Pilot Training Performance Research Articles

Predicting Commercial Pilot Training Performance

Abstract. The main purpose of this study was to examine the predictive validity of the system used for ab initio selection of candidates to a bachelor program in aviation. The selection includes paper-and-pencil tests, computer-based tests, and an interview. A total of 188 candidates participated in the validation study. The total test score predicted the results of three exams in aviation theory ( r = .27–.38) and extra flying hours needed (−.22), but not mean university grade. The regression analyses indicated that all predictors (tests and interview ratings) explained 25% of the variance in aviation theory, 19% in extra flying hours needed, and 7% in mean university grade. The overall findings confirmed the predictive validity of selection tests, especially the computer-based tests.

Consistency of the Relations of Cognitive Ability and Personality Traits to Pilot Training Performance

The predictive validity of cognitive ability and personality traits was examined in large samples of U.S. Air Force pilot trainees. Criterion data were collected between 1995 and 2008 from 4 training bases across 3 training tracks. Analyses also examined consistency in pilot aptitude and training outcomes. Results were consistent with previous research indicating cognitive ability is the best predictor of pilot training performance. There were few differences across training tracks, bases, and years, and none was large. Overall, results illustrated the consistency of the quality of pilot trainees as assessed by cognitive ability and personality trait measures, and the consistency of these measures in predicting training performance over time. This consistency results in a more stable training system, enabling greater efficiency and effectiveness.

Investigating the Validity of Previous Flying Experience, Both Actual and Simulated, in Predicting Initial and Advanced Military Pilot Training Performance

This study examined the validity of cognitive ability, previous flying experience, and a simulation in predicting the job knowledge and flying performance of military pilots undergoing training. Archival data were analyzed for 300 Canadian pilot candidates who attempted entry-level military pilot training and 150 candidates who completed intermediate-level training on fixed-wing aircraft. Cognitive ability predicted aviation-related job knowledge but not flying performance at either early or later stages of flying performance. Both previous flying experience and the simulation predicted success in early flying performance but only the simulation predicted success at the more advanced levels of pilot training. Previous flying experience moderated the results from the simulation; the simulation was a much stronger predictor of advanced flying performance for those candidates with no previous flying experience. The results suggest developing different selection protocols for those candidates with previous flying experience.

Standard Cognitive Psychological Tests Predict Military Pilot Training Outcomes

The predictive validity of scores from two cognitive functioning tests, the Multidimensional Aptitude Battery (MAB) and the MicroCog, was examined for initial pilot training performance. In addition to training completion, several training performance criteria were available for graduates: academic grades, daily flying grades, check ride grades, and class rank. Mean score comparisons and correlations in samples of between 5,582 and 12,924 trainees across the two tests showed small but statistically significant relationships with training performance. For example, after correction for range restriction and dichotomization of the criterion, the MAB full-scale IQ score and the MicroCog General Cognitive Functioning score were correlated .29 and .26 respectively with initial pilot training completion. The results pointed to general cognitive ability as the main predictor of training performance. Comparisons with results from studies involving US Air Force pilot aptitude tests showed lower validities for these cognitive functioning tests. This finding likely occurred because the pilot aptitude tests measure additional factors (e.g., aviation knowledge/experience and psychomotor skills) that are predictive of training success and that are not covered by the cognitive functioning tests.

Predicting pilot training performance using measures of five factor personality

Predicting pilot training performance using measures of five factor personality

Fluid intellingence and spatial reasoning as predictors of pilot training performance in the South African Air Force (SAAF)

Pilot selection is a form of high-stakes selection due to the massive costs of training, high trainee ability requirements and costly repercussions of poor selection decisions. This criterion-related validation study investigated the predictive ability of fluid intelligence and spatial reasoning in predicting three criteria of pilot training performance, using an accumulated sample of South African Air Force pilots (N = 108). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses with training grade achieved as criterion were performed for each of the phases of training, namely practical flight training, ground school training, and officers’ formative training. Multiple correlations of 0.35 (p < 0.01), 0.20 (p > 0.05) and 0.23 (p > 0.05) were obtained for flight, ground school and formative training results, respectively. Spatial ability had incremental validity over fluid intelligence for predicting flight training performance.

Structural models of cognitive and perceptualmotor abilities

A collection of 25 computer-administered tests was given to a sample of 172 adults to examine the overlap between the cognitive and perceptual-motor abilities domains. The focus was on multilimb coordination ability as a criterion variable, as this ability has a long history of validity in predicting pilot training performance. Structural equation modeling was used to test two related models of human abilities. The first one being a causal model and the second being a nested hierarchical model. The results suggest that multilimb coordination ability is not simply another manifestation of general cognitive ability, but instead the result of several abilities such as dynamic visual processing, visuo-spatial processing and working memory. A second narrower perceptual-motor factor, target tracking, was found to be related to processing speed but no other cognitive factor.

The Use of Response Latencies to Self-Report Personality Measures

Previous research demonstrated that latencies to personality inventory items explain unique variance in criteria such as peer ratings of personality (Popham & Holden, 1990). This research was designed to determine if such latencies, reflecting a construct called the self-schema (Markus, 1977), would contribute to the prediction of pilot training performance. Latencies and scale scores from items on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) were examined for a sample of U.S. Air Force pilot candidates. The results indicated that, as in previous studies, scale scores and response latencies tended to be corre- lated, although the pattern was not consistent across all trait dimensions. Fur- thermore, response latency measures for two trait dimensions added incremental validity over inventory scores alone to the prediction of flying training performance. The results were interpreted as providing support for further investigation of the utility of response latencies as indicants of the self-schema that may be useful for personnel selection.

Air force officer qualifying test validity for predicting pilot training performance

The AFOQT was validated for the prediction of pilot training criteria. Subjects were 7,563 men and women selected for pilot training on the basis of educational attainment and AFOQT scores. Criterion variables included daily flight training grades, check flight grades in subsonic and transonic aircraft, and overall academic performance in the 53 week pilot training course. Test validities were presented as observed, corrected for multivariate range restriction, and corrected for multivariate range restriction and unreliability. The Aviation Information and Instrument Comprehension tests, measures of job knowledge, were most predictive of daily and check flights in the initial subsonic jet aircraft. This reflects the relative greater importance of prior job knowledge early in training. The Scale Reading test, a measure of perceptual speed, was most predictive for daily and check flights in the advanced transonic training aircraft. The Arithmetic Reasoning test, a good measure of general cognitive ability, was most predictive of aeronautics in ground school. The development of an improved pilot selection composite is suggested by the results of the validity analyses.

Understanding the Relations Between Selection Factors and Pilot Training Performance: Does the Criterion Make a Difference?

Although several valid predictors of U.S. Air Force pilot training performance have been identified, it was felt that our understanding of the relation between preselection personnel attribute data and training performance was limited by the dichotomous nature of the outcome indicators (i.e., graduation or elimination) and by the disproportionate number of people in the outcome categories. A weighted composite of Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) flying performance data (i.e., daily flying grades, check flight grades, and academic grades) was shown to be related closely to advanced training recommendations (fighter vs. nonfighter aircraft). This suggested that this composite score was a reasonable measure of pilot candidate quality because fighter aircraft assignments are considered more prestigious and demanding than nonfighter assignments. When the weighted composite algorithm was modified to include UPT eliminees, however, it demonstrated little utility in adding to our understanding of the relation b...

Cross Validation of Experimental USAF Pilot Training Performance Models

Abstract : A series of studies have indicated that individual differences in hand-eye coordination, information processing ability, personality and attitudes are related to USAF pilot training performance. The current investigation was designed to cross-validate these results. Eight hundred eighty-five (885) USAF Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) students were divided randomly into two groups. Pilot selection models that used a combination of Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) and Basic Attributes Test (BAT) battery scores were developed independently for each group and then cross-validated with the other group. In the model development phase, subjects with good hand-eye coordination who made quick decisions were more likely to complete UPT successfully in both groups. Although there was some reduction in the validity coefficients in the cross-validation phase, the selection models were related significantly to UPT final outcome in both groups. These results suggest that the AFOQT/BAT pilot selection models are sufficiently robust to be used as adjuncts to operational USAF pilot trainee selection procedures. Keywords: Aptitude testing, Basic attributes test, Pilot selection.