For a pilot, the study of Human performance and Limitations is crucial to an understanding of the central role played by the human factor in promoting safety and efficiency in flying operations. A thorough understanding of this subject is essential if you are to develop the high standards of airmanship required of all those who fly, whether as a private or professional pilot. In this interactive computer-based training (CBT) course, we aim to teach you the essentials of what you need to know about the interaction between the human being, his aircraft and the flying environment.

A thorough examination of the demands of the flying environment on the human organism will illustrate to you the obligation on all pilots to keep fit and to lead a healthy life style if they are to operate efficiently and safely in the air. The course also covers the basic psychological considerations of piloting, by stressing the demands that flying places on a pilot's faculties of perception, communication, judgement and decision making, and by pointing out some important limitations of those faculties.

This CBT course aims to teach you, as efficiently and enjoyably as possible, what you need to know to help ensure that you never become a human factor in any aircraft accident. At the same time, being fully compliant with the JAA PPL theoretical knowledge syllabus, it will assist you in the more mundane, but nonetheless important, task of preparing for your PPL ground examinations in Human Performance and Limitations.

• The Atmosphere
• The Human Body
• Effects of Partial Pressure
• Vision
• Hearing
• Flying & Health
• The Information Process
• The Central Decision
• Channel
• Verbal Communication
• The Cockpit
  

The study of Aviation Meteorology is a fundamental part of any pilot training. A thorough understanding of weather theory and the ability to interpret weather briefing documents are absolutely essential to all private pilots to ensure that, throughout their flying careers, they can make informed and accurate decisions about how prevailing or forecast weather conditions will affect flying operations. Above all, a full understanding of how the weather influences aircraft operations is crucial to flight safety.

This interactive, multimedia computer-based training (CBT) course in Aviation Meteorology will enable private pilots to learn more effectively and enjoyably than ever before, all they need to know about the weather, in order to fly safely and expeditiously, and to pass their JAA PPL or UK NPPL theoretical knowledge examinations.

• The Atmosphere
• Pressure
• Temperature
• Altimetry
• Humidity & Adiabatic Stability
• Turbulence
• Clouds, Thunderstorms & Precipitation
• Low Level Winds
• Visibility
• Aircraft Icing
• Airmasses & Fronts
• METAR's & TAF's
• Spot Wind Charts
• Low Level & High Level Charts
• SIGMET's, AIRMET's, VOLMET's & ATIS

As a pilot, you must have a clear perspective on your aircraft's capabilities. It is essential for you to know, for instance, how well, or how badly, your aircraft performs in the various phases of flight. How much runway will you use for take-off and landing, how well will the aircraft climb, how far it can fly, how long can it remain airborne? These are questions you need to know the answer to for every aircraft you fly. You will find the answers to these questions through your study of the theoretical knowledge subject 'Aircraft Performance'. Fully appreciating your aircraft's performance and what controls that performance is vital for safe and efficient flying operations.

A companion subject to 'Aircraft Performance' is 'Mass & Balance'. Whatever the phase of flight, it is vitally important that the location of the aircraft's centre of gravity always remains within the limits specified by the design of the aircraft. If the centre of gravity falls outside these limits, the aircraft's flying characteristics will be adversely affected and the aircraft may ultimately become uncontrollable. Pilots need to understand thoroughly the role played by the position of the centre of gravity. The 'Mass & Balance' section of this CD-ROM covers all the necessary knowledge and principles to enable you, the pilot, and the aircraft captain, to check that your aircraft is correctly loaded and balanced for safe and efficient operations.

As a pilot, you must at all times be aware of what forces are acting on your aircraft, both on the ground and in the air. These forces are generated by a combination of the static loads carried by your aircraft and the dynamic loads generated when your aircraft is accelerating, whether in a straight line, in turning flight or when recovering from a dive or aerobatic manoeuvre.

• Airframe Limitations
• Mass & Balance
• Take-off Climb
• En-route Performance
• Landing

One of the principal aims of this book is that it should assist you in preparing for success in the PPL theoretical knowledge examination in ‘Human Performance and Limitations’, whether you are learning to fly aeroplanes or helicopters. A further main aim of the book is to promote the cause of flight safety by enabling student pilots to learn the essentials about the interaction between the human being, the aircraft and the flying environment. Working through this volume will help you understand the human body’s limitations when operating in an aviation environment, and make it less likely that you will ever become the “human factor” in any aircraft accident.

Contents: HUMAN PERFORMANCE

• CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
• CHAPTER 2: THE ATMOSPHERE
• CHAPTER 3: THE HUMAN BODY
• CHAPTER 4: THE EFFECTS OF PARTIAL PRESSURE
• CHAPTER 5: THE EYE
• CHAPTER 6: THE EAR
• CHAPTER 7: FLYING AND HEALTH
• CHAPTER 8: THE INFORMATION PROCESS
• CHAPTER 9: JUDGEMENT AND DECISION MAKING
• CHAPTER 10: VERBAL COMMUNICATION
• CHAPTER 11: STRESS
• CHAPTER 12: THE COCKPIT
• DEFINITIONS
• HUMAN PERFORMANCE SYLLABUS
• ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
• INDEX