1 Background

This briefing note discusses two closely related topics: pilot judgment and pilot expertise. It begins with definitions of key terms. It then describes specific perceptual-motor and cognitive skills that can be learned and used to improve pilot judgment and thereby enhance pilot expertise.

2 Definitions

There are both general dictionary definitions of judgment and expertise and more specific definitions provided by researchers and regulatory authorities. The dictionary definitions may be thought of as one-dimensional because they apply to any usage of the terms. When the notion of aviation is added to the one-dimensional definitions, more specific terms such as pilot judgment and aeronautical decision making emerge. These may be thought of as multi-dimensional or domain-specific definitions.

2.1 Judgment