Transfer of Training Effectiveness in Flight Simulation: 1986 to 1997.

Abstract : The purpose of this report was to review recent studies regarding the effectiveness of flight simulators as augmentation for "hands-on" flying training. Simulation-based training has been proposed to reduce costs, extend aircraft life, maintain flying proficiency, and provide more effective training, especially in areas difficult to train in operational aircraft. A review of the literature from 1986 to 1997 identified 67 articles, conference papers, and technical reports regarding simulator flying training and transfer. Of these, only 13 were related directly to transfer of training from the simulator to the aircraft. Studies of simulator effectiveness for training landing skills constituted a majority of the transfer studies, although a few examined other flying skills such as radial bombing accuracy and instrument and flight control. Results indicate that simulators are useful for training landing skills, bombing accuracy, and instrument and flight control. Generally, as the number of simulated sorties increases, performance improves, but this gain levels off after approximately 25 missions. Further, several studies indicate that successful transfer may not require high-fidelity simulators or whole-task training, thus reducing simulator development costs. Evaluation of this literature is difficult for many reasons. Typically, researchers fail to report sufficient detail regarding research methods, training characteristics, and simulator fidelity. In addition to these methodological concerns, there is a lack of true simulator-to-aircraft transfer studies involving complex pilot skills. This may be due to problems such as inadequate simulator design, cost, and availability, and access to simulators in operational flying units. Future directions in simulator transfer of training are discussed.