Empirical studies of general aviation (GA) pilot performance are lacking, especially with respect to envisioned future requirements. Two research studies were conducted to evaluate human performance using new technologies. In the first study, ten participants completed the Modified Rhyme Test (MRT) in an effort to compare the intelligibility of two text-to-speech (TTS) engines (DECtalk and AT&T's Natural Voices) as presented in 85 dB(A) aircraft cockpit engine noise. Results indicated significant differences in intelligibility (p £ 0.05) between the two speech synthesizers across the tested speech-to-noise ratios (S/N) (i.e., −5 dB, -8 dB, and −11 dB S/N) with the AT&T engine resulting in superior intelligibility in all of the S/N. The AT&T product was therefore selected as the TTS engine for the second study. In the second study, 16 visual flight rules (VFR) rated pilots were evaluated for their data link performance using a flight simulator (ELITE i-GATE) equipped with a mixed-modality simulated data link within one of two flight conditions. Data link modalities included textual, synthesized speech, digitized speech, and synthesized speech/textual combination. Flight conditions included VFR (unlimited ceiling, visibility) or marginal VFR (MVFR) flight conditions (clouds 2800 feet above ground level [AGL], three miles visibility). Evaluation focused on the time required accessing, understanding, and executing data link commands. Additional data were gathered to evaluate workload, situation awareness, and subjective preference. Results indicated significant differences in pilot performance, mental workload, and situation awareness across the data link modalities and between flight conditions. Textual data link resulted in decreased performance while the other three data link conditions did not differ in performance. Workload evaluation indicated increased workload in the textual data link condition. Situation awareness (SA) measures indicated differences in perceived SA between flight conditions while objective SA measures differed across data link conditions. Actual or potential applications of this research include guidance in the development of flight performance objectives for future GA systems. Other applications include guidance in the integration of automated voice technologies in the cockpit and/or in similar systems that present elevated levels of background noise during normal communications and auditory display operations. / Ph. D.

Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI) is a very large organization compared to Thai standards. It generates huge incomes to a number of families, directly and indirectly. Like many airlines, the main concern with THAI and the regulatory authorities is safety because THAI is in a mass transportation business. THAI have had two accidents within a span of some six years, killing a total of 214 people. The accidents affected THAI in four key areas, namely political, economical, social and technological. This phenomenon prompted the study of aviation safety in THAI. The question that requires an answer is: “How should THAI build its protocols to enhance aviation safety?” This then became the research question. The objective of the study is to build a model suitable for THAI to enhance aviation safety, thus answering the question. Through a review of the literature within the parent disciplines, the product, process, and customers of flying activities were identified. The four processes, the MP, the HRD, the PM and the RS are recognized through rigorous search of the literature. The developments of the required seven elements of skills needed for pilot performance measurement were made.A review of study within the immediate discipline concerning Aviation Safety in THAI was carried out and the current status in THAI was defined. All of these led to the identification of research question, research objective, and research propositions. The research propositions were:• Research Proposition 1: that the management practice (MP) process receives inputs from the reporting system (RS) process. Outputs from the management practice (MP) process form inputs for the human resource development (HRD) process.• Research Proposition 2: that the human resource development (HRD) process receives inputs from the management practice (MP) process. Outputs from the human resource development (HRD) process form inputs for the performance measurement (PM) process.• Research Proposition 3: that the performance measurement (PM) process receives inputs from the human resource development (HRD) process. Outputs from the human resource development (HRD) process form inputs for the reporting system (RS) process.• Research Proposition 4: that the reporting system (RS) process receives inputs from the performance measurement (PM) process. Outputs from the reporting system (RS) process form inputs for the management practice (MP) process. • Research Proposition 5: that the individual process components identified in Research Propositions 1, 2, 3 and 4, can be consolidated into an overall, comprehensive Continual Improvement (CI) loop.Once the research propositions were established, the research design was conceived. Due to the fact that THAI is a unique airline influenced by its history of inception and by particular sets of cultures, an embedded, single case-study research method was used. Many techniques within the case-study method were employed starting from a secondary data search, direct observations, focus group interviews, elite interviews, pilot study, participant observations and in-depth interviews. Issues such as validity, reliability, sensitivity, generalizability and ethics were referred to. Issues on data processing, coding, editing, and interpreting were made and discussed.As a result of the various methods of study and the fieldwork previously mentioned, findings were derived. These were then edited, categorized, coded, tabulated and interpreted into meaningful information. Findings from the study and fieldwork supported all the propositions derived from secondary data search and literature review. Consequently the gap identified in the literature was now filled and the principal model was drawn. A slight modification was introduced in keeping with the interpretation of the findings. A recommendation was made that THAI implement policy measures and professional practices derived from the implication of the study to minimize risks in flight operations system and thus maximize safety.Based on the findings of this research, it is recommended that future studies be conducted employing a deductive, quantitative, statistical method to evaluate the model and test its theoretical implications.

Ytters är skälen till undersökningarna i denna avhandling ekonomiska. Att flyga moderna krisgsflygplan är dyrt. Kan effektiv träning bedrivas intermittent i stället för kontinuerligt? Kan billigare skolflygplan vara ett komplement till krigsflygplan i systemutbildningen? En studie av intermittent flygning på jaktflygplan gjordes i två etapper, först i simulator - del I i avhandlingen - och sedan i luften - del II i avhandlingen. En del av en attackstudie med kompletteringsflygning i skolflygplan är del III.  Studierna hade en experiment-kontrollgrupps-design. I jaktstudien jämfördes avgångna flygförare med aktiv personal. I attackstudien jämfördes aktiva förare vid en experimentdivision med likaledes aktiva förare vid en kontrolldivision. Prestationsvärdering är av avgörande betydelse i undersökningarna. Parallellt med flygförarnas prestation har även deras arbetsbelastning mätts både i simulator och i luften, liksom deras ansträngning, motivation och sinnesstämning. Prognosen från simulator till luften angående förarnas kapacitet och operativa användbarhet kunde förbättras, när hänsyn togs även till andra variabler än prestation. Modeller av flygförares funktion och prestation under flygning kunde konstrueras med utgångspunkt från den utmaning, d v s risk och svårighet, som upplevdes före flygning.

Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI) is a very large organization compared to Thai standards. It generates huge incomes to a number of families, directly and indirectly. Like many airlines, the main concern with THAI and the regulatory authorities is safety because THAI is in a mass transportation business. THAI have had two accidents within a span of some six years, killing a total of 214 people. The accidents affected THAI in four key areas, namely political, economical, social and technological. This phenomenon prompted the study of aviation safety in THAI. The question that requires an answer is: “How should THAI build its protocols to enhance aviation safety?” This then became the research question. The objective of the study is to build a model suitable for THAI to enhance aviation safety, thus answering the question. Through a review of the literature within the parent disciplines, the product, process, and customers of flying activities were identified. The four processes, the MP, the HRD, the PM and the RS are recognized through rigorous search of the literature. The developments of the required seven elements of skills needed for pilot performance measurement were made.A review of study within the immediate discipline concerning Aviation Safety in THAI was carried out and the current status in THAI was defined. All of these led to the identification of research question, research objective, and research propositions. The research propositions were:• Research Proposition 1: that the management practice (MP) process receives inputs from the reporting system (RS) process. Outputs from the management practice (MP) process form inputs for the human resource development (HRD) process.• Research Proposition 2: that the human resource development (HRD) process receives inputs from the management practice (MP) process. Outputs from the human resource development (HRD) process form inputs for the performance measurement (PM) process.• Research Proposition 3: that the performance measurement (PM) process receives inputs from the human resource development (HRD) process. Outputs from the human resource development (HRD) process form inputs for the reporting system (RS) process.• Research Proposition 4: that the reporting system (RS) process receives inputs from the performance measurement (PM) process. Outputs from the reporting system (RS) process form inputs for the management practice (MP) process. • Research Proposition 5: that the individual process components identified in Research Propositions 1, 2, 3 and 4, can be consolidated into an overall, comprehensive Continual Improvement (CI) loop.Once the research propositions were established, the research design was conceived. Due to the fact that THAI is a unique airline influenced by its history of inception and by particular sets of cultures, an embedded, single case-study research method was used. Many techniques within the case-study method were employed starting from a secondary data search, direct observations, focus group interviews, elite interviews, pilot study, participant observations and in-depth interviews. Issues such as validity, reliability, sensitivity, generalizability and ethics were referred to. Issues on data processing, coding, editing, and interpreting were made and discussed.As a result of the various methods of study and the fieldwork previously mentioned, findings were derived. These were then edited, categorized, coded, tabulated and interpreted into meaningful information. Findings from the study and fieldwork supported all the propositions derived from secondary data search and literature review. Consequently the gap identified in the literature was now filled and the principal model was drawn. A slight modification was introduced in keeping with the interpretation of the findings. A recommendation was made that THAI implement policy measures and professional practices derived from the implication of the study to minimize risks in flight operations system and thus maximize safety.Based on the findings of this research, it is recommended that future studies be conducted employing a deductive, quantitative, statistical method to evaluate the model and test its theoretical implications.

Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI) is a very large organization compared to Thai standards. It generates huge incomes to a number of families, directly and indirectly. Like many airlines, the main concern with THAI and the regulatory authorities is safety because THAI is in a mass transportation business. THAI have had two accidents within a span of some six years, killing a total of 214 people. The accidents affected THAI in four key areas, namely political, economical, social and technological. This phenomenon prompted the study of aviation safety in THAI. The question that requires an answer is: “How should THAI build its protocols to enhance aviation safety?” This then became the research question. The objective of the study is to build a model suitable for THAI to enhance aviation safety, thus answering the question. Through a review of the literature within the parent disciplines, the product, process, and customers of flying activities were identified. The four processes, the MP, the HRD, the PM and the RS are recognized through rigorous search of the literature. The developments of the required seven elements of skills needed for pilot performance measurement were made.A review of study within the immediate discipline concerning Aviation Safety in THAI was carried out and the current status in THAI was defined. All of these led to the identification of research question, research objective, and research propositions. The research propositions were:• Research Proposition 1: that the management practice (MP) process receives inputs from the reporting system (RS) process. Outputs from the management practice (MP) process form inputs for the human resource development (HRD) process.• Research Proposition 2: that the human resource development (HRD) process receives inputs from the management practice (MP) process. Outputs from the human resource development (HRD) process form inputs for the performance measurement (PM) process.• Research Proposition 3: that the performance measurement (PM) process receives inputs from the human resource development (HRD) process. Outputs from the human resource development (HRD) process form inputs for the reporting system (RS) process.• Research Proposition 4: that the reporting system (RS) process receives inputs from the performance measurement (PM) process. Outputs from the reporting system (RS) process form inputs for the management practice (MP) process. • Research Proposition 5: that the individual process components identified in Research Propositions 1, 2, 3 and 4, can be consolidated into an overall, comprehensive Continual Improvement (CI) loop.Once the research propositions were established, the research design was conceived. Due to the fact that THAI is a unique airline influenced by its history of inception and by particular sets of cultures, an embedded, single case-study research method was used. Many techniques within the case-study method were employed starting from a secondary data search, direct observations, focus group interviews, elite interviews, pilot study, participant observations and in-depth interviews. Issues such as validity, reliability, sensitivity, generalizability and ethics were referred to. Issues on data processing, coding, editing, and interpreting were made and discussed.As a result of the various methods of study and the fieldwork previously mentioned, findings were derived. These were then edited, categorized, coded, tabulated and interpreted into meaningful information. Findings from the study and fieldwork supported all the propositions derived from secondary data search and literature review. Consequently the gap identified in the literature was now filled and the principal model was drawn. A slight modification was introduced in keeping with the interpretation of the findings. A recommendation was made that THAI implement policy measures and professional practices derived from the implication of the study to minimize risks in flight operations system and thus maximize safety.Based on the findings of this research, it is recommended that future studies be conducted employing a deductive, quantitative, statistical method to evaluate the model and test its theoretical implications.

<p>The dissertation research was conducted to examine articles, research, and studies that have been collected in recent years to understand energy management for general aviation airplane pilots. The experiment was broken down into four phases with control and treatment groups which have evaluated the real-world problem of energy management in aviation. The four phases were to fly a flight profile, evaluate the energy state of the airplane within the flight by video, fly the same flight profile again, and a post-flight interview with the pilots. The idea of this experiment was to recognize the lack of understanding in energy management in pilots, build a conceptual model, and lastly verify and validate Phase II of the model by utilizing previous studies and research. Additionally, the three main goals were to assess the ability to interpret energy management, assess the ability to control the aircraft, and lastly, to interview for perception of energy management. The data was collected on the flight training device’s G1000, and the researcher analyzed the data using R, Minitab, Excel, and NVivo. The research provided ideas for creating a future model to evaluate energy management, validated by testing Phase II of the model to understand assessing energy management in real time, and interviewed pilots on their experiences with energy management, identified gaps in general aviation research, and suggested methods of how to facilitate understanding of energy management.</p>

In recent years, the rapid advancement of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) has led to an increasingly complex National Airspace System (NAS), necessitating a comprehensive understanding of factors that impact pilot visual acquisition and detection of other aircraft (including manned fixed-wing, rotorcraft, and UAS). The objective of this study is to investigate factors that affect pilot performance in visually acquiring and detecting other manned-fixed wing aircraft and manned rotorcraft using a multi-method approach, incorporating qualitative and quantitative data analysis. A diverse sample of pilots with varying flight experience participated in the study. Participants were exposed to a series of flight test scenarios in a high-fidelity flight test campaign using different flight paths and detecting different types of aircraft, designed to replicate real-world airspace encounters with other aircraft. Post-flight interviews were conducted, and situational awareness questionnaires and NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) were administered to capture insights on the pilots’ experiences. The goal was to determine the level at which aircraft characteristics, test subjects’ situational awareness and workload, flight conditions, and environmental conditions influenced visual acquisition and detection. All interviews were subjected to several cycles of meticulous coding and subcoding processes to discern both individual and co-occurring factors affecting visual detection capabilities. Additionally, a rigorous statistical analysis was executed on the data derived from the situational awareness questionnaires and NASA-TLX to extract quantitative insights into pilot-centric metrics influencing visual detection. The amalgamated results from both the qualitative and quantitative analyses were synthesized to construct a comprehensive representation of all variables influencing visual detection, in addition to delineating the parallels between factors that affect visual acquisition in both manned fixed-wing and rotorcraft detection scenarios.

Researchers have long known that general aviation (GA) aircraft exhibit some of the most intense and potentially damaging sound environments to a pilot's hearing. Yet, another potentially more ominous result of this noise-intense environment is the masking of the radio communications. Radio communications must remain intelligible, as they are imperative to the safe and efficient functioning of the airspace, especially the airspace surrounding our busiest airports, Class B and Class C. However, the high amplitude, low frequency noise dominating the GA cockpit causes an upward spreading of masking with such inference that it renders radio communications almost totally unintelligible, unless the pilot is wearing a communications headset. Even with a headset, some researchers have stated that the noise and masking effects overcome the headset performance and still threaten the pilot's hearing and overall safety while in the aircraft. In reaction to this situation, this experiment sought to investigate the effects which active noise reduction (ANR) headsets have on the permissible exposure levels (PELs), speech intelligibility, workload, and ultimately the pilot's performance inside the cockpit. Eight instrument-rated pilot participants flew through different flight tasks of varying levels and types of workload embedded in four 3.5 hour flight scenarios while wearing four different headsets. The 3.5 hours were considered long duration due the instrument conditions, severe weather conditions, difficult flight tasks, and the fatiguing effects of a high intensity noise environment. The noise intensity and spectrum in the simulator facility were specifically calibrated to mimic those of a Cessna 172. Speech intelligibility of radio communications was modified using the Speech Transmission Index (STI), while measures of flight performance and workload were collected to examine any relationships between workload, speech intelligibility, performance, and type of headset. It is believed that the low frequency attenuation advantages afforded by the ANR headset decreased the signal-to-noise ratio, thereby increasing speech intelligibility for the pilot. This increase may positively affect workload and flight performance. Estimates of subjective preference and comfort were also collected and analyzed for relevant relationships. The results of the experiment supported the above hypotheses. It was found that headsets which incorporate ANR technology do increase speech intelligibility which has a direct inverse influence on workload. For example, an increase in speech intelligibility is seen with a concomitant decrease in pilot workload across all types and levels of workload. Furthermore, flight task performance results show that the pilot's headset can facilitate safer flight performance. However, the factors that influence performance are more numerous and complex than those that affect speech intelligibility or workload. Factors such as the operational performance of the communications system in the headset, in addition to the ANR technology, were determined to be highly influential factors in pilot performance. This study has concluded that the pilot's headset has received much research and design attention as a noise attenuation device. However, it has been almost completely overlooked as a tool which could be used to facilitate the safety and performance of a general aviation flight. More research should focus on identifying and optimizing the headset components which contribute most to the results demonstrated in this experiment. The pilot's headset is a component of the aviation system which could economically improve the safety of the entire system. / Ph. D.

No description available.

<p>A Test Battery (TB) is a measurement method that is designed to assess a variety of ability constructs. The extent to which TB predicts future pilot performance has important implications for both flying organizations and applicants. The primary emphasis in the existing literature has been on scores of individual ability tests, in contrast to the scores of multiple ability tests that are typically indexed by composites derived from TBs. The selection literature lacks a focus on composite scores, and seldom links to the broad cognitive abilities that predominate TBs. The objective of this study was to investigate how the different broad ability constructs of TBs influence their predictive validities for pilot performance. Six ability groups were identified as the most common ability saturations of pilot selection TBs. On the basis of 89 studies and 118 independent samples, a series of meta-analyses were conducted to determine the criterion-related validity of the six categories of TBs for several criterions of pilot performance.</p> <p>The investigation revealed there was an overall small and positive relationship between TBs and flight performance. The six categories of cognitive ability TBs appeared to be valid predictors of pilot performance, and at least five of them generalize validity across studies and settings. More specifically, three sets of predictor groups were identified according to the magnitude of validity estimates. The highest validity group included <i>Work Sample</i> TBs (<i>r</i>=.34), the second highest validity group included TBs of <i>Acquired Knowledge</i>, <i>General Ability</i>, and <i>Motor Abilities</i> (<i>r</i>=.19, .18, and .17, respectively), and the lowest validity group included TBs of <i>Perceptual Processing</i> and <i>Controlled Attention</i> (<i>r</i>=.14 and .10, respectively).</p> <p>The results also indicated that there was substantial variability in the effect of cognitive abilities on flight performance, with evidence of moderators operating in most cases. Five potential moderator variables were examined that may moderate the TBs-performance relationship in flying. The analysis for the moderator variable of <i>the number of tests in the battery </i>(small battery/large battery), <i>regularity of TB use in pilot selection</i> (commonly used/uncommonly used), and <i>criterion level of measurement</i> (continuous/ordinal/dichotomous/ contingency table) revealed significant moderating effects on the correlations between flight performance and several types of test batteries. Other moderators related to <i>year of publication</i> (1987-1999/2000-2009/2010-2017) and <i>flying organization</i> (USAF/US Navy/Another military/Civilian) did not significantly influence the correlations between TBs and flight performance. The implications of the findings for practice are discussed, and recommendations for future research directions are provided.</p>