Affiliations: [a] College of Civil Aviation, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China | [b] Flight College of Binzhou University, Binzhou, Shandong, China
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Shouxi Zhu, College of Civil Aviation, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. E-mail: zhushouxi@163.com.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To study the personality changes of Chinese airline transport pilots in the training process from cadets to captains. METHODS: In This paper, we used the Cattell 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) to track and record the personality traits of 200 students majoring in flight technology and 200 “college graduates to pilot” in five different periods from the beginning of aviation theory training to becoming captains. RESULTS: Before the aviation theory training, for the 16 factors of 16PF, there was a significant difference in 11 factors (including Warmth (A), Reasoning (B), etc.) between the students majoring in flight technology and “college graduates to pilot” (p< 0.05). After the completion of theory training, there were only four factors (Sensitivity (I), Openness to Change (Q1), Self Reliance (Q2) and Perfectionism (Q3) (p< 0.05) between the students majoring in flight technology and “college graduates to pilot”, then after the flight training, there is no significant difference between them. When they became captains, compared with when they were flying cadets, 13 factors of students majoring in flight technology and 7 factors of “college graduates to pilot” had changed significantly. From the perspective of the growth of flying cadets, in the process of becoming a captain, there are three stages that have a great influence on the personality of the participants. The first stage is the university study. The second stage is the flight training, and the third stage is the copilot growing into a captain. CONCLUSION: During the process of a pilot growing from a cadet to a captain, his or her personality is constantly developing and changing, and on the whole, develops towards a personality direction conducive to flight safety. In particular, when a copilot grows into a captain, the personality traits of a qualified airline pilot, including Emotional Stablity (C), Rule-Consciousness (G), Social Boldness (H), Privateness (N), Self-Reliance (Q2), etc., have been greatly strengthened at this stage.
Keywords: Airline transport pilot, flight skills, 16PF, personality, flight training
