How Procedural and Conceptual Training Affect Flight Performance for Learning Traffic Patterns

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Forty eight students who had no prior experience or interest in learning to fly an airplane were recruited to participate in a research experiment to study how procedural training and conceptual training of traffic patterns affects flight performance. Traffic patterns are rules and regulations pilots follow when entering and departing an airport environment and are complex flight maneuvers that require advanced cognitive skills including algebraic and geometric calculations. Procedural training emphasizes the step-by-step actions required to complete a complete task, whereas conceptual training emphasizes the interrelationship of elements in a dynamic environment. Participants received 3 hours of traffic pattern training, which included reading text, watching videos, and practicing on a flight simulator. During a 20-minute test scenario, participants were tested for deviations in distance, altitude, airspeed, and heading. Procedurally trained participants had significantly greater deviations in maintaining the proper distance from the runway than the conceptually trained participants. Procedurally trained participants also showed a trend for greater altitude deviations than the conceptual trained participants. It is concluded that conceptual training should be emphasized over procedure training when learning traffic patterns. Future studies should also include emphasis on procedural training and conceptual training for flight maneuvers that are less cognitively complex.