Improving time-sharing performance of pilots through training

Even with special display devices in gestation, a pilot must satisfy his complete visual information needs by “time-sharing” between the intra- and extra-cockpit data sources. A sample of sixty military attack pilots, selected with the variable of flying experience in view, was divided into control and trainee groups. Using simple, generalized but adaptive simulation devices, the trainee group was trained over an eight-week period in display reading and in hazard detection. A comparison of the trainee group with the control group in a highly specific and complex simulated flying task, showed that hazard detection (such as collision) was improved significantly without in any way compromising other flying tasks.