Learning about Cockpit Automation: from Piston Trainer to Modern Jet Transport

This study examines the usefulness of providing cockpit automation training to career-minded pilots using automation equipment commonly found in small training airplanes. After mastering a set of tasks and maneuvers of varying difficulty using a small-airplane GPS navigation computer, autopilot, and flight director system, eight student pilots were then tested on their ability to complete a similar set of tasks and maneuvers using a computer-based simulator of a popular jet transport aircraft. Pilots attempted the jet transport tasks with no prior exposure to the equipment, no training, and no reference materials. Pilots were told to try to apply the principles they had learned in the small airplane. The results indicate a high degree of success: pilots were able to successfully complete 77% of all tasks in the jet transport on their first attempt. An analysis of a control group that received no small airplane automation training suggests that the pilot trainees’ success was attributable to the application of automation principles they had learned in the small airplane. The results cast a strong vote for the incorporation of cockpit automation training in curricula designed for pilots who will later transition to the jet fleet.