Airman Education Programs
The FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) offers a 1-day training course to familiarize US civil aviation pilots and flight crews with the physiological and psychological stresses of flight.
While the training provided does not yield a high-altitude endorsement, it can be accepted by a CFI towards that qualification. For more information, read FAA Advisory Circular on high-altitude training.
How This Training Will Help You
CAMI offers physiological training for civil aviation pilots, FAA flight crews, and FAA aviation medical examiners at our facilities in Oklahoma City, Okla. In addition to the basic academic contents, this course offers practical demonstrations of rapid decompression (8,000 to 18,000 feet AGL) and hypoxia (25,000 feet AGL) using a hypobaric (altitude) chamber, and a safe, practical demonstration of "pilot's vertigo" using a Spatial Disorientation Demonstrator.
Course Content
Aviation physiology courses taught at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center and participating military facilities provide essentially the same training. The following topics are covered during the training (listed in order of presentation):
- Physics of the Atmosphere
- Respiration and Circulation
- Decompressions
- Stress
- Hypoxia
- Hyperventilation
- Decompression Sickness
- Pressure Equalization Difficulties
- General Aviation Oxygen Equipment
- Oxygen Equipment Familiarization for Altitude Chamber or Reduced Oxygen Training Enclosure (PROTE) Flights
- Altitude Chamber or Reduced Oxygen Training Enclosure (PROTE) Flight Profile & Flight
- Spatial Disorientation, including demonstrators, if available
- One hour is allotted for lunch at approximately noon. Food is available at nearby eating establishments.
Training Locations
The FAA's aviation physiology course is offered to civil aviation pilots at its Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center site in Oklahoma City.
Directions and Instructions for enrollment at CAMI