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SOUTHERN
REGIONAL
A000 548711

FACILITY
LIBRARY
UC

D
1

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
95
9.1950

R
FLIGHT SIMULATO

SENSE
NAVAER 00-80Q - 52
OCLC : 11104135

R
FLIGHT SIMULATO SENSE

O
TT
Oo
oo
o 2010

000
00

30
200000 00
00 00 /$
00
0

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES

FEB 91960

LIBRARY
GOVT. PUSS. ROOM

ISSUED BY THE AVIATION TRAINING DIVISION

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS

• 1959 • NAVAER 00-80Q - 52

U.S. NAVY
FLIGHT SIMULATOR SENSE

SIMULATION is one of the oldest dodges known to man or beast. The

first fellow who managed to pretend he was an old, harmless piece of

fur when pressed too dangerously by a saber-tooth tiger was no doubt

the toast of the caves . The possum is a famous simulator, while the
sloth is so expert at looking dead he sometimes fools himself and

3
gives up the ghost . And, as many a poor lad gulled by a falsie will

allow, the girls have been simulating this mound or that curve for a
long time.

Simulation can be good or bad, helpful or harmful , depending on

what the simulator has in mind . The Navy is not above using it by
any means. Many familiar teaching devices, from the smallest model

to the most specialized flight trainer, represent honest fakery devoted

to worthy ends - in a broad sense, some kind of simulation . Nobody

objects. Using a device to give the illusion of something else in

order to simplify training and quicken understanding is a method we

take pretty much for granted .
A flight simulator is a very special , highly developed example of
this kind of pretending, so complex in many ways it makes some of

Dame Nature's tricks look like grammar-school pranks . When train-

4
JoeJr
thegorgeous
georgian

ing people talk about a flight simulator, they do not mean a Proce-
dures Trainer, Link Trainer, or one of the generalized flight trainers
every flying man encounters somewhere along the line ; they do mean

that elaborate piece of equipment which closely resembles the internal

Hmm !

5
physical appearance of a specific airplane model and gives a reasonably

close idea of its flying qualities . Inside, it looks like that airplane ;

what's more, within reason , it flies like one. The OFT is the prime
example.

The flight simulator is a formidable affair, so impressive that some

pilots figure it ought to do everything from fixing a zipper to pro-

viding floods of rich, homogenized milk in sanitary cartons. There are

those too who profess scorn for what it actually produces in the way

of flying like a specific airplane. They spot the difference between

simulation and the real thing and figure somebody is trying to do
them in.

Since he has never tried to conceal them in the first place, no

training expert apologizes for the limitations of the flight simulator .

In fact, nothing makes his blood pressure soar higher than to hear
some well-intentioned chap make extravagant claims . All the expert

asks is a thoughtful and sensible approach to his brain-child. He

Both wrong!
7 Step inside
Folks !

Fake!

No
decent
air brakes

its the greatest

invention since SEX !

6
knows that over- selling anything, flight simulator or the stereophonic

sound of ping pong balls , is a sure way to provoke the raised eyebrow
and curled lip .

The flight simulator is simply an elaborate machine, not calculated

to take the place of pilot or first- hand, first -rate instruction from
another human being. It can't give out the word on aircraft proce-

dures, systems, components, standard operating methods, squadron

doctrine, and so on. Nor is the machine completely realistic. No

doubt one of the slide-rule fellows could produce one that behaves

exactly like an airplane and gives pilot and crew every possible flight
experience and sensation , including the screaming meemies, but such

a simulator might cost as much as an aircraft carrier. The ones we

have are expensive enough, designed to save lives and money. Besides ,

as we'll see later on, the simulator provides considerably more realism
than some of the hard-boiled critics care to admit.

I learn plenty in it.

‫ם‬
and the wheels,
are ALWAYS down!

II

So no flashy claims, please, and no beguiling pitches like the ones

you hear on used car lots in L.A. from the boys in the sports coats

and the little mustaches. Let's figure out what the simulator can do
to make the careers of flying people happier and longer.
7
AM

BRASS TACKS

By the time a pilot is ready for a go at the flight simulator, he is no

stranger to devices designed to present him with some of the problems

of flight. He has had a whirl at the Basic Instrument Trainer, one of

the many ways the Navy has of bringing home to him that this is

indeed the All-Weather Age and he'd better learn to feel at home on

instruments or try some other interesting line of endeavor . He may

8
also have had some experience with the Cockpit Procedure Trainer,
intended to familiarize him with the arrangement and feel of the

cockpit controls of the aircraft he is about to fly in a squadron . This

handy device gives the beginner good experience in routine and emer-

gency procedures for his aircraft all the way from pre- flight through
touch down. If he uses the Procedures Trainer intelligently and suffi-
ciently often, a fellow's reactions to flying situations can reach that
happy state where they are what the psychologists like to call " reflex-

ive and instantaneous," rather than conscious. Unlike the old lady try-

TOO

ing to make up her mind to cross the street, he'll do the right thing
without having to weigh the pro's and con's . The Procedures Trainer
512298 O-59-2 9
has other splendid features. It is reasonably portable , can be air-lifted
with relative ease, and - unless someone has worked hard at making a

boffola - is ready to be put to work when it arrives without too much

tinkering. This trainer is also fairly simply constructed and therefore

has fewer elements to go wrong ; so naturally less " down" time is

another dandy quality .

What ought to be kept in mind is this : since the Procedures

Trainer has only about half the training capability of a flight simu-

lator like the OFT, a wise pilot tries to understand the advantages of

every device intended to help him do his job with more efficiency
and safety. Because he is impressed by simplicity, he has no reason

The SHARP

one's use 'em all !

to be dismayed by complexity. The true flight simulator takes fore-

thought and planning for intelligent utilization . Certainly the Proce-

dures Trainer is useful ; the Navy wouldn't have it about if it weren't.

The same applies to the flight simulator, however complicated it

10
looks and however mis-used by people who simply don't know how
to make the most of it.

As we go on here about the virtues of the flight simulator, check

the areas in which the Procedures Trainer overlaps . Whenever the

simpler machine can be used instead of the more complicated one,

good sense demands that the load be taken off, say, the OFT and put
on the device requiring fewer people and less money to operate.

Your training officer bears this in mind, of course .

Life Insurance

dron ance
Squa Insur
O

Two unbeatable policies !

TEN FOR THE MEN

With a quick shuffle of his slide rule, the expert comes up with ten

good reasons why the flight simulator deserves more than a casual

glance from pilots with a real interest in the profession and a keen
desire to save their necks, which includes all present.

1 -It's safe. As everybody knows , a fellow can put himself into all
sorts of amazing positions in the simulator and be rescued with the

11
flick of a switch. Do the same things in a real flying machine at the

stage when he is just beginning to learn its crotchets , and he's a

candidate for the boneyard . The airplane may be restricted from cer-

tain maneuvers ; a few experiments in the simulator can show why.

2-It introduces pilot to airplane under ideal conditions . No hangar

noise, no banshee scream of engines on the test stands, no foul
12
weather (conditioned air, in fact) . Control , instrument familiarization ,
check-out -all can be learned in solid comfort in the simulator. A

pilot quickly identifies his controls, sees how they work, begins to

accept them and his instruments . He gets his pre- flight check famil-

iarization without strain or pain and nary a thought to weather or

aircraft availability .

Man !I pulled the

Boo - Boo to end all

Boo - Boos but I'm

still here

3 - The simulator does what it's supposed to do: it SIMULATES flight.

Consequently, the beginner is on his way toward enough mastery of

controls and instruments to fly the plane. He learns how it " feels"
during all sorts of maneuvers . And if he makes a wrong move , he
can start all over again without making that last, sad calculation of

how much insurance he has left the little woman. Put it this way: a

simulator like the OFT does everything but check a man out in the
actual, honest- to-goodness aircraft complete with Bu-No . Of course

there are differences between simulated and real flight just as there
512298 O-59-3 13
are variations between one aircraft and another of the same model ;

also this is simulation, as has been said all along, and must be ac-

cepted for what it is and what it can do for you.

4 –The simulator puts emphasis where it belongs, on instrument flight.

Any beginner can tool around in practically any aircraft when the
skies are clear and bright, but the Navy has a keen desire to prepare
every pilot for the rough and tumble of All - Weather . The lad at the

simulator controls can set up problems sometimes met but rarely prac-

ticed in actual instrument flight : engine-out approach , certain kinds of

flame-out situations, and intercepts at close range. Besides , instruments

have been known to become unreliable or plain out- of- whack, often

when a fellow needs them most . The simulator readies a pilot for the

tense times when he has to do without a given instrument or com-

pensate for errors in another if he is to find his way to the barn. A

They're probably plowing through darkness,

ds
headwin and updrafts
US NAVY
instruments
.
on only three

number of our brave lads look back with some satisfaction on their

OFT training as a result of meeting and beating the hazard of instru-

ment failure aloft.

14
5- The simulator prepares pilots and crews for all sorts of emergencies.
The OFT does everything from flaming out to bringing a pilot to

the point where he pulls the curtain to " eject " out of there. Right

THO

Emerging from Merging Emergencies !

now some bright fellow may be figuring out a way to simulate ejec-

tion right through the top of the trailer, but that could be carrying
a good thing too far. Take structural limits. Though of course he

shouldn't, a beginner sometimes has only a hazy idea of just how his

aircraft behaves as he approaches its stress limitations. He can clear

up the haziness safely in the OFT, for as he comes up to and goes

over the margin, the instructor is automatically alerted to take proper

action . Such useful practice is impossible in actual flight . That's not

all . The OFT can simulate a leak in the cabin pressure system, freez-
ing of the pitot tube, icing of wings, engine fire, excessive rpm , fuel

or boost pump failure, excessive oil pressure or temperature, failure of

the inverter, generator or battery, mishaps to landing gear, flaps, speed
15
brakes , and so on. It can set up flameout, blowout, false or hot start ,

and wet out ; the simulator can put a whole crew through forced
landing procedures or the steps leading to abandonment of the aircraft.

Observe that these emergency situations can be set up again and

again until the man in the cockpit and everybody else have really

practiced recovery procedures, bringing themselves to that happy state

of making reflexive and instantaneous moves in the right direction .

6 –Some simulators set up complete combat problems and help develop

the teamwork required to solve them. An enemy contact is made — on a

hostile aircraft or submarine — and the whole performance of follow-
ing through to tactical victory worked out in the simulator. With

another pilot or the instructor acting as the " enemy," the student flies

his OFT in very much the same way he would handle his aircraft in
combat, thus getting a sharp notion of good teamwork and a confi-

0000
0000 Look ! even though I'm "ENEMY " this is
000
00
000
00 only a SIMULATOR!

100
00

1000 €
L 20

16
dence in his ability to meet combat situations . Some squadrons, as we

shall see later on, have made this a strikingly useful part of their

ground training.

7 - The simulator provides the opportunity to rehearse for flights involv-

ing rugged conditions. Not too many people these days believe the best
way to teach a youngster to swim is to throw him off the end of a

pier and walk away, patting him on the back if he

makes it to shore and shrugging him off if he

does not. Catapulting an inexperienced pilot into

high winds in a very heavily loaded aircraft is
not really so different; and nobody thinks the

Navy is going " soft " by simulating such cir-

cumstances in the OFT and letting him handle
them beforehand under controlled conditions .

You
go in a boy

17
With the simulator, he can learn how to cope with icing, say, or solve
difficult cruise control problems ; in fact, he can rehearse a rugged

hop from take-off through debriefing and so build up his confidence

by developing the flight technique he needs to carry him through .

Or, suppose a fellow has a hairy adventure : he gets lost, finds him-

self almost out of fuel before he finally locates his field and sets her

18
down. He ought to find out where he went wrong. So setting up the

same flight in the OFT, recreating for him the same circumstances
that got him into trouble, will show him. Next time he'll know how

to handle the situation.

8_The simulator saves time and promotes efficiency in training crews.

The modern patrol plane, for example, is a far cry from the easy-

going, slow-moving craft of a few years back. The complexity of elec-

tronics gear is enough to indicate the skill and quick judgment
required. What's more, it demonstrates how easily a single man's

error can ruin a mission or even prove disastrous. A number of well-

planned OFT sessions take the kinks out of an untried crew as well
as help a plane commander spot a misfit before he can do any serious
damage aloft. Experience shows that the flight team which learns to

work smoothly together during the training sessions in the OFT is

the one most likely to turn in first-rate performances in actual flight .

They're OFTs and running!

19
In general, the OFT or OF/WST sessions should be as "realistic " as
possible. More about that later.

9- -AAt any stag of a miss

t e ion , the instructor can " freeze " the problem.
Snarle in a situat that seems to have no possib soluti , a
d ion le on
begin t up , ready - even in a simula - to push the panic
ner enses tor
butto . This is the momen the instru makes with the quick
n t ctor
freeze . The plane is sky-hooke while the studen figures out what he
d t

K let's
O. see what happened

ought to do or the instructor explains the errors and shows him the

way out. Either the problem can be started over again or the flight

continued when the pilot thinks he can carry on. An obvious virtue
of this freezing method is that the beginner thinks through his flying
difficulty at the very moment he is most aware of it, not after he has
been distracted by half-a-dozen other matters .

20
10 -In
-In a nutshell, the simulator has the three splendid qualities summed
up in S-E-E. That is to say, it is
S-afe
E -conomical
E -fficient

The student pilot and crew practice under conditions that keep them
well out of harm's way while they learn to handle the potentially
dangerous or tricky maneuvers. Though its investment in these devices

is not small , the Navy saves wear and tear on far more expensive
aircraft. And, whatever the weather, the simulator is available, the

learning situation is practically ideal . Could a training officer ask for

more?

Well , yes.

What he'd like, please, is a little less folderol from otherwise level-
headed lads in the squadron who don't make a real effort to under-
stand the nature of simulators or the fact that a certain amount of

planning is necessary to get the most out of them. He grows a mite

weary of hearing the Five Great Gripes, the cluster of complaints that
makes every training device expert grind his teeth and snap at his

wife.

An ' besides when you flip the flaps theyflop!

Joe sure is
telling him

US NAVY

21
1_ "
"It doesn't really fly like an airplane. " We've been over that
one: the OFT is a simulator , not a duplicator, and of course there
are differences between simulated and actual flight. Once that is
acknowledged , a fellow is ready to use one of these devices, not to jeer
at deficiencies , but to see how much it can do for him. That's the

idea. What's more, the experts get some wonderfully contradictory

reports on the realism of these things . Some pilots come out of a
session in the simulator cockpit wringing wet, as pooped as if they

had just returned from a very rugged hop in an actual airplane . And
don't make too much of the differences between simulated and actual

flight either. A fair number of those who make this complaint tend

to forget the variations between one aircraft in a squadron and

another of precisely the same model . Besides , the actual, measurable

preparation a pilot gets in a simulator far outweighs the slight dif-

ferences in control pressures and so on that he quickly compensates
for in the air.

2 "I don't have the time to fool around with make- believe.

Right this minute I've got enough paper work to stagger an ele-

phant ." Our deep sympathy; it's a hard world. Between planning ,

getting ready for and performing flight operations , writing reports for
the skipper, standing inspections, and springing Seaman Biffle from

the local Bastille , most aviation chaps are not exactly nibbling bon-
bons on the chaise longue. But let's face this interesting fact: any

first-rate pilot or crewman concentrates his attention on flying and the

problems directly connected with flying . The various simulators have

a specific, demonstrated value in helping develop better and safer per-

formance in the air. The idea is to make the time, somehow, to use

these and any other devices that promote growing old gracefully in
flying machines . To be blunt about it, most of us kick away a fair
22
amount of time anyway, hours that could be spent in the simulator
with great profit to one and all .

Me ? I gotta get
down to the
e d
up my re-sol
Commissary &pick

dancing shoes ! I can't fuss around with the

am ld ...
dre wor ..

3_" The simulator instructors just don't know enough to help me.

Well, just as there are all kinds of pilots , so we have all kinds of instruc-
tors; and nobody expects the lads at the switches and buttons to combine

all the finer qualities of test pilots and FAA administrators . Give the
trainer operator a break. If you're not happy about his performance,
you can help him, yourself, and the rest of the people in your squad-
ron by giving out with a few pointers about your airplane. In any case,
it's usually a good idea to have another pilot monitor the more advanced
problems and throw in appropriate variations . That way, everybody's
happy.

4_" I'm already checked out , mister . The trainer arrived too late.”

What he means is that he's probably up to guiding his aircraft through

the routine flights listed in the syllabus . The jackpot question (what
ever happened to quiz shows anyway?) is whether he's really checked

out in emergency procedures as well, set for complete instrument fail-

23
ure, losing an engine, or fire. The quick and easy way is through sessions

in the simulator, developing the smooth-working, trained reactions that

keep sweaty situations from turning into bone-breakers .

Look at it ! A caboose !!

n Itjust hasn'tgot
CLASS!

I can see my

finish some dark night

400 miles out!

flypast

5-" Every time I use the simulator, the instructor turns it into a

panic box . ” And here , men , we have solid grounds for complaint.
The instructor or assisting pilot who throws in emergency after

emergency just to harass the lad in the cockpit is a menace to all

right-thinking citizens . Certainly the simulator is designed to prepare

pilots and crews for emergencies, but it has many other excellent

capabilities as well. No surer way to have a whole squadron associate

the simulator with sheer , unmitigated torture than to plug in one

panicky problem after another so that it keeps lighting up like a pinball

24
machine. Let us have measure in all things , including the trouble
we've seen .

Brothey:
now What ?

Ε
Π

Since the very first time a crude naval vessel put to sea the object

of the man tagged with the job of making the crew battle-ready has
been to train them

1. realistically,

2. effectively, and
3. safely.

Not the least important of his objectives has been to promote team-

work, cooperation , and a knowledge of how to pull together, for the

poor fellow who snagged an oar in a Roman trireme was just as much a

hazard to navigation as the wingman in this day and age who doesn't

know how to work with his flight leader. The elimination of snafu

has always been the objective of any kind of naval training. We're
25
Get that Snafu outa here!

still working hard at it. A flight simulator , properly and thoughtfully

worked into the training program, is one of the most fiendishly clever
snafu-chasing devices ever conceived .

CASE HISTORY

Take the F8U squadron the training people would gladly recommend
for the Order of Savvy Simulator Unsnarlers , First Class with Grom-
mets . This outfit, it must be admitted, had a head start: the lads had

had enough experience with other trainers to realize their OFT could

duplicate practically every known flight situation . What's more, they

knew it saved fuel and added a fine , fat safety margin to the critical
period of transition. So they approached their job with the attitude of
reasonable men .

26
Enter the training officer. His first big problem, as he saw it, was

to acquaint his pilots with the basic F8U flight problems . Once he
had his lads really flying the simulator, he was over the big hurdle.

#SNAW

So he set up the first OFT session as a simple familiarization hop,

showing all the switches, dials , levers , and controls to the beginning

pilot and having him run through a short , routine flight. He did not
rush the business of setting in emergencies but introduced them grad-
ually so that the man under instruction associated the simulator with
a flying machine, not a House of a Thousand Chills and Thrills . As

soon as the pilot demonstrated he could handle the situations simu-

lated in the OFT, the training officer worked on the theory that the
trainee could handle similar problems in the air. So , after a compre-

hensive check flight in the actual aircraft, the new pilot was assigned

a spot in the squadron tactical organization.

27
For that pilot, A plus B equalled C. There was a definite connec-
tion, fully explained, between his performance in the OFT and his
activities in the F8U itself.

Now the flight leader came into the picture to train with the new

pilot under a modified version of the " buddy " system. Since the beginner
was to be his wingman , he worked right alongside him in the OFT

sessions on the reasonable assumption that greatly improved teamwork-

flight integrity - would result. The way they handled it was to have
one fly the OFT mission while the other monitored the hop at the

console, observing the procedures and pilot techniques but allowing

the OFT operator to introduce the emergency situations that tested

the ability of the man in the cockpit to carry on under adverse condi-
tions. After one of these simulated hops, the two would get together

for a thorough debriefing session, going over the entire mission step
by step. The net result was to develop confidence in the aircraft and
in each other.

Meet my pal, Siamese !

r
Jagge & I sorta, 4

play every

Yeah
thing by
Carl

ரடு

28
Missions were of two kinds - navigation and combat. The first

began with a cross-county IFR hop, a relatively simple one, and

worked up, through four sessions , into really complicated problems :

going to an alternate, executing holding patterns, missing approaches ,

making GCA pickups , losing some of the radio gear, and solving all
manner of difficulties. The leader and wingman alternated in the OFT
cockpit.

Combat problems were approached with the idea that the wing-
man should first be carefully indoctrinated in approved squadron pro-

cedures . The leader explained what he was about to do and then demon-

strated it in the OFT, giving a running account of his actions by radio . As

soon as the wingman had the idea, he entered the cockpit and tried

his hand at an intercept . The customary debriefing session followed .

And just to avoid unnecessary problems in this early phase, failures

were not introduced into the OFT on the theory that the wingman

had enough to occupy him just then .

29
This arrangement was continued through a number of simulated

flights until the leader was convinced his wingman knew what he was

about . Emergencies were not set up until the later stages. If the wingman

failed to respond properly, the flight was " frozen " until he caught on.
It was not uncommon for the man under instruction to try to carry

on the hop under impossible circumstances ; so the flight leader made

his comments realistic , very much to the point. These two pilots , more and
more of a team , were ready then to try their hands in the air.

30
The advantages are obvious enough . Instead of having to fly two

airplanes in order to train one pilot, the job was done in the OFT,

where really close observation is possible. That squadron saved time ,

money, and did a better training job . Their record proved the sound-

ness of this planned , thoughtful approach to the practical use of the

simulator.

GROOVE IT, MEN

Here's a basketball All- American , a fast, aggressive, beautifully- coordinated

athlete, at the top of his form. He's arrived So how does he spend

his afternoons ? He practices. Or the leading hitter in the league, sharp

of eye ,
solid of swing. What's he up to ? He's out there in the bat-

ting cage, sharpening the eye and toughening the wrists. Practicing.
And here's the golfer who has just won the Masters . The fellow's

spending and hour or two on the putting green because he almost let
the big one get away from him on Number Twelve .

Put it another way : those people are " over- learning. " They know
that when the money is on the line, the fans screaming and the pres-
sure mounting, they must have such thorough control of themselves

and their game they don't have to think about what to do. The body

responds, the eye is sharp , the swing is grooved, the wrists are strong.
A rugged and dull grind, but it pays off.

Here's a pilot making a GCA approach to a mist-shrouded field .

This is his second try. He'd flubbed the first effort and the controller

had sent him around again . Now, watching the uncertain blip move-
ments on the screen , the controller starts to worry. Speaking calmly,

reassuringly, he tries to talk his man down the slope , but abruptly
the acknowledgments stop ; the blip disappears .

31
End of the line.

With the chips down and tension mounting, that unfortunate pilot

did not have the automatic, almost reflexive responses he needed . He

was in a much more exacting and demanding business than the basketball
flash , the leading hitter, the winning golfer. They played games ; he

had to play for keeps. The sad truth was, he had not " over-learned. "

You are learning a tough one but you're here

32
Investigation showed it had been much too long since he'd practiced

a GCA approach in an actual aircraft or flight simulator. And practiced

it again and again while he had the chance.
People who argue against repetitive learning ( dull stuff: kills initiative,

stifles the old brain ) forget how many of their daily actions are the

result of having repeated them for years . When that nice Miss Flana-
gan made little Herman write "I will not put stink bombs in the

boys ' room " sixty times on the blackboard , she knew what she was

doing: Herman and stink bombs were strangers from that day on. When

a flight instructor makes a beginning pilot go through a routine maneuver

over and over, he knows what he's about also . The procedure will
stick.

Man! does it pay!

Back to the simulator. A fellow goes over an emergency situation

in training time after time until he knows it cold. So far, so good.

But when he gets around to flying the actual airplane, he will (he
33
trusts ) have very little opportunity to practice it. Isn't it likely to be
forgotten?

Indeed so . A truism in the education profession is that material

practiced least often tends to be forgotten most rapidly. And emer-

gency procedures are matters pilots would just as soon keep in mind,
thank you . An obvious remedy is to set up a program of returning

pilots and crews to the simulators from time to time for refresher sessions,

which is precisely what certain canny training officers insist on doing

because they are just as smart as Miss Flanagan, though maybe not

so pretty .

Suppose, though, a simulator is not available. After all , they're expen-

sive, elaborate, and therefore not to be found in every obscure Navy

establishment all over the globe. What then?

The idea is to anticipate this situation by making intensive use of

the simulators while they are available. In short , to " over-learn" at the

start. The psychologists , who have given pretty serious thought to

1000 40
00
: :

050 00
ว

00
.

A
They are OVER learning
A

whenever they can

34
how people learn and then hang on to information , say this : over-learned

material is retained for longer periods of time and is less likely to be forgotten
during a stress or emergency situation. That statement should interest every
pilot with even a casual interest in his own welfare.

Take this generalized " learning curve," for example.

Learning Curve
100
ntage
Learning

90
Perfec t
Perce

80
of

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
O
TRIALS 1 2 3

No application to any specific learning situation is intended. Exact

shape varies with the particular kind of learning material involved and

the group of people tested, but the general shape holds true in most
cases.

The assumption here is that the kind of learning material dealt

with is something seldom , if ever, learned to perfection ; so let the vertical

figures represent the percentage of perfect learning while the horizon-

tal numbers represent the number of trials or times an individual has

tried to learn the material . Starting from scratch , a man learns very

rapidly during his first three trials . From the third trial to the fourth,
the rate slows down; and from the fifth trial to the sixth , there is

only a barely perceptible change in the total amount taken in .

35
Trials Four, Five, and Six , then, are the period of " over-learning,"

the times a fellow sees little if any improvement in his performance.

What he does do , as he makes these extra attempts , is insure that he

will hold on to the skill for a longer period of time.

The psychologists' " forgetting curve" demonstrates this :

ntage

Forgetting Curve
ial

Originally

Retained

100
Perce
ed

Which
Mater

OVER-LEARNING
90 14
Learn

NOT OVER- LEARNING

of

80
Is

70
60
50
40
30
20
10

TRIALS 2 3

Months Skill or Knowledge

Is Retained

No slip-stick required to figure out that one. Numbers on the bottom

line represent months ; the point at which either of the two forgetting
curves intersects with a vertical line from Number One indicates the

amount of material retained after one month . The same holds true for

a line from Number Two , and so on . The point, of course , is that

"over-learned" material is retained better and longer than the material

learned with fewer trials.

Psychologists would have a fit if we tried to prove that either the

learning or forgetting curves applied to any single specific skill acquired in

36
a flight simulator. The only intention here is to underline a truth that

athletes , musicians, and first-rate pilots have known for a long time :

KEEP ON PRACTICING

EVEN AFTER YOU SEEM TO HAVE STOPPED LEARNING .

YOU WILL RETAIN YOUR SKILL LONGER.

37
The special virtue of the simulator is that it provides the chance to
master a given procedure under safe conditions and to go over the
method again and again until the thing is second nature. A pretty good

guess is that the pilot who missed that GCA approach was on the
wrong line of the forgetting curve. He didn't have the automatic, reflexive

responses that come from long, long practice .

Look at Gramp!

"S - E- E" AGAIN

The long, thoughtful look, please. No flight simulator, however it lights

up , makes whirring noises, or bounces around in an updraft , is the
answer to every squadron problem. Seaman Biffle is still with us and

the paperwork goes on. But the training and refresher work possible

in these complex contraptions is enough to capture the attention of

every pilot with a serious approach to his profession . They are S-afe,
E-fficient, and E-conomical indeed.

38
Sneerers at simulation are a short- sighted lot. Let them not forget

that the pretend mound or curve has helped the race increase and multiply ,
that the sloth , in his sly fashion, has been around a long time, and
that the chap who made like the old, harmless piece of fur was somebody's
great-grandfather. You can't sneer at facts .

We haven't lost

a man ora
plane
in a si mu la tor!

39
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