Aviation Instruction and Training

Ross A. Telfer

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781138610750
• eBook ISBN: 9780429872136
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Sociology
• Index: Social Sciences

First published in 1993. In both general aviation and airline transport there is evidence of an emergent awareness of the importance of instruction in training. The demands of technological change, growing need for pilots at a time when the pool of experienced applicants is diminishing, and growing recognition of the importance of Human Factors to aviation safety, are straining the ability to cope. There is a growing recognition by management, of the contribution of ground and airborne instruction to the efficient operation of aviation in a variety of contexts.

This book shows how professionals in the aviation industry and academic researchers complement each other in their pursuit of more effective and efficient flight training and instruction. Theory and practice each have a contribution to make. The contributions are thus drawn from regulatory authorities, airlines, universities, colleges, flying schools, the armed services and private practice. Such a mix brings differences in approach, style and argument showing both the variety and common aims in the emerging profession of flight instruction.

Section 1

Aptitude Testing, Selection and Licensing

(Photo: Qantas)

1 Introduction to section 1: pilot aptitude testing, selection and licensing

R.A. Telfer

Because a failed pilot is expensive in terms of both equipment and people, endeavours to identify the underlying abilities which make a successful pilot go back almost half a century to post-World War II USA (Adams, 1987). There remain those in the industry who employ a type of phrenology, but instead of bumps on the cranium they are guided by other externals such as clothing, appearance, posture, or accent, ‘I knew the minute he came in the door …’.

Interviews, opportunities for observation in different situations, pencil and paper tests, tests of judgement, tests of skill, test flights in a simulator or aircraft: all are methods of selection used in the aviation industry. Some types of skills tests which have been identified as being of value include:

– Coordination test of joystick and footpedals;

– Rudder control test;

– Pursuit of a rotating target with a hand control;

– Two hand coordination; and,

– Direction control (Schmidt, 1988).

The essential quality of an aptitude test is one of predictability. It has to be able to identify the applicants who are likely to fail their training, or pose a danger as a practising professional. If a test can do so, it has predictive validity. Any pilot aptitude test used in selection is valid only to the extent that it is able to predict the individual’s performance as a pilot. The predictive validity is demonstrated by analysing the correlation of the test with criteria such as hours to solo; hours to command; or freedom from incident or accident. The higher the correlation, to a maximum of 1.0, the better. Because of the time and effort involved in gathering such data by tracking a large number of subjects through their aviation career, full details of long-term validity are rarely available.

However, because of the complexities of individuals, the job of flying and the ways in which we judge people’s success in the job, the actual correlation figure of a useful test may not be very high (Ashman and Telfer, 1983). Where a perfect correlation is 1.0, a test achieving a correlation of 0.4 may still be able to differentiate those who will do better than others. It has been estimated that by itself, a predictor test rarely correlates above 0.45.

Approximately twenty per cent (0.45 squared multiplied by 100 = 20.25 per cent) of the abilities identified in the selection test will be common to the criterion. The prediction correlation can be improved to about 0.70 by administering a battery of tests which are intended to represent the abilities a pilot needs. One test could be based on numerical skills; one on spatial skills; one on diagrammatic skills and another on literacy skills. This 0.7 correlation represents almost half of the relevant pilot abilities (0.7 squared multiplied by 100 = 49 per cent) (Schmidt, 1988.)

The development of computerized aptitude testing has enabled batteries of tests to be combined in a more sophisticated way. Such tests can not only cover a wide range of abilities, but can facilitate scoring and maintenance of records of accuracy and speed.

A major difficulty is deciding the criterion against which to calculate the correlation. In the case of entry to flying school, one could choose a composite score which incorporated flying (judgements by instructors) and ground school (marks on tests). To-day, airlines and the services seeking early indicators of command potential may be also check leadership, social skills, airmanship, group dynamics and decision making.

Questionnaires or other instruments used for testing also need to have content validity. If spelling and mathematics are included in the test, then it is assumed that one can generalize from these items to the abilities that are vital for pilots. In other words, those who do best in spelling and mathematics are the best pilots. As you will have concluded from this example, content validity can be quite contentious. The content of the test has to be related to the purpose of the test.

There is also a construct validity to consider. This refers not to how the questionnaire or test is constructed, but to the variables (termed ‘constructs’) it takes into account. For pilots, such constructs may include risk-taking, speed of response, and accuracy. They are derived from a job analysis and psychologists’ views of what makes a successful pilot, but can also be derived by statistical methods which calculate what most affects results.

As an introduction to this Section on Aptitude Testing, Selection and Licensing, Alexander and Stead provide the background to aptitude assessment and testing. Both highly experienced aviation psychologists specializing in pilot selection with SHL Asia Pacific, they are able to cite examples of airline requirements and how they were met in the design of aptitude tests and selection techniques. They compare the task of selecting individuals for ab initio training, and weigh interviews against aptitude assessment. A typical selection process is presented with examples of the types of test items which would be employed. In an interesting conclusion, they forecast likely trends in testing and selection, one of which is a greater use of computer based systems.

Micropat, the computer based system devised by Professor David Bartram and others at Hull University exemplifies that advance. In the second chapter of the section, Bartram points to the advantages for employers of good selection procedures, and provides further background on the aspects of validity, base rate and selection ratios. A new generation of computer-based pilot aptitude tests is introduced, with specific detail of the Micropat and its validation data. Bartram also looks to the future, hypothesizing that the roles of systems manager and trouble shooter may be those fly-by-wire aircraft demand of their pilots. This in turn will demand changes in selection methods for which Bartram offers some consumer advice in his conclusion.

The third chapter of this section is provided by Hannan and O’Hara of the University of Tasmania at Launceston. It is based on a case study of the training and selection of Air Traffic Controllers in Australia. After a sketch of the antecedents to the development of the University of Tasmania/Civil Aviation Authority program for the Diploma of Applied Science (Air Traffic Services), they point out that there were no aptitude tests used in Australian selection until 1958. The existing method of recruitment and training is evaluated, with consideration being given to the implications of new administrative goals of efficiency through rationalisation, cost savings and staff reductions.

Professor Graham and Lynn Hunt of Massey University’s School of Aviation collaborated with the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority to develop a computer-based testing system for pilot licensing, based on specified competencies. In their chapter, they introduce the basic problems in contemporary pilot licensing methods and describe the ways in which the Computer-Based Aviation Licensing and Examination System (CALES) was developed. Examples of test items and the method of generating them are presented before the CALES model is explained. This model directly links competence and testing, an important part of the learning cycle (Boekaerts, 1991).

Computer technology seems poised to exert an even greater influence in aviation. Already it is dominant in sales, reservations, training, aircraft systems and operations. Pilot selection, testing and licensing will follow. There would be considerable support for the next task for computers to be implementing a basic principle of job design for the long-haul pilot: reduction of boredom and fatigue (Grandjean, 1988).

References

Adams, J.A. (1987), ‘Historical review and appraisal of research on the learning, transfer and retention of human motor skills’, Psychological Bulletin, vol. 101, pp. 41-74.

Ashman, A. and Telfer, R. (1983), ‘Personality profiles of pilots’, Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine, vol. 54, no. 10, pp. 440-443.

Boekaerts, M. (1991), ‘Subjective competence, appraisals and self-assessment’, Learning and Instruction, vol. I, no. 1. pp. 1-17.

Grandjean, A. (1988), Fitting the Task to the Man - A Textbook of Occupational Ergonomics, Taylor and Francis, London.

Schmidt, R.A. (1988), Motor Control and Learning: A Behavioral Emphasis, (2nd ed.), Kinetics Publishers, Champaign.

Telfer, R.A. (1985), ‘Micro-computer based psychological testing and record keeping’, Defence Force Journal, vol. 54, October, pp. 57-61.

2 Aptitude assessment in pilot selection

K. Alexander and G. Stead

It is generally accepted that aptitude, ability and personality testing had its first major impact in the selection procedures for military personnel in the first World War. With the demand for pilots being high, especially in the latter stages of the war, came an equally high drop-out rate during training. In addition, the high proportion of flying accidents were attributed back to the failure of many pilots to operate their aircraft as they had been trained to do. What grew out of these problems were selection techniques that involved the use of aptitude tests aimed at predicting flying training success and reducing flying accidents.

The selection of pilots became a little more sophisticated during World War II. Aptitude tests included the assessment of abilities, occasionally personality, and some form of rudimentary psychomotor skills. These tests, unsophisticated by today’s standards, showed that those pilot applicants who tended to perform better in their entry tests tended to perform better in their flight training programs.

After World War II, many of the established and emerging airlines throughout the world recruited ex-military pilots, who had, in the main, undertaken aptitude screening before being accepted into the military.

However, airline operators began to realize that different types of flying required different aptitudes, skills and styles and the commercial operators began to use their own methods for identifying those with the potential and the aptitude to operate as safe and efficient pilots.

Currently, there are few avenues into flying which do not include some form of aptitude assessment and the majority of the flying training programs within the military, and with many of the larger commercial operators throughout the world, use fairly sophisticated procedures to ensure that they have selected the most motivated and skilled personnel. With this in mind, it is appropriate to review the rationale and logic behind aptitude assessment of pilot ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of tables
• List of figures
• List of contributors
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Section 1: Aptitude Testing, Selection and Licensing
• Section 2: Approaches to Pilot Training
• Section 3: Ab Initio Pilot Training and Instruction
• Section 4: In-Service Pilot Training
• Author Index
• Subject Index