Pilot Selection Research Articles

The relative age effect in selection of ab initio pilots–Revisiting Gladwell's famous claims

A relative age effect (RAE) has been found in education and sports, with students born earlier in the school year attaining higher levels of success. This was brought into public consciousness through Malcom Gladwell's Outliers: The Story of Success. However, the effect has not been thoroughly examined in other contexts. Thus, with regards to the context dependency of the RAE, and the specificity of which abilities it affects, there are unknowns. The aim of the present study was to scrutinize the tests in use in commercial aviation and explore whether there is a bias based on birthdate in competitive selection procedures assessing operational and cognitive abilities, outside of traditional education. Potential suboptimal selection has implications for flight safety. Associations were studied between relative age and test scores (of cognitive ability, manual spatial ability, and multitasking ability), as well as acceptance for higher education in commercial aviation in Sweden, in 1113 ab initio candidates. Relative age neither had a significant correlation with any of the six performance scores, nor with an aggregated factor score (r = −0.009, p = 0.791), nor predicted flight-school admission (b = 0.036, p = 0.210). Chronological age was associated with manual spatial ability, yet neither correlated with aggregate score nor with admission. The results may be an indication of the RAE having faded in early adulthood, and/or that indirect exposure of education does not benefit candidates in operational tests in early adulthood. Thus, neither relative age nor chronological age seemed to bias the results. For the effects of RAE to persist– or occur in operational abilities– competition between candidates in selection and subsequent relevant exposure (e.g., training/schooling), may be needed. Overall cognitive ability is likely more predictive of success when variance in specific enhancing exposure is limited.

Metabolic flexibility associated with flight time among combat pilots of the Brazilian air force.

Fighter pilots must support the effects of many stressors, including physical and psychological exertion, circadian disturbance, jet lag, and environmental stress. Despite the rigorous selection of military pilots, those factors predispose to failures in physiological compensatory mechanisms and metabolic flexibility. We compared through NMR-based metabolomics the metabolic profile of Brazilian F5 fighter pilots with different flight experiences vs. the control group of non-pilots. We hypothesized that combat pilots have metabolic flexibility associated with combat flight time. We evaluated for the first time 34 Brazilian fighter pilots from Santa Cruz Air Base (Rio de Janeiro, RJ) allocated into three groups: pilots with lower total accumulated flight experience < 1,100h (PC1, n = 7); pilots with higher total accumulated flight experience ≥ 1,100h (PC2, n = 6); military non-pilots (CONT, n = 21). Data collection included anthropometric measurements, total blood count, lipidogram, markers of oxidative stress, and serum NMR-based metabolomics. In comparison with controls (p < 0.05), pilots exhibited decreased levels of white blood cells (-13%), neutrophils (-15%), lymphocytes (-20%), alfa-glucose (-13%), lactate (-26%), glutamine (-11%), histidine (-20%), and tyrosine (-11%), but higher isobutyrate (+ 10%) concentrations. Significant correlations were found between lactate vs. amino acids in CONT (r = 0.55-0.68, p < 0.001), and vs. glutamine in PC2 (r = 0.94, p = 0.01). Fighter pilots with lower experience showed a dysregulation in immune-metabolic function in comparison with controls, which seemed to be counteracted by the accumulation of flight hours. Those findings might have implications for the health preservation and operational training of fighter pilots.

AI based fuzzy MCDM models: Comparison and evaluation of dissimilar outcomes, an application to enhance pilot recruitment process

AbstractPilot recruitment is critical as they pose a multifaceted challenge for civilian and military organizations due to the complex traits impacting their missions and performance. In this study, a novel set of criteria and sub‐criteria were determined to compare twelve candidate pilots. Numerically immeasurable, imprecise, and non‐linear continuous fuzzy linguistic traits (variables) were studied which make the work unique and challenging due to individual preferences and disagreements between decision‐makers (DMs). The outcomes of three distinct fuzzy multiple criteria decision‐making (MCDM) approaches; fuzzy TOPSIS, fuzzy VIKOR, and fuzzy PROMETHEE were evaluated with trapezoidal fuzzy numbers (TFNs) to sort the positions of candidate pilots. Moreover, a unique defuzzification ranking method was employed to adjust the results of fuzzy MCDM methods for the synthesis and evaluation of outcomes of the pilot selection problem. All these efforts make the paper original and outstanding. Our findings and analysis suggested that fuzzy TOPSIS and PROMETHEE methods' outcomes showed maximum close similarity for ranking positions. However, substantial distinctions were noted when comparing these outcomes with the fuzzy VIKOR approach. Yet, the mission of predicting and revealing the best candidates is related to several traits, their weights, and the methods selected. Therefore, since vague information and ambiguous preferences match fuzzy superiority, a comprehensive and unbiased evaluation was achieved, ensuring the integrity of the decision‐making process. The results can be employed to enhance the safety and efficiency of airline operations and ensure that the most qualified and competent pilots are selected for the job.

Alterations in white matter fiber tracts and their correlation with flying cadet behavior.

An increasing number of studies have shown that flight training alters the human brain structure; however, most studies have focused on gray matter, and the exploration of white matter structure has been largely neglected. This study aimed to investigate the changes in white matter structure induced by flight training and estimate the correlation between such changes and psychomotor and flight performance. Diffusion tensor imaging data were obtained from 25 flying cadets and 24 general college students. Data were collected in 2019 and 2022 and analyzed using automated fiber quantification. This study found no significant changes in the flight group in 2019. However, in 2022, the flight group exhibited significant alterations in the diffusion tensor imaging of the right anterior thalamic radiation, left cingulum cingulate, bilateral superior longitudinal fasciculus, and left arcuate fasciculus. These changes occurred within local nodes of the fiber tracts. In addition, we found that changes in fiber tracts in the 2022 flight group were correlated with the reaction time of the psychomotor test task and flight duration. These findings may help improve flight training programs and provide new ideas for the selection of excellent pilots.

Retrospective Analysis of Medical Attrition for Pilot Applicants to the British Army Air Corps.

INTRODUCTION: Management of aeromedical risk is essential for flight safety. Given the many operator stressors for pilots, militaries maintain a vested interest in selecting aircrew applicants who meet rigorous initial medical standards. Very little published literature exists regarding the extent of medical disqualifications or precluding conditions for initial candidates.METHODS: For the British Army, pilot selection is a phased, multistep process that includes Phase I medical screening followed by a comprehensive Phase II medical exam. De-identified summary data were retrospectively reviewed for medical fitness and disqualifying categories for the 5-yr period of 2018-2022, inclusive. For those ultimately deemed unfit for aviation service, etiology was grouped into general categories.RESULTS: Approximately one-third (30.2%) of candidates were disqualified at Phase I initial medical screening with leading categories of attrition due to respiratory etiology, especially a history of asthma or reactive airway disease, followed by ophthalmology. For the Phase II medical exam cohort, 21.0% were medically disqualified with most attrition from anthropometry and ophthalmology. There were no statistical differences in disqualifications for gender or pathway of entry (civilian vs. serving personnel).DISCUSSION: Major categories of medical attrition were similar to that of other nations, yet the published literature in this area is surprisingly tenuous. Given the desire for evidence-based medical selection standards, it is important for regular review of processes and standards such that the risks of known physiological challenges are judiciously weighed with the benefits of a large, diverse pool of selection as well as force structure and recruitment demand.Adams MS, Goldie CE, Gaydos SJ. Retrospective analysis of medical attrition for pilot applicants to the British Army Air Corps. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2023; 94(12):939-943.

Massive MIMO-OFDM Transmission Without Cellular Networks Using Frequency - Selective Fading Channels

Abstract: For cell-free massive multi-input multi-output (CF-m-MIMO) across frequency-selective fading channels, this system introduces and determines the effectiveness of the orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM)-based multi-carrier transmission. The CF-m-MIMO-OFDM system can accommodate a substantial user base and is flexible enough to offer a range of data rates for usage in a variety of contexts. With its scalability and flexibility, the CF-m-MIMO-OFDM transmission network can serve a large number of users at variable data rates. It is proposed to beamform in the frequency-domain conjugate, to choose a pilot, and to allocate resources differently for each user. User-specific resource allocation, pilot selection, and frequency-domain conjugate beamforming are all suggested. The CF-m-MIMO-OFDM system can support a large number of users and can offer varying data rates to accommodate a wide range of applications.

Grant-free random access in pilot-reused multiceli massive MIMO systems with backoff mechanisms

Grant-free random access (RA) is attractive for future network due to the minimized access delay. In this paper, we investigate the grantfree RA in multicell massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems with pilot reuse. With backoff mechanism, user equipments (UEs) in each cell are randomly activated, and active UEs randomly select orthogonal pilots from a predefined pilot pool, which results in a random pilot contamination among cells. With the help of indicators that capture the uncertainties of UE activation and pilot selection, we derive a closed-form approximation of the spectral efficiency per cell after averaging over the channel fading as well as UEs' random behaviors. Based on the analysis, the optimal backoff parameter and pilot length that maximize the spectral efficiency can be obtained. We find that the backoff mechanism is necessary for the system with large number of UEs, as it can bring significant gains on the spectral efficiency. Moreover, as UE number grows, more backoff time is needed.

Effects of face masks on fairness in on-site personnel selection during a pandemic.

Despite significant challenges, personnel selection procedures had to continue as on-site testing in the Covid-19 pandemic. Health and safety measures and specifically the use of face masks threaten to limit the fairness of cognitive testing and behavioral observation in the assessment center. In this study, we compare the performance and pass rates of pilot selection under three different conditions in the selection campaigns of 2019 (pre-pandemic), 2020 (health and safety measures without mask), and 2021 (health and safety measures with mask). Mask wearing and other health and safety measures had no influence on the objective parameters of pilot selection. However, for some of the areas of competence in the assessment center subjective observability was rated lower for the condition with face masks. We conclude that the fairness and precision of selection processes are not compromised by wearing face masks and that a high degree of standardization in diagnostic instruments prevents a partially reduced subjective observability from affecting the selection's outcome.

Unpack the black box of pilot sampling in policy experimentation: A qualitative comparative analysis of China's public hospital reform

AbstractGovernments increasingly use policy experimentation programs to seek solutions for complex problems. Because randomization and controllability are unrealistic for real‐world policy experiments, how subnational pilots are selected is crucial for generating sound evidence for national replication. However, the received wisdom on pilot sampling is thin and paradoxical. While some studies suggest that policymakers prefer to select regions with favorable conditions, others contend that securing representativeness remains the principal concern when it comes to pilot selection. This study resolves the paradox by elucidating the logic of selecting pilots in large policy experimentation programs. We focus on China's huge public hospital reform program and through a novel research design that combines comparative qualitative analysis and illustrative case studies we seek to explain the strategy for pilot selection. Our analyses reveal five distinctive pathways of pilot sampling: piloting for challenge, piloting for advancement, piloting for innovation, piloting for action, and piloting for regional generalization. Each modality represents a specific experimental purpose. We reveal that piloting serves as a versatile governance tool that can fulfill multiple functions in complex reforms.

Pilot Selection in the Era of Virtual Reality: Algorithms for Accurate and Interpretable Machine Learning Models

With the rapid growth of the aviation industry, there is a need for a large number of flight crew. How to select suitable prospective pilots in a cost-efficient manner has become an important research question. In the current study, 23 pilots were recruited from China Eastern Airlines, and 23 novices were from the community of Tsinghua University. A novel approach incorporating machine learning and virtual reality technology was applied to distinguish features between these participants with different flight skills. Results indicate that SVM with the MIC feature selection method consistently achieved the highest prediction performance on all metrics with an accuracy of 0.93, an AUC of 0.96, and an F1 of 0.93, which outperforms four other classifier algorithms and two other feature selection methods. From the perspective of feature selection methods, the MIC method can select features with a nonlinear relationship to sampling labels instead of a simple filter-out. Our new implementation of the SVM + MIC algorithm outperforms all existing pilot selection algorithms and perhaps provides the first implementation based on eye tracking and flight dynamics data. This study’s VR simulation platforms and algorithms can be used for pilot selection, training, and personnel selection in other fields (e.g., astronauts).

Evaluation of non-type rated pilot selection criteria in the civil aviation industry with AHP and TOPSIS methods

Purpose- The purpose of the study is to show that multi-criteria decision-making methods can be used in the recruiting process of non-type rated pilots in the civil aviation sector. Methodology-In this scope, the criteria taken into consideration by the HR departments in the recruitment process of non-type rated pilots to work in the civil aviation sector have been identified in the study. Then, with the AHP method, importance levels of the criteria have been determined by taking experts opinion. TOPSIS method has been used to select the right candidate for the business among the five candidates who applied as non-type rated pilots. Findings- Finding of the study has proposed the most suitable candidate for the company. Conclusion- The effective use of AHP and TOPSIS multi-criteria decision-making techniques in an integrated manner will facilitate HR managers and decision makers in the quantitative evaluation of subjective and objective criteria. The proposed method can also be used in selection processes in other areas of HRM. Keywords: Human resource management, civil aviation, AHP, TOPSIS, non-type rated pilots JEL Codes: M12, Y9, C35

METHOD OF EVALUATION OF MILITARY HELICOPTER PILOT SELECTION CRITERIA: A NOVEL GREY SWARA APPROACH

Helicopter is a very important defence and attack tool for a country’s armed forces (army) (air force). With the rapid progress of technology, the designs of helicopters, the hardware and software elements in the helicopter have also been renewed and developed in parallel with advanced technology. Therefore, it is expected that the pilots who will use helicopters, which are an important flight tool of armed forces, will also have the qualifications to provide the necessary knowledge, skills, and criteria. The aim of the study is to determine the military helicopter pilot selection criteria and to find the importance levels of these criteria. For this purpose, three main criteria as “Health”, “Psychomotor” and “Education and Training” and thirteen sub-criteria were determined. The weights of the determined criteria were found by the Grey SWARA method, which is a current multi criteria decision making tool. According to the results of the analysis, it is found that the most important sub-criteria was “Practical Training”, while the lowest important criteria was the “Height and weight limits” criterion. With this study, the weights of the military helicopter pilot selection criteria were found for the first time with the Grey SWARA method.

Connections between the Academic Achievement, Vocational Selection, and Careers of Pilots

Research demonstrates that a pilot should have specific skills and abilities. Therefore, professional aptitude tests developed by AGAI are used to select the best graduates for the pilot profession. This research investigates the connections between pilots’ academic achievement, vocational selection, and careers. The sample comprises 52 subjects who started studying in 2009, 2010, and 2011. They were evaluated based on their maturity examinations, vocational selection, academic achievement, and professional career. We observed that the average scores for the pilots’ Lithuanian language, mathematics, and physics maturity examinations are statistically significantly higher (p &lt; 0.05) than the average scores of Lithuanian school graduates. The vast majority of the enrolled students completed their studies and began work in their field of specialty. The academic achievement of those working as pilots (a person who has completed 5 years of pilot studies and works as a captain or first officer) differ in that their average scores in physical study subjects are statistically significantly higher. The graduates who received higher study scores during this study show a statistically significant frequency in their employment as pilots (2–4 quartile). These research findings show that academic achievement and vocational selection are characteristics of those who work as pilots.

Do smart cities promote a green economy? Evidence from a quasi-experiment of 253 cities in China

China's carbon neutrality target is not only a new requirement for energy development, but also a guide for the green and low-carbon development mode and direction of the whole economy. In order to achieve green and low-carbon goals, promote the construction of ecological civilization, and realize high-quality urban development, the Chinese government proposed the construction of “smart cities” in 2012. Using data from 279 cities in China from 2008 to 2020 and a multi-period difference-in-differences method, this paper empirically tested the impacts of the smart city constructions on the development of urban green economy. The results show that: the implementation of smart city has a significant impact in promoting the development of urban green economy, which is manifested in significantly reducing the pollutant emissions and energy intensity and has regional heterogeneity; Endogeneity issues arising from pilot selection are effectively addressed with the help of instrumental variables; Furthermore, the impact mechanism of smart city on green economy is also analyzed.

Pilot Selection in Airline Organizations with the Analytical Hierarchy Process

In the aviation sector, where intense rules and competition prevail, safe flight operations are possible with the employment of qualified human resources who can adapt to technology. The aim of this research is to investigate how the most suitable candidate can be recruited by evaluating many criteria together in the pilot recruitment processes, which are of critical importance for aviation enterprises. In this context, the opinions of senior pilots working in the world's top 10 airline organizations were consulted in the study carried out with the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), which is one of the multi-criteria decision support methods. As a result of the literature research, the recruitment criteria for pilot candidates, which are actively used in the sector, have been listed in the context of the suggestions of experienced captains who also take part in various management positions in the aviation sector. A total of 17 criteria, 3 of which are upper and 14 are sub-criteria determined were weighted with the AHP method. As a result of the analysis, "technical", "non-technical" and "occupational criteria" were listed as the upper criteria according to the degree of importance in terms of local weights.

The creation of the psychological equipment in Ukraine and Armenia by Yevhen Mileryan

The article reveals the content and significance of multifaceted psychological research of Yevhen Oleksandrovych Mileryan (1913-1983) – the creator of measuring, training, cognitive, experimental, control psychological equipment, numerous methods of psychological selection of pilots, operators, drivers, the use of which allowed to prevent accidents. caused by people involved in the management of technical systems of different levels of complexity. The main milestones of the life of the Ukrainian and Armenian scientist, who suffered the trials of the Second World War, the variability of periods of creative self-realization and repression, work in Ukraine and Armenia are presented. This, in particular, the establishment of experimental workshops for the manufacture of psychological devices at the Research Research Institute of Psychology of the Ministry of Education of the USSR and the creation of the first “Device for demonstrating optical sensations and perception of psychology”, which allowed to demonstrate patterns of color mixing, contrast the phenomenon of marginal contrast and saturation, later – an electron-beam device for observing the dynamic picture of the spatial distribution of electric potentials, on the basis of which changes in the activity of the cerebral cortex under the influence of various sound stimuli in the presence or absence of attention were established. electroconvulsive attack. Documentary testimonies and recollections of eyewitnesses about harassment and repressions against E.O. Mileryan, connected with the persecution of all Ukrainians in Ukraine in the early 70s of the XX century, are given. The period of the scientist’s work in Armenia is revealed, which includes continuation of psychophysiological experiments on studying attention in children, elucidation of functional changes of electrical activity of human brain under the influence of various factors, substantiation of psychological theory of general polytechnic skills formation. vocational education. The scientist created instrumental and psychological methods for diagnosing individual psychophysiological features of a person, diagnostic installations and simulators to study the professional suitability of operators, pilots, drivers. Developed the concept of engineering and psychological examination to assess the quality and reliability of the system “man-machine”, psychological devices: apparatus for the study of higher nervous activity, attentiometer, electroencephalometer, emokoordininometer, device KM-3 to measure the speed of response to complex signals, perceptometer, volute study of volitional efforts, thinking hysteroscope, complication apparatus, device for studying the professional suitability of drivers of vehicles, educational and problematic electrical engineering simulators. It is noted that the unique contribution of E.O.Mileryan to the development of psychological science is the hardware-psychological direction of combining scientific accuracy of measurements with creative solution of various psychological problems that posed to the military and postwar generations of the twentieth century.

Information infrastructure and greenhouse gas emission performance in urban China: A difference-in-differences analysis

Owing to its network spillover effect, information infrastructure performs outstandingly in promoting economic growth and technological innovation, and has received widespread attention. However, the ecological performance of information infrastructure, especially its impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emission performance, has been less studied. To investigate this issue, using panel data for 281 prefecture-level cities in China from 2003 to 2018, we treat the Broadband China policy as a quasi-natural experiment in information infrastructure, and conduct a difference-in-differences (DID) analysis. The results show that: (1) Information infrastructure significantly improves urban GHG emission performance. This conclusion holds even after controlling for pilot selection endogeneity, sampling bias, and other policy interference. (2) Technological innovation, industrial structure upgrading, factor allocation enhancement, and tertiary agglomeration are effective channels for information infrastructure to improve GHG emission performance. (3) The treatment effect varies with city size, digital economy level, and economic status. Specifically, information infrastructure exhibits significant emission reduction performance in cities with large size, advanced digital economy, and leading economic status, while the emission reduction effect drops in other cities. This study provides insights into the transition to a carbon-neutral manner for infrastructure in China and other developing countries.

Pilots’ mental workload variation when taking a risk in a flight scenario: a study based on flight simulator experiments

Pilots’ operation behavior in flight is associated with their mental state variables such as workload, situation awareness, stress, etc. The objective of this study was to investigate the dynamic process of mental workload for pilots who perform a risky flight task in simulated scenarios. Two empirical experiments were conducted to address this issue. In experiment one, 19 trainee pilots divided into high-risk and low-risk groups performed a target-search task in a low-altitude visual flight. The results showed a statistically significant interaction between groups and segments for heart rate variability (HRV). The same pattern of physiological results was replicated among participants in experiment two, in which 19 airline pilots completed an approach with low visibility. These findings highlighted the relationship between mental workload variation and risk-taking behavior, which could be considered in improving pilot selection and training to improve flight safety.

Use of CRITIC and MAIRCA Methods in the Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon Pilot Selection Process

Bu çalışmada sıcak hava balonu pilot seçiminde kullanılan karar kriterleri ve bu kriterlere en uygun personel alternatifi Çok Kriterli Karar Verme Yöntemleri ile belirlenmeye çalışılmıştır. Bu amaçla ÇKKV yöntemlerinden CRITIC ve MAIRCA tercih edilmiştir. Literatür taraması uzman akademisyen önerileri ve ilgili mevzuat hükümleri doğrultusunda elde edilen karar kriterleri, Kapadokya’da görüşmeyi kabul eden sıcak hava balonu işletme kriterlerine göre uygulanmıştır. Öncelikle CRITIC yöntemiyle karar kriterlerinin ağırlıkları hesaplanmıştır. Buna göre en önemli kriterin yabancı dil bilgisi, bunu referans yeterliliği ve iletişim kriterleri takip etmiştir. Devamında ise MAIRCA yöntemi ile on iki personel alternatifi arasından en iyi uygulama sonuçlarına sahip A1 kodlu adayın olduğu belirlenmiştir. Objektif yöntemler sonucu elde edilen bulgular personel seçiminde kullanılmak üzere farklı işletmelere önerilmiştir.

Flight maneuver intelligent recognition based on deep variational autoencoder network

The selection and training of aircraft pilots has high standards, long training cycles, high resource consumption, high risk, and high elimination rate. It is the particularly urgent and important requirement for the current talent training strategy of national and military to increase efficiency and speed up all aspects of pilot training, reduce the training cycle and reduce the elimination rate. To this end, this paper uses deep variational auto-encoder network and adaptive dynamic time warping algorithms as support to explore the establishment of an integrated evaluation system for flight maneuver recognition and quality evaluation, solve the industry difficulty faced by current flight training data mining applications, and achieve accurate recognition and reliable quality evaluation of flight regimes under the background of high mobility. It will fully explore the benefits of existing airborne flight data for military trainee pilots, support the personalized and accurate training of flight talents, and reduce the rate of talent elimination.