Aircrew Training Research Articles

Performance Optimization and Injury Mitigation for Air Force Student Fighter Pilots.

Military fighter aircrew report high rates of cervical pain and injury. There is currently no consensus regarding the best training methods for this population. Eglin Air Force Base (AFB) and Luke AFB have multidisciplinary teams specializing in aircrew training, performance, and injury mitigation. All student pilots (SPs) completing Basic Course training at these locations engage in an 8-week Spine Training Program (STP). The STP originated at Luke AFB in 2020 and was expanded to Eglin AFB in 2022. The primary aim of this study was to assess whether the STP led to significant changes in the performance measure studied, Cervical Endurance Hold (CEH). Further, this study aimed to determine if the CEH training effect was independent of location of STP administration. We hypothesized that SPs would exhibit statistically significant CEH training adaptations irrespective of base location. Air Force F-16 and F-35 SPs from Luke AFB and Eglin AFB were actively enrolled in the Basic Course and participated in the standardized STP from 2020 to 2023. The CEH test was administered prior to (intake) and following (exit) the 8-week STP. SPSS for Windows version 29 software (IBM, Armonk, NY) was used to retrospectively analyze the data from this study. Participants were excluded if they were unable to perform the CEH test at intake or exit. The study was approved by the Air Force Research Laboratory Institutional Review Board and was performed in accordance with the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki. One hundred and ninety-eight SPs (Luke AFB, males n = 170, females n = 12; Eglin AFB, males n = 16) completed the STP program. There was no significant difference between intake and exit concerning age, height, weight, % body fat, and fat-free mass at Luke AFB or Eglin AFB (P < 0.05). Statistically significant improvements in CEH were observed within all groups from intake to exit (P < 0.001). When considering all participants collectively, there was a notable33.6% increase in CEH from intake to exit (P < 0.001) with an overall effect size of d = 1.14. When analyzing specific subgroups, females from Luke AFB experienced a significant 20.4% increase in CEH (P < 0.001, d = 1.14), males from Luke AFB exhibited a significant 34.5% increase (P < 0.001, d = 1.09), and males from Eglin AFB demonstrated a significant increase of 55.7% in CEH (P < 0.001, d = 1.97). This retrospective analysis showed significant improvements in the CEH across all groups following the completion of the STP. Furthermore, CEH results from both bases exhibited a large effect size indicating a meaningful change was found between intake and exit regardless of training location. These preliminary study results should be interpreted with caution as a control group was unable to be established. In the future, a randomized control trial should be performed to test the STP used in this study against other STP programs. This may better inform experts on the best spine training methods for fighter aircrew.

Data Processing in the Pilot Training Process on the Integrated Aircraft Simulator

AbstractFlight safety is an integral part of air transportation. Flight accidents are highly unlikely to appear but most of them are caused by the human factor. The aircrew training system for abnormal operations relies on integrated aircraft simulator-based exercises. Crew needs to be trained not to degrade piloting technique quality when facing increased psychophysiological tension. Therefore, methods evaluating the characteristics of ergatic aircraft control systems, warning systems for deterioration due to failures in avionics systems, piloting technique quality, and abnormal operation algorithms are necessary. An analysis of the bank angle has revealed that there are hidden increased tension manifestations in the human operator expressed in the transition of the flight parameter variation from a stationary random process to deterministic fluctuations in the form of a sinusoid. The goal of the research is to increase the efficiency of pilots’ training using integrated aircraft simulators based on the design and implementation of statistical data processing algorithms. To achieve the goal of the research, two algorithms for detecting deterministic fluctuations based on the Neyman-Pearson criterion and the optimal Bayesian criterion are developed. The presented algorithms can be used in the integrated simulator software to automate the decision-making process on piloting quality.

AVIATION SECURITY IN EUROPEAN UNION. EUROPEAN AVIATION SAFETY AGENCY

Faced with a massive increase in air traffic resulting from the successful implementation of the single aviation market, the European Union ensures that all European citizens can enjoy the high level of safety in the sky. The European Commission developed a set of basic civil aviation security standards with the Regulation (EC) No 2320/2002, establishing common rules in the field of civil aviation security which was adopted on 16th December 2002 by the European Parliament. In 2008, Regulation (EC) No 300/2008 repealed this Regulation and introduced a series of new measures aimed to improve, streamline and simplify existing procedures. In 2002, the Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002 was the founding document of a new entity, the European Aviation Safety Agency. Areas of activity were Certification and Maintenance of aircraft. On 18 March the new Regulation (EC) No 216/2008, repealing the original Basic Regulation was published and applicable from 08 April on. By virtue of Regulation (EC) No 216/2008, the EU extended the common aviation safety rules and the corresponding responsibilities of EASA to aircraft operations and aircrew licensing and training. Key words: aviation, security, European Aviation Safety Agency, Joint Aviation Authorities, Joint Aviation Requirements

A simultaneous sequencing and allocation problem for military pilot training: Integer programming approaches

In this paper, we study a unique, rich combinatorial optimization problem that arose from helicopter aircrew training for the Royal Australian Navy. Each pilot trainee (student) has to complete a syllabus. A syllabus is a sequence of courses (commonly known as subjects), and each course is associated with a pass rate. A pre-requisite structure exists amongst some courses. Each course has a number of repeated sessions, each spanning the same amount of time, but occupying a different set of (possibly overlapping) time slots. A feasible schedule is a sequence of course sessions such that each course in the syllabus is covered by exactly one session, and that all pre-requisite requirements are observed. The optimization problem is to simultaneously assemble course sessions to form feasible schedules, allocate students to these schedules with an objective to minimize the total time-span in completing the syllabus, while ensuring that the class size limits for each course session is not exceeded. The problem is different from the school or university time tabling family of problems due to the assembly component required. This paper is to serve as a pilot study: we derive a number of mixed-integer linear programming models and investigate their performance using test instances provided for us by our industry partner. For each of these models, we propose a number of solution strategies as topics for future research papers. From our numerical testing, it appears that the Column Generation-based approach is computationally the most promising method.

Towards a Semantic Knowledge Base for Competency-Based Training of Airline Pilots

The acquisition and maintenance of non-technical skills by the pilots are fundamental factors for the prevention of aviation accidents. The aviation authorities are promoting that air crew training be carried out through simulator sessions using scenarios specifically designed to develop and assess the global performance of pilots in such skills. When designing custom flight training scenarios, choosing the correct events and conditions from the myriad of possible combinations with respect to their potential utility in training specific competencies is a costly task that depends entirely on highly specialized expert knowledge. In this paper, we present EBTOnto, an OWL DL ontology that allows to formalize this knowledge and other useful data from real cases, laying the foundations for a semantic knowledge base of scenarios for airline pilots training. Previous advances in this matter and possible applications of this system are reviewed. EBTOnto is built on top of a source validated by experts, the Evidence-Based Training Implementation Guide by the International Air Transport Association, and then checked using an automatic reasoner and a database of 37,568 aviation safety incidents, extracted from the widely regarded Aviation Safety Reporting System by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The results suggest that it is possible to classify real aviation scenarios in terms of non-technical competencies and filter useful incident reports for design and enrichment of these training scenarios. EBTOnto opens up new possibilities for interoperability between incident databases and training organizations, and smoothes the path to represent, share and generate custom simulation training scenarios for pilots based on real data.

Self-Rated Health Predicts Mortality in Very Old Men-the Manitoba Follow-Up Study.

BackgroundSelf-rated health (SRH) predicts death, but there are few studies over long-time horizons that are able to explore the effect age may have on the relationship between SRH and mortality.Objectives1. To determine how SRH evolves over 20 years; and 2. To determine if SRH predicts death in very old men.MethodsWe analyzed a prospective cohort study of men who were fit for air crew training in the Second World War. In 1996, a regular questionnaire was administered to the 1,779 surviving participants. SRH was elicited with a 5-point Likert Scale with the categories: excellent, very good, good, fair and poor/bad. We examined the age-specific distribution of SRH in these categories from the age of 75 to 95 years, to the end of the follow-up period in 2018. We constructed age-specific Cox proportional hazard models with an outcome of time to death.ResultsSRH declined with age. The gradient in risk of death persisted across all ages; those with poor/fair/bad SRH had consistently higher mortality rates. However, the discrimination between good and excellent was less in those aged 85+.ConclusionsSRH declines with advancing age, but continues to predict death in older men.

The utility and safety of hypoxia experiences for rebreather divers.

Aircrew training often includes an hypoxic experience aimed at improving symptom recognition and self-rescue in a subsequent hypoxic event. Similar training has been advocated for rebreather divers. We investigated the effect of a prior hypoxic experience on actual and perceived cognitive function during subsequent hypoxia and measured the physiological responses to severe progressive hypoxia. Twenty-five subjects underwent two hypoxic hypoxia experiences (trials one and two) approximately five weeks apart. Subjects breathed 5.5% oxygen whilst performing a playing card recognition test. The primary endpoint was the time taken to make three consecutive errors in the card recognition test (time of useful consciousness, TUC). Secondary endpoints were the total number of errors made, accuracy of error recollection and physiological variables. Mean (SD) TUC was 166 seconds (37) and 169 s (35), and subjects made 8.9 (2.4) and 7.8 (2.0) errors in trials one and two respectively. Error recall was identical between trials with participants failing to recall 6 (3) and 6 (2) errors made in trials one and two respectively. Across both trials mean nadir arterial blood and cerebral oxygen saturations were 52% and 49% respectively. The mean (SD) increase in heart rate was 42 (16) beats·min⁻¹. An hypoxic experience did not improve cognitive performance or subject insight into performance in a second exposure five weeks later. Hypoxia imposes a significant physiological stress which may be hazardous in unscreened, non-medically supervised subjects. Hypoxia experience training is not recommended for rebreather divers at this time.

Dancing links for optimal timetabling

Military Operations Research Society. All rights reserved. Algorithms for timetabling solutions typically involve sequential allocation of students to courses and resources as the algorithm unfolds. Most current solutions, to this end, commonly use some form of stochastic optimization. In this paper, we propose a novel paradigm for optimal timetabling that comprises two distinct phases. First, we enumerate all feasible course schedules, along with their costs, using a modified implementation of Knuth’s Dancing Links technique for the exact cover problem. To our knowledge, the only prior use of this implementation has been to solve games such as Sudoku and N-Queens. Once the list of all solutions that satisfy prerequisite and time-clash constraints is generated, the second phase applies a standard deterministic optimization to allocate students to these feasible schedules. This method has been applied to a real complex timetabling problem in the Royal Australian Navy helicopter aircrew training program. The results are compared, in terms of computational time, to an exhaustive best practice backtracking algorithm for generating a complete set of feasible schedules, as well as to a pure integer linear programming solution for generating schedules and allocating students to schedules.

Mi-2 Helicopters Operating at Sea

Abstract The article describes participation of Mi-2 helicopters in both military and civilian operations at sea. Although the multipurpose Mi-2 rotorcraft were not designed to operate in the harsh environment over the sea, they became - in the second half of the 1960s and in the 1970s - a standard type performing a wide array of tasks at sea. Modern turboshaft engines, a favorable weight-to-power ratio and a dual engine configuration were all factors enabling safe flight over the sea, at considerable distances from land. The specialized Mi-2RM variant designed by WSK PZL Świdnik provided the Naval Aviation with an opportunity to establish, in the 1st half of the 1970s, a unique marine air rescue system. The last Mi-2RM used for rescue missions was decommissioned as late as in 2010, although at that stage it was only used for aircrew training purposes. The Navy was also using the Mi-2Ch variant tasked with creating smokescreens to conceal vessels and port facilities. General purpose variants of the helicopter were used to transport people and goods. They also performed well during patrolling missions and while identifying various types of contamination. As far as civilian use of the helicopters is concerned, Mi-2 versions equipped with special purpose on-board systems supported scientists in the exploration of the Antarctica at two stations of the Polish Academy of Science. The Maritime Authority in Gdynia was also using its own Mi-2 helicopter for over 30 years - until 2015 - for patrolling the Gdańsk and Puck Bays and waters around the Hel Peninsula. The missions were focusing primarily on detecting potential contamination of the coastal areas. In the former Soviet Union, civilian Mi-2 variants were (and still are) standard equipment of deep sea icebreakers operating in the Arctic and around the North Pole. The machines are mainly used for safety purposes, as well as for transporting scientists and groups of extreme tourists. Approximately a dozen Mi-2 purchased from Russia in the mid-1990s, in turn, were used by the Aviation Force of the Mexican Navy. Unfortunately, no further details regarding their use are available.

Interactive Demonstration of an AC-130 Aircraft Virtual Reality Part Task Trainer

This session will demonstrate a Virtual Reality Part Task Trainer (vrPTT) that was developed under a Department of Defense funded research and development program. The vrPTT consists of Virtual Reality (VR) head mounted display (HMD) goggles and bare-hand motion sensor technology integrated via a high speed gaming computer that hosts an automated, intelligent tutor. Upon donning the VR goggles, the user is immersed into a cockpit of an AC-130 aircraft. The AC-130 system instruments are operationally accurate with selection and feedback indications true to aircraft operational parameters. The demonstration will allow participants to manipulate buttons and switches on a simulated checklist completion task within the immersive vrPTT environment. The Session attendees will gain an understanding of VR’s potential for DoD aircrew training from a human factors psychology and instructional systems design perspective by interacting with a developed capability.

Virtualan koncept simbiotičkog okruženja CBL i CBT metoda obrazovanja u sustavu zrakoplovstva

The contribution is informing the reader on the current potentials of improving efficiency in aviation education based on the use of available means of simulation and computer-assisted methods of teaching such as the Computer Based Training a Computer Based Learning, which also enable realization of integrated systems assisted by modern educational methods and potentials for them to be implemented into the aircrew training systems. The authors are introducing a virtual concept of a symbiotic environment for education in aircraft systems. The concept makes use the mutual interrelation of three-dimensional dynamic models of aircraft instruments developed, which can be used for electronic training using simulation interface based on open standards in a virtual environment within a country and later with real onboard complex featuring the Instruments themselves. Attention is drawn to both the advantages and disadvantages of using such dynamic models of aircraft Instruments in aircrew training as well as the practical implementation of such a virtual concept into practice employing computer assisted progressive methods of teaching. The need of improving the quality of education in aviation is a reaction to the requirements coming from actual practice calling for the implementation of intelligent systems into the complex and dynamic systems of aircraft. At the present time, it is the very reason that requires shifting towards learning new ways and acquiring skills in applying progressive technologies to education exercising direct influence on the safety of air transportation.

Research of the Reliability of an Air Combat Manoeuvere – Nosedive of a Jet Powered Aircraft / Badanie Niezawodności Lotniczego Manewru Bojowego – Lotu Nurkowego Samolotu Odrzutowego

Abstract This paper considered a problem of: the reliability of performance of a nosedive of a jet powered aircraft in the context of the ability of pilots trained on a simulator to reliably accomplish a combat mission. For research purposes, the manoeuvre of attack of a target with the nosedive, which is most commonly used by the pilots performing flights on different types of modern aircrafts, and the basic manoeuvre during aircrew training, both basic and advanced were assumed. The research was conducted on a flight simulator.

Successful Airtraq Use in an Air Medical Transport System

IntroductionThere is a large body of literature that shows that the AirTraq device achieves equal or superior rates of successful intubation in all classes of user. A recent prospective human trial of the device questioned the first pass success rate and whether effective training could occur outside the Operating Room (OR). The purpose of this study was to investigate the first pass success rate for intubation with the AirTraq (AT) device utilizing only mannequin training in an air ambulance setting from Aug. 1 2009 to Aug. 1 2012 and compare it to direct laryngoscopy (DL). HypothesisWe hypothesize that the AirTraq device will be as effective overall as direct laryngoscopy, and that this requires no OR training to achieve. MethodsA retrospective chart review of 161 intubations by air ambulance flight nurses from Aug. 1, 2009 to Aug. 1, 2012 was conducted. Data regarding date of service, devices used, number of attempts, rescue device use, and complications was gathered and analyzed. The generalized estimating equation and the chi-squared test were used to evaluate the data. Results161 intubations were reviewed. 135 met inclusion criteria. Overall first pass success rate for AT was 82% (68/83) and DL was 74% (35/47). Overall first use success rate for AT was 79% (71/90) and DL was 70% (43/61). The overall success rate of intubation for any patient in which either AT or DL was attempted is 96% (130/135). ConclusionAirTraq was shown to be as effective as direct laryngoscopy. All air crew training for the AirTraq device was performed on mannequins. The successof the device compared to DL shows that mannequin training is sufficient to implement the AirTraq device for pre-hospital intubation.

The Design and Application of Aircraft Flight Stimulation and Visualization Based on HLA

Aircraft training simulator has integrated combat training ability not only needs to simulate the aircraft flight and radar, inertial navigation and avionics equipment, but also to generate realistic battlefield environment and visual effects, and to simulate the interaction between the system and the complex interaction. In the realization of the simulator, using HLA/RTI as its architecture and the supporting platform, make the device emulator is to achieve interoperability, can improve the system's flexibility and scalability. [ The target and the electromagnetic reflection characteristics of ground data and radar detection model based on the dynamic radar image generation. The blackboard model is based on the virtual machine technology, which is easy to modify and evolution of CGF system. [Combat aircraft is the main weapon platform in modern war, and aircrew training level is an important factor which affects the combat effectiveness of an aircraft. Research on the domestic and abroad aircrew training methods and training methods with simulate system, develops advanced technology, which can achieve close to actual combat to training effect and save a lot of training funds.

2013 Aircrew, Avionics, and Operations Survey, Part 1

Air medical transport services (AMTS) depend on the teamwork of aviation professionals, medical caregivers, communications specialists, maintenance staff, and administrative personnel to facilitate the safe medical transportation and care to critically ill and injured patients across the world. Consisting of respondents based in the United States, this 2013 survey revisits contemporary AMTS aircrew (pilot, aviator) experience, compensation, benefits, training, and safety in the industry compared to a survey conducted in 2000.

Civil Aircraft Accident Investigation

This talk reviews some historic aircraft accidents and some more recent. It reflects on the division of accident causes, considering mechanical failures and aircrew failures, and on aircrew training. Investigation results may lead to improved aircraft design, and to appropriate crew training.

Predictive Validity of the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test for Non-Rated Officer Specialties

The Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) is used to qualify applicants for officer commissioning and aircrew training programs. The current study examined its predictive validity for 14 officer technical training courses for which there are no additional AFOQT minimum qualification requirements beyond those for officer commissioning. Sample sizes ranged from 16 to 2,190 with a mean and median size of 753 and 319 officers. Ninety percent (63 of 70) of the observed correlations between the AFOQT composites and average technical training grades were statistically significant. Meta-analyses were conducted to determine whether the AFOQT validities were generalizable across training specialties. Analyses were done on the observed data, after correction for range restriction, and after correction for both range restriction and criterion unreliability. The pattern of validities was similar for all three meta-analyses. The lower bound of the 95% confidence interval and the 95% credibility interval around the weighted mean validities were greater than zero for all five AFOQT composites supporting its utility for making personnel selection decisions for these jobs. The Verbal composite had the lowest and the Academic Aptitude composite had the highest weighted mean validity. The weighted mean of the validity coefficients across training specialties ranged from .261 to .326 for the observed data, .322 to .387 for the range-restriction corrected data, and .360 to .433 for the fully corrected data. Additional efforts are required to examine the generalizability of the results for a broader range of occupational specialties and to set minimum qualifying scores.

Mental Preparation for Flying

FEATURE AT A GLANCE: In this article, I contend that an often-overlooked aspect of preflight preparation is mental preparedness. Specifically, I discuss chronic stress and the negative effects of such stress on human performance abilities in complex situations. I conclude with a recommendation that aircrew training and procedures should incorporate some of the stress management techniques developed by clinical and counseling psychologists. At the very least, pilots should be encouraged to set aside quiet contemplation time prior to every flight to consider their mental preparedness.

Conforming with ICAO safety oversight standards

Air transportation is a highly safe mode of transportation. In part, this has come about as technological advances have improved aircraft, navigation systems, and air traffic control. There have also been significant advances in relevant ergonomics and in aircrew training and practices. Institutional changes have also played their part. The establishment of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) after the Second World War included a commitment of signatories to abide by common measures to ensure safety in International Air Transportation. The Organization, however, has limited powers of enforcement. The International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program was initiated by the US to ensure that countries with services involving the US meet ICAO safety oversight standards. This paper makes use of the IASA assessment procedure to examine factors that influence whether countries are conforming to ICAO safety standards. It adopts a basic econometric framework of analysis to pursue the topic.

Air Crew Training Vessels: A Study of The Synergy Between Fast

Air Crew Training Vessels: A Study of The Synergy Between Fast