A Research Study

Hi Everyone!

My flying partner and I have been assigned to a broken airplane for the first three days of our tour - hence not a lot of flying to talk about here. I did want to pass along a link to this research project being taken on by Libby Culpepper, a graduate student, completing a doctorate degree in Human Factors Psychology at Wichita State University. Her research interests include human performance modeling, workload and cognitive assessment, and crash investigations. Habit accommodation is a study investigating the age-related effects of cognitive and sensory abilities on daily and flight performances.

The Wichita State University Human Factors Laboratory is conducting an important study of the effects of age-related changes in vision, audition, motor control, and cognition in pilots. Libby is collecting data for this study via an on-line survey. Here's the link: http://pilotsurvey.notlong.com/

The survey is anonymous and takes 20-30 minutes to complete. The researcher is interested in collecting data from all kinds of pilots -- young, old, male, female, commercial, private, fixed wing, rotorcraft -- you name it: If you fly any kind of aircraft, you're eligible to participate. All nationalities are welcome. The survey questionnaire is in English. While the study focuses on pilots, the researcher also wants to include some non-pilots in her sample so that she'll have some comparison data. So, if you're not a pilot but would still like to participate, you can be part of the comparison group by clicking on the link above and filling in the survey as a non-pilot. One more thing: The more data collected, the more reliable the results, so please pass the word about this very worthwhile study to your colleagues so that they can participate, too. Since the researcher is trying to publicize her survey as widely as possible, it would be greatly appreciated if you would post the link to the survey in your crew lounge or on a forum where you are a member. Use this easy link: http://pilotsurvey.notlong.com/

By participating in this study, you will have the option to enter in a prize drawing for a Sporty’s Pilot Shop gift certificate or cash. There will be four drawings in all. If you need more information, please contact Libby Culpepper at alculpepper@wichita.edu.