The Brief Vestibular Disorientation Test as an Assessment Tool for Non- Pilot Aviation Personnel,
Abstract
Past research has demonstrated the value of the Brief Vestibular Disorientation Test (BVDT) as a screening tool for student pilots. This study is concerned with the extension of this technique for use in assessing the potential Naval Flight Officer (NFO). The rater BVDT procedure was used here, and in addition, a performance task involving a short-term memory task in the auditory mode was introduced in order to measure performance decrement. Representative groups of entering NFO students were first administered the performance task under the exact conditions of the previous BVDT procedure, but without rotation. After a 2-minute rest period, the procedure was repeated with rotation. Observer assessments were made during this rotation sequence. The results indicate that those students who later failed NFO training exhibited greater performance decrement under rotary conditions as compared to static than did successful students. Rater-type BVDT scores also indicated slightly greater sensitivity (0.7 level of significance) to the vestibular stimulus for the failures than for the successes. It was concluded that this technique is of value in screening NFO's.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 16, 1974
- Accession Number
- ADA004963
Entities
People
- Fred E. Guedry Jr.
- Rosalie K. Ambler
Organizations
- Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory