Minimum NSS to Select Rotary Wing
Loading...
Authors
Binkley, Jeremiah
Moreno, Michael
Zenga, Ronald
Subjects
Advisors
Crawford, Alice
Date of Issue
2008-03-12
Date
Publisher
Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The Navy and Marine Corps Rotary-wing community is
experiencing unprecedented expansion while becoming more
technically complex than ever before. As a result, the
quality of pilots required by each Rotary-wing community
has increased as well. Currently, the only pipelines that
require a minimum Navy Standard Score (NSS) for selection
are: USMC Jet (52); Navy Tailhook (50); and USMC Tilt-rotor
(40). The remaining pipelines, E6 (Navy only), Multiengine,
and Rotary-wing do not require a minimum NSS for
selection. Traditionally, students who were not selected
for a community with an NSS cutoff were selected into E6,
Multi-engine, or Rotary-wing, with Rotary-wing receiving
the lowest performers. This method of selection, while far
from scientific, was accepted due to the fact that a Naval
Flight Student (NFS) had to achieve a minimum NSS of 35 to
advance from Primary Flight training.
With the implementation of Multi-Pilot-Training-
Syllabus (MPTS) in both Primary (2000), and Advanced Flight
Training (2004), the minimum NSS requirement to advance
from Primary Flight Training was removed. To ensure the
lowest attrition rate possible without sacrificing the
quality of students selected for rotary-wing, the
consultants on this study sought to determine whether there
should be a minimum NSS to select a NFS for the rotary-wing
pipeline.
This study analyzed data for a three-year period for
students who selected Rotary-wing. Data for NFSs who were
attrited for deficient performance was analyzed to
determine their median and average NSS. The median and
average NSS of a Helicopter Advanced training flight
attrite was 35 with a standard deviation of 6.17. If a
minimum NSS of 35 is applied it would have reduced the
flight attrites by 21 students, or 55 percent, and overall
attrition by 31 percent. This would have also resulted in
a loss of 148 NFS over three years. Although applying a
minimum NSS one standard deviation above the median would
have reduced the number of flight attrites by 89 percent,
it would also have adverse effects on student production by
eliminating 432 students over the three-year period.
Conclusions
• This study serves as the starting point to transform a
historically anecdotal argument on the validity of NSS
correlation to NFS performance into an empirical and
analytical discussion.
• The statistical data supports establishing a minimum NSS
of 35 to select Rotary-wing.
Recommendations
• Conduct additional research to determine the validity of
establishing a minimum NSS for selecting Rotary-wing and
determine the placement of lower performing NFSs.
• Fleet Replacement Squadrons establish a database to
record individual student performance in order to
historically compare students.
Type
Thesis
Description
EMBA Project Report