Corporate Pilot Training

2009-05-29T20:39:00.004-05:00

Are you ready to take your corporate flight department pilot training in a new direction. For most professional pilots, it's once or twice a year at the training center, spend a few solid days of training and learning, pretty much doing the same thing year in and year out. Wouldn't it be neat to provide continuous learning to your pilot group. Sure, the initial and recurrent training is what it is, but how many times do you review for your check ride and relearn 75% of what you have forgotten since your last check ride.

As professional pilots, do you think that one or two training events per year is enough? I can remember cramming so much into a training/checking event, that it was nearly impossible to learn anything, it was a matter of surviving the enormous amount of material and maneuvers that were mandatory to accomplish in the limited amount of time provided. Would having continual access to a library of web or computer based courses help with proficiency, at least proficiency with book knowledge. Hands on flying proficiency is another story. How about assigning a few "homework assignments" throughout the year to keep abreast of some of the things that one loses over time? Hit the areas that are important to your flight department, may runway incursion prevention, pilot fatigue, or security. And best of all, no paper, no checking up on your crews and no filing completed assignments. You can easily create electronic assignments, deliver them over the Internet so they are available 24/7, and let the available web-applications do all the leg work for you, such as keeping track of who's doing what, test scores, and completion dates.

Does a professional pilot really need an instructor to explain weather fronts, clear air turbulence or wake turbulence avoidance. I'll respond with a resounding no. Are these subjects important, "you betcha" (a little North Dakota humor), but information like this is perfectly suitable for delivery through computer based training. Computer based training is perfect for learning or keeping abreast of technical subject matter, which is why all of this is continually available to your pilot group if you want it. Back to the instructor, they play a very important part in professional pilot training. They are there, in my opinion, of course for flight training, but more importantly, they are there to hit the current hot topics so you, the professional pilot, stays out of trouble in the current environment you are operating within.

2009-01-17T08:48:00.004-06:00

Don’t Overlook e-Learning

It is a fact of life, with as much certainty as death and taxes, that flight department managers will always struggle with pilot training costs. For the most part, the FAA gives guidance in the subject matter to be taught and the minimum number of required training hours. What is not specifically stated is the method of delivery. With FAA approval, ground training can take place using a variety of delivery methods including the familiar classroom setting, where the instructor is present to lecture, to give immediate feedback to student questions, and to facilitate group learning. Alternatively, computer based training or CBT, is a delivery method. Computer based training refers to computers as the key component of the learning environment, and this where pilot training managers can streamline the training process to get a handle on training costs.

When discussing CBT, you will hear a variety of terms such as e-Learning, online training, and web-based training. Traditionally, CBT was delivered using CD’s or DVD’s and are traditionally self-paced courses, where the learner decides how quickly they desire to progress through the course and what time of day or night to take the course.

Online training or web-based training refers to learners taking courses through the Internet using a web browser, unlike CBT however, web-based training (WBT) web-based training allows for the inclusion of interactive methods, such as bulletin boards, chat rooms, instant messaging, videoconferencing, and discussion threads if desired. The “e” in e-Learning means electronic, so e-Learning refers to learning using computer technology, whether it be CBT or WBT.

When e-Learning is mentioned in a room full of people, there are undoubtedly a few naysayers who are dead set against e-Learning. I am first to admit that e-Learning cannot accommodate every training situation, nor should it. However, I would argue that e-Learning compliments instructor-led training and was never intended to replace all instructor-led training, although there are those that have gone to extremes. As a matter of fact, a recent study concluded that in classroom instruction half the attendees are either asleep or not paying attention after 30 minutes.

So, where does the cost savings come from, simply, employee productivity. Flight departments are doing more with less, and with e-Learning and the proliferation of web-based productivity tools, your flight department can real in the cost of training. Pilots are learning and working, the administrative work is greatly reduced through automation-there's no more spending countless hours determining compliance issues, and then there's rapid e-Learning development. As an example, your flight department is implementing a new flight plan format and flight planning procedures. A course can be designed, developed and delivered very quickly-travel time and missed days of work due to training is eliminated.

Other advantages of e-Learning include:

Faster Learning Curve: Technology-based solutions allow more room for individual differences in learning styles.
Increased retention and application to the job according to an independent study by J.D. Fletcher (Multimedia Review, Spring 1991, pp.33-42) an average increase of 25 percent over traditional methods is realized.
Learning times are reduced by an average of 40 to 60 percent, as found by Brandon Hall (Web- based Training Cookbook, 1997, p. 108). In 2005, The U.S. Navy Air Wing instituted an e-learning program for 4,000 chief petty officers and found that there was a 44 percent higher skills improvement and retention and a substantial time savings. The online courses took less than one-tenth of the time required for classroom courses.
Delivering a consistent message. The subject matter is not affected by instructor biases or delivery. The content is delivered the same way, every time, to every learner. In your years of training, you have come across great and not so great instructors. Even though the material was the same, it is delivered differently depending on the individual instructor, whether he/she is well rested, or what they believe is important to emphasize or de-emphasize.

As the cost of training is increasing training managers are finding that e-leaning is helping to reduce training costs. Using e-Learning for those subjects that make sense, many flight departments are reducing the number of days, but not hours, required for pilots and mechanics to attend classroom training, thus keeping the workforce productive. If your training philosophy dictates, you may actually increase the required hours at no extra cost to the organization.

Training for the Professional Pilot

Corporate Pilot Training