FITS Fastrac

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FITS Fastrac

• Dr. Charles L. Robertson
• June 7, 2007

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FITS

• Initial studies significant improvements
• pilot performance,
• situational awareness, and
• judgment.

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• Aerotech FITS was not limited to TAA
• 14 courses in legacy airplane
• Feedback from instructor community
• Scenario-based training makes sense

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FITS SBT, LCG, SRMSBT Study
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Scenario Based Training

• Presents maneuvers in an operational environment
• Assumes students are ADULT LEARNERS--Want to be
  there
• --Active learners --Correlate new information
  with previous knowledge--Learn best when new
  information is introduced in a realistic context
• Provides more realistic decision making
  opportunities

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• Convert 141-Approved Private Pilot Syllabus from
  MBT to SBT
• Conduct test--1/2 the class receive MBT
• --1/2 the class receive SBT
• Compare results

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Private Pilot Training

• 30 Total Lessons--21 Aircraft-- 4 Sim-- 5
  Gnd Briefs
• Piper Warriors
• UND Instructors
• Students

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What is Scenario Based Training?

• Purpose Reason to go consequences!
• X-Country One airport to another!
• First-time introduction of maneuvers IAW
  realistic scenario
• Take scenario to conclusion

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(No Transcript)
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SBT LESSON 2 (Simulator) SCENARIO You and a
friend want to go to Fargo to see a Red Hawks
baseball game. Your plan is to land at the Fargo
airport two hours before game time in order to
allow enough time for lunch. STUDENT
PREPARATION Practice Warrior checklists using
the online trainer on HTMLEZ. Review Syllabus for
lesson content. Complete appropriate sections of
Workbook. Draw Practice areas on VFR
sectional. Preflight Discussion Discuss
scenario and how normal operations such as
checklist usage and basic flight maneuvers are
used on day-to-day flights like this one. Ask
student to locate FAR on map and give basic
navigation ideas on how to get there.
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SBT Lesson 2 -- Cont
GFK Departure Conduct a normal takeoff and
climb, show effects of coordinated and
uncoordinated climb (refer to Aero
Demo). Simulate Departure Control requesting a
MOMENTARY level-off at 3500 ft during climb and
current airspeed (79 KIAS) to avoid inbound DC-9
traffic. Than resume climb.
Level off and Cruise Level off at 5500 ft, do
cruise checklist, and trim for cruise
airspeed. Discuss how to maintain straight and
level flight (refer to Aero Demo). Show effects
of elevator input and discuss aircraft
stability. Departure warns of opposite direction
traffic at your same altitude, and suggests
altering course to the right. Show effects of
turns (shallow, medium, and steep) and how to
keep those turns level (refer to Aero Demo).
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Flight Lesson 2 (Cont)
Approach and Arrival at FAR Start the descent
checklist, obtain Fargo ATIS, and contact Fargo
Approach. FAR Approach advises, Descend at
pilots discretion to 2000. Expect vectors to a
5 mile final for Runway 17. Show effect of
descent with and without power, level off at 2000
feet, and set-up for a long final to Runway 17
(refer to aero demo). Add flaps on final and
discuss effects of each additional setting. As
you approach the runway, Tower directs, Go
around -- traffic on the runway. Conduct a
normal go-around and show effects of each notch
of flap retraction. Go around the pattern at
Fargo to a normal full-stop landing. Taxi to
the ramp and complete all appropriate checklists.
Emphasize mission completewe made a routine
flight from A to B. Assign scenario for next
lesson
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SBT ImplementationIP Comments(early on)

• Its a little confusing figuring out how
  everything is supposed to work.
• SBT takes a lot more time!
• I like it. Student likes itseems more
  motivated than previous students.
• Lessons require about .3 longer than normal.

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More IP Comments(early on)

• Sometimes not enough time to get everything
  done. Sometimes have to cut cornerslike not
  taxiing into ramp to signify trip complete.

Student is often clueless about some of the
details presented in scenarioslike Lesson 8
calls for clouds broken to overcast at 4000I had
to explain to him that 4000 means AGL, and that
broken to overcast means its a ceiling. This
all takes more time.
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IP Comments (near the end)
"I really like SBT. Pace starting to pick upnot
requiring as much additional time as earlier.
Student will be on cross country phase by this
Friday.
"I'm really starting to see the benefits of SBT.
Student seems more excited about flying than some
of my earlier maneuver based students. Maybe
because he sees the purpose of everything we
practice He's progressing rapidly now on each
lessonagain because a lot of the stuff was front
loaded during the early stages. "I like SBT."
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RESULTS
Preliminary 15/27 Complete
TRAINING HOURS REQUIRED BLK 1 BLK 2 BLK
3 TOTAL
A/C
TOTAL
21.2 19.8
39.5 35.1
18.5 23.6
32.3 39.0
6.9 8.1
9.5 10.6
46.6 51.5
81.3 84.7
SBT MBT
A/C SIM GND
Overall, SBT required 9 less A/C time And 4
less Total time
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FITS LCG Study

• Similar comments
• Early on takes to long
• Later students learning more, instructors and
  students see the value of the enhanced postflight
  briefing
• Again, improvements however, they were not
  significant

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Individual Components

• Enhance learning but the interaction of the three
  is needed to significantly improve pilot training

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FITS Automation Study

• Situational Awareness Aeronautical
  Decision-making need time
• Automation can provide the required time
• Flight manager vs. pilot

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Automation Use

• Knowledge
• Competence
• Trust
• Bias pilot must be able to hand fly the airplane

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Flight Manager

• Without automation high degree of dependence on
  stick and rudder competency
• Low stick and rudder competency high degree of
  dependence on automation and automation competency

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Dependency

• Stick rudder competency Automation
  dependency
• Automation competency Stick rudder
  dependency

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FITS vs. Non-FITS

• Twenty-nine question questionnaire
• Enjoyed training quality
• SRM
• LCG
• ADM
• Teaching methods

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Questionnaire

• Nineteen questions showed significant improvement
  with FITS vs. Non-FITS
• 24 significantly (better) however, 5 questions
  eliminated to guard against type I errors
  (Bonferroni Adjustment)

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FITS

• Best evidence to date
• The accident spike typically associated with
  aircraft enhancement or technological
  advancements have not happened.
• Early glass cockpit appeared to be following
  the normal trend however, once FITS was adopted
  the spike has not occurred.

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FITS

• Questions?