Augmented Reality as a Training-System Scaffold: Evidence From a Real-Aircraft Study With Certified Flight Instructors
TL;DR
One of the first real-aircraft, instructor-centered evaluations of head-mounted AR for ab initio general aviation training reports one of the first real-aircraft, instructor-centered evaluations of head-mounted AR for ab initio general aviation training.
Abstract
Augmented reality (AR) is often treated as a headset problem. In pilot training, it is a systems problem. This paper reports one of the first real-aircraft, instructor-centered evaluations of head-mounted AR for ab initio general aviation training. Seventy Certified Flight Instructors (CFIs) participated in a pre-flight inspection study comparing AR-supported and conventional paper-checklist instruction. CFIs in the AR condition reported more favorable perceived outcomes, including lower workload (41.27 vs. 62.73), higher situation awareness (6.55 vs. 3.07), and greater technology acceptance (5.52 vs. 3.41), without a reliable cyber-sickness penalty. The qualitative findings explain the impact: CFIs did not see AR as a replacement for instructors, checklists, or cockpit discipline. They saw it as a scalable scaffold for ground familiarization, simulator rehearsal, and training continuity between lessons. The novel contribution is therefore not another AR overlay, but an instructor-informed conceptual framework for AR placement in safety-critical training: early support for spatial and procedural understanding, followed by progressively faded guidance and a return to independent checklist-based performance.