Earlier passive judgment studies showed that detection of loss in altitude was more accurate over texture consisting of stripes parallel to the direction of flight, than over texture consisting of perpendicular stripes or a combination of both, i.e., a square pattern. The current experiment required the participants to actively control and maintain a constant altitude over similar texture in the presence of a pseudorandom windgust. Results corresponded to those of the earlier judgment study with altitude being better controlled when flight took place over parallel texture, than over perpendicular or square texture. Theoretical and applied implications of these findings are discussed.
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