Volume
20
Issue
3
Abstract
There are many advantages to train new pilots using the latest technically advanced aircraft (TAA ). Most believe that the advanced avionic displays, autopilots, and moving maps, which emulate larger commercial aircraft flight decks, are required to give new student pilots a training advantage. Workload,' situational awareness, and systems management and integration will all be enhanced by using T AA. Aircraft were once only equipped with analog instrumentation. Today's general aviation flight schools may have a variety of new generation, digital instrumentation and pilots take their first lesson in digitally equipped aircraft. Once a pilot earns a flight certificate, regardless of whether or not the training aircraft used digital or analog instrumentation, there is no regulation requiring any type of transition training between the different types of instrumentation. Lack of instrumentation display formalization and layout may lead to impaired skills and decreased situational awareness. A related situation maybe expressed using digital and analog clocks for an example. What if an individual learns to read time only based on digital clocks and having never seen another style clock. This individual is then asked to read the time from an analog clock. It is highly likely that the individual's response rate will be reduced and may even be in error from lack of familiarization and practice with the analog time piece. In the early 21st century analog aircraft far outnumber their TAA counterparts in general aviation and are still a significant proportion of the scheduled air transportation fleet a recently qualified commercial pilot could expect to fly. Given the large disproportionate number of analog aircraft, what transitional trap awaits those who lack transitional training?
Scholarly Commons Citation
Whitehurst, G.,
& Rantz, W.
(2011).
Digital Training to Analog Flying: Assessing the Risks of a Stark Transition.
Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research, 20(3).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58940/2329-258X.1637
