Invitation to participate in the CANFLY online study

by Lead Researcher: Dr. Kathleen Van Benthem, Institute of Cognitive Science, Carleton University and Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Chris Herdman, Department of Psychology, Carleton University

You are invited to participate in an innovative online study for pilots developed by the Advanced Cognitive Engineering Laboratory (ACE Lab) at Carleton University.

Study purpose and benefits

This study represents the next phase of our validation of the CANFLY, a cognitive health screening tool for pilots. The CANFLY was developed at the ACE Lab at Carleton University. The goal of this study is to examine whether cognitive factors, such as situation awareness, collected in virtual flight environments are predictive of critical incidents.

Who can participate?

Licensed/permit-holding pilots, preferably with current medical certification, may participate. There is no compensation for your participation.

Study activities and risks

You are invited to participate in an anonymous online study that should take no more than 30-40 minutes to complete. Participants will answer short questions about situation awareness after watching four short interactive video clips of flight scenarios. Due to the anonymous nature of this study and the innocuous task of watching short flight-simulation videos, it is not expected that there will be any risk of physical harm. The videos that participants will watch are of basic flight scenarios in non-turbulent good-weather conditions. You can complete this study in the comfort of your own home. Demographic questions are limited to age, gender, and flying history (i.e. years licensed, occurrence of critical incidents, type of licence, etc.).

Study Approval

The ethics protocol for this project was reviewed by the Carleton University Research Ethics Board, which provided clearance to carry out the research. (Clearance #113162 expires May 2021.)

Study Access

Online study for pilots

For further inquiries or to indicate interest in participating in the study you can send an email to CessnaStudy@gmail.com or check out the study link on the ACE Lab’s website.