A DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR THE DESIGN OPTIMIZATION OF MULTI-PHASE TRAINER INSTRUCTOR/OPERATOR STATION IN FLIGHT SIMULATORS

A significant problem encountered in designing flight simulator device training programs is the of lack a decision support system (DSS) providing a unified methodology for establishing appropriate training criteria and optimal training device parameters. This paper presents an efficient DSS for cost-effectiveness analysis for the optimal design of the Instructor Operator Station (IOS) in flight simulators. This IOS can be used to teach a multiple of training phases. This DSS integrates three relatively distinct areas: (1) learning curve modeling, (2) economic analysis, and (3) multi-criteria decision making for the design tradeoffs optimization. The paper presents the methods for deriving the IOS design configurations from an initial broadly defined set of training objectives and the related training taxonomy of training devices from the training expert's opinions. The data requirement for making the design tradeoff decisions and the methods and sources of that data are also proposed in this paper. This DSS is designed to assist engineers and training specialists in their decision making for simulators and other training device design and development projects.