THE EFFECT OF SIMULATOR MOTION ON PILOT TRAINING AND EVALUATION*
Tiauw H.GoH
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Judith Bürki-CohenI
Volpe Center, U.S. Department of Transportation,
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Nancy N. SojaE
Brookline, Massachusetts
ABSTRACT
This study empirically examined the effect of simulator platform motion on airline pilot recurrent training and evaluation. It is driven by the need for sound scientific data on the relationship between certain key modern device features and their effect on the transfer of pilot performance and behavior to and from the respective airplane. The experiment utilized an FAA qualified Level C simulator with six-degree-of-freedom synergistic motion and a wide angle high quality visual system. Experienced airline pilots were evaluated and trained in the simulator, half of them with and the other half without motion. Then the transfer of skills acquired by both groups during this training was tested in the simulator with the motion system turned on as a stand-in for the airplane (quasi-transfer). Every effort was made to avoid deficiencies in the research design identified in a review of prior studies, by measuring pilot stimulation and response, testing both maneuvers and pilots that are diagnostic of a need of motion, avoiding pilot and instructor bias, and ensuring sufficient statistical power to capture operationally relevant effects. The results of the analyses as well as their implications are presented in this paper.
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