Navigating Simulator Sickness: The Effect of Flight Maneuvers in Fixed-Base Flight Simulators

Abstract

Flight simulator sickness (SS) is a well-known phenomenon in aviation training, which can impact the safety and effectiveness of pilot training programs. Identifying and characterizing which flight maneuvers result in increased SS symptoms could help instructors tailor training to increase pilot retention and potentially improve training. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of different flight maneuvers on SS in a fixed-base simulator (ALSIM AL250). Our results indicate that a flight session with more intense flight maneuvers (landing with wind and taxiing) resulted in an increase in sickness symptoms (Total Sickness [ p = .012] and Oculomotor Disturbance [ p = 0.035] of the SSQ) compared to no changes after a session with less intense flight maneuvers (steep turn). These results demonstrate a need to explore which flight maneuvers are more likely to result in increased sickness symptoms and its effects on training and retention of student pilots.