Health History and Performance Testing of Sailplane Pilots

Abstract

A study of the health status and performance capability of pilots attending the 2005 Soaring Society of America (SSA) Conference was undertaken as part of an effort to develop a means of individual self-assessment of the effects of aging and to determine whether those who self-certify their medical fitness to fly sailplanes (permitted in the USA) are less fit than those who are required to undergo medical certification.  One-hundred and eighty-three out of two thousand and seven conference attendees volunteered to complete a questionnaire on flight hours, ratings and health history and status and undergo simple (SRT) and two-choice visual reaction-time (CRT) testing.  Pilots had a lower prevalence of hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes than the comparison population.  SRT was statistically significantly better than predicted (239.6 ms vs. 276 ms) as was CRT (466.7 ms vs. 510.5 ms).  When compared by possession of a medical certificate there were no significant differences for age, SRT, CRT, hypertension, heart disease or diabetes.  Further studies are needed to determine whether CRT and other age-sensitive tests could be adapted to permit sailplane pilots to self-certify their fitness to fly.