High-Fidelity Simulation and Training to Improve Coordination Between Aerospace Specializations

This Symposium contains the first reports of research being conducted at Middle Tennessee State University using a scenario-based teaching methodology with students across multiple disciplines of aviation training. The MTSU Center for Research on Aviation Training is a NASA funded project that had built a replica of an airline’s flight operations center. The basic research of the project involves the interactions between aviation professionals. These interactions can produce smooth and safe operations for passengers, profits for employers and economic benefits for the national and the world – or these interactions can yield chaos, frustration and loss of revenue. This research brings together pilots, flight dispatchers, controllers, maintenance technicians, weather forecasters and managers into one simulation. The research aims to learn the “best practices” for using this real-world scenario teaching method and to send graduates into the workforce better prepared for the interactions that they will face