Experienced Pilots Wanted

Between 300 and 15,000 flight hours logged, Age Range 45-69, Class III Medical minimum, Current & Active Pilot. Pilo ts are needed for a longitudinal study of cognitive abilities and flight performance. Flights will be flown annually on a Frasca 141 simulator in the San Francisco Bay Area (Palo Alto, CA). Monetary compensation will be provided. For more information, please contact: by email or by telephone @ 650-852-3457.

You are invited to participate in a longitudinal study of flight simulator performance of aviators. We are collecting information about the performance of pilots who span an age range of 45 to 70+ years. There is presently little data from pilots of this age range concerning in-flight performance, simulator performance, or other aviation-related performance.

As a volunteer in our study you will first be trained in our Frasca 141 flight simulator and perform a set of brief tasks designed to measure your reaction time and attention span. The instrumentation and flight characteristics simulate a small, fixed-landing gear, fixed-propeller, single-engine aircraft. The flight simulator is linked to a computer that generates a "through-the-window" visual display simulating a flat terrain surrounded by mountains with clear skies. The study is longitudinal, which means that we want to collect information about your aviation-related performance over time. There will be an initial training period, followed by annual visits.

During the training period you will learn how to "fly" the simulator, and performance on certain standard maneuvers will be measured during a maximum of 6 simulated flights. The 6 practice flights require a total of approximately 12 hours of your time. Once you are done with the practice sessions you will come back 1 month later to complete your first annual study day, requiring 7 hours of your time. At each of the annual visits, you will fly two 75-minute simulated flights and perform a series of brief tasks designed to measure your reaction time and attention span, again the day will require 7 hours of your time. Some of these tasks will be done on a personal computer and others will be done with paper and pencil. They may be repeated after each flight, but a different "testing form" will be used each time. There will be a rest break of 1 hour before the second flight to reduce fatigue you might experience. During the rest break, you may go out to lunch, or you may bring a sack lunch and stay on site. You may engage in leisure activities such as reading or watching videotapes during the rest break.

WE CANNOT AND DO NOT GUARANTEE OR PROMISE THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE ANY BENEFITS FROM THIS STUDY.
Compensation of $300 will be provided for completing the training sessions and the first annual session. Payment of $180 will be provided each time you complete one of the annual return sessions. When you have completed 3 annual retests, you will be offered a bonus of $100 for extending your participation an additional three years. If you live more than 50 miles from the VA Palo Alto, we can reimburse you for lodging and/or mileage expenses up to $200.

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