Pilot Skills Research Articles

単独計器飛行時のワークロード評価法に関する研究

Operations under single pilot instrument flight rules for general aviation aircraft are known to be one of the most demanding pilot tasks. Pilot workload measurements using a PC-based flight simulator have been done to investigate pilot skills and the pilot workload. A pilot workload evaluation method has been established that is partly based on the time and motion studies and that mainly concentrates on the pilot's information processing. The time-record of pilot's eye movement has been used for the evaluation. Pilots who have different flight experiences attended the tests. Comparisons between the results by experienced pilots and those by novice pilots were made. It was shown that the relatively correct pilot workload has been evaluated by the present method. Results for the VOR tracking flight showed that the workload of the experienced pilots increases only when the airplane attitude has been changed, while results of the novice pilots show high workload continuously during the whole flight.

A Preliminary Evaluation of Causal Models of Male and Female Acquisition of Pilot Skills

Based on a previous study, a causal model of acquisition of pilot job knowledge and flying skills was tested on separate samples of male and female students. Causal model parameters were estimated separately for each sample and, due to the small sample size for women, no between-groups statistical tests were conducted. The results are viewed as tentative because of the small sample of female students; however, the path coefficient parameter estimates are still useful. The model showed a direct influence of general cognitive ability (g) on the acquisition of job knowledge and an indirect influence on the acquisition of flying skills. The direct and indirect influence of cognitive ability on flying skills was a little stronger for women than for men. Additionally, the path between prior job knowledge (JKp) and flying performance was somewhat stronger for women than for men. Consistent with previous findings, the influence of early flying skills on later flying skills was very strong. No argument for a sex-separated training syllabus is supported.

Psychophysiological responses to changes in workload during simulated air traffic control

In this investigation, eight Air Force air traffic controllers (ATCs) performed three scenarios on TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach Control), a computer-based air traffic control (ATC) simulation. Two scenarios were used each with three levels of difficulty. One scenario varied traffic volume by manipulating the number of aircraft to be handled and the second scenario varied traffic complexity by manipulating arriving to departing flight ratios, pilot skill and mixture of aircraft types. A third scenario, overload, required subjects to handle a larger number of aircraft in a limited amount of time. The effects of the manipulations on controller workload were assessed using performance, subjective (TLX), and physiological (EEG, eye blink, heart rate, respiration, saccade) measures. Significant main effects of difficulty level were found for TRACON performance, TLX, eye blink, respiration and EEG measures. Only the EEG was associated with main effects for the type of traffic. The results provide support for the differential sensitivity of a variety of workload measures in complex tasks, underscore the importance of traffic complexity in ATC workload, and support the utility of TRACON as a tool for studies of ATC workload.

A Simulator-based Approach to Training In Aeronautical Decision Making

The effectiveness of a simulator-based approach to training pilot skills in risk assessment and decision making was evaluated in a sample of pilots enrolled in a university aviation science program. The 16 experimental group subj ects received four hours of classroom instruction designed to enhance pilot judgment skills. followed by four simulated cross-country flights during which several critical inflight events occurred. Subjects in the control group received classroom instruction in basic instrument flying. followed by simulator sessions emphasizing instrument flight. Measures of pilot judgment were obtained on all subjects before and after the training and subjects in the experimental judgment-trained group performed significantly better on the post-training simulation than did control group subjects. The findings suggest that significant gains in pilot decision-making skill can be obtained through the use of the judgment training materials along with simulator practice. The implications of Air Force undergraduate pilot training are discussed.

Behavioral Taxonomy of Undergraduate Pilot Training Tasks and Skills

The analysis and specification of fundamental flying abilities which comprise the training objectives of Air Force undergraduate pilot training (UPT) was performed. The taxonomy of UPT tasks and skills is an analytical tool of considerable generality that can be used to aid in understanding the essential requirements of flying training. Surface analyses of fifty UPT maneuvers generated task element descriptions subdivided into a series of cue, mental action, and motor action sequences. The resulting task information was used to identify the pilot skills required to execute the flying tasks described. A set of classification rules organized the skills into a taxonornic cubic concept in which cues, mental actions, and motor actions represented cube faces. The classification rules were validated empirically and used to verify all surface analyses. The required task skills were then organized into a matrix system for simple data retrieval operations.

The effect of prolonged non-flying periods on pilot skill in performance of a simulated carrier landing task, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey California, Sep. 1973 : Abstr in Government Reports Announcements (Report No. AD-769 696/6GA)

The effect of prolonged non-flying periods on pilot skill in performance of a simulated carrier landing task, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey California, Sep. 1973 : Abstr in Government Reports Announcements (Report No. AD-769 696/6GA)

Rand symposium on pilot training and the pilot career: Stewart, W.A.S. and Wainstein, E.S. Dec. 1970, 143 pp.; abstr. in Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports (Report No. N71-25792)

Abstract : Contents: The pilot career; Career and education; The pilot skill--definition, measurement, and retention; Relevance of training to combat; Selection; Motivation; Training innovations and the role of research; Simulators; The instructor pilot; Topics for research.

BOUNCING AND SHOCK LOAD OF AN AEROPLANE IN LANDING

This paper investigates dynamically under some simplifications the main features in the early stage of three-points-landing i.e. the falling motion from the flattened-out level flight (if any) and bouncing after the touch to the ground, considering the elastic force of the landing gears and the clamping forces due to inner friction of the gears as well as due to air resistance of the main plane. How the pilot's skill of landing manœuvre and the characteristics of the landing gears have influences on bouncing of the aeroplane is also examined, and further the shock load factor in landing is theoretically calculated and compared with that which is required by the Japanese Regulation for the Strength Calculation of a Civil Aeroplane.Conclusions obtained, see Chapter VIII.

The Manoeuvres of Getting off and Landing

The manoeuvres of getting off and landing are to me the beginning and the send of flight; they separate the sheep from the goats; the aristocrat of the flying world uses them for the display of his genius, leaving his would-be imitators to find what consolation they can in the amusement with which they innocently provide the onlookers.In commercial flying the manoeuvres of getting off and landing are still the most obvious calls on the pilot's skill; and who shall deny the splendid response? But a determination to ease the pilot's task is not thereby for an instant to be excused. This, one of the most urgent problems before applied design to-day, lies in the conflicting requirements of ease and safety in getting off and landing and those of economy and usefulness in full flight. To assist in the statement of this problem is the object of my Paper. These are the manoeuvres perhaps about which most has been said, and, from the pilot's point of view, least written. Since first a heavier-than-air machine left the ground, they have never failed as a topic of conversation throughout the whole flying community; and this has tempted me to analyse them on the basis of my own experience and that of the many pilots I have known.