Fidelity Requirements for Army Aviation Training Devices: Issues and Answers

摘要

The Future Aviation Simulation Strategies Study Group, sponsored by the U.S. Army Aviation Warfighting Center Directorate of Simulation, presented key questions to the Army Research Institute (ARI) regarding functional requirements (visual, motion, aerodynamic model) for Army helicopter simulators. The present report consists of ARI's responses to these questions, based upon current knowledge of the research. Among the key findings of the report: The prevailing institutional belief is that the simulator, in order to be training effective, must replicate the aircraft. Training consists of offloading flight hours from aircraft to simulator. These assumptions are not supported by scientific evidence. The belief that fidelity equals training effectiveness still drives the acquisition and integration of simulators and training devices. Empirical transfer of training (ToT) experiments using aircraft as criteria are rare. Research has demonstrated that even high fidelity simulators can produce poor ToT to the aircraft, when traditional lock- step training programs are used. Contrariwise, simulators of lesser fidelity have demonstrated acceptable ToT when criterion-based training strategies were employed. The conclusion drawn from the ToT research is that instructional strategies are more important than simulator fidelity. Research on simulator motion shows that while motion may enhance performance in the simulator, it does not seem to impact transfer to the aircraft.