Pilot License Research Articles

Ecological and Cost Advantage from the Implementation of Flight Simulation Training Devices for Pilot Training

The paper discusses a case study of obtaining an airline pilot license in integrated training—the so-called “from zero to Airline Transport Pilot License”. The environmental implications of simulator-based training were examined across multiple dimensions. Key areas of research include the reduction of harmful exhaust gases pollution associated with traditional flight training activities. Based on our analysis, it can be stated that increasing the use of Flight Simulation Training Devices in pilot training should be significant consideration. This approach brings many benefits, especially ecological ones. Changing the training program and increasing the use of flight simulators can result in a reduction of CO2 emissions by up to 70%. Based on country specific electricity factors, CO2 emissions during flight training in each EU country were calculated. Using Levelized Cost of Electricity average value to calculate training costs in EU countries depends on the mix of energy sources (wind, photovoltaics, carbon and gas). The findings highlight the significant ecological advantages of simulator-based training methods in mitigating the environmental footprint of aviation operations. By seeking to minimize environmental disruption and increase training efficiency, the adoption of simulators is a sustainable approach to pilot training that is consistent with global efforts to mitigate climate change and protect natural ecosystems.

Exploring perceptions of pilot licensing and training standards: a survey of Canadian student and licensed pilots.

This study investigates the perspectives of Canadian student and licenced pilots on general aviation pilot training and licencing practices. Employing a mixed-methods approach, this research critiques the reliance on flight hours as the sole competence metric and examines the alignment of existing practices with modern aviation's complexities. Findings reveal a divergence in opinions between novice and experienced pilots on flight hours' importance, with a consensus towards a competency-based evaluation model. The study identifies critical shortcomings in existing training practices, such as the challenge of integrating technology, fostering advanced skills, and efficiently utilising instructional resources. It suggests recommendations for regulatory enhancements, aiming to ensure training practices evolve in line with the changing requirements of aviation safety and technology. The conclusion calls for urgent reform, underlining the imperative for training adaptations that can prepare pilots to proficiently manage the complexities of contemporary airspace, thus safeguarding their proficiency and safety.

Quantifying the Environmental Impact of Private and Commercial Pilot License Training in Canada

As the global aviation sector expands to accommodate increasing air travel demand, the subsequent rise in flights exacerbates carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, challenging the sector’s environmental sustainability. Targeting net-zero emissions by 2050, international aviation agencies are stressing the imperative of reducing emissions directly at their source. While the literature provides abundant estimates of aviation emissions from airline flights, there has been a lack of work aimed at quantifying CO2 emissions specific to the general aviation sector. This study investigates CO2 emissions attributed to the pilot training sub-sector within Canada’s general aviation sector. It specifically examines the initial phase of pilot training, known as ab initio training, extending through to the attainment of a commercial pilot license. Utilizing a mathematical framework alongside assumptions, combined with data on license issuances over a 23-year period, it estimated that each hour of flight training emits about 70.4 kg of CO2, varying between 44.9 kg and 94.9 kg per hour. Annual CO2 emissions from Canada’s ab initio pilot training are estimated at approximately 30,000 tons, with a possible range of 19,000 to 40,000 tons. The study also explores mitigation opportunities, such as flight simulation training devices and electric aircraft. Though focusing on Canada’s ab initio pilot training, the findings have international relevance.

Key Insights from Preflight Planning for Safety Improvement in General Aviation: A Systematic Literature Review

This study highlights the disproportionate number of fatal and non-fatal accidents in general aviation (GA) compared to airline carriers, emphasizing the need to investigate the contributing factors to these incidents. It identifies poor decision-making and a lack of situational awareness as key issues and presents a systematic literature review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method to analyze preflight information used by GA pilots. The findings underscore the significance of operational factors in ensuring a successful flight and suggest modifications to pilot license renewal processes, with an emphasis on the adoption of digital preflight tools. A new theoretical framework based on the operational factors identified is also introduced, which could serve as a foundation for future studies and interventions aimed at enhancing safety in general aviation.

Aviation Safety for Urban Air Mobility: Pilot Licensing and Fatigue Management

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is an emerging air traffic system designed for passengers and cargo in and around urban environments. Both the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency endorse a phased development approach for UAM, commencing with manned aviation and subsequently transitioning to remotely piloted and autonomous operations. This article focuses on legal considerations related to aviation safety, with a specific focus on pilot licensing and crew fatigue management. An analysis of existing aviation law provisions suggests that the International Civil Aviation Organization can work with local authorities to create regulations governing both on-board and remote pilots involved in UAM operations. Safety standards in air law can apply mutatis mutandis to on-board pilots until specific regulations are developed. In the longer term, there shall be domestic laws on both on-board and remote UAM pilots.

Fifty shades of CEO duality: CEO personal risk preference, duality and corporate risk-taking

PurposeThis study investigates whether and how chief executive officers (CEOs) with personal risk-taking preference (expressed in owning a pilot license) will act differently when they are vested with additional power serving as board chairs.Design/methodology/approachRegressions analyses are performed using a sample of Standard and Poor’s (S&P) 1,500 firms with available data during 1996–2009. CEO's risk-taking outcomes are measured using firms' total risk, idiosyncratic risk and research and development expenditures (R&D) investment.FindingsFirms led by pilot CEOs have greater firm risks, yet CEO duality attenuates the relationship. Further channel tests show that CEO duality suppresses CEO's risk-taking tendencies through managers' reputation concerns.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings highlight the importance of incorporating human factors into consideration of appropriate governance structures for a firm. Future studies can expand the existing data and further explore the relationship between human factors and governance structures on other firm strategies.Practical implicationsRegulators may focus mainly on regulatory setting based on the “best practice” of governance yet overlook human influence in corporate dynamics. For shareholders, hiring managers with distinct styles will change corporate outcomes but different governance mechanisms could be devised to adapt to CEOs with various personalities.Originality/valuePrior studies show that both CEO personal preferences and firms' governance structure affect corporate policies, and this paper complements prior studies by exploring how the two may interact to shape corporate policy and its outcomes. This paper also adds to the literature showing that CEO duality could serve a disciplinary role.

부조종사 자격증명(Multi-Crew Pilot License) 제도에 대한 국내 항공종사자 인식도 및 수요도 분석

A survey was conducted on the awareness and demand for the Multi-crew Pilot License (MPL) to prepare the legal institutional basis for the MPL certification system. A total of 288 airmen were asked questions about the awareness and demand of the MPL certification system, and factors affecting the establishment and participation of MPL training programs. The survey results show the understanding of the MPL certification system is significantly lower than that of the current pilot certification system. The demand for the MPL training program was found to be significant, trainees and low-skilled airmen was greater demand. The factor that has the greatest influence on the establishment and participation of the MPL training program was identified as employment connection (airline recruiting). It is expected that the result of this study will be used as basic data necessary for establishing MPL certification system policy.

UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM FOR MEDIA PRODUCTION: AN EXTENSION OF DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY

The defense industry has played a major impact in enhancing global economy. S-curve 11th is the target industry which promotes Eastern Economic Corridor (ECC) in Thailand. The state-of-the-art in defense technology is increasing all the time including Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) which can be used for the media production in defense technology. UAS pilots for media production in defense technology are different from other UAS pilots. They require hard and soft skills such as management, decision, planning and knowledge for controller and cinematography including ability to choose and operate the right equipment for filming aerial movies properly and creative talent to film movies. The UAS knowledge and controller can be learned from a remoted pilot license course but the soft skills can be partly developed from experiences. The purpose of this study is to lay guideline for using the UAS media production in defense technology with the expectation of providing specific views and multiple domains in research area. It is a combination of engineering, science, art and management. The content in this article is based on experiences from UAS operation.

부조종사 자격증명(MPL; Multi-Crew Pilot License) 비행교관 훈련프로그램에 관한 연구

Since the MPL (Multi-Crew Pilot License) Program was introduced in Korea in 2009, there has not been a single pilot licensed under the MPL Program. To successfully implement the MPL Program in Korea, it is necessary for an Approved Training Organization to develop the MPL Flight Instructor Training Program and foster excellent MPL Flight Instructors. However, there are no rules or guidelines regarding the MPL Flight Instructor Training Program in Korea. This study suggests the Training Specification for the MPL Flight Instructor, including the training syllabus, training and assessment methods. The MPL Flight Instructor Training Program should be composed of minimum 14-hour academic and practical training, which includes the concept of Competency-Based Training, CRM, Competency, Behavior Indicator and Assessment. To be qualified for the MPL Flight Instructor, candidates need to successfully complete the course and pass the practical test. In order to maintain the qualification, MPL Flight Instructors should comply to recency and recurrent training requirements.

VR HMD 시뮬레이터를 활용한 조종사 시선 추적 및 착륙 절차 결과 분석

This study performed precision instrument landing procedures for pilots with a commercial pilot license using VR HMD flight simulators, and assuming that the center of the pilot's gaze is in the front, 3-D.O.F. head tracking data and 2-D eye tracking of VR HMD worn by pilots gaze tracking was performed through. After that, AOI (Area of Interesting) was set for the instrument panel and external field of view of the cockpit to analyze how the pilot's gaze was distributed before and after the decision altitude. At the same time, the landing results were analyzed using the Localizer and G/S data as the pilot's precision instrument landing flight data. As a result, the pilot was quantitatively evaluated by reflecting the gaze tracking and the resulting landing result using a VR HMD simulator.

Firstborn CEOs and credit ratings

Our study examines whether CEOs’ birth order can predict firms’ credit ratings. Consistent with studies that document a positive relationship in the general population between being firstborn and being conservative, our study finds that firms managed by firstborn CEOs tend to have higher credit ratings than those managed by later-born CEOs. Our results are robust to controlling for additional personal CEO traits, such as political identity, and to using a propensity score matching sample. A change analysis supports the causality of the firstborn effect. We suggest that return on assets and free cash flow are possible channels through which firstborn status affects credit ratings. Cross-sectional analyses show that the positive association is less (more) pronounced for firstborn CEOs who have a pilot license (run firms in less competitive industries). These results suggest that managerial conservatism may be an important factor in credit rating agencies’ credit risk assessments.

Customers’ Risk Tolerance and Suppliers’ Investment Inefficiency

We examine the effect of the risk tolerance of downstream firms (i.e., customers) on the investment inefficiency of upstream firms (i.e., suppliers). Using the pilot licensing status of the CEOs as a proxy for their inherent risk tolerance, we find that customer firms led by pilot CEOs are associated with suppliers’ investment inefficiency, where investment inefficiency is more pronounced when the suppliers have less bargaining power over their customers. Our dynamic analysis confirms the causative relation between customer risk tolerance and supplier investment inefficiency and suggests that customers’ risk tolerance plays a significant role in shaping suppliers’ relationship-specific investment strategies.

Performing low-altitude photogrammetric surveys, a comparative analysis of user-grade unmanned aircraft systems

This paper shows results of comparing performances of four unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in terms of photogrammetric survey’s quality. This study aims to investigate what is the more suitable UAS for specific applications considering the required scale factor, such as for architectural, environmental, and restoration purposes. A series of photogrammetric surveys were conducted in a hilly area of about 5 ha using Phantom 4 Adv, Mavic 2 Pro, Mavic Air 2, and Mavic Mini 2. These unmanned aircrafts are commercial user–grade systems used mainly by private professionals. Several photogrammetric reconstructions were performed by varying essential parameters, such as flight altitude and cameras of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), applying structure-from-motion (SfM) algorithms to the images taken from the UAS. The surveys’ quality was analyzed by comparing the ground targets’ coordinates extrapolated from the point clouds to those measured on the field with indirect georeferencing through GNSS technology. Fifty targets were installed and arranged following a reasonably regular mesh. The boundary conditions were maintained the same for each flight mission, flight trajectories, and the ground control point distribution on the ground. For each survey made by each of the four UAS, altimetric and planimetric residuals were reported and compared. Average residuals from Phantom 4 Adv, about 15 mm, almost disappear compared to the other UASs; the discrepancy is one order of magnitude. With a regular grid geometry of ground targets, the Mavic Mini 2 led to an error average of about 5 cm. Remembering that the Mavic Mini 2 is an ultralight drone (does not require a pilot's license), it could significantly reduce cost compared to the other systems.

Using the Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering Method to Examine Human Factors in Indonesian Aviation Accidents

This study aims to provide a comprehensive source of knowledge regarding aviation accidents in Indonesia caused by human factors, which are the most significant among other causative elements, requiring a detailed assessment of the accident as a result of pilot and co-pilot faults while operating the aircraft. The KNKT website database is still in the form of accident reports. To this end, the retrieved information based on historical data for 23 years of accidents caused by humans by analyzing the data using the clustering approach to gain data insight in the relationship between total flying hours and pilot licenses. The data analysis revealed that, in general, the aircraft operator complied with the CASR standards.

Analysis of CRM Training in the Commercial Pilot License Training Stage for Student Pilots—Taking L3 Flight Training School as an Example

CRM training is one of the compulsory courses for every student pilot, especially in commercial pilot license training stage. This paper introduces the course and teaching method of CRM in L3 flight training school. Combined with the author's flight experience in L3 flight training school in the United States, it analyses the main factors for obtaining CRM in commercial pilot license training, and discusses the common problems encountered by pilots due to lack of CRM training. This paper proposes some targeted programme from the acquisition of pre-flight information, flight technical ability, crew communication, enhancement of flight situational awareness, and improvement of Crew Resource Management capabilities. At last, the paper provides some references for student pilots of flight safety and improving Crew Resource Management capabilities.

Exploring the status of Pilot Training in the Aviation Industry of South Africa

This research study aims to explore the status of Pilot Training in South Africa's aviation industry. The study is premised on the underlying assumption that the current existing Instructor’s training (Theory and Practical) have a huge impact on the progression of students. The study will diagnose the challenges or gaps in the training sector as experienced by students Pilots who are respondents in the study. Participants of this study were Pilots students across the Republic of South Africa undergoing Private Pilot Licence training and Commercial Pilot Licence training. They all willingly gave consent to participate in the study (n = 211).

Quantifying the Cost of Drone-Related Threats in New Zealand

This article provides initial estimates of the most significant threats from drones in New Zealand. An economic approach is adopted with risks expressed as an expected annual cost, which is consistent with the adoption of a cost-benefit frame-work for policy development. It will be demonstrated that the expected annual cost of drone misuse are greater than that of a mass shooting, with the risks in the prison system alone exceeding the expected cost of a mass shooting. The expected annual cost of a terror attack exceeds that of the risks to the aviation industry. However current government proposals for registration of drones and licensing of pilots will do little to address the potential threats, which generally – though not exclusively – arise from individuals who have no intention of complying with the law. Indeed, it seems unlikely that the Ministry of Transport’s proposed policies will be effective in countering the most significant threats – those policies are likely to cost more than the risk that they might avert. Consequently there is a need to develop a strategy for countering the misuse of drones by those engaged in illegal activities.

Flight Simulation Training Device Operating Standards for MPL Training Programs in South Korea

The Multi-crew Pilot License (MPL) is a new pilot qualification introduced by ICAO to train co-pilots for transport aircraft based on efficient and stable competency to respond to changes in the operating environment and technology. ICAO and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) require a minimum flight of 240 hours for MPL qualification training, and allow the use of flight simulation training devices (FSTDs) for most of the training, specifying the performance requirements for FSTDs. As South Korea is also preparing for the operation of the MPL training program, it is essential to establish the operating standards for FSTDs required for MPL training. This study aims to identify the international standards for FSTDs related to MPL training, and to compare them with the current operating standards for FSTDs in South Korea for presenting a standard (draft) that can be used when introducing domestic MPL training programs in the future.

Electrically Driven VTOL Flying Car Designing and Aerodynamic Analysis

In this study, the design of the electric powered VTOL Flying car was made in the CAD program, and the longitudinal, vertical and lateral flight dynamics were examined and aerodynamic analysis was made. In the design, the power and propulsion systems of the flying car, avionic systems, security systems, magnetic sensors, navigation landing and take-off methods, requirement verification methods, flight performance values were determined. Our design work for flying cars, which will soon start real-time flights, will guide the people and institutions that will design and produce in this field. A practical flying car should be able to operate safely and environmentally both in public spaces and in the air. For widespread adoption, it must be able to fly without a qualified pilot as we know it as a controller, and must have appropriate purchase and operating costs. Being a qualified car driver and having a pilot license, which certification processes are extremely difficult, is an important obstacle to the adoption and widespread process of the flying car concept. The certification processes of many different countries have been examined for the flying car we will design. Examination of these processes has been guiding in the creation of detailed data on many issues, and in this context, care has been taken to meet the requested competencies on a common ground. In order to overcome these procedures, a VTOL platform with high autonomy has been designed thanks to its subsystems as well as a stable flight dynamics.

A Study on the Key Points of Korean MPL Training System

Multi-crew Pilot License (MPL) is an international pilot certification adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 2006 under the recognition of the need for efficient and systematic pilot training including the education of pilots with advanced aviation technology and ability to respond to flight environment, resolution of the human factor problems of pilots, and provision of stable training tools for transport aircraft pilots for potential risk of pilot shortage in the future. South Korea also has prepared a legal basis for operating an MPL system in the Aviation Act in 2009, but there has been no domestic MPL qualifier. The biggest reason for this seems to be the insufficient domestic MPL training system. Therefore, it is necessary to benchmark the international standards of the ICAO, and to promote the development of the Korean MPL training system through revision and supplementation of laws and regulations in consideration of Korean circumstances.