The Use of a Personal Computer-Based Aviation Training Device in Ab Initio Flight Training

A personal computer-based aviation training device (PCATD) was used to train 63 ab initio flight students. Thirty-nine foreign airline trainees and 24 students from the U.S. participated in approximately 10 hours of basic VFR training between the completion of their ground school course work and flight lessons. All PCATD training followed a strict syllabus and was instructor-led. After the completion of their PCATD training, students followed the traditional flight lesson syllabus and training performance was tracked up to private pilot certification. Dual flight hours prior to the first solo flight, landings prior to the first solo flight, dual flight hours between the first solo flight and private certification, and landings between the first solo flight and private certification provided dependent variables for this study. The results suggest that the PCATD training was effective in improving training performance for some students. Those most influenced were students who traditionally require substantially more training prior to solo and private certification than that called for by the syllabus used at the facility where this study was conducted. Results also indicate that, as expected, the PCATD exposure had the greatest impact on training performance prior to solo.