Abstract:
Safety is important in the daily operations of any business, but in the aviation industry, it is paramount. Because each mission, whether critical or routine, relies so heavily on a safe flight environment, pilot and maintenance training must meet the highest educational standards available. To accomplish this, aviation training facilities have to find instructional methods that mimic, as closely as possible, actual flight and maintenance conditions. For practical training, actual aircraft are used for flight and maintenance instruction. For simulated practical training, full-flight simulators and high fidelity flight training devices (FTDs) are used. These methods, while highly effective, are also costly. Time and availability for such flight and simulator devices is also an issue. To train students in a cost-effective, timely manner, aviation industries demand a classroom-based solution. This paper explores a new approach to enhancing training effectiveness through education technology that increases student engagement and retention in the classroom. By using a 3D interactive software engine to build near photo-realistic aircraft system models, the classroom training experience is greatly enhanced, allowing students to learn theory-based aircraft information in a virtual environment. An engaged student learns the material and retains it at a higher cognitive level. This retention leads to safer, more professionally trained pilots and maintainers.