BETTER CANDIDATES FLY FEWER TRAINING HOURS - ANOTHER TIME TESTING PAYS OFF

The relationship between Pilot Candidate Selection Method (PCSM) score s and the number of flying training hours required to complete United States Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) was investigated o n a sample of 1,082 graduates. This was done to demonstrate that abili ty testing has real world correlates and that cost savings accrued as a result of ability testing. The criterion 'extra flying hours' was co mputed by subtracting each student's cumulative flying hours from the sample mean. The correlations (corrected for range restriction) betwee n PCSM scores and primary and advanced flying training extra hours wer e -0.206 and -0.270, respectively. Demonstrating that UPT graduates wi th higher PCSM scores required fewer flying hours to complete training facilitates the estimation of the cost avoidance achieved by ability tests.