Stress responses of pilots flying high-performance aircraft during aerial combat maneuvers

In aerial combat maneuvers (ACMs), at Luke AFB, Az, eight pilots flew their two F-15 aircraft against nine pilots in three F-106 aircraft. A total of nine flights, consisting of 23 ACMs, were accomplished in 5 successive days. The degrees of fatigue, stress, and sympathetic activity were quantified using both subjective analyses and the biochemical constituents in the urine of the pilots of the F-15 or F-106. Biochemical indicators, reported per 100 mg creatinine, included: epinephrine, norepinephrine, 17-OHCS, urea, inorganic phosphate, sodium, potassium, and sodium/potassium ratio. The F-106 pilots exerted more relative effort than did the F-15 pilots--effort which appeared to be associated with high-G experience. Both groups of pilots were equally fatigued following ACMs; however, only the fatigue of the F-106 pilots was directly correlated with the length of the ACM. Sympathetic and stress responses during the ACM--similar for both groups of pilots--showed postflight increases of 54% in epinephrine, 19% in norepinephrine, and 20% in 17-OHCS over preflight values, thus suggesting a moderate stress response. Resting levels of these same indicators, for days the pilots did not fly and for pre-ACM values, were similar but higher than control values previously reported for other stressful activities. By late afternoon, postflight values for these indicators had returned to near-preflight levels.