ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Environmental, Aviation and Space Physiology
This article is part of the Research TopicBioconvergence: A New Frontier for Understanding and Enhancing Human Adaptations to Extreme EnvironmentsView all 4 articles
Variations in Mood States Among Brazilian Air Force Pilots: A Crossover Analysis Between Operational and Aerobatic Flight Missions
Provisionally accepted
Wilian de Jesus Santana1,2*
Gilberto Pires Pivetta3
Carlos Eduardo Rosa Da Silva4
Fábio Angioluci Diniz Campos3
Paulo Farinatti5
Gustavo Almeida4
Adriano da Silva Verame4
Regina Brandão4
AYLTON J FIGUEIRA JUNIOR4- 1Universidade São Judas Tadeu, São Paulo, Brazil
- 2Centro Universitario Piaget - UNIPIAGET, SUZANO, Brazil
- 3Universidade da Forca Aerea, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- 4Universidade Sao Judas Tadeu, São Paulo, Brazil
- 5Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Abstract: Background: Aerobatic flight maneuvers expose military pilots to a confluence of physiological and psychological stressors—including sustained G-forces, vestibular disorientation, and neuromuscular fatigue—that may acutely modulate emotional states and compromise cognitive performance. However, the differential psychometric impact of routine operational flights versus high-intensity air demonstrations remains poorly characterized. Purpose: To examine and compare mood state fluctuations elicited by distinct aerial mission profiles—operational maintenance (OM) flights and aerobatic demonstrations (AD)—within a specialized military pilot cohort. Methods: In this within-subject, crossover experimental design, nine elite male aviators (mean age: 32.1 ± 1.8 years) from the Brazilian Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron (EDA), each with >1,000 cumulative flight hours, were assessed across two mission contexts. Mood states were measured pre-and post-flight using the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS), which evaluates six psychological dimensions: tension, depression, anger, vigor, fatigue, and confusion. Paired comparisons were conducted using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test (α = 0.05). Results: OM flights were associated with a statistically significant increase in depression scores post-flight (p = 0.031), alongside a non-significant trend toward decreased tension (p = 0.098). Other subscales showed no statistically significant variation, though intra-individual variability was observed. Conclusions: Emotional reactivity among high-performance military pilots varies according to mission typology. Incorporating continuous affective monitoring and routine psychological assessments may bolster both operational readiness and mental health preservation in high-demand aviation environments.
Keywords: mood states, Aerobatic flight, Military aviation, affective monitoring, occupational psychophysiology
Received: 08 Jun 2025; Accepted: 21 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Santana, Pivetta, Rosa Da Silva, Campos, Farinatti, Almeida, Verame, Brandão and FIGUEIRA JUNIOR. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Wilian de Jesus Santana, wilianjc@yahoo.com.br
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