Rapidly advancing aircraft technology is necessitating that the Navy reassess training requirements for safe aircraft carrier landings. Specifically, the recent introduction of Precision Landing Modes (PLM) raises questions about the volume and types of training necessary for aviator Carrier Qualification (CQ). To ensure continued safe and expeditious aircraft carrier landings, the Landing Signal Officer (LSO) community is analyzing historical Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) and carrier aircraft landing data to better understand the nature of skill acquisition and decay. Specific attention is being given to the amount of FCLP’s for aviators to gain and maintain proficiency in preparation for CQ. This paper presents the results of this analysis.
In this work, we assemble a database detailing nearly one million LSO-graded landings, dating from 1997 to 2017. This database is constructed from records provided by the U.S. Navy LSO School at Naval Air Station Oceana. Through analysis of these graded landing records, including natural language processing and machine learning, we identify trends that can drive qualification requirements. As an example, skill acquisition rates as a function of number of landings are very similar across platforms, including all F/A-18 and E-2 series. Similarly, skill decay rates as a function of time elapsed since last carrier landing are also similar, and maximum skill decay appears to occur as soon as forty days after an aviator’s last carrier landing. Furthermore, we observe the magnitude of skill acquisition in the T-45 over one hundred FCLP passes is significantly greater than for other platforms.
This study is relevant to Naval Aviation CQ training. As consideration is given to whether the T-45 replacement should be carrier-capable or not and whether the number of required FCLPs can be reduced without adversely effecting safe and expeditious carrier landing performance, this analysis will enable data-driven decisions to be made.