Kelly Michael J. Air combat maneuvering performance measurement

Canyon Research Group Inc., Westlake, Village, CA, 1979. — 141 p.A study was conducted to define measures of Air Combat Maneuvering (ACM) for one-versus-one (lvl) free engagements on the Simulator for Air-to-Air Combat (SAAC). The study found a small set of measures which were (a) sensitive to differences in pilot ACM skill level, (b) diagnostic of performance proficiencies and deficiencies, (c) usable by instructor pilots and compatible with their judgments, (d) capable of providing results immediately after the end of the engagement, and (e) compatible with current projected training measurement hardware. The study was conducted in three phases. Phase 1 was an analytical study of ACM tasks using information from training material and instructor pilots; 28 measures reflected subject matter experts opinion on the important elements of ACM. Pilot control, aircraft performance and engagement outcome variables were measured in Phase 2 during 405 free engagements on the SAAC at Luke AFB using a total of 30 pilots with three different levels of experience. A computer analysis of the engagement data was conducted in Phase 3 to (a) check methodological assumptions that the three pilot experience levels represented different ACM skill levels and (b) develop the smallest comprehensive measure set.