The Bob Tait Human Factors text is designed to cover the CASA Human Factors syllabus, so for most students it is the primary study resource and, in many cases, all that is required.

A few points that may help:

1. Do I need CASA Human Factors material as well?

Not necessarily. The Bob Tait book was written specifically against the CASA syllabus and covers the examinable Human Factors topics. However, it is always worthwhile becoming familiar with relevant CASA publications, particularly if you have access to them, as they can help reinforce the concepts and terminology.

For exam preparation, I would focus on:

The Bob Tait Human Factors textbook.

The review questions and practice exams.

Understanding the concepts rather than memorising answers.

Human Factors questions are often scenario-based, so CASA likes to test whether you can apply concepts such as:

Fatigue

Stress

Situational awareness

Decision making

Threat and Error Management (TEM)

Human information processing

Communication and teamwork

2. What about flight duty and flight time limitations questions?

CASA has occasionally included questions that touch on fatigue management, flight and duty periods, and related operational limitations.

You do not need to study the entire ATPL Flight Planning or Operations syllabus for the Human Factors exam. If a question appears in this area, it is usually aimed at understanding the human performance and fatigue implications rather than detailed airline scheduling calculations.

A good source of background information is:

The fatigue sections within the Human Factors text.

Relevant CASA fatigue management guidance material.

A basic understanding of the flight and duty time concepts contained within the regulations.

If you encounter a question requiring detailed flight and duty calculations, CASA will generally provide the information necessary to answer it.

My suggestion: Concentrate on thoroughly understanding the Bob Tait Human Factors book first. Students who struggle with this exam are usually caught by the application of Human Factors principles in practical scenarios rather than by obscure regulatory questions.

If you work carefully through the text and can explain why a pilot's actions were affected by fatigue, stress, workload, fixation, complacency, situational awareness, or decision-making errors, you will be well prepared for the exam.

Good luck with your studies, and feel free to post any specific Human Factors questions as you work through the book. We are happy to help.

Negative G force means more blood is going to the head ( opposite to a +ve G )

There is a pressure sensor in the artery that goes from the heart to the head. It measures pressure so it is called a baroreceptor.

It then thinks, that more blood is going to the head and triggers a response. 

That response is a nerve response from a nerve called the vagus nerve. ( Vagus is wanderer where we also get vagabond from!)

If the vagus nerve is stimulated, it slows the heart rate down. 

So it is a feedback loop designed to control blood to the head. Negative G - More blood to head - Stimulates pressure receptor - triggers safeguard to lower blood to head  = vagus nerve activation = heart rate goes down

I hope this helps 

Just wanted to know about the Human Factors exam preparation. Im planning on sitting in a few months.

I have the Bob Tait Text but 

1 Is there any other material that is required, like the material from CASA on Human Factors

2. There were apparently questions asked about flight duties and hours, which are ATPL subjects, where do I get this information from?

Kind regards

Ravi 

Hi Paul,

Yes, this is very closely related to the earlier errata question, and it is exactly why CASA likes this area. They can change the wording slightly and make the answer appear to reverse.

In this question, the key words are:

a small town
approximately five nautical miles away
on a dark night

A small town at night is made up of a group of bright lights against a dark background. Bright lights seen in darkness tend to appear closer than they really are. So the correct answer is:

closer than it actually is on a dark night

Your reasoning about dim lights or poor visibility making things appear further away is also correct — but that is a different case.

The trap is:

Bright lights on a dark night → appear closer than they really are.
Dim lights, haze, smoke or poor visibility → appear further away than they really are.

So the town lights are not being treated as “dark” or “dim”. They are bright lights being viewed in darkness, and that makes them appear closer.

A simple way to remember it is:

Bright lights in the dark pull you in — they look closer.
Dim lights or haze push things away — they look further away.

So your answer would have been correct if the question had said something like dim runway lights, haze, smoke, or poor visibility. But because it says a town on a dark night, the book answer A is correct.

Thanks for picking that up, and thank you also for your kind words about Bob. He certainly was a legend, and we are doing our best to keep the material as clear and accurate as he would have wanted.

This is one of CASA’s favourite Human Factors questions because they can turn it around in several different ways, and it causes confusion for a lot of students. The key is to separate what the pilot sees from how the pilot reacts.

Correct summary — air and runway lights

Clear air / very bright runway lights
These can make the runway or lights appear closer than they really are.
The pilot may feel that the aircraft is too low or closer to the runway than it actually is, and may therefore tend to fly a higher approach, risking an overshoot.

Haze, smoke, poor visibility / dim runway lights
These can make the runway or lights appear further away than they really are.
The pilot may feel that the aircraft is too high, and may therefore tend to fly a lower approach, risking an undershoot.

So, in plain English:

Bright and clear = looks closer = pilot may fly too high.
Dim, hazy or smoky = looks further away = pilot may fly too low.

The summary section should not imply that dim runway lights belong in the “pilot thinks they are too low” group. Dimmer lights/poor visibility are more correctly associated with the runway appearing further away, which can lead the pilot to think they are too high and then descend too much.

Thanks again for bringing it to our attention. We’ll add that to the correction list so the next update is clearer.

I am going through the text book (bought this year) and printed the errata but it appears contradictory or an error…i have highlighted the errata that is causing confusion from the text.

Can someone clarify what is correct please….ie. What summary is correct with regard to air and runway lights ?

Thanks,

Paul

sorry for your loss with Bob too….a genuine Legend.