Education Commons^™

Stress, Anxiety, And Depression In Aerospace Students, Harley L. Waters

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

This study investigates and compares the levels of stress, anxiety, and depression among a sample of 574 undergraduate students in the Aerospace Professional Pilot concentration, Aerospace majors in concentrations other than Professional Pilot, and Non-Aerospace students at Middle Tennessee State University. This study sought to determine if Aerospace students exhibited higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. The participants of this study completed the DASS-21, a survey instrument that measures three separate constructs: depression, anxiety, and stress. The scores from this survey were used to compare depression, anxiety, and stress levels between the three groups of students using ANOVA and …

Shaping Aam Educational Methods: A Comparison Of Traditional And Compressed Class Schedules In Uas Classes., Collin D. Mcdonald, Daniel Siao, Kevin Corns

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is a paradigm shift in the versatility of the aviation industry. The obvious benefits of this platform will revolutionize a variety of aspects of the industry. One of the aspects in which the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has recommended research is the effectiveness of the traditional educational methods. Spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, online teaching methodologies have become widely accepted in aviation. In addition, the format of traditional, instructor-led courses have also changed. Compressed schedules (accelerated courses) have become an additional option in some programs.

To better understand if there are statistically significant differences in testing …

Strengthening Oklahoma’S Aviation Maintenance Workforce Pipeline Through Collaborative Efforts Of Careertech, Educational Institutions And Industry Partners, Timm J. Bliss, Irene A. Miller

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

As the needs of the 21^st century aviation/aerospace workforce change and in-demand job skills evolve, it becomes increasingly important to cohesively bring industry and education together to produce a well-trained, qualified aviation maintenance technical workforce for the state of Oklahoma. The primary focus of this FAA-funded project is to establish a sustainable pipeline that addresses the needs and priorities of the aviation maintenance workforce, a significant sector of the aviation/aerospace industry that drives Oklahoma’s economic growth. This sustainable pipeline will be built with a broad array of educational and industry partners. This pipeline will be designed to recruit, train, …

Using Technology Pedagogy To Enable Workforce Development, Inclusion And Diversity Into The Aerospace Industry, Karen Johnson, Ryan Goertzen, Stephen Ley

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The pool of aviation mechanics and technicians is not growing fast enough to support the projected growth in aviation. A group of stakeholders has come together with a big idea to help attract the next generation of talent.

Choose Aerospace, in collaboration with Clemson University Center for Workforce Development, the Aviation Technician Education Council, labor organizations, industry employers, and educational partners including subject matter experts at Greenville Technical College, Utah Valley University, Southern Illinois University, intends to deploy an innovative and effective aviation technical curriculum into high schools across the country. A program projected to reach 10,000 students by 2027. …

Developing Critical Thinking And Effective Communication Skills In The Future Aviation Workforce, Cihan Aydiner, Tanya Buhler Corbin, Courtney Tan

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Critical thinking and effective communication are among the top skills necessary for developing a resilient future workforce across professional areas. Recent world events have led to an increase in the demand for these skills in disaster and emergency management professions, especially those in and adjacent to the aviation industry. As such, the importance of higher education settings in teaching the skills needed to equip the workforce to face future challenges cannot be overstated. However, there are gaps in how these skills are taught in higher education to meet the needs of aviation employers seeking disaster and emergency professionals. This paper …

What Role Do Individual Differences Play In Attrition For High School Students In A Stem Curriculum?, Jacob W. Parsons, Peter M. Dittmer Ed.D

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

No abstract provided.

Workforce Of The Future Begins With Aviation Stem, Lyndsay Digneo

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The United States has always been a world leader in aviation. This leadership position relies on the strength of the American STEM workforce and the quality of the nation’s educational, industrial, and government institutions. Therefore, it is imperative to nurture today’s students to become a well-trained STEM workforce in the future.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) William J. Hughes Technical Center (WJHTC) recognizes that in pursuing its mission of aviation research, engineering, development, and test and evaluation, it is in a unique position to support aviation STEM activities for schools (K-12), post-secondary institutions, and community organizations. In 2016, the Technical …

Development Of Critical Thinking Skills In Collegiate Aviation Programs, Irene Miller, Tom Long

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Critical thinking requires an individual to gather and interpret data, develop conclusions based upon relevant findings, and implement the best solution. The dynamic aviation industry requires these skills of its pilots, maintainers, and managers for companies to remain successful. Collegiate aviation programs need to teach critical thinking and cognitive skills to allow students entering the workforce to become these successful aviation managers, maintainers, and pilots. Since August 2021, Southern Illinois University has been conducting a study to inform the development of these techniques for promoting critical thinking skills in the classroom and determine their efficacy. SIU will provide the preliminary …

Why Should Airline Workers Be Trained To Respond To Fume Events?, Judith Tl Anderson

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The potential for engine oil and hydraulic fluid fumes to contaminate the ventilation air supplied to the aircraft cabin and flight deck has been recognized since the 1950s as a function of the design and maintenance of the bleed air system. The presence of oil and hydraulic fluid in the bleed air matters because the fumes contain complex mixtures of chemicals, including toxic additives. Starting in the 1950s and continuing to this day, crewmembers around the world have documented ill health during and after breathing these fumes. Also, some crewmembers have reported impairment and even incapacitation inflight, resulting in investigations …

The Diversification Of The Us Airline Pilot Career Field: Perceptions Of Collegiate Flight Students., Irene Miller, Timm Bliss

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

There will be a tremendous need for commercial pilots over the next ten years. To maintain a pipeline of pilots, a US airline announced a diversity initiative in March 2021 to operate their own flight school with the goal of hiring thousands of pilots, at least 50% of them women or people of color. In December 2021, 80% of the airline’s inaugural class of 30 flight students were women or people of color. In 2022, several other airlines launched similar initiatives. The purpose of this study was to identify perceptions of collegiate flight students regarding these airlines’ new training and …

Aircraft Energy Management: A Best Practice For Integrating Safety And Efficiency, Juan Merkt

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Aircraft Energy Management: A Best Practice for Integrating Safety and Efficiency

The airplane is the quintessential energy system, constantly transforming, transferring, distributing, storing, and exchanging various forms of energy as it moves through the air. By its very nature, flight warrants safe and efficient management of the airplane’s energy. Thus, poor aircraft energy management can lead to unsafe and/or inefficient operations. Unfortunately, energy principles associated with motion control and performance have not found their way into civilian flight training. As a result, energy management skills, founded on those guiding principles, are not adequately taught to new pilots. The energy-training gap …

Using An Augmented Reality App For Flight Training, Parker W. Northrup, Heather H. Marriott, Stacey L. Mcintire, Hong Zhan

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

As the global demand for aviation pilots continues to drastically increase, flight schools are experiencing a large influx of ab-initio flight students. Such flight training programs are seeking innovative, cutting-edge technologies to support these students and expedite their flight training. The ARAir app, a custom app developed by our team, was designed for ab-initio pilots training at the Embry-Riddle Prescott campus. The initial implementation in Spring 2021 included phonetic alphabet practice and strategic radiotelephony that allows students to practice in a self-paced environment with immediate corrective feedback at various levels of complexity. Students can compete against themselves to improve phonetic …

Improved Feedback Mechanisms Of The Hydraulics Sandbox Simulator, Karen J. Johnson, Martin Hebel

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The proposed presentation will include the following project and results from implementation in an aircraft hydraulic systems course.

In 2020 we developed a digital hydraulics system schematic sandbox for use in an FAA Part 147 airframe maintenance technician training program (See Figure 1). The sandbox allows students to drag-drop-connect components used in systems such as those found in aircraft. It allows them to ‘test-connect’ the components to get feedback on correct and incorrect ‘construction’. As shown in Figure 1, light green ‘hoses’ are correct supply connections, dark green are correct return connections and red are incorrect connections per established rules …

Xr In Aviation Training: Insight From Academia, Industry, And Non-Profit Institutions, Stephanie G. Fussell, Robert L. Thomas, Bejamin Kwasa, James Birdsong, Kurt Reesman, Lori Brow, Joel Scharlat, William T. Ballo

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on education and training. Institutions that relied heavily on face-to-face instruction suddenly needed alternative modalities to keep students on course, forcing educators and trainers to employ a variety of educational techniques via technologies that they may not have had experience with. This shift has brought the advantages – and disadvantages – of augmented, mixed, and virtual reality technologies (collectively, extended reality or XR) for education and training into sharp focus. Programs were quickly assembled, and not always with consideration of learning theories. As learning and training were resumed in in-person settings, academics and …

Evaluating System Usability, Workload Suitability, And User Experience Of Game-Based Virtual Reality In Spaceflight Education And Training, Lana Laskey, Joseph Keebler

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Game-based instruction and immersive virtual reality are enhanced pedagogical methods beneficial in training environments involving complex disciplines, ranging from medical applications to construction engineering technology. This study investigated the use of game-based virtual reality (GBVR) when applied to the complex discipline of spaceflight education and training. As modern society places increasing demand on space-based amenities, the need for proficient satellite operators will also increase, requiring more accessible and more advanced training options. Spaceflight training scenarios, immersed in the GBVR environment, were developed and deployed to university student participants. Multiple validated scales were used to measure the GBVR system regarding three …

Creating The Next Generation Of Aviation Professionals: Creating Diversity In The Next Generation, Jason T. Lorenzon

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Covid-19, mandatory retirement age, the 1500 Hour ATP rule and lack of future aviation professionals has lead to a global industry crisis. With the boom of the 1990’s, 9/11, the Great Recession, Covid-19, the lack of younger individuals dedicating themselves to the study of aviation has led to a current crisis of a lack of aviation professionals ready to serve the industry currently and in the future. Lorenzon will trace how the work force shortage started well over twenty years ago. Boeing and Airbus both predict that over 2.2 million new workers including over 600000 pilots will be needed. Yet …

Aviation Stress Management: A Holistic Approach To Aviation Education And Training, Jennah C. Perry, Amy Mcvickers M.Ed.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

We understand aviation professionals require excellent training to optimally perform and execute highly specialized skillsets, intellectually, physically, and psychologically. Within the aviation industry, individuals are trained to operate, maintain, and manage, multi-million-dollar assets, yet are lacking the basic knowledge and fundamentals of their own body, including the stress response. According to a 2019 stress ranking survey, pilots rank 3^rd for highest stress professions while transportation industry workers ranked 8^th. Historically, aviation professionals have been left to address symptoms of stress to their own accord, impacting personal health and organizational safety. However, with the collaborative influence of health …

Connecting The Dots Between Science, Technology, Engineering And Math Education And Aviation Professional Shortages, Owen D. Bruce

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The 2018 Boeing Pilot and Technician Outlook report forecasted that the aviation industry needs 790,000 new civil aviation pilots worldwide over the next 20 years. Some airlines have answered the call by creating ab initio (entry-level) programs to recruit, train, and hire their own pilots. However, the 2018 Outlook report also forecasted that the aviation industry needs 754,000 maintenance technicians over the next 20 years. Recently, there has been more attention paid to potential shortages in other aviation careers such as aircraft maintenance technicians but the primary focus is still remains on the pilot population.

One of the factors that …

Cooperative Learning Strategies In Technical Higher Education Programs, James Sulton Ed.D.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Cooperative learning strategies are effective in raising student achievement in higher education settings. Positive evidence of the importance of small group structures are found in an in-depth literature review and summary of multiple key studies. The research found six features and benefits to be present in effective cooperative learning methodology for learners: positive interdependence, individual accountability, various leadership skills, information retention, identification of group facilitation techniques, and development of social skills.

Supporting International Ab Initio Flight Students Through English Language Training, Ken Byrnes Ph.D., Jena Lynch M.A., Elizabeth Mathews M.A., Alan Orr M.A., Jennifer Roberts M.A.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Effective communication between ab initio flight students and their instructors is critical for efficient flight training; additionally, clear radio communications between student pilots and air traffic controllers is imperative for smooth and incident-free airport operations. During the Fall 2019 semester, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) at Daytona Beach implemented a new semi-intensive eight-week course to improve the communicative skills of its international students who speak English as a second language.

This presentation describes the cross-campus and cross-departmental collaboration that took place to implement this new course. The stages that will be described include (a) the pre-screening of the students using ERAU’s …

The Pilot Shortage – From Student Pilots To The Atps, Joe Clark M.A.S.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Aviation is now facing an incredible pilot shortage, a shortage greater than anticipated in the past. Young pilots learned of the upcoming pilot shortage when told the World War II pilots were retiring, followed by the Korean aviators, then the jet jockeys of Vietnam. Somehow, those shortages never seemed to happen.

Today, it is a different story. According to statistics maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration, the number of active pilots dropped from more than 800,000 in 1980 to just over 633,000 in 2018. Over the course of those years, the numbers steadily declined with an occasional uptick over the …

Exploring Vr With Pilotedge In A University Part 141 Environment, Austin T. Walden Ph.D., Michael Pritchard Ph.D.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Flight Simulators have become an integral part of the part 141 training environment. Reliance on flight simulators has only increased in recent years as the pilot shortage has increased the utilization rate on training airplanes. At the same time, demands by flight schools and universities have all but assured that training airplane production has lagged behind the needs of the industry.

The ability to simulate an accurate replica of a cockpit of an advanced airplane has long been desired as aviation training is inherently problematic from an educational psychology perspective. Airplanes are loud, cramped, and operationally can be cost prohibitive. …

Integrating The 1st Person View And The 3rd Person View Using A Connected Vr-Mr System For Pilot Training, Chang-Geun Oh Ph.D., Myunghoon Oh Ph.D.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Many virtual reality (VR)-based flight simulation programs provide pilots the enhanced reality from the 1^st person-view to make themselves immersed in the cockpit. Using the VR simulations, pilots can take flight training in many challenging situations that are hard to create in real environments due to its natural entropy and safety concerns such as severe crosswind or engine fire. Mixed reality (MR) technology provides three-dimensional graphics so that users can effectively see all 360 degree-vertical and horizontal aspects of an object while they freely move around to see the graphics maintaining the consciousness of real space. Flight instructors may …

Augmenting Aeronautical Decision Making (Adm) With Error And Threat Management Training In Young Pilots, Joe Childs D.B.A., Kimberly Brewer

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The purpose of the presentation is to share best practices used to teach the Threat and Error Management (TEM) framework as a decision-making starting point to adolescent pilots (under 18 years). There is limited research data available on the use of BATD/AATD for teaching aeronautical decision-making and risk management in private pilot certificate training. FAA-S-ACS-6B does not adequately address the strategies and learning outcomes necessary for evaluating aeronautical decision-making other than stating that the evaluator must reference risk management elements of the ACS tasks and develop scenarios “that incorporate and combine tasks appropriate to assessing the applicant’s risk management in …

The Universality Of Communication: Preparing The Next Generation Of Aviation Professionals, Patti J. Clark Ph.D., Doreen M. Mcgunagle Ph.D., Laura Zizka Ph.D.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Current aviation college programs aim to prepare the next generation of aviation professionals to meet the needs of the ever-increasing global demand for air travel. Previous literature has identified gaps in competencies that employers noted in young graduates. This study attempts to narrow that gap by focusing on the curriculum of the top 20 aviation programs in the U.S. to compare the curriculum to the skills employers cited to assess whether the courses offered in the current programs reflect the actual needs of the aviation workplace. From a survey of Aerospace and Defense (A&D) employers, ten skills were cited: Team …

Avoiding Death By Discussion Board: Asynchronous Online Chats In Aviation History, Austin T. Walden Ph.D.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Universities and colleges are increasingly turning to online course offerings, especially in aviation education. Faculty are increasingly asked to turn their in-person courses into online flavors. Typically, faculty are creating online courses with discussion boards to mimic the scholarly community that exists in a face-to-face classroom. Faculty often create discussion boards, with varying degrees of effectiveness, to provide for the immersion of community. However, the actual effectiveness of discussion boards is debated in recent research.

This research examines Asynchronous Online Chats as a replacement for the "Death by Discussion Board" model. Data from the past two semesters will be examined …

Improving Assessments And Evaluations Of Pilots In Collegiate Aviation Programs, Peter Matthew Dittmer Ed.D.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The purpose of the proposed study is to improve assessments and evaluation techniques of student pilots in collegiate aviation programs. Proper evaluation and assessment of student pilot performance in collegiate aviation programs is important to the success and credibility of the training program. Students in pilot training programs are scrutinized unlike other students in other academic programs. There exists well-defined program evaluation cycles, specific skills and knowledge to be tested, objective criteria on which to judge performance, tight restrictions on evaluator qualifications, and a well-defined curriculum for creating an evaluation context.

This researcher would look at three reasons student pilots …

An Examination Of Recent Female Graduates From A Collegiate Aviation Program And Their Decisions To Become Professional Pilots, Debra Henneberry Ed.D., Maxine Lubner Ph.D., Pete Russo Ph.D.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Despite evidence of males and females having generally comparable abilities as pilots, very few women choose this career path. According to the Federal Aviation Administration database of aviators, approximately 7% of the total pilot population in the United States is female, and 5% of professional pilot ratings are held by women. These statistics have been relatively consistent for several decades.

The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of why females decide to become professional pilots. This is a continuation of the study investigated in Henneberry (2018). Findings and recommendations in that research included increasing the number …

Using Vr For Training How To Conduct A Tire Change On An Aircraft, Christopher J. Lee M.S., Andrew R. Dattel Ph.D., Michael Valderrama, Trevor Goodwin

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Virtual Reality (VR) is becoming an affordable and increasingly common tool for training. Twenty-four Aviation Maintenance Science students were randomly assigned to a VR group or a Traditional Training (Demonstration) group for a Cessna tire change module. The VR group spent about 5 minutes interacting with the VR application where they completed several actions to replace a tire. The Traditional group watched the course instructor change a tire in the maintenance hangar. One week later, students from both groups changed a tire in a real-world environment. Time to complete tasks were measured for locating the procedure in the manual, jacking …

Fatigue In Collegiate Aviation, Flavio A. Coimbra Mendonca Ph.D., Erik Levin, Julius Keller Ph.D., Aaron Teo

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Flight training has received little attention in fatigue research. Only transfers of knowledge gained in commercial and military aviation have been applied to general aviation without bridging the gap to the training environment. The purpose of this study was to assess collegiate aviation students’ perceptions of lifestyle and mitigation strategies related to fatigue. Participants were recruited from a Midwestern university’s accredited Part 141 flight school and a partner fixed base operator (FBO). The researchers of this study used a survey questionnaire to gather quantitative and qualitative responses. The majority of participants (68%) had logged less than 250 flight hours and …