Validation of a Flying Competence Scale for Aircraft Pilots

Abstract

This study aims to validate a scale that evaluates the flying competence of aircraft pilots. The scale was developed by pilots in an aerospace university and was approved by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines. To do so, the scale was administered to 288 pilots holding different levels of licenses. The data obtained were subjected to Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and created a three-factor model. The factors are set of flying skills named as instrument flight (Factor 1), basic attitude flying (Factor 2), and instrument landing system (Factor 3). The model was confirmed utilizing the resulting values of five goodness of fit indices (GFIs) generated by the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Only comparative fit index, Tucker–Lewis index, and Standardized Root Mean Squared Residual resulted to values falling within the thresholds. These three GFIs are already adequate to confirm that the model is relatively good fit. The standardized factor loadings (SFLs) and composite reliability (CR) were also excellent, thus, establishing convergent validity. Also, the estimated average variance extracted and Cronbach’s alpha of all factors provided evidence of discriminant validity and reliability, respectively. In conclusion, this scale is valid and reliable to evaluate the pilot’s performance in flying an aircraft.