Modernizing Pilot Selection Methods & Technologies at the
United States Air Force Academy
Hannah Silvestro, Bethany Duggan, Kory Beach, Henry Scholes, Kenneth King, Chad Tossell
Warfighter Effectiveness Research Center (Dept of Behavioral Sciences, USAFA)
Goal
CSAF Directive: Modernize the Test of Basic Aviation Skills
(TBAS) to effectively select pilots across diverse populations
- USAF Academy
: Our (in-progress) project explores the Navy
Performance-Based Measures (PBM) towards this broader goal
-- RQ1: Do different controls reduce gender differences while
maintaining adequate levels of predictive validity?
-- RQ2: Does practice on controls reduce gender differences?
System Design & Methods
The PBM testbed at USAFA provides an environment to explore
innovative (e.g., pupillometry) & incremental (e.g., controls)
methods and technologies without test compromise
Early Results
Status / Way Ahead
- Continue collecting data for full analysis
- Explore more innovative tech & methods
with primary stakeholders (NRL, AFPC)
- Examine gender differences on both
HOTAS (stick & throttle) & gaming
controllers across trials
- Participants: Currently 14 females (5
HOTAS, 9 Xbox), 14 males (7 HOTAS,
7 Xbox) 120 total planned
- Materials: PBM software, standard PC
setup with controllers
- Measures: Tracking on the vertical
sliding target (VTT) & 2D tracking of
moving aircraft target (ATT)
- Controllers (RQ1):
Reduced gender differences
on Xbox relative to HOTAS
in VTT
- Practice (RQ2): Practice
seems to be more important
on HOTAS in VTT
- Controllers (RQ1): For
ATT, opposite pattern might
be developing
- Practice (RQ2): Practice led
to increases in performance
on both controls
Distribution A. Approved for Public Release
