Abstract
Each person experiences a day in a different way. We each have our chronotype, which is a personal pattern of circadian rhythms that influence our physiology and psychology (Pink, 2018). Everyone experiences physiological and psychological highs and lows throughout the day. Most individuals experience a peak in the morning and a physiological and psychological trough in the midafternoon. Chronobiologists have suggested that for most people, we should not attempt to do activities that require focus and attention to detail during these physiological and psychological troughs (Pink, 2018). Aviation students take a end of the course test, referred to a check ride, at the end of every flight course. A check ride can be a 3-4 hour oral and flight evaluation that takes a significant amount of focus and attention. The purpose of this research would be to investigate the chronotypes of the Aviation Flight Students at Southern Illinois University and try to determine if there is a relationship between check ride performance and the time of day that these check rides occur. This research could be helpful to improve safety and increase student performance in the flight training environment.