RQ-4B Global Hawk Pilot Training Effectiveness

The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of URT and how adequately the program is preparing its pilots to fly the RQ-4B by themselves in combat. With a review of literature, we have determined that the airlines and the USAF have determined that new pilots that have previous flying experience do better overall than new pilots that do not have any previous flying experience. The literature review also indicated that airline pilots were capable of handling abnormal events whenever they followed a common scenario that was encountered in training, but they did not do as well whenever the scenario was not something they see when they are practicing for the simulator rides. The design of the study would use a triangulation method from a survey, and interview, and a training record review of the participants. This would allow us to get the entire picture of the level of flying ability and job knowledge that each pilot has. By using these methods, we would be able to identify pilots that are inadequately trained by their respective training program. If we can identify that URT graduates are not being trained to an effective standard, it would lead to a change in the syllabus used to train new pilots in the future.

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