Flight School XXI versus the Aircraft Qualification Course: A comparison of the effectiveness of two military flight training programs

This study examined the effectiveness of the U.S. Army's Flight School XXI (FSXXI) flight training program in comparison to the previous flight training program. The primary focus of the study was whether or not FSXXI produces graduates that are more proficient, and subsequently become fully mission capable pilots in fewer flight hours than graduates of the previous flight training program. A 2X2 repeated-measures ANOVA was conducted to compare the readiness level (RL) progression rates of graduates of the FSXXI and the previous flight training program. These data were supplemented by an instructor pilot survey and a cost comparison. The first research question was: Do student aviators advance in fewer flight hours to full readiness in FSXXI compared to AQC? This question was examined separately for day/night and NVG flying scenarios, and separately for UH-60 and CH-47 aircraft. In each of the four analyses, there was a statistically significant difference between the FSXXI pilots and the AQC pilots, and in each of these cases the number of hours required for FSXXI was lower than for AQC pilots. The second research question was: What are the perceptions of instructor pilots regarding the extent and manner in which FSXXI is achieving its intended purposes and overarching goals? Here, a paired samples t-test revealed there was a difference between instructors' perceptions depending on whether they were training pilots on the UH-60 or CH-47 aircraft. Specifically, there was no difference between instructors' perceptions of FSXXI and AQC pilot aptitude for the CH-47 aircraft, but there was a difference for the UH-60 aircraft. The third research question was: Is the FSXXI flight training program more cost effective than the AQC? To address this question, the total cost of pilot training based on military estimates was integrated with the costs associated with readiness level training from the pilots in the current study. The AQC training is substantially less expensive than FSXXI training for both types of aircraft. These findings are discussed in relation to the existing research in this area, including experiential learning and Kolb's learning cycle. Implications for practice and future research are also discussed.