SIMULATOR SICKNESS IN AIRFOX® DISORIENTATION SIMULATOR

Use of flight simulators has consistently increased over the years, a phenomenon known as simulator sickness upon simulator exposure (SE) has been of concern in aircrew. This Simulator Sickness (SS) has been largely considered to be a persistent limiting factor in continuing flying training. It is classically characterized by nausea, dizziness, postural instability, fatigue and general malaise. On cessation of SE, few symptoms may persist up to several hours and these may have an adverse impact on post-simulator training activities. AirFox® DISO, is widely used in Indian Air Force (IAF) to train aircrew on spatial disorientation. The paper presents a study carried out in IAF on the aircrew reporting to IAM, IAF Bangalore for training. The results are presented based on the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) administered to the aircrew.