Pros and Cons of A VR-based Flight Training Simulator; Empirical Evaluations by Student and Instructor Pilots

Abstract

A medium-fidelity virtual reality (VR) flight simulator was developed to evaluate how aircraft pilots perceived simulated flights in the VR environment compared with conventional mockup-based simulators. In Experiment 1, student and instructor pilots conducted ten repeating flights in the simulator. Three extreme flight conditions were created, and participants rated perceptions of the extreme flights using multiple criteria. In Experiment 2, pilots manipulated G1000 electronic cockpit systems in the simulator during three repeating simulated flights and were asked to rate their perceptions of the manual controls. Participants perceived that the VR simulator was similar to or better than conventional simulators for all given Experiment 1 criteria and found that repetition made the operations easier. However, manipulating electronic cockpit systems was still not considered better than using conventional simulators, even though it became easier by repetition. Participants liked the 360-degree angle of visibility in the VR environment.