Henry L. Taylor

Quasi-Transfer as a Predictor of Transfer from Simulator to Airplane

Simulators have emerged as important components of flight-training programs. Nevertheless, the development of design principles that can maximize training transfer and cost-benefit trade-offs are not well established. The most significant challenge to research that would bear on simulator design principles is the difficulty and expense of flight transfer experiments. This difficulty and expense can be reduced by the use of an insimulator transfer design, designated here as a quasi-transfer study, in which transfer is to a high-fidelity configuration of a simulator. Of primary concern for such studies is whether the implied assumption of correspondence between quasi-transfer and transfer effects is well founded. In this article, we review evidence that bears on this issue. The evidence is not entirely supportive but does indicate some correspondence between quasi-transfer and transfer.

The Sternberg memory search task as an index of pilot workload

Abstract The rationale for the use of the Sternberg memory search task as a diagnostic measure of pilot workload is described, and seven investigations that have employed this task in flight simulators or aircraft environments are summarized. The details of two further flight simulator experiments in which workload is measured by an auditory Sternberg task are reported. These results indicate the diagnostic value of the task in discriminating between the perceptual/central processing and response demands of a holding pattern and an approach pattern, respectively. Perceptual and response load were greater in an approach phase, relative to a holding phase. Neither phase imposed a substantial central processing load. Based upon the findings of the studies described, the paper concludes with a set of recommendations for employing the Sternberg task in aviation environments. These recommendations emphasize the importance of information display and response procedures, the choice of particular memory sets, the ...

PERSONAL COMPUTER AVIATION TRAINING DEVICES: THEIR EFFECTIVENESS FOR MAINTAINING INSTRUMENT CURRENCY

This study examined the effectiveness of personal computer aviation training devices (PCATDs) for maintaining the Federal Aviation Administrations instrument-currency requirement. One hundred and six instrument-current pilots received an instrument proficiency check (IPC) and were assigned equally to 3 independent training groups (aircraft, flight training device [FTD], and PCATD) and to a control group who received no training. The 3 training groups received recurrent training in their respective devices over the course of a 6-month period, following which all 4 groups received a second IPC. Pilots trained in the FTD and PCATD performed (a) comparably; (b) significantly better than the control group, indicating positive transfer of training; and (c) at least as well as the aircraft group.

Pilot Performance Measurement Methodology for Determining the Effects of Alcohol and Other Toxic Substances

Equipment and methodology for determining the effects of toxic substances on pilot performance were evaluated using ethyl alcohol as a reference substance, since its effects on flying performance in a flight simulator are well known. Four levels of ethyl alcohol were administered to eight instrument trained pilots in a Latin Square within subjects design. Significant performance decrements were found on instrument holding pattern, Instrument Landing System (ILS) approach, and Sternbergs choice reaction time tasks.