Undergraduate-Pilot-Training Duty Schedules and Aircrew Fatigue.

Abstract

During USAF undergraduate pilot training (UPT), instructors and students alternate weekly between an early-reporting (0530) and late-reporting (1030-1230) daily work schedule. A preliminary study was conducted to evaluate the effects of the alternating weekly schedule on pilot fatigue and sleep. Both student and instructor pilots reported a modest fatigue level when they began their early-morning duty days. Its only operational impact would be due to the fact that performance deterioration is more apt to occur in new, unmastered tasks, and UPT is a learning situation for the students. Beginning the early- week duty days a little later (0630-0700) may result in a notable reduction in early-morning pilot fatigue and sleepiness. At minimum, the findings provide empirical data for instructing the pilots on the importance of acquiring adequate sleep. (Author)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 1981
Accession Number
ADA104820

Entities

People

  • Murray L. Durant
  • Richard J. Fulton
  • Stephen M. Rokicki
  • William F. Storm

Organizations

  • United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerospace Medicine
  • Air Force
  • Air Force Facilities
  • Aircrafts
  • Body Temperature
  • Circadian Rhythms
  • Flight Crews
  • Flight Training
  • Government Procurement
  • Human Factors Engineering
  • Instructors
  • Pilots
  • Schools
  • Situational Awareness
  • Squadrons
  • Students
  • Training

Readers

  • Aviation Science / Aeronautics.
  • Circadian Sleep-Wake Regulation and Chronobiology
  • Systems Analysis and Design