Thirty-two helicopter pilots were studied before, during, and after 4-5 day trips providing support services from Aberdeen, Scotland, to rigs in the North Sea oil fields. Early on-duty times obliged subjects to wake up 1.5 hours earlier on trip days than on pretrip days. Consequently, they slept nearly an hour less per night on trips. They reported more fatigue on post-trip days than on pretrip days, suggesting a cumulative effect of duty-related activities and sleep loss. Fatigue and negative affect were higher, and activation lower, by the end of trip days than by the end of pretrip days. The earlier a subject went on duty, the lower his activation by the end of the day. Caffeine consumption increased 42 percent on trip days. The incidence of headache doubled, of back pain increased twelve fold, and of burning eyes quadrupled. In the aircraft studied, thermal discomfort and high vibration levels were common. The longer pilots remained on duty, the more negative their mood became.


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    Title :

    Crew Factors in Flight Operations 6: Psychophysiological Responses to Helicopter Operations


    Contributors:
    P. H. Gander (author) / R. M. Barnes (author) / K. B. Gregory (author) / L. J. Connell (author) / D. L. Miller (author)

    Publication date :

    1994


    Size :

    44 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English




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