The purpose of this study was to analyze, develop, and validate a training protocol for digital cockpit transition training in collegiate aviation, due to recent changes in aircraft cockpit instrumentation from analog to digital. The objectives of the study were to determine an effective teaching method for glass technology training for collegiate aviation pilots transitioning from analog to digital, to determine how human factors affected the training required to successfully transition a collegiate aviation pilot to glass cockpit technology, and to develop a protocol or training process for collegiate aviation pilots for use in transitioning from analog to digital cockpit instrumentation.
The research design used for this study was a qualitative comparative analysis; which was well-suited to the comparison of data from Avidyne, Bowling Green State University, Cirrus, and Cessna. Through the use of a matrix, comparison of each company's training process and tasks were cross referenced with the others, resulting in discovery of integration and how each of the parts related to each other. A recommendation matrix resulted from the best practices that were revealed through the comparative data matrix of Avidyne, Bowling Green State University, Cessna, and Cirrus for three common criteria; (a) Course Structure, (b) Training Requirements/Training Course Outline, and (c) Evaluation. The researcher highlighted the training strengths represented by each institution in order to develop a digital cockpit instrumentation transition training protocol for use in collegiate flight training.
A survey was used as validation of the training protocol recommendations. The panel of experts represented six collegiate aviation institutions. Overall, the panel agreed with the survey and protocol and validated that the training protocol was appropriate. The few exceptions were the concern for the sufficient training for IFR pilot qualification levels through ground training and course depth. This was consistent with the comments of three of the panel members in their suggestion to increase the ground training content for Instrument Flight Rules pilot competency and digital instrumentation systems. The researcher concluded, based on the recommendations from the expert panel, that the protocol was logical, efficient, and well-suited to a collegiate aviation flight school for IFR digital instrumentation transition and that there are numerous areas for future study.