Collegiate Flight Training Programs: In Search of Cognitive Growth

Collegiate professional pilot training programs are designed to prepare the graduate for a variety of employment opportunities within the air transportation industry. An advantage of the collegiate format is the potential to foster intellectual and ethical growth as well as professional pilot skills. Advances in flight training technology and proven methods of flight instruction serve to effectively train a diverse student pilot population who attend university flight programs and civilian flight academies. Flight training programs traditionally focus on repetitive learning structures and psychomotor skill mastery. Despite the cognitive growth structures in place on a college campus, flight students may experience significant difficulty with the transition from simplistic general aviation training to more relativistic upper division work. In some cases, this stressful transition may be a byproduct of flight training schemes that unintentionally hinder cognitive development. Kolb\u27s learning style model is one of many cognitive schemes that may provide insight to instructional initiatives to facilitate the cognitive growth of student pilots and enable graduate pilots to think in a more holistic manner

Collegiate Aviation in China: Opportunities and Challenges

The rapid growth of the aviation industry in China over the last ten years has led to a dramatic shortfall in supporting personnel and infrastructure. By 2010, the need for commercial pilots, in particular, is predicted to far outstrip current levels of production. Chinese officials have focused on collegiate aviation programs as a primary source of new pilots for their evolving aviation industry, but those institutions are already hard pressed to meet the demand. This paper examines the current structure of collegiate aviation in China as well as challenges for production growth that include the absence of a general aviation culture, insufficient national aviation infrastructure, and endemic airspace constraints

Training Levels and Methodologies for Glass Cockpit Training in Collegiate Aviation

Modern commercial aircraft use extremely complex and sophisticated flight instrumentation systems that present training concerns for the aviation industry and collegiate aviation programs. The authors sampled 42 four-year collegiate flight-training programs to determine their current program emphasis on glass cockpit training and plans for curriculum enhancements in that area. Although nearly fifty percent of sampled program administrators believe instruction in flight automation is critical to the success of their graduates, most cite cost of materials and competing curriculum priorities as reasons to defer such instruction to future employers. The authors suggest that program enhancements are within the reach of modern college aviation programs and offer suggestions for three different levels of glass cockpit training

Assessing the Commercial Aviation Impact of the Year 2000 Open Skies Agreements between the United States and African Countries with Longstanding Flights

The U.S. started a comprehensive campaign towards Open Skies agreement in 1992. The major benefits of Open sky agreement are reported to include increase of passenger and cargo volume between partners. This study analyzes passenger traffic and cargo volume between six African countries that have had commercial aviation with the U.S. since 1990 to 2014, and with direct flights between them. Two of the countries have had no Open Skies agreement with the U.S., while four have had Open Skies agreement beginning in 2000. A multi linear modeling process was applied on the two categories to determine whether there is a significant effect of Open Skies agreement on commercial aviation between the African countries and the U.S. The expected results are to indicate that a decision on whether the U.S. should pursue Open Skies agreement should be evaluated on case-to-case basis. Keywords: Open skies, linearization, bilateral agreemen

Small General Aviation Airport Emergency Preparedness and the Perceived Risks of Very Light Jet Operations

Advances in aircraft design have facilitated to the development of relatively low cost, high performance, light weight jet aircraft known as very light jets (VLJs). The Federal Aviation Administration\u27s prediction of 4,500 VLJs flying by 2016 suggests that this concept may become a major contributing factor for gridlock in the National Airspace System WAS) (Robinson and Planzer, 2005). With this added burden, the need for effective emergency response at general aviation airports will continue to increase. This study investigated the level of emergency response preparedness of small general aviation airports in the state of Indiana that may service very light jets and measured attitudes of airport managers regarding the perceived risks of VLJ operations. Findings suggest that airport managers believe smaller airports are prepared to handle the growth in VLJ traffic and generally are not concerned with increasing the level of emergency response planning. This study concludes with recommendations for emergency enhancements at smaller airports not certified under Part 139

The Effects of Safety Information on Aeronautical Decision Making

The importance of aeronautical decision making (ADM) has been considered one of the most critical issues of flight education for future professional pilots. Researchers have suggested that a safety information system based on information from incidents and near misses is an important tool to improve the intelligence and readiness of pilots. This paper describes a study that examines the effect of safety information on aeronautical decision making for students in a collegiate flight program. Data was collected from study participants who were exposed to periodic information about local aircraft malfunctions. Participants were then evaluated using a flight simulator profile and a pen and pencil test of situational judgment. Findings suggest that regular access to the described safety information program significantly improves decision making of student pilots

Impact of Glass Cockpit Experience on Manual Flight Skills

Modern aircraft employ a wide variety of advanced flight instrument systems that have been designed to reduce pilot workload and promote safe, efficient flight operations. Research to date on advanced flight instrumentation has primarily focused on mode confusion or pilot misinterpretation of system information. A few studies have also identified pilot concern with a reduction in manual flight skills as a result of regular operation in automated modes. This paper addresses that concern in an attempt to identify factors useful to flight curriculum development. Study participants included 110 experienced airline, corporate, and military pilots who were surveyed before and after a training session in a transport category flight training device with round dial instrumentation. An experienced instructor rated participant flight skills during the simulator activity. Study findings suggest that pilots who are more likely to use automated modes of modern glass cockpit aircraft have a less effective crosscheck and reduced manual flight skills. Issues related to advanced flight deck operations and training are discussed

An Exploratory Study: Correlations Between Occupational Stressors, Coping Mechanisms, and Job Performance Among Chinese Aviation Maintenance Technicians

Aviation maintenance technicians play a vital role in air transportation. These workers are responsible for keeping aircraft airworthy and executing safety responsibilities. Undesirable stress levels may have a negative impact on work performance (Mowday, Porter, & Steers, 2013). Poor work performance may manifest in safety violations, absenteeism, turnover, and disengagement. These outcomes may disrupt an organization’s operation and negatively impact the financial bottom line. This mixed-methods exploratory research study was aimed at examining the relationships between occupational stress, coping mechanisms, and job performance. Research questionnaires were electronically distributed to frontline aviation maintenance technicians at multiple airlines in China. Eighty-two (n = 82) completed surveys were used for data analysis. Results indicated a statistically significant negative correlation between occupational stress and job performance. A positive correlation between occupational stress and coping skills was found, but no significant correlation between job performance and coping mechanisms. Additionally, two open-ended questions were analyzed pertaining to occupational stressors and coping mechanisms. Salary, strenuous work schedule, and limited opportunities for promotion were the top three work-related stressors identified by participants. Taking a break, talking to someone, and exercising were the top three coping mechanisms identified by participants. Along with the results, recommendations for future research to identify causal relationships are discussed

Bird Hazard Mitigation Training for Part 141 General Aviation Pilots: An Experimental Study

From 1990 through 2018 ==\u3e 209,950 wildlife strikes in the U.S., Approximately 95% of those incidents involved birds; Seventy aircraft destroyed as a result of wildlife strikes! 13 bird strikes 32 ==\u3e fatalities; 244 wildlife strikes ==\u3e 319 people injured! 224 bird strikes ==\u3e299 people injured! General aviation community; 97% of the strikes occurred below 3,500 feet AGL; There were 22,775 wildlife strikes ==\u3e 26% caused damage to the aircraft

Cockpit Text Communications: Evaluating the Efficiency and Accuracy

Non-voice data exchanges will become a primary method of communication between pilots and Air Traffic Controllers as the Federal Aviation Administration’s plan for the Next Generation Air Traffic Control System (NextGen) evolves. In support of this communication evolution, pilots will need the most efficient interface tools in order to accurately and quickly exchange text messages with Air Traffic Control. Keyboards, or similar input devices, will be become a necessity in the cockpit. This study aims to investigate and compare the typing speed and accuracy possible using three sizes of two-hand, QWERTY1 keyboards: a full size (100%), a medium size (92%), and a small size (thumb typing home theater PC keyboard) that could be used for aviation data exchanges. Each study participant was administered 15 typing tests having aviation specific content, on each keyboard, including 5 tests of short length, 5 tests of medium length, and 5 tests of long length. The results of this study suggest that in terms of words per minute typing speed, participants using the medium size keyboard had a slightly faster typing speed than with the large keyboard, while the small keyboard produced a considerably slower typing speed than either the medium or large keyboards. In terms of accuracy, participants using the small keyboard had the highest level of accuracy, followed by the medium keyboard, while the least accurate keyboard tended to be the large keyboard. Overall, findings suggest that the optimal size of two-handed, QWERTY keyboard for use in an aircraft cockpit was the medium keyboard