system, vestibular system ...

References

Flight training Eyewear {{Aviation-stub

See also

References