Air Force Studies eVTOL Pilot Training

The Air Force is having a look at how it might use eVTOLs and is starting with who's best for the flight deck. It’s hired Massachusetts consulting company Aptima to figure out what an Air Force eVTOL pilot might look like. “The learnability study will help us not only understand the baseline pilot skills and competencies needed for proficient eVTOL flight, but also the impact of automation on pilot performance,” said Samantha Emerson, training, learning & readiness scientist at Aptima.

One of the big challenges for establishing a training regimen is that the eVTOLs that have emerged so far have a wide range of automation. More experienced pilots tend to suck at filling the seat in a highly automated platform. Training them to fly vehicles that fly themselves might require some dumbing down. “Even though a more experienced pilot may possess greater ability in controlling aircraft, not all those skills may be useful or even desired in platforms with more automation and augmentation,” Emerson said. “In fact, it may require an ‘unlearning’ and re-training of behaviors to prevent interference or conflict with automated operations.”