Best Evidence for the FAA Industry Training Standards (FITS) Program for Pilot Training in Technically Advanced Aircraft

Abstract

To continue the investigation of the effectiveness of FITS syllabus training, which was previously evaluated in a 2004 study, the MTSU Aerospace Department FITS research team has conducted a second study. In the original study, a group of students were trained in a FITS-approved combined Private/Instrument curriculum in technically advanced aircraft (TAA). The effectiveness of that training was compared, through the identification of setbacks and bottlenecks in training, to archival records of students who had been trained in “round dial†aircraft using a traditional flight training curriculum. In the October 2005 issue of the Collegiate Aviation Review, we reported that the FITS trained students experienced statistically significant fewer setbacks and bottlenecks than the traditionally trained students. The question that remained was whether the FITS syllabus or use of TAA was the determining factor in the positive results experienced. In the phase of the study reported in this article, a new group of students completed their Instrument Rating training, this time flying TAA but using a traditional curriculum. The results of all three groups of students can now be compared, and the evidence suggests that it is the FITS syllabus that is responsible for the improvements in training, not the use of TAA. Further, the results of several surveys administered in this study indicate that not only is FITS training more efficient due to reduced bottlenecks and setbacks, but that it is also more effective at preparing students to make real-life decisions in the flight environment.