Explain the difference between acute and chronic stress.
Acute stress
is immediate and disappears after a short time
Chronic stress
is longer lasting and resulting in fatigue
Archives: Theory Courses
Explain methods of identifying stress.
Explain methods of identifying stress.
- Making mistakes
- Short tempered
- Forgetful (load -shedding)
- Drinking alcohol / smoking more
- Noisy / uncharacteristic behaviour
- Frequent conflicts with others
- Marital problems
- Legal problems
- Flying dangerously
- Reverting to the previously learnt basic skills and drills (which may not be correct)
Describe the following environmental stressors …
Describe the following environmental stressors ...
Heat
Above 35 degrees C the body tries to reduce it’s temperature below 37 degrees by increasing perspiration, heart rate and blood pressure
Attention becomes narrowed and restricted affecting decision making
Dehydration can increase the chances of heat stress
The cockpit can act like a glasshouse in a hot environment – “cooking” the pilot
Cold
Blood is sent to the body core and toes and fingers feel cold and muscles begin to stiffen and feel weak
Tiredness, drowsiness and shivering then follow
Noise
Excessive noise – especially at high pitch causes stress and fatigue
Above 80 dB ear protection is recommended
Vibration
Vibrations transmitted to the body from the aircraft via the seat, seatbelts and floor can cause discomfort and distraction from tasks
Humidity
Physical discomfort
Explain the relationship between stress and arousal.
Explain the relationship between stress and arousal.
The relationship between stress and arousal can be seen in the following graph. It can be seen that stress creates an arousal, that picks up the pilots attention. With this arousal the pilots performance is increased to a certain extent, with too much arousal the pilot is overloaded and performance drops.
There is an ideal amount of arousal for the ideal pilot performance (pictured on the graph as the grey area)
Define arousal.
Define arousal.
Arousal refers to the level of mental activity. It involves receiving information from body sensors
Describe a simple model of stress.
Describe a simple model of stress.
It can be seen on the following graphs, that some stress is good. This enhances the pilots concentration and overall performance. Too much stress will create anxiety and reduce pilot performance whereas too little stress and the pilot is bored and has reduced interest and attention.
Define stress.
Define stress.
Stress is an excess of environmental demands over an individuals capacity to meet them
Acute stress is immediate and disappears after a short time
Chronic stress is longer lasting and resulting in fatigue
Describe methods of eliminating carbon monoxide from the cockpit.
Describe methods of eliminating carbon monoxide from the cockpit.
If CO is suspected in the cockpit / cabin, open windows / vents and close the cabin heater
Describe reliable methods for the detection of carbon monoxide.
Describe reliable methods for the detection of carbon monoxide.
Carbon monoxide meter’s or special testing kits are the only way to pick up CO before it is too late
CO has no smell and no colour making it extremely difficult to detect
State the source of carbon monoxide poisoning in general aviation aircraft.
State the source of carbon monoxide poisoning in general aviation aircraft.
Carbon monoxide is one of the gasses emitted from the piston engine, produced from incomplete combustion
Can also be emitted from a faulty cabin heater