Assessing for preflight predictors of airsickness

A total of 57 randomly selected male and female student pilots from an Introduction to Aviation private pilot course in a large aviation program of a midwestern university completed this study. These pilots were assessed for health status and surveyed for airsickness and associated symptoms by use of an Airsickness Inventory Questionnaire developed by the authors and a modified Self-Rating Anxiety Status Inventory Scale tool developed by W. K. Zung. Correlational analyses of scores from self-report inventories were used to evaluate strength of relationships between airsickness and anxiety. Multiple linear stepwise regressions were computed on variables of correlated symptoms for predictiveness of airsickness. Results of the study indicated 28.1% of pilots exhibited symptoms of airsickness. Significant correlations indicated moderate relationships between airsickness and the following preflight indicators: nausea and vomiting, tremors, face flushing, nightmares, urinary frequency, excessive nervousness, and anxiety index.