Sun, Jan 15, 2023
Benefits Found for International Students
A handful of ERAU students set to work developing a 6 week program to enhance the quality of radio skills among their international students, and so far the results are promising.
Using the school's Air Traffic Control Lab and funding from the Undergraduate Research Institute, the group created a realistic training environment to practice the radio calls required throughout a series of routine simulated flights. By rehearsing in the virtual airport environment, international students in the program improved their proficiency to more than 97% as gauged by pre/post testing.
“In 2021, the Prescott Airport was the busiest airport in the country for local traffic — that’s challenging to learn how to fly in, even for someone that has been speaking English their whole life,” said Kyle Wilkerson, program chair and research coordinator for the project. “For ESL students, that can often feel like learning how to drive for the first time on a busy interstate. We are trying to bridge that gap,” he said. “It’s about helping new pilots transition into aviation and be better and safer aviators.”
“This is the first time we have brought flight students to the ATC lab to practice radio communication,” said one of the program developers, Shen-Chi Chiu. “The flight student needs to talk on the radio and execute the instructions on the flight simulator. It is a highly immersive learning experience.”
“During my training as an ESL pilot, I struggled a lot with radio communication,” he said. “ATC Lab classes were very helpful for me in radio communication. We hope this project is just the beginning of the cooperation between flight and ATC students.”
More News
From 2023 (YouTube Version): Legacy of a Titan Robert (Bob) Anderson Hoover was a fighter pilot, test pilot, flight instructor, and air show superstar. More so, Bob Hoover was an i>[...]
Get The Latest in Aviation News NOW on Instagram Are you on Instagram yet? It's been around for a few years, quietly picking up traction mostly thanks to everybody's new obsession >[...]
Aero Linx: B-52H Stratofortress The B-52H Stratofortress is a long-range, heavy bomber that can perform a variety of missions. The bomber is capable of flying at high subsonic spee>[...]
Altimeter Setting The barometric pressure reading used to adjust a pressure altimeter for variations in existing atmospheric pressure or to the standard altimeter setting (29.92).>[...]
"Knowing that we play an active part in bettering people's lives is extremely rewarding. My team and I are very thankful for the opportunity to be here and to help in any way we ca>[...]