Abstract
Airmanship refers to the non-technical skills required to successfully operate an aircraft. While it is critical for aircrew performance, there is a scarcity of research that has examined airmanship in military aviation. Therefore an exploratory mixed-methods study was conducted to examine qualified aircrew instructors’ perceptions of: (1) trainees’ airmanship standards, and (2) airmanship assessment and training methods, with a particular focus on situational awareness (SA). In the quantitative phase, a cross-sectional survey was completed by 235 instructors who were recruited by convenience sampling from within flying training squadrons (n = 75), and aircraft-specific training units (n = 160). The survey collected demographic information, and assessed perceptions of trainees’ overall airmanship, as well as individual airmanship constructs. In the qualitative phase, 36 instructors selected from across the flying streams (i.e., fast-jet, rotary, multi-engine and remotely piloted air systems) participated in one-to-one semi-structured interviews.
Survey results indicated that while 42% of aircraft-specific training unit instructors perceived trainee airmanship as meeting the required standard to commence their unit, 50% believed it was either slightly below, or below, the required standard. When examining perceptions of individual airmanship constructs, SA and decision making were rated lower than other airmanship constructs, indicating that these are key areas requiring further development. Results from the semi-structured interviews indicated several key themes that could contribute to these results. Specifically, while aircrew instructors shared a consistent operational definition of SA, they reported a lack of formal training in conceptual frameworks that could support the instruction and debriefing of trainee SA. Instead a heavy reliance on informal knowledge transfer was apparent, with inconsistencies also identified in how airmanship constructs are assessed.
Overall, the findings highlight the need for improved conceptual training, standardisation, and assessment tools. Addressing these gaps could enhance airmanship training, and ultimately improve aircrew performance and safety.