Studies of Helicopter Pilot Performance: I1 The Analysis of Task Dimensions.’

Measures of helicopter pilot proficiency were obtained on several hundred student pilots in the Primary and Basic training phases. Measures were based on students ’ performance on 75 and 76 tasks (items), fo r the Primary and Basic phases, respectively. Zntercorrelations of tasks in each phase were subjected to factor analysis. The I2 factor rotation solutions were pre-sented in detail fo r each phase, and the 18 and 24 factor rotations solutions were described briefly. In almost all cases the same tasks (e.g., RPM; Altitude) tended to cluster together across different maneuvers. The factors are interpreted in terms of the operations performed for each task, and the theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed. ’ One of the most complex perceptual-motor tasks found in practice is that of flying a heli-copter. With the increasing importance of the military role played by the helicopter, it be-comes important to develop a better under-standing of the factors contributing to pro-ficiency in this complex skill. Initial step