Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of North Texas, Dec., 2007. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Hamburg, 1994.

Thesis supervisor: Thomas Schnell. Includes bibliographic references (p. 101-103).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Bowling Green State University, 2008. / Document formatted into pages; contains x, 130 p. : ill. Includes bibliographical references.

Human factor issues related to flight deck automation require thorough knowledge of airline pilots’ perceptions of advanced automated aircraft. This understanding is important in designing effective training programmes and developing the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of an airline that are needed to fly these aircraft safely. The purpose of this study was to identify the core components of advanced flight deck automation and to construct a valid and reliable instrument to measure the perceptions of airline pilots with regard to automated flight deck systems on modern commercial jet aircraft. An Automation Attitude Questionnaire, the AAQ, was constructed and distributed to all the pilots employed at a major South African carrier. The subsequent data, received from 262 respondents, was interpreted and then analysed using the SPSS and StatsPac statistical software packages. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that five distinct factors were responsible for a significant portion of the variability in pilots’ perceptions of advanced flight deck automation systems and training on those systems. After analysis, these factors were labelled ‘comprehension’, ‘training’, ‘trust’, ‘workload’ and ‘design’. The results indicated that those pilots who operated mainly Airbus-manufactured aircraft types had a statistically significantly more positive perception of the design of the automation system than those of their counterparts who flew mainly Boeing-manufactured aeroplanes. Co-pilots who operated primarily on the company’s long-range aircraft expressed significantly more positive perceptions of advanced flight deck automation training than the line captains dedicated to long-range flying. It was found that captains flying the company’s short-range aircraft also held a more positive perception of automation training than captains operating long-range aircraft. The biographical variables of age, years of flying experience and total flying hours, appeared to be negatively related to both the comprehension and training dimensions of advanced flight deck automation. However, the mere opportunity to fly these advanced automated aircraft seemed to affect pilots’ perceptions of these systems more positively than negatively. Finally, the overall responses of the majority of participants in this study were very positive with regard to the five core factors related to perceptions of advanced flight deck automation. It is suggested that future studies of this nature should incorporate a larger sample consisting of cross-cultural carriers in the global industry. This will confirm the external validity of the present study and support the transfer of findings to other airline pilot populations. / Dissertation (MPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

The ability of the United States Air Force (USAF) to sustain a high level of operational ability and readiness is dependent on the proficiency and expertise of its pilots. Recruitment, education, training, and retention of its pilot force are crucial factors in the USAF's attainment of its operational mission: defense of this nation and its allies. Failure of a student pilot during a training program does not only represent a loss of costly training expenditures to the American public, but often consists of loss of human life, aircraft, and property. This research focused on the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps' (AFROTC) selection method for student pilots for the light aircraft training (LATR) program. The LATR program is an intense 16 day flight training program that precedes the Air Force's undergraduate pilot training (UPT) program. The study subjects were 265 AFROTC cadets in the LATR program. A variety of independent variables from each subject's higher education curricular background as well as results of preselection tests, participation in varsity athletics, prior flying experience and gender were evaluated against subsequent performance in LATR. Performance was measured by a quantitative performance score developed by this researcher based on 28 graded training factors as well as overall pass or fail of the LATR program. Study results showed participation in university varsity athletics was very significantly and positively related to performance in the LATR program, followed by prior flying experience and to a very slight degree portions of the Air Force Officers Qualifying Test. Not significantly related to success in the LATR program were independent variables such as grade point average, scholastic aptitude test scores, academic major, gender and the AFROTC selection and ranking system.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Task prioritization performance was evaluated for pilots who participated in a concurrent task management (CTM) training course and pilots who did not. CTM is the process by which pilots selectively attend to high priority tasks and shed non-priority tasks. Twenty seven pilots enrolled in a university flight technology program were randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group. Pilots flew pretest and posttest simulated flights on an FAA approved flight training device (FTD). Twenty potential task prioritization errors were embedded at 14 locations within the flight scenarios. Pretest CTM performance of the two groups was comparable. During a two week period between pretest and posttest simulated flights pilots in the experimental group participated in a CTM training course designed and taught by an FAA certified flight instructor and pilots in the control group did not. A Mann-Whitney U test rejected the null hypothesis that there was no difference in posttest CTM errors between the groups, indicating a positive training effect for experimental group pilots. Longer term training effects were not evaluated. Different cognitive processing models described various pilot behaviors; some behaviors were described by single channel theory, some by single resource theory, and others by multiple resource theory. Mispriotization due to the interruption of an aviate task by a communicate task occurred more frequently than interruption of a navigate task by a communicate task. Fixation on the GPS navigational system caused more than half the pilots to deviate from primary aviate tasks to attend to the secondary navigate task. Additional research with different participants is recommended. A study comparing training results between pilots who have different training backgrounds is also recommended. A longer time period between pretest and posttest and/or a longitudinal study is recommended to test for longer term training effects. Qualitative studies could also be used to enhance experiments, such as gathering responses from participants to discern the extent of their learning. Further studies using cockpits with higher levels of automation and complexity, such as new generation flat panel or 3D cockpit displays is recommended. / Graduation date: 2005