This article presents a new database of speech produced under cognitive load for the purpose of non-invasive psychological stress monitoring. The voices and the heart rates of eight airline pilots were recorded while completing an advanced flight simulation programme in a level D full flight simulator. Focusing on real-world applicability, the experiments were designed to yield the maximum degree of realism possible. Evaluation of physiological reference measures in pilots demonstrates that several heart rate variability parameters correlate with speech features derived from the recorded data. The article discusses the evolution of speech monitoring in aviation and proposes that applicationorientated research methods can be useful in designing a system for real-world monitoring.