Pilot training in our time – use of flight training devices and simulators

Abstract

The challenge of pilot training include adapting to an industry in which the environment is formed by steep upturns and downturns, cut-throat competition, and advanced technology that continues to change the role of the pilot and in which safety always must match the continuously increasing demands of efficiency. The pilot training per-formed at flight training organisations (FTOs) is the fundament in the education of captains and first officers who will be able to manage the operational “sharp end” of this environment. The response from the training industry in adapting to this environment has to a large extent been to increasingly rely on various levels of simulation in training, as seen with the current introduction of the multi-crew pilot license (MPL). Simulation can play an important role in acquiring the skills needed for a pilot, but it is also necessary to focus on the cognitive and collaborative skills that are to be developed by the training. The increasing technological sophistication seen in flight training devices and simulators today does however not seem to be matched by systematic validation of the value of different levels of simulation on cognitive and collaborative skills, which means that educational resources can go underutilised or get misapplied. This paper will describe and discuss some aspects of the challenge for pilot training, especially regarding the use of flight training devices and simulators. The framework within which FTOs exist and perform their training will be presented to add context to the overall situation for pilot training. And in particular, recent Lund University School of Aviation research projects on pilot training, introduction of technically advanced aircraft (TAA), and use of mid-fidelity simulation for CRM-training will be presented and connected to the discussion.

Mokomųjų skraidymo prietaisų bei treniruoklių naudojimas orlaivių pilotų mokymui šiais laikais

Santrauka. Šiame tyrime aptariama ir diskutuojama tam tikrais iššūkio bendrajam mokymui aspektais, ypač skrydžių mokymo prietaisų bei treniruoklių naudojimo klausimais. Supažindinama su egzistuojančių ir mokymą vykdančių SMO (skrydžių mokymo organizacijos) vidine struktūra, siekiant suprasti visaapimančio bendrojo mokymo situaciją. Ypatingas dėmesys skirtas Lundo universiteto pilotų mokyklai, kurios studentai dalyvauja aviacijos tyrimų projektuose; taip pat pristatoma techniškai pažangaus lėktuvo (TPL) įranga bei vidutinis tikrų sąlygų imitavimas pilotų mokyme.

Reikšminiai žodžiai: aviacinė sauga, žmogiškasis faktorius aviacijoje, skrydžio treniruoklis.

First Published Online: 14 Oct 2010

Keyword : aviation safety, aviation human factors, flight simulation, flight training devices, pilot training, multicrew pilot license