Transforming General Aviation Pilot Training: Integrating Sustainability, Human‑Centered Evaluation, and Immersive Digital Innovation

Abstract

The general aviation (GA) sector plays a foundational role in training future pilots but faces increasing pressures to modernize amid growing demands for environmental responsibility, instructional effectiveness, and technological adaptation. This dissertation investigates how early-stage GA pilot training, specifically ab initio training, can evolve to meet these imperatives through a multidimensional approach spanning sustainability analysis, learner and practitioner evaluations, and technology integration studies.

Six studies form the core of this work. The first study quantifies the environmental impact of GA flight training in Canada, estimating approximately 30,000 tonnes of annual CO₂ emissions and highlighting opportunities for emissions reduction through greater integration of simulation-based training, while considering additional sustainable strategies. The second study examines student and licensed pilots’ perceptions of Canada’s GA licensing practices, revealing concerns about the adequacy of flight-hour accumulation as a proxy for competence, alongside broader systemic shortcomings related to outdated instructional methods, inconsistencies in performance assessment, and limited integration of modern technologies—together supporting calls for competency-based reforms. The third study evaluates technology acceptance among student and licensed pilots, identifying cautious receptivity toward assistive training technologies intended to supplement, rather than replace, in-aircraft instruction—albeit tempered by concerns around regulatory inertia, cost barriers, and cultural conservatism. Building on this foundation, Studies 4 and 5 empirically validate AR’s instructional utility in high-fidelity simulator and real-aircraft environments, demonstrating enhanced procedural learning and cognitive engagement but also surfacing usability and ergonomic challenges. Study 6 captures Certified Flight Instructors’ (CFIs) perspectives on AR integration, revealing both pedagogical potential and pragmatic concerns requiring institutional support.

Synthesizing these findings, the dissertation provides an evidence-based foundation for making GA pilot training more sustainable, competency-centered, and technologically progressive. The work contributes novel empirical insights into an underexplored sector of aviation research, offers actionable strategies for training reform, and highlights the potential for CO₂ reductions by substituting in-aircraft training hours with FSTD- and AR-supported instruction. Ultimately, it advances a vision of GA education that is safer, more effective, and aligned with sustainability goals essential to the future of civil aviation.