Who trains the trainers? Gamification of flight instructor learning in evidence-based training scenarios

Abstract

Despite all the technological improvements currently available in aeronautical training, most accidents still have non-technical skills as contributing factors. In recent years, the International Civil Aviation Organization has been promoting a new training paradigm for crew performance that integrates all kinds of relevant skills, both technical and non-technical. The content of each training session is adapted to the specific improvement needs of each pilot, based on the data obtained in both real operations and simulations, instead of using stereotyped training scripts. This paradigm is called Evidence-Based Training. The assessment of non-technical pilot performance in these changing scenarios is complex, being highly dependent on the experience of the flight instructor. In this paper, we present a Flight Instructor Simulator that aims to gamify the learning process of instructors who have to work under this new training paradigm. A proof of concept of such an application has been created and tested by aviation personnel directly involved in this type of training. The results show that the use of gamification for flight instructors training in the assessment of pilot’s non-technical competencies is a promising line of work. Furthermore, some recommendations are extracted from this study that can serve as design guidelines for similar projects.