A Model for Instructor Training Analysis in Simulation-Based Flight Training

Training plays a pivotal role in the manpower development process in organizations. Successful execution of the organizational missions depends on the overall effectiveness of the underlying training programs. The current research is a part of the authors’ developmental work in this direction, and addresses the training of instructors in simulation-based flight training systems. A flight simulator complex is usually used to train student pilots as well as flight instructors, and the training requirements and methodologies for these two groups are quite different. In earlier work, the authors modeled the student training process and developed a decision support system for the cost-effective design of instructor operator stations (lOS’s) in flight simulators. In this research, the instructor training process is modeled and a methodology for determining instructor training plans is developed. A framework for instructor training analysis, in terms of the identification of instructor skill requirements, methods of training instructors, and the development of instructor training plans, is described. The framework is developed from a study of training system characteristics conducted using a group of experts in flight simulation. The system developed in this research has been integrated with the framework for IOS design developed earlier. The instructor training model and its implications from the IOS characteristics are presented, and directions for future research in this area are provided.