Improving flight proficiency evaluation in Army helicopter pilot training.

Greer, George D.; Smith, Wayne D.; Hatfield, Jimmy L.

doi:10.1037/e437172004-001

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…The emphasis in this research has been placed on the data recorded through photographic techniques. This emphasis is the result of the difficulties discussed elsewhere (11,12) of obtaining statistically reliable measures of trainee performance where reliance is placed on subjective checkpilot evaluations. The present research did, however, take advantage of the availability of instructor evaluations of the performance of trainees.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, it appeared desirable to impose upon the checkpilot the requirement that at least a portion of each tactical instrument checkride be performed in a standard sequence and, as much as possible, under standard conditions. The importance of such considerations in the collection of flight performance data has been discussed by Greer, Smith, and Hatfield (12).…”

Section: The Criterion Checkridementioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of synthetic instrument flight training in the Officer/Warrant Officer Rotary Wing Aviator Course.

Isley¹,

Paul²,

Jolley³

1968

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Criterion Checkridementioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of synthetic instrument flight training in the Officer/Warrant Officer Rotary Wing Aviator Course.

Isley¹,

Paul²,

Jolley³

1968

PsycEXTRA Dataset

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“…With the proliferation of helicopters as basic military transport and combat vehicles, interest in the skills involved in piloting rotary wing aircraft (helicopters) has increased. Work to date (Greer, Smith and Hatfield, 1962; Heimstra, Louis and Young, 1962; DuEy and Colgan, 1963; Greer, Smith, Hatfield, Colgan and Duffy, 1963) has been concerned primarily with developing reliable, objective pilot proficiency measures. Performed by the Human Resources Research Office (HumRRO), this work resulted in two carefully developed proficiency tests for use with the Army's Primary Helicopter School trainees (Greer, et al, 1963).…”

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confidence: 97%

Studies of Helicopter Pilot Performance: I The Analysis of Maneuver Dimensions

et al. 1965

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Measures o f helicopter pilot proficiency were obtained on samples o f student pilots in two training phases. Measures were based on students' performance on I6 and 12 separate maneuvers in the Primary and Basic training phases respectively. Intercorrelatitons of maneuvers in each phase were subjected to factor analysis. In both phases maneuver performance could be described in terms of six or seven clearly interpretable common factors. The results were discussed in terms o f the implications for understanding the structure and measurement of skilled psychomotor performance.Since World War I1 there has been considerable interest in the task of piloting aircraft. Early work focused on developing reliable proficiency measures (e.g., see Erickson, 1952, for a review), Later work focused on more objective flying proficiency measures (Houston, Smith and Flexman, 1954) and on identifying the basic abilities involved in piloting fixed wing aircraft (e.g., Fleishman and Hempel, 1956; Fleishman and Ornstein, 1960). With the proliferation of helicopters as basic military transport and combat vehicles, interest in the skills involved in piloting rotary wing aircraft (helicopters) has increased. Work to date (Greer, Smith and Hatfield, 1962; Heimstra, Louis and Young, 1962; DuEy and Colgan, 1963; Greer, Smith, Hatfield, Colgan and Duffy, 1963) has been concerned primarily with developing reliable, objective pilot proficiency measures. Performed by the Human Resources Research Office (HumRRO), this work resulted in two carefully developed proficiency tests for use with the Army's Primary Helicopter School trainees (Greer, et al., 1963).The present study, using data gathered with these proficiency tests, attempts to identify basic factors underlying performance of helicopter maneuvers. METHOD Brief description of helicopter control system.The helicopter has four basic pilot controls. The cyclic pitch control stick (cyclic) is mounted on the cockpit floor center forward of the pilot seat. It can be moved in any direction in a 360' plane perpendicular to the long axis of the stick. When the cyclic is moved to a particular position, corresponding changes in pitch rotation of the main rotor blades result in movement of the vehicle in that direction. By controlling the attitude of the aircraft, the cyclic also controls airspeed. The cyclic control stick is operated by the right hand and arm.The collective pitch Zever (pitch), mounted to the left of the pilot, controls vertical direction of flight. Up or down movements of pitch changes the positive pitch angle of the main rotor blades collectively and effects corresponding up or down movements of the vehicle. Pitch is operated by the left hand and arm.The throttle, located on the handle of the collective pitch lever, can be turned as on a '

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“…With the increasing importance of the military role played by the helicopter, it becomes important to develop a better understanding of the factors contributing to proficiency in this complex skill. Initial steps toward this objective require a) the development of adequate measures of helicopter piloting proficiency and b) the identification of the critical components of this task which need to be measured.Considerable recent work has focused on the development of objective pilot proficiency measures (Greer, Smith and Hatfield, 1962;Heimstra, Louis and Young, 1962; Duffy and Colgan, 1963). The present study is the second in our series, which builds on this earlier work in an attempt to better understand the skill components of helicopter proficiency.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Considerable recent work has focused on the development of objective pilot proficiency measures (Greer, Smith and Hatfield, 1962;Heimstra, Louis and Young, 1962; Duffy and Colgan, 1963). The present study is the second in our series, which builds on this earlier work in an attempt to better understand the skill components of helicopter proficiency.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

Studies of Helicopter Pilot Performance: II The Analysis of Task Dimensions

1965

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Measures of helicopter pilot proficiency were obtained on several hundred student pilots in the Primary and Basic training phases. Measures were based on students' performance on 75 and 76 tasks (items), for the Primary and Basic phases, respectively. Zntercorrelations of tasks in each phase were subjected to factor analysis. The I2 factor rotation solutions were presented in detail for each phase, and the 18 and 24 factor rotations solutions were described briefly. In almost all cases the same tasks (e.g., RPM; Altitude) tended to cluster together across different maneuvers. The factors are interpreted in terms of the operations performed for each task, and the theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed. ' One of the most complex perceptual-motor tasks found in practice is that of flying a helicopter. With the increasing importance of the military role played by the helicopter, it becomes important to develop a better understanding of the factors contributing to proficiency in this complex skill. Initial steps toward this objective require a) the development of adequate measures of helicopter piloting proficiency and b) the identification of the critical components of this task which need to be measured.Considerable recent work has focused on the development of objective pilot proficiency measures (Greer, Smith and Hatfield, 1962;Heimstra, Louis and Young, 1962; Duffy and Colgan, 1963). The present study is the second in our series, which builds on this earlier work in an attempt to better understand the skill components of helicopter proficiency. Our first study (Zavala, Locke, Van Cott, and Fleishman, 1965) modified the procedures developed by Greer, et al and applied factor analysis techniques to the intercorrelations among "maneuver" proficiency scores developed from flights of helicopter pilots at two stages of training (Primary and Basic). This analysis of helicopter pilots followed an earlier study of fixed wing aircraft pilots (Fleishman and Ornstein, 1960). Both these studies identified factors common to the maneuver performances, and showed which maneuvers tend to depend on the same or different skills.A limitation of these previous analyses is that we start with maneuver scores which are already composites of many individual tasks. Definitions of the factors tend to be in more "molar" terms and are difficult to define' in terms of more generalizable behavioral categories. The present study attempts to analyze helicopter pilot proficiency data in terms of the individual tasks which comprise the maneuvers. As before, we will analyze pilot proficiency in both the Primary and Basic training phases. However, instead of factor analyzing the correlations among maneuver scores, we now examine the intercorrelations among items drawn from over 200 individual task scores. As far as we can determine, this more "mo!ecular" *

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Improving flight proficiency evaluation in Army helicopter pilot training.

Cited by 5 publications

References 3 publications

Evaluation of synthetic instrument flight training in the Officer/Warrant Officer Rotary Wing Aviator Course.

Evaluation of synthetic instrument flight training in the Officer/Warrant Officer Rotary Wing Aviator Course.

Studies of Helicopter Pilot Performance: I The Analysis of Maneuver Dimensions

Studies of Helicopter Pilot Performance: II The Analysis of Task Dimensions

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