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Interviews with retired Major General of Aviation L. Goreglyad and pilot-cosmonaut with the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. Major-General Goreglyad, one of the Center's founders, tells of its development. Major General Shonin, one of the first cosmonauts to train there, tells of the tests and procedures leading to his acceptance as a trainee.
The crew of STS-97, Commander Brent W. Jett, Pilot Michael J. Bloomfield, and Mission Specialists Joseph R. Tanner, Carlos I. Noriega, and Marc Garneau are shown during various stages of their training. Footage shows them during a food tasting, during emergency bailout training, spacewalk training, and de-orbit preparation.
As aircraft become able to autonomously respond to a range of situations with performance surpassing human operators, we are compelled to look for new methods that help understand their use and guide the design of new, more effective forms of automation and interaction. The "H-mode" is one such method and is based on the metaphor of a well-trained horse. The concept allows the pilot to manage a broad range of control automation functionality, from augmented manual control to FMS-like coupling and automation initiated actions, using a common interface system and easily learned set of interaction skills. The interface leverages familiar manual control interfaces (e.g., the control stick) and flight displays through the addition of contextually dependent haptic-multimodal elements. The concept is relevant to manned and remotely piloted vehicles. This paper provides an overview of the H-mode concept followed by a presentation of the results from a recent evaluation conducted in a motion-based simulator. The evaluation focused on assessing the overall usability and flying qualities of the concept with an emphasis on the effects of turbulence and cockpit motion. Because the H-mode results in interactions between traditional flying qualities and management of higher-level flight path automation, these effects are of particular interest. The results indicate that the concept may provide a useful complement or replacement to conventional interfaces, and retains the usefulness in the presence of turbulence and motion.
A two-part study was conducted to evaluate modern flight deck automation and interfaces. In the first part, a survey was performed to validate the existence of automation surprises with current pilots. Results indicated that pilots were often surprised by the behavior of the automation. There were several surprises that were reported more frequently than others. An experimental study was then performed to evaluate (1) the reduction of automation surprises through training specifically for the vertical guidance logic, and (2) a new display that describes the flight guidance in terms of aircraft behaviors instead of control modes. The study was performed in a simulator that was used to run a complete flight with actual airline pilots. Three groups were used to evaluate the guidance display and training. In the training, condition, participants went through a training program for vertical guidance before flying the simulation. In the display condition, participants ran through the same training program and then flew the experimental scenario with the new Guidance-Flight Mode Annunciator (G-FMA). Results showed improved pilot performance when given training specifically for the vertical guidance logic and greater improvements when given the training and the new G-FMA. Using actual behavior of the avionics to design pilot training and FMA is feasible, and when the automated vertical guidance mode of the Flight Management System is engaged, the display of the guidance mode and targets yields improved pilot performance.
Adaptive automation has been proposed as a solution to current problems of human-automation interaction. Past research has shown the potential of this advanced form of automation to enhance pilot engagement and lower cognitive workload. However, there have been concerns voiced regarding issues, such as automation surprises, associated with the use of adaptive automation. This study examined the use of psychophysiological self-regulation training with adaptive automation that may help pilots deal with these problems through the enhancement of cognitive resource management skills. Eighteen participants were assigned to 3 groups (self-regulation training, false feedback, and control) and performed resource management, monitoring, and tracking tasks from the Multiple Attribute Task Battery. The tracking task was cycled between 3 levels of task difficulty (automatic, adaptive aiding, manual) on the basis of the electroencephalogram-derived engagement index. The other two tasks remained in automatic mode that had a single automation failure. Those participants who had received self-regulation training performed significantly better and reported lower National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index scores than participants in the false feedback and control groups. The theoretical and practical implications of these results for adaptive automation are discussed.
The purpose of this paper is to present a detailed description of the physiological and performance responses of two military pilots undergoing a treatment for motion sickness. The treatment used, Autogenic-Feedback Training (AFT), is an operant conditioning procedure where subjects are taught to control several of their autonomic responses and thereby suppress their motion sickness symptoms. Two male, active duty military pilots (U.S. Navy and U. S. Marine Corps), ages 30 and 35, were each given twelve 30-minute training sessions. The primary criterion for success of training was the subject's ability to tolerate rotating chair motion sickness tests for progressively longer periods of time and at higher rotational velocities. A standardized diagnostic scale was used during motion sickness to assess changes in the subject's perceived malaise. Physiological data were obtained from one pilot during tactical maneuvers in an F-18 aircraft after completion of his training. A significant increase in tolerance to laboratory-induced motion sickness tests and a reduction in autonomic nervous system (ANS) response variability was observed for both subjects after training. Both pilots were successful in applying AFT for controlling their airsickness during subsequent qualification tests on F-18 and T-38 aircraft and were returned to active duty flight status.
The U.S. Army Crew Station Research and Development Branch (CSRDB) of the Aircraft Simulation Division (AVSCOM) was tasked by the Light Helicopter Program Manager (LH-PM) to provide training to Army personnel in advanced aircraft simulation technology. The purpose of this training was to prepare different groups of pilots to support and evaluate two contractor simulation efforts during the Demonstration/Validation (DEM/VAL) phase of the LH program. The personnel in the CSRDB developed mission oriented training programs to accomplish the objectives, conduct the programs, and provide guidance to army personnel and support personnel throughout the DEM/VAL phase.
The rising cost of flight training and the low cost of powerful computers have resulted in increasing use of PC-based flight simulators. This has prompted FAA standards regulating such use and allowing aspects of training on simulators meeting these standards to be substituted for flight time. However, the FAA regulations require an authorized flight instructor as part of the training environment. Thus, while costs associated with flight time have been reduced, the cost associated with the need for a flight instructor still remains. The obvious area of research, therefore, has been to develop intelligent simulators. However, the two main challenges of such attempts have been training strategies and assessment. The research reported in this paper was conducted to evaluate various performance metrics of a straight-in landing approach by 33 novice pilots flying a light single engine aircraft simulation. These metrics were compared to assessments of these flights by two flight instructors to establish a correlation between the two techniques in an attempt to determine a composite performance metric for this flight maneuver.
Mission planning, astronaut training and hardware requirements for Gemini and Apollo manned spacecraft
The crew of STS-46, Commander Loren J. Shriver, Pilot Andrew M. Allen, and Mission Specialists Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, Jeffrey A. Hoffman, Claude Nicollier, Marsha S. Ivins, and Franco Malerba are seen at various stages of their training. Footage includes firefighting training, helmet fit and T-38 checkout, bailout training in the weightless environment training facility, and remote manipulator training. The crew uses a computer simulation and the shuttle engineering simulator to practice using the tethered satellite system.
Footage shows the crew of STS-100, Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Jeffrey Ashby, and Mission Specialists Chris Hadfield, Scott Parazynski, John Phillips, Umberto Guidoni, and Yuri Valentinovich Lonchakov, during various parts of their training, including the crew photo session, postlanding egress, extravehicular activity (EVA) large tool training, EVA training in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL), secondary payload training, and during VHF training.
The U.S. military uses a large number of simulators to train and sustain the flying skills of helicopter pilots. Despite the enormous resources required to purchase, maintain, and use those simulators, little effort has been expended in assessing their training effectiveness. One reason for this is the lack of an evaluation methodology that yields comprehensive and valid data at a practical cost. Some of these methodological problems and issues that arise in assessing simulator training effectiveness, as well as problems with the classical transfer-of-learning paradigm were discussed.
This video shows the crew of STS-108, Commander Dominic Gorie, Pilot Mark Kelly, and Mission Specialists Linda Godwin and Daniel Tani, during various parts of their training, including T-38 operations at Ellington, bail-out training (with the Expedition 4 crew: Commander Yuri Onufrienko and Flight Engineers Carl Walz and Daniel Bursch) in CCT2, extravehicular activity (EVA) preparations, Space Station Mockup and Test/Training Facility (SSMTF) transfer and hands-on familiarization (also with E4), Remote Manipulator System training, EVA training in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, and in a payload training class.
Footage shows the crew of STS-102, Commander James D. Wetherbee, Pilot James M. Kelly, and Mission Specialists Andrew S. W. Thomas and Paul Richards, during various parts of their training. Scenes include: (1) neutral buoyancy lab training; (2) undocking/fly-around training in the GNS (Navigation Simulator); (3) crew equipment interface test; (4) Remote Manipulator System (RMS) training in the GNS; and (5) docking training in the GNS.
Footage shows the crew of STS-109 (Commander Scott Altman, Pilot Duane Carey, Payload Commander John Grunsfeld, and Mission Specialists Nancy Currie, James Newman, Richard Linnehan, and Michael Massimino) during various parts of their training. Scenes show the crew's photo session, Post Landing Egress practice, training in Dome Simulator, Extravehicular Activity Training in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL), and using the Virtual Reality Laboratory Robotic Arm. The crew is also seen tasting food as they choose their menus for on-orbit meals.
A joint Airline/NASA field study of B-767 training and operations was conducted during the period this aircraft was being introduced into line service. The objectives of the study were: (1) to identify any adverse reactions to the new technology; (2) to provide a clearing house of information for the airlines and pilots during the introductory period; (3) to provide feedback on airline training programs for the new aircraft; and (4) to provide field data to NASA and other researchers to help them develop principles of human interaction with automated systems. It is concluded that: (1) a large majority of pilots enjoy flying the B-767 more than the older aircraft; (2) pilots accept new cockpit technology and find it useful; (3) pilots are aware of the potential loss of flying skills because of automation, and take steps to prevent this from happening; (4) autopilot/autothrottle interactions and FMS operations were sometimes confusing or surprising to pilots, and they desired more training in this area; and (5) highly automated cockpits can result in a loss of effective monitoring performance.
Simulator and flight test comparison of pilot performance to determine flight simulator requirements
The objectives, crucial points, and problems of the individual phase of the captain's basic training are examined. The prerequisites to pilot selection are given as well as a generalized outline of pilot career progression.