Modeling flight effort in air operations training programs

Abstract

The estimation of flight effort required for training aircraft pilots is a challenge experienced annually by companies in this sector, both in the civil and military areas. The mobilization of material and human resources necessary to support air operations is the main factor of impact in financial management. The logistic and operational support contracts are signed based on this planning process and inaccuracy would imply significant negative financial and administrative consequences. The planning process, when performed empirically, hinders transparency and full understanding of the factors considered during the analysis, besides consuming an elevated value of hour/man. This article describes a method for planning and sizing of flight effort required for pilot training, in the basic training phase. The proposed method consists of simulation through predictive mathematical modeling, involving the individual instructions and the existing operational constraints, with the objective of obtaining accurate estimations in the sizing of flight effort. The proposed model was validated by the comparison between the result and the real flight effort, consumed in a one-year period.