Simulator Fidelity: the Effect of Platform Motion

As part of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) initiative towards affordable flight simulators for U. S. commuter airlines, this study empirically examined the effect of six-degree-of-freedom simulator platform motion on recurrent pilot training and evaluation in the presence of a wide field-of-view visual system. Sound scientific data on the relationship between the motion requirement and its effect on the transfer of pilot performance/behavior to and from the airplane is all the more important given that the FAA may mandate the use of simulators for airline pilot training and evaluation. The study addressed the question of whether the motion provided by an FAA qualified Level C simulator affects 1) pilot performance/behavior and instructor grading criteria during First Look evaluation,2) the courseof Trainingin the simulator, and 3) the Transfer of skills acquired during Training in the simulator with or without motion to the simulator with motion as a stand-in for the airplane. Every effort was made to avoid deficiencies in the research design identified in a review of prior studies, by measuring pilot stimulation andresponse, testing both maneuvers and pilots that are diagnosticof a need of motion, avoiding pilot and instructor bias, and ensuring sufficient statistical powerto capture operationally relevant effects.