Abstract
Simulator training is common for commercial pilots but not in general aviation. Since unusual flight attitudes, stalls and spins account for about one third of fatal accidents in pilots flying according to visual flight rules, the present authors are currently evaluating a simulator training program developed for this group of pilots. Our study does not only use the progress in recovering from unusual manoeuvres as criterion for training success, but also psychophysiological recordings during the actual flight manoeuvres. Based on a theoretical arousal/emotion brain model (Boucsein and Backs, 2009), heart rate, heart rate variability and various electrodermal parameters were chosen for in-flight recording in an aerobatic plane (Pitts S-2B), flown by an expert aerobatic pilot who will be the flight instructor during the test flights before and after simulator training. In the present study, psychophysiological recordings were taken before, during and after flying into and recovering from extreme pitch, overbanking, power-off full stall and spin. To control for the influence of high acceleration, G-forces were recorded by an inertial platform. Results from our expert pilot study demonstrate the usability of psychophysiological measures for not only determining stress/strain processes, but also different kinds of arousal, i.e., general arousal, preparatory activation and emotional arousal, during complex flight manoeuvres.
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Acknowledgement
This research was supported and financed by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) and the company AMT Aircraft Manufacturing Technology GmbH, Austria.
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Boucsein, W., Koglbauer, I., Braunstingl, R., Kallus, K.W. (2010). The Use of Psychophysiological Measures During Complex Flight Manoeuvres – An Expert Pilot Study. In: Westerink, J., Krans, M., Ouwerkerk, M. (eds) Sensing Emotions. Philips Research Book Series, vol 12. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3258-4_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3258-4_4
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