A COMPUTER-AIDED APTITUDE-TEST FOR PREDICTING FLIGHT PERFORMANCE OF TRAINEES

Abstract

Perceptual/psychomotor and cognitive tasks in a computer-aided aptitude test were studied to predict the success of a trainee in flight training. Pilots' tasks were tentatively classified into five categories: tracking, reaction, memory, estimation, and visual scanning. To investigate the performance of a trainee in these categories, 16 single tasks and 10 dual tasks were examined. In the factor analyses three common factors (tracking, reaction, and memory) were meaningfully extracted. To select significant tasks for predicting flight performance, we performed stepwise regression and discriminate analyses. In the regression analyses, memory tasks were most significant in predicting the flight performance of a trainee. In the discriminate analyses, tracking tasks were most significant for distinguishing the passing and failing groups. The reaction tasks were of little significance in predicting the performance of flight trainees.