CAT Magazine - Issue 3/2010

www.halldale.com The Journal for civil aviation training

TRAINING Technology

Meeting The Future Pilot Training

A Short Aircraft For The Long Haul MAINTENANCE TRAINING

The Value Of The Maintenance Instructor Show Report

WATS 2010 – A New Training Era

ISSN 0960-9024 | US $17/£8.50

Issue 3/2010

ALTEON IS NOW BOEING TRAINING & FLIGHT SERVICES. AND FOR GOOD REASON. Our new name reflects an expanded portfolio of services. Now, in addition to pilot, maintenance and cabin safety training, customers can count on us for everything from flight operations and safety analysis to customized flight/dispatch documentation and operational consulting. So you see, Boeing Training & Flight Services is more than a new name.

It’s a brand new day.

Editorial

Editorial Comment

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Chris Lehman Editor in Chief, CAT Magazine chris@halldale.com

Promoting Professionalism Of the many subjects discussed at the recent WATS conference, the issue of pilot “professionalism” was top of mind throughout the event. What exactly is a “professional,” what are professional attributes and how does one promote, maintain and measure them?

Much of the attention, whether from regulators, air carriers, or training providers, stems of course from well-publicized incidents where professionalism has apparently not been displayed by flight crews. Ignoring the sterile cockpit rule, flying while fatigued, improper checklist usage, non-compliance with SOPs – have all been cited as evidence of a “lack of professionalism.”

FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt has said “You can’t regulate professionalism.” And in May, the US NTSB convened a meeting in Washington DC on the subject, spending a considerable amount of time trying to define what the word means in the aviation context. “Professionalism” has become the new aviation watchword.

One definition of professionalism is “doing the right thing even when no one is looking.” A previous NTSB Chairman, Mark Rosenker, uttered that remark back in 2007, along with “professionalism has absolutely nothing to do with the size of a paycheck or the size of your airplane.”

Apollo 17 Commander Gene Cernan has said “Professionalism is a state of mind, a commitment to being the best... anything less is unacceptable.” Cernan noted that professionalism is a deeply held personal trait, an individual attitude that “breeds a culture of excellence,” stating that this trait is “... an absolute requirement of an inherently risky business. There’s no place for complacency.”

Cernan goes on to say that professionalism is an outgrowth of commitment, knowledge, discipline, courage, passion, judgment and skill. Some commentators have written at length about the lack of many of these characteristics in the millennial generation. One remarked to me at WATS that “... a measure of the lack of commitment and passion for this profession is simply the number of F/Os who arrive with undergraduate degrees in subjects not even remotely related to aviation... some of them just aren’t connected to this industry like we were.” And at least one major carrier that I am aware of has conducted an internal study to find out why some of their junior pilots were more militant and unhappy than those of years past.

Some of us are concerned that we talk about the attributes of professionalism but seem to pay little attention to the specific organisational cultures that foster or mitigate it. And some pilots would argue that certain air carriers have done an excellent job in lowering their morale because their seniority has been cut as a result of mergers, their pensions have been raided, and the “revolving door in management” has created a culture where their status as pilots is greatly diminished. Add the myriad of industry stupidities that contribute to often poor working conditions – such as uniformed flight crew carrying their shoes through security like passengers – and it isn’t hard to imagine that pilot morale might be low.

With the uncertainties of today, the low starting pay, and the industry’s boom-bust characteristics, is it unreasonable to expect that new F/O’s are hedging their bets somewhat by ensuring they have other skills to fall back on? Is it actually true that current generation pilots don’t have the same commitment and passion, or is it that they find that the industry’s “pay your dues” mentality is challenging their ability to always be at the top of their game? And therein lies the rub – it doesn’t matter what the external challenges might be, professional pilots must resist these negative influences and remain committed to being the best they can be, every time they enter the cockpit. Aviation demands exceptional standards from its people because the stakes have always been enormous.

Our organisational cultures must help to mitigate these challenges and foster and promote professionalism. The working environment has a daily influence on how pilots – and all employees – do their jobs. In any company or organisation it is worth remembering that “organisational culture is set at the top,” and sustainable competitive advantage stems from a positive corporate culture.

Chris Lehman CAT Editor in Chief CAT MAGAZINE • ISSUE 3/2010

03

training tEChnology

Meeting The Future Pilot training

A Short Aircraft For The Long Haul MaintEnanCE training

The Value of the Maintenance Instructor Show rEPort

WATS 2010 – A New Training Era

ISSN 0960-9024 | uS $17/£8.50

issue 3/2010

cover credit © 2009 Boeing

front cover

contents CAT 3/2010 www.halldale.com The Journal for civil aviaTion Training

03 Editorial Comment Promoting Professionalism. Editor in Chief Chris Lehman ponders what it means to be a professional.

Training Technology

6

Meeting The Future. As Boeing’s next-generation 787 wide body commercial airliner nears certification, the training industry prepares to fulfill its obligations.

Robert W. Moorman investigates.

12 Human Factors Aviation Safety's Weakest Link Can Also Improve It. The majority of aviation accidents today are related to human error, but the human element is also that which can lead to greater aviation safety. Chuck Weirauch gives an update on human factors training.

16 Pilot Training A Short Aircraft For The Long Haul. Chris Long looks at the unique approach of British Airways in developing A318 operations for a business class service between London City Airport and New York.

16

Pilot Training

19

MAINTENANCE TRAINING

19 Maintenance Training The Value of the Maintenance Instructor. What is it that makes a great maintenance instructor? Dave Chamberlin asks what’s really important; good training aids or good instructors?

22 CABIN CREW TRAINING Safety and Service: Cabin Crew Training Priorities. Saying the right words in the right manner is one of the most important skills a flight attendant must have.

The safety onboard the aircraft can depend upon it. Guest author Terence Gerighty explains.

25 Show Report WATS 2010 – A New Training Era. The WATS 2010 conference theme “Optimizing Training Technology and Technique in a New Era,” was fitting in a year in which the industry has seen unprecedented scrutiny from regulators, stakeholders and the public.

Chris Lehman summarises the 13th annual event.

28 Training Best Practice Pilot Training: The Case For Global Best Practices. Should there be an independent organization to identify, recognize, and communicate global best practices? Robert Barnes investigates.

32 Show Preview APATS 2010. The sixth edition of the Asia Pacific Airline Training Symposium will be held September 14-15 in Kuala Lumpur. Chris Long previews what has become Asia’s primary civil aviation training event.

25

Show Report

feature Articles

06 Training Technology

36 NEWS Analysis and Seen & Heard. Updates from the global training and simulation community, compiled and edited by the CAT editorial team.

CAT MAGAZINE • ISSUE 3/2010

05

Training Technology

Meeting The Future As Boeing’s next-generation 787 wide body commercial airliner nears certification, the training industry prepares to fulfill its obligations.

Robert W. Moorman investigates.

S

everal years ago, Airbus and Boeing made bold moves on the future direction for the manufacturing of wide body commercial aircraft. Airbus believed bigger was better and launched the A380, a double-deck, 555-seat four-engine behemoth, which today is operating internationally. Boeing went the opposite direction with the launch of the fuel efficient twin-engine 787 Dreamliner, which carries between 210 and 330 passengers in different configurations.

After numerous delays, the 787 is finally slated for certification and delivery to launch customer All Nippon Airways (ANA) in the fourth quarter of 2010. The training industry is ready to handle the many flight, cabin crews and aircraft maintenance technicians (AMTs) that will be needed to operate the aircraft.

It is an enormous undertaking. As of May, Boeing had firm orders for 851 Dreamliners from 56 customers. That includes ANA’s order for 55 787-8s.

The plane maker estimates the 787 will 06

CAT MAGAZINE • ISSUE 3/2010

account for more than half of a projected market of 3,310 wide body twinjets over the next 20 years.

Maintenance Training In early April this year, Boeing completed the first maintenance training class for the 787. Ten AMTs from ANA and two regulators from the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) successfully completed training.

These are the first of 150 ANA mechanics to be trained over the next several months. The students spent more than 30 days learning to maintain the 787, including 20-days of theoretical training, two days of engine runs and taxi testing, five days of practical training and five days of troubleshooting exercises.

The students also conducted component identification exams on production aircraft, as well as troubleshooting exams in the full flight simulator.

To train AMTs, Boeing Training and Flight Services (T&FS), a division of Commercial Aviation Services, developed an

Supplied by Thales, nine training suites have been delivered to Boeing T&FS and installed at several locations around the world.

Image credit: Boeing T&FS.

Internet-based teaching system, which includes training tools that connect to a virtual aircraft and its systems. Interactive computer-based training, threedimensional images and desktop simulation is at the heart of training AMTs on the 787, said Sherry Carbary, vice president of T&FS. Unlike previous desktop trainers, these devices have much greater fidelity, Boeing claims. By updating the maintenance training devices, Boeing has managed to reduce by 30 percent the time it takes for AMTs to become fully qualified on the 787.

In what might appear oxymoronic, the course is “shorter, but better,” says Jeff Haber, 787 maintenance-training manager, “because we focus on specific objectives that add value to the mechanics job.”

The line and base maintenance courses for the 787 recently received Part 147 approval by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

Another topic of keen interest is MRO training of the composite structures, which make up 55 percent of the 787, compared to 12 percent for the 777. Boeing is setting up training

facilities in Miami, Singapore and at a not-yet-disclosed location in Europe for composite training. This will be “practical-based,” explains Haber, “to make sure that people understand how to design and apply composite repairs that will be required.” More information on composite training would be forthcoming over the next several weeks, Haber adds.

Crew Training The shorter-is-better-training scenario also applies to pilot training. Boeing is capitalizing on the commonality of

the 787 with the 777 and other Boeing models. For example, the 787 has a high degree of procedural commonality with the 777, such as similar ETOPS operations and nearly identical flight maneuvers. The Dreamliner also has the same flight deck operational and design philosophy, along with the same takeoff and landing technique, auto land and nonprecision procedures as the 777.

As it does for AMT training, Boeing is using digital technology and the Internet for pilot training. Boeing is also building upon the foundation of its’ Shortened Transition and Rating (STAR) courses.

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Training Technology

More than a Name Change As part of its 2008 restructuring, Boeing examined all the elements dealing with flight operations of customer airlines, including training, which was then under the training division Alteon.

Boeing determined it could better serve its’ interests and those of its customers by combining these elements under one organization.

Boeing combined the line-assist pilot group and flight operations services, flight operations engineering as well as data and documentation manual services under Training and Flight Services (T&FS).

T&FS now has four units providing flight operations services to the airline.

They are: pilot services, which includes pilot training, pilot delivery (line assist), manuals and revisions to aircraft operating manuals.

The second unit is technical services, under which similar services are provided for maintenance, such as line and base maintenance and aircraft manuals.

The third element is training center services, which helps airlines develop and operate a training facility. “It’s very clear to us that we’re not the only training facility in town, that airlines have the capacity and capability to do it themselves,” says Roei Ganzarski, chief customer officer for T&FS. “We’re offering our services to help them be efficient and effective in operating their own training service.”

The fourth element is simulator services under which Boeing offers its services to other simulator operators.

Duties include selling data to build new simulators as well upgrade and modify existing simulators to meet regulatory and their own training requirements.

In the overall corporate scheme within Boeing Commercial Airplane Co. there are two major elements: aircraft production and commercial aviation services, which has four elements, including flight services. T&FS falls under flight services.

Sherry Carbary, vice president of Boeing T&FS, Commercial Aviation Services, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, also oversees the Jeppesen division, which produces charts, maps & planning solutions for aviation, marine and rail operators.

08

CAT MAGAZINE • ISSUE 3/2010

“We can offer customers [airlines] significantly shorter training curriculums, while enhancing the level of proficiency they can achieve,” says Donald Reiter, Boeing senior manager of new airplane training development.

The plane maker provides a 20-day full transition-training course to the 787 and a 13-day Shortened Transition and Rating (STAR) training for pilots qualified on other modern Boeing airliners. The company also offers a five-day 777-to787 “differences” training course, which has received FAA tentative approval and is used to instruct internal 787 instructor pilots, says Reiter.

Boeing also offers one-day emergency exit door training with the help of a full-size door trainer replete with visual system, a 5-day dispatcher training course and two-day flight attendant transition training.

Mark Albert, director of simulator services for T&FS, says Boeing would begin in June to obtain regulatory approval of the various training devices.

“We are sending out instructors to all the locations to test the equipment, curriculum and processes,” says Albert. Testing is nearly complete in Seattle and Tokyo.

Boeing is the prime contractor for the various training programs; it has 18 subcontractors providing hardware and software to simulator makers Thales and CAE. So far, 98 percent of the 787 aircraft software is also in the simulator, says Albert.

Boeing declines to say which airlines have begun pilot training. But nine training suites were delivered to T&FS and installed at several locations around the

Above In April this year, Boeing completed the first maintenance training class for the 787.

Image credit: Boeing.

world, according to Mark Gasson, director of civil simulation for Thales Training & Simulation Ltd. As of mid-May, Boeing’s Seattle training center had 2 suites; Tokyo, 2; Singapore, 2; Shanghai, 1; and London Gatwick, 1. One suite is bound for Dubai and one already in Seoul is being moved to a not-yet-disclosed Delta Air Lines training facility.

Each suite consists of one Thales C200X full flight simulator; one flat panel, touch screen trainer, which includes a head-up display and electronic flight bag features; two briefing /debriefing stations and up to 61 networked desktop trainers.

The C200X exceeds the current standards for FAA Level D certification and is equipped with the new Thales electric motion system. The motion system uses a third less power than other motion systems, Thales claims. The simulator also has greater environmental benefits by using low quantities of biodegradable vegetable-based oils rather than the traditional mineral oil.

Bringing tailor-made, cost-effective training to the customer is Boeing’s overall goal for 787 training. “The strategy has always been to put the training suites as close as possible to the major customers,” says Roei Ganzarski, chief customer officer for T&FS. “As the aircraft program matures, we will be able to move suites around as required to meet the fleet, and

Training Technology

increase the number of suites to where the aircraft is being delivered.”

Thales is responsible for the training suites for all center locations.

When the 7E7 was launched, the developmental name for the 787, Thales won the sole source contract that runs until 2015. Since that award, however, Montreal-based simulator manufacturer CAE launched its own 787 training suite. Air New Zealand and Continental Airlines have each ordered one CAE 787 full flight simulator, while Japan Air Lines and Qantas each ordered two simulators.

CAE offers a full complement of training aids, which include a 700 Series full-flight simulator, CAE Simfinity three-dimensional, Level 5 flighttraining device, Integrated Procedures Trainer (IPT), two-dimensional desktop virtual simulator and flight management systems trainer.

In its effort to better compete with Thales in the 787 simulator market; CAE has installed its True Environment product in the FFS, which simulates a realistic air traffic control environment. Under a licensing agreement, Adacel’s Air Traffic Control in a Box product powers True Environment. Adacel claims it was first to market the interactive application that advanced flight simulator fidelity, and CAE incorporated the technology into its simulators.

While CAE is providing simulation devices, it has no immediate plans to provide a “training solution” for the 787, said Jeff Roberts, CAE group president for civil aviation products, training and services.

Most new aircraft programs experience problems along the way and the 787 is no exception. The delay in the 787 program created a corresponding delay in the software data coming to the simulator manufacturers, says Roberts.

So until the final configuration of the aircraft is documented and certified, “we continue to evolve our product,” Roberts adds.

Thales has a slightly different take on the cascading effect that 787 program delays are having on manufacturing of training equipment. Changes to the design and operating methodology of the 787 aircraft are updated almost immediately in the Thales simulator, fixed-base trainers and desktop aids, says Gasson. Boeing recently finalized 10

CAT MAGAZINE • ISSUE 3/2010

Above The cockpit of the CAE-built 787 FFS including the IOS. Left CAE has received 787 FFS orders from Air New Zealand, Continental Airlines, Japan Air Lines and Qantas.

Both images: CAE.

the aerodynamic configuration of the 787, so it is unlikely there will be any major changes to simulator software for Thales or CAE.

Points System When the 787 was launched, Boeing also made plans to change how flight services and training is obtained. (See sidebar) In what has become the norm among OEMs, Boeing first conferred with numerous present and potential customers on exactly what they needed for pilot, maintenance and cabin crew training.

From those sessions, Boeing helped create tailor-made training services for various 787 customers, in part, by mimicking airline passenger frequent flyer programs.

“So now, when an airline orders a 787, instead of getting fixed services and courses, they get points toward creating their own tailor-made training

services,” says Ganzarski. The more aircraft an airline orders, the more points it gets. In other words, the points act the equivalent of a cash discount. The more planes ordered, the lower the training costs.

Ganzarski sums up Boeing’s goal for 787 training. “Both the strategy, development and execution of the 787 training program was to ensure timely, safe and efficient introduction of the 787 to customers, and to create an offering where airlines do not need to increase their training capacity, but rely on Boeing in the ongoing provision of training and flight services.”

Regulatory Question With any new aircraft and corresponding training programs comes the question of whether there are any related regulatory items worth mentioning. One initiative comes to mind. Not long ago, International Working Group (IWG) of regulators rewrote simulator standards under ICAO document 9625. The document reclassified the myriad simulator levels into just seven, and then cross-referenced them to the training credits achievable. ICAO

has yet to publish the revised standards, but it is unlikely that they will have an immediate or lasting effect on the nowoffered 787 simulators and flight training equipment.

“I don’t believe the 9625 document will impact the way training takes place on the 787,” says Edward D. Cook, senior advisor to the Flight Training and Simulation division for FAA. However, the rewritten document does require that the top Level D simulator must include interactive air traffic control environment. “We included that [provision] in the document even though the technology hasn’t reached a level at which everyone is comfortable,” says Cook.

While simulator manufacturers finetune their training aids, numerous 787 customers await delivery of their first aircraft and begin preparations for training their flight crews and AMTs. Continental Airlines and American Airlines (AA), which won’t starting receiving their 787s until 2011 and 2013, respectively, are two waiting customers worth noting.

Continental, which ordered 11 7878s and 14 787-9s, says it will work with Boeing’s T&FS to train its first cadre of 787 pilots. After Continental receives

its first 787 simulator in spring 2011, the carrier will train its remaining 787-designated pilots at its training facility in Houston.

As for AMTs, Continental will send its maintenance-training instructors to Seattle. Upon completion of their training and receipt of all technical matter, Continental 787 maintenance instructors will develop an in-house training program for the airline’s Technical Operations (Tech Ops) division.

Continental flight attendants will receive 787 cabin training at its Houston and Newark training centers, using new state-of-the-art cabin trainers. The carrier is implementing an FAA-approved Advanced Qualification Program that will engage flight attendants in interactive training. FAA approval is expected by year-end, and training will begin in January 2011.

American Airlines, which ordered 42 787-9s, is already making training plans that will to some extent include Boeing.

“We will purchase our own 787 simulators and work with Boeing to design the training like we do with the rest of our fleet,” says AA spokesman Tim Wagner.

“We’re just in preliminary discussion about those things at this point.”

Delta had little to say about its 787 deliveries and related training requirements: “Boeing has informed Delta that it will be unable to meet the contractual delivery schedule for these aircraft.

We are in discussions with Boeing regarding this situation,” read Delta’s only statement on its 787 order.

ANA is expected to set the initial standard for the training of flight crews and AMTs. While researching this article, ANA pilots Capt. Masayuki Ishii, director of 787 pre-operations planning, and Capt. Masami Tsukamoto, manager of 787 pre-operations pilots, became the first customer pilots to test fly the Dreamliner. They flew the airliner for nearly 2 ½ hours over Washington state.

The Tokyo-based carrier is expected to begin formal 787 pilot training by fall 2010, according to an ANA spokesman. Other 787 customers will no doubt closely follow ANA’s training efforts. But once the aircraft is certified and enters revenue service with other carriers, training on the next generation 787 is likely to resemble training on other commercial airliners because these training equipment manufacturers and trainers were well prepared. cat

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Image credit: Star Alliance

HUMAN FACTORS

Aviation Safety’s Weakest Link Can Also Improve It The majority of aviation accidents today are related to human error, but the human element is also that which can lead to greater aviation safety. Chuck Weirauch gives an update on human factors training.

O

n April 26, 2010, the FAA released Information for Operators (InFO) 10003 on Cockpit Distractions, which addressed “the safety risks of personal electronic devices in the cockpit.” Presumably this document was in response to the incident when the flight crew of Northwest Airlines Flight 188 overflew the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport last year when they reportedly became distracted while using their laptop computers in the cockpit. However, ultimately it is just another example of the increasing focus on human factors on the flight deck by the agency, other regulators and the airline industry throughout the world.

Since the InFO also called for training directors to “review and reinforce crew training on this subject” as a Recommended Action, it was also another reminder of the correlation to and importance of human factors in aviation training. Human factors elements have long been considered a part of crew resource 12

CAT MAGAZINE • ISSUE 3/2010

Above John Cox and Kathy Abbott provided a joint human factors presentation at WATS. Image credit: David Malley/Halldale Media.

management (CRM) training from a crew communications and human performance aspect, and are increasingly becoming a part of threat and error management (TEM) training, as well as safety management systems (SMS).

Human factors impact The Flight 188 debacle is just one example of how a distracted flight crew could

lead to an incident or accident. During the ongoing National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) public hearings that were being conducted in May in relation to H.R 3371, the Airline Safety and Pilot Training Improvement Act, it was reported that the flight deck crew on two regional airliners in two separate incidents “forgot” to start the second engine before the rollout to takeoff because of distractions. And of course, distractions that implied a violation of the sterile cockpit rule, along with crew fatigue, were considered by the NTSB as factors that led to the crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 in February 2009.

According to various aviation sources, such human error has been identified as a causal factor in 60 to 80 percent of aviation incidents and accidents. An Airbus Flight Operations Briefing Note goes further than that, stating that “ultimately, human factors are involved in all incidents and accidents.” Since aircraft technology has advanced to the point where equipment and mechanical failures have

Image credit: Star Alliance

been greatly reduced, the effort to further improve aviation safety has focused on the reduction of human error.

Distractions and fatigue are just two human factors that have been implicated in aviation incidents and accidents.

Others include lack of communication, complacency, lack of knowledge, lack of teamwork, lack of resources, pressure, stress, lack of awareness and traditional “norms”, or the “that’s the way we have always done it” attitude. While in the US most of the recent human factors awareness efforts have been directed at maintenance personnel and for flight crews through CRM, it is also becoming understood that human factors awareness and training is vital for the whole of aviation systems and organizations as well. That is because the responsibility for incidents and accidents can no longer rest solely on the shoulders of the flight crew members and maintenance personnel involved in incidents and accidents.

“We have to consider that organizational factors can play a role in accidents,” said Dr. Kathy Abbott, the FAA’s Chief Scientific and Technical Advisor for Flight Deck Human Factors. “It’s not just the individuals that are out there flying the airplane or maintaining them or controlling them that have a role in these safety events, it’s the environment in which they operate as well. So I think that much of the intent of things like safety management systems are intended to address some of these factors.”

Rather than citing a list of the key human factors most often implicated in incidents and accidents, such as fatigue, the FAA is taking a global approach to human interaction with aircraft operations. According to John Duncan, Manager of the FAA’s Flight Standards Air Transportation Division, the agency is looking at all aspects of air carrier operations that impact human factors within an organization. Some specific areas on the flight deck include not only the direct interfaces between automation and the crew, but the design of the tasks and procedures involved with automation and how they might “load up” the crew, he explained.

Many aviation safety experts and others in the international aviation industry agree that human factors must be considered in all aspects of organizations and systems, including John Cox, President and CEO of Safety Operat-

ing Systems. He and Abbott provided a joint presentation on aviation safety and training at the 2010 World Aviation Training Symposium and Tradeshow (WATS) in April.

“Human factors needs to be included in the very first step of any aviation endeavor, be it design, certification, training or operation,” Cox said. ‘Human factors needs to be a seamless integration throughout the entire industry because we have been and will be dependent on humans to sort things out. Automation is great and has helped reduce the accident rate, so now we need to focus on such human elements as loss of control as the key to further reducing the accident rate.”

Take Ground Training to A Whole New Flight Level

Human factors and training During the WATS presentation, Abbott and Cox cited a number of human factors-related elements involved in a recent analysis of airliner accidents. Of those accidents studied, inadequate knowledge was considered to be a causal factor in slightly over 40 percent of the accidents. While this area “is a critical piece for training,” it can’t be considered just as what the flight crews knew, Abbott pointed out.

Other causal factors involved could also be flight deck instrument and equipment design, as well as documentation available on the flight deck, she explained. In 50 percent of the accidents studied, communication errors between flight crew members were considered to be causal factors, Abbott and Cox stated, while aircraft handling input errors were implicated in 60 percent of the accidents.

Based on the analysis of the accident data, Abbott and Cox cited several areas for improved pilot training. They include: • manual handling of the aircraft • flight plan management systems, including automation management • unusual attitude recognition and recovery (loss of control) • managing malfunctions, including those for which the flight crew has no checklists • managing distractions from other sources, including distractions from other systems that are distracting the crew from the flight path management system.

• crew coordination and communications.

“Loss of control in flight is the largest accident type that we are seeing in

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HUMAN FACTORS

airliner and business aviation today,” Cox emphasized. “There is nothing else near it. As far as the rate of accidents caused by specific action or inaction by the crew, it stands alone. We have to look at it from a multifaceted approach with multiple layers of mitigation. I think that we have to train better, and that means academic training. That’s because we are finding that there is inadequate knowledge by too many pilots on basic aerodynamics and stall recovery procedures. From an academic standpoint, we have to demonstrate proper procedures in flight simulation and even the use of actual inflight training. All of these will bring together a pilot group that is more capable of dealing with a loss of control event.”

Flight deck automation While automation on the flight deck has helped reduce accidents, it has also increased in complexity as more advanced flight systems are integrated into the aircraft. The foremost thing to recognize is that as aviation has moved into the increasing use of automation, the criticality of human factors in the relationship to automation has grown, Cox pointed out. On few rare occasions, there has been a breakdown between the automation and the flight crew, and that is what can be improved, he pointed out.

“What we are really focusing on is looking at management of the flight path of the aircraft,’’ Abbott said. “So rather than focusing exclusively on automation, we talk about it in terms of flight path management, and automation systems like the autopilot and the auto throttle are some of the many tools that the pilots on the flight deck use to help manage the flight path of the airplane. Automation is part of the picture, not the whole focus of the picture. The focus of the picture is flying the airplane. So that is what we are trying to emphasize in what is coming out of our research.”

Abbott is involved with a government-industry Flight Deck Working Group that is studying all aspects of human factors on the flight deck, including the man-machine interface aspect of automation. The group anticipates releasing its findings sometime this fall, she said.

“One thing that I would like to emphasize about this is that it is not just about improving man-machine interfaces,” said Terri Stubblefield of the FAA

Flight Technologies and Procedures Division. “This is also about how the operating environment, including existing and new operational concepts affect how the equipment is being used. From our perspective, improving where man-machine and other interfaces, such as instrument approach procedures design and the way new technologies are used on the flight deck is something we have studied from the beginning to ensure that they are optimized for what the pilot is going to use them for. We have made changes to improve human performance in the area of RNAV instrument procedure design, for example. “ Another recent effort is the development of new regulations on the aircraft certification side to help address designrelated pilot error, Abbott pointed out.

This is to ensure that newer aircraft have equipment with design characteristics that are known to reduce such error, she explained.

“We certainly have been seeing that there are malfunctions that are occurring for which there are not specific checklists, such as the Malaysia Airlines 777 that had a software issue,” Abbott said. “As the flight systems are getting more complicated, we are realizing that there are different interactions that can occur that we didn’t fully anticipate. So that’s an area that we are looking at very closely, because this is an area that might prove to be very important. This area has some implications for training and procedures certainly, or else equipment design and how we do regulation during the aircraft certification process.”

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Humans can improve safety Despite the fact that humans are the most unreliable component of the aviation system because most aviation accidents today are related to human error, the human element is also that which can lead to greater aviation safety, Abbott and Cox stressed at WATS. “We have to think about how humans can contribute to safety through such efforts as risk mitigation and equipment design,” Abbott emphasized. “We have to unleash and leverage human performance to improve aviation safety, and we need to recognize the significant contributions humans can make in the areas of task management, flying the airplane and automation - and think beyond human pilot error.” cat

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Pilot training

A Short Aircraft For The Long Haul Chris Long looks at the unique approach of British Airways in developing A318 operations for a business class service between London City Airport and New York.

W

hen someone in a big organisation asks the question – ”Why Not?” there is no guarantee that the answer will be – “OK go ahead”. In the case of the initial thoughts for a commercial operation out of London City airport to New York, British Airways (BA) did indeed give that response. Certainly the studies needed to be carried out in considerable depth before any formal commitment was given, but once the ball started rolling the project gained momentum.

Captain Dave Thomas, Chief Training Pilot Flight Operations, was involved right from the start. There were considerable challenges to be met in putting this operation together, and in fact the whole plan was characterised by the great teamwork that was built up between the disparate organisations involved.

The key feature was that, unlike the situation when a route structure is being expanded, or a new aircraft type is being introduced into service, there was no template of previous similar operations within the airline to guide the project.

For once there was a completely clean 16

CAT MAGAZINE • ISSUE 3/2010

sheet of paper to start with. This virtually unique event provided both the challenge and reward as the team worked its way through all the issues.

Above BA decided that the Airbus A318 was best suited to the LCY-JFK operation.

Image credit: British Airways.

Planning In looking at the present and future inventory of BA aircraft it immediately became apparent that the aircraft best suited to this operation was the Airbus A318. Not only was this family type already in use with BA, the aircraft had already been certified by Airbus for the specific conditions at London City airport, which features a 30 metre wide runway, and has water not only at each end, but on each side as well.

The other determining feature here is that, for environmental and obstacle clearance considerations, the final approach is at 5.5 degrees, rather than the conventional 3-degree glideslope. Whilst BA’s commercial team considered the viability of flying an all-business class service from the heart of London’s financial centre, it was up to Dave Thomas and his team to design a robust technical solution within the operational constraints.

Given the short (1500 metre) runway the aircraft would not be able to depart with sufficient fuel for a non-stop flight to New York. It was a basic planning parameter that a refuelling stop at Shannon in Ireland would be necessary. This stop, far from being a problem, actually became a benefit and attraction for the service.

Whilst the aircraft is being refuelled the passengers can use the existing facilities at Shannon to clear U.S. Customs and Immigration rather than on arrival at New York JFK airport. Being able to walk straight off the aircraft on arrival in New York and off to work has proved to be a great attraction. With no fuel uplift limit at JFK the return sector is flown direct.

Cooperation Having identified the constituent parts of what was required to meet the technical challenges it was then necessary

to engage the various groups. It became apparent that there was great enthusiasm from all parties to make this work.

Thomas reports that cooperation and help from Airbus was exceptional, as was the support of London City Airport.

Naturally the regulators had to be established in the loop early on, and the UK CAA proved to be very helpful in working towards formal approval.

Additionally the cooperation of the US authorities, both in Shannon and JFK, had to be arranged, and this too moved ahead.

Training Now that the administration was organised, the qualifications and training of the crews had to be planned. This demanded an interesting mix of skills; on the one hand the accurate flying at an airfield with some unusual characteristics, normally the domain of the short haul pilot, and on the other hand additional competencies in ETOPS, North Atlantic procedures and demanding procedures at the other end of the route.

The decision was made to emphasise the handling skills as the key qualification, so volunteers were invited from the fleet of narrow body Airbus aircraft already operated by BA. Once again the novelty of the operation generated considerable interest, and there was no shortage of volunteers. The requirements were, and presently remain, for pilots to have at least one year on the A320 family before training for this new qualification.

Having settled on the initial crew requirements the content of the training package, the training tools needed, and the duration of the training all had to be assessed. First of all, the modifications on the A318 to give it the handling qualities necessary had to be recognised. In fact these changes were straightforward – modifications to software and procedures rather than structural changes.

The profile for the landing at London City requires that the aircraft is put into the landing configuration before intercepting the glideslope. A single additional “Steep Approach” button needs to be selected, which switches to the appropriate software. At the glideslope capture the speed brake lever is selected to Full which deploys some of the spoilers to a 30-degree deflection. The autothrottle has been modified to be more

responsive, and Thomas notes that the aircraft holds the glideslope particularly well. At 117 feet radar altitude there is a “Standby, Standby” alert followed by a “Flare” alert at 63 feet. At 85 feet radar altitude the software automatically triggers a reduction of spoiler deployment to about 8 degrees. At that point the aircraft is in a normal landing configuration and a normal flare and landing is then carried out. One interesting point to note is that during the steep approach there is, of course, a change to the visual perspective because of the 5.5-degree glideslope, however the visual attitude is no different from a normal approach and landing. What this means in practical terms is that there is no excessive change of pitch attitude at the flare and therefore no additional skill is required to judge the timing and extent of such a pitch change. Consistently accurate flares and touchdown points can then be achieved with no increased rate of hard landings and late touchdowns on the 1319 meters LDA.

Simulator At the start of the project there were no A318 aircraft in BA service, and the simulators were all generic A320, not specifically for the A318. The analysis of the business case indicated that there was a need to modify BA’s latest A320 FFS with A318 steep approach performance. This recently purchased FFS, built

by CAE, is currently undergoing modification at the BA’s Cranebank training facility. In the meantime the required training could be carried out using a combination of the existing A320 FFS and the actual aircraft. A two-day simulator course was devised followed by a three-day base training course on the new aircraft. Effectively all the training on the aircraft being covered in two days and one kept as a reserve to build in some flex should that prove necessary. The two days of the simulator course covered theory and introduced not only the procedures for London City, but also the requirements of ETOPS, North Atlantic procedures. The simulator time concentrated on the latter skills with the aircraft time reserved for the steep approach training.

It was at this point that another willing and helpful team player was introduced – the Royal Air Force base at RAF Lyneham. It was here that there was the

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Pilot training

only locally available source of Precision Approach Path Indicators (PAPIs), which could be adjusted for non-standard approaches. Although to gain confidence in the system some approaches were flown up to 7.5 degrees, the training soon settled into the 5.5 degrees used at London City. This was particularly effective and proved the system very well.

One slight complication was that at one end of that runway the ground falls away quite quickly, so the radar-altitude base system in the aircraft was not at its best. The runway at London City is surrounded by water, so this issue was not significant. The airport at Manston was also used from time to time in the training to represent the runway width at the other end of the route. One of the unknowns was whether the change in runway width on a single sector would present a challenge to the crews. In practice this was not the case, and training was made considerably easier with the cooperation of London City airport, as the authorities there arranged for circuit training time to be made readily available – it is not too often that crews are able to complete circuits at 3000 feet over London!

In practice it turned out that the training could, in fact, be completed in the planned two days without any problems, but, recognising that the volunteers for this fleet were understandably intrigued about the prospect of flying a non-standard approach, the decision was made to further boost the effectiveness of the training by dividing the base training into two days. This base training requires four steep approaches including two full stop landings. Although the competencies were well established after half the base training was completed, (the visual picture is imprinted quite quickly) it was found to be of great benefit to the overall confidence of the crews to use the third day to complete the full training package.

In fact the positive feedback from this style of training pacing is such that there is serious consideration being given to adapting this “sleep on it and complete tomorrow” to ensure that crews completing other short periods of training acquire not only the competencies embedded in any such course, but also reinforce that elusive element of confidence in their ability to deliver those skills.

Growth

The outcome of this training system is that some six TRIs/TREs are now qualified, and 30 complete flight crews make up the existing complement. A currency requirement of three steep approaches and landings in 60 days has been established for those crews, whose A320 type rating means that they can continue to fly on the London Heathrow A320 family of aircraft, thus creating a good rostering flexibility.

Now well established as a commercially viable operation, two additional characteristics have emerged. One is that there is now a period of reflection as it is apparent that the environmentallyfriendly steep approach techniques used here may possibly have applications at other airfields where concerns over noise are increasingly dominant. The other is that there is a sense of camaraderie and team esprit de corps which has blossomed amongst all those involved in this operation and which embraces flight and cabin crews as well as all the supporting ground specialists. Bearing this in mind, and the fact that the project was borne out of building strong partnerships with a wide range of organisations, it is very evident that the team works. cat

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5/26/10 4:17 PM

Maintenance training

The Value of the Maintenance Instructor What is it that makes a great maintenance instructor? Dave Chamberlin asks what’s really important, good training aids or good instructors?

M

y welding instructor in A&P school only had one arm. The other one had been severed just below the shoulder in a car accident. His name was Mel Ott and he seemed pretty old to me at the time.

I always accused him of losing it handpropping the Red Baron’s airplane from when he was his crew chief. Mel had a great sense of humor. Now why is it unusual that I remember his name? It’s less because I went to A&P school in the mid 1970’s and more due to the kind of instructor he was.

As I said he was the welding instructor and back then we only learned oxyacetylene gas welding. I’d toil away on my practice welds and mainly just burn rods. I’d ask Mel to show me what I was doing wrong and he’d just stick a welding rod under his armpit and use his good arm to run the torch. His always came out looking like machine welds but he never made anyone feel bad about it. Although as a prideful 17 year old male with two good arms I have to admit it was some-

times a little irritating. But Mel had a kind of crusty old guy gentle spirit and you always felt he truly wanted you to succeed at being an A&P mechanic. I’m sure everyone has a similar story about a great teacher or instructor that they remember.

Requirements Over the ensuing years I’ve had the opportunity to personally observe a great many instructors in action. As you would expect most were just average, a few were really good, and some had no business being in the profession. Why is there so much disparity in the quality of educators? It’s interesting to note that rarely are there any requirements for university professors to have received formal training in teaching skills. Contrast this to elementary school teachers who benefit from numerous courses on how to teach and they must demonstrate these skills during their student teaching time. I don’t know about you but there seems to be a disconnected wire here.

What are the requirements to be an

Above Minimal requirements set the foundation as to how good the instructor will be.

Image credit: Gregor Schläger / Lufthansa Technik AG

instructor for an A&P school or an airline? Admittedly there is somewhat of a range since schools run by colleges will require at least an undergraduate degree.

But even at that the requirements to be a maintenance instructor are pretty minimal. In some cases you can get hired with just an A&P license and a few years of experience. These minimal requirements set the foundation as to how good your instructor will be for your next class.

In most cases the really good instructors are that way because of a natural talent and rarely because of some systematic instructor training program. Think about your company. How much thought and effort is expended on growing a training staff versus that spent on CBT, E-Learning, facility layout, and presentation design?

CAT MAGAZINE • ISSUE 3/2010

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Maintenance training

History Now I’m not knocking all the amazing tools we have at our disposal. Digital learning systems are great and we can do so much more today than we could even fifteen years ago, but every new electronic delivery method has been touted to revolutionize training. Let’s take a step back in time for those of you that weren’t around. My timelines are probably off but this is the basic history.

One of the first big advances was the 35mm slide projector. Companies invested heavily in taking thousands of pictures of every part of the airplane. It was eventually discovered that most slides were indiscernible because pictures were poorly lit or cropped, or they just showed the whole main gear well with its myriad of wires, tubing, and actuators. Instructors of the time can tell you what the students did after the 60th slide in a dark room. Back in the 60’s many military instructors took to placing “girly” pictures every so many slides in an attempt to keep students awake.

Times have changed.

Overhead projectors showed up around this time too where instructors wrote with markers on rolls of acetate film. This was great if they had good penmanship, but have you ever read logbooks? Enough said. We also took to making hundreds of transparencies from the maintenance manuals. Electrical schematics, hydraulic systems, insides of fuel controls, and copies of pages of text all made their way onto projector screens. In many cases the transparencies had the same effect as the 35mm slides did.

VCR’s and video cameras were next.

Lectures were recorded and the students were subjected to hours of talking heads pointing to charts on walls or standing next to aircraft. The idea was to teach some material and then show a 30 minute video to reinforce the topic. But in many instances the video ended up repeating the material the instructor had just delivered. Plus the production values of home-grown videos left a lot to be desired from a training standpoint. Needless to say the competent instructors eventually figured out that they were losing their students during the videos and the tapes were relegated to the storage room along with the slide presentations.

Then came the Laser Disc system.

The discs were expensive as was the 20

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equipment to run them. Their lives were very short and many of them were eventually “donated” to A&P schools, few of which ever used them.

And then PowerPoint exploded on the training scene. Students were bombarded with slides that had way too many bullet points, distracting animations, and photos and drawings that were even smaller than those of any prior media.

Plus the students also got the “benefit” of the instructor reading the slides to them.

Next up was CBT. It promised to eliminate the instructor and provide ondemand training at any location that had a computer. Students quickly found they could skip right to the end with a poorly designed program and that they could just keep taking the test over and over until they passed.

And now we have the various E-Learning systems which are again promising to revolutionize training. If history holds true they too may one day be “donated” to a deserving A&P school near you.

So why did we take this journey though time? It was to illustrate a basic principle that I was taught at instructor school in the U.S. Air Force. None of these were, or are, training methods.

They are training aids. But we seem to forget that when the next new aid comes along. “Ooooh! We can deliver training directly to a mechanics personal PDA! Let’s invest in the servers, routers, and wireless transmitters!” But if these are just training aids then why are we not investing more in those who are using the aids, those who are actually delivering the training? And as many of you can

Above Is having the latest technological advances in training aids important in your training program?

Device image credit: HP.

attest, all of the mentioned training aids were valuable tools when used correctly by a skilled instructor.

Skills Now, what do we do about our three categories of instructor mentioned earlier?

The 25% who are atrocious are most likely unfixable and need to be reallocated into a position where they are a better fit. It’s the 25% who have a natural talent, and the 75% average folks that we want to invest most of our efforts towards.

In too many cases companies hire instructors based on technical knowledge and a minimal ability to deliver a 15 minute lecture on a topic of the candidates choosing, and if they have handouts and a PowerPoint, it’s even better.

This is really the best time to select a candidate who doesn’t fall into the unfixable 25%. If you’re really lucky you’ll stumble on someone in the top 25% but chances are it will be the seventy-five percenters you’ll be interviewing.

Perhaps it’s a good time to stop here and ask a question. Which is easier to do?

Train someone in the technical details of the subject matter, or train them to have good instructional skills? I have some personal experience in this and it seems to me that it’s easier to train them in the technical details of the subject. Now this is not to say that we want to discount

a candidate’s technical knowledge. It is important from a credibility standpoint, but it can be learned.

I think most of us would agree that the soft skills are much more difficult to learn and be good at – at least for us seventy-five percenters. And what good is it to have an instructor who knows all the technical details but puts the class to sleep? And in truth, sometimes knowing too much about the topic makes for poor classroom learning. These folks have a tendency to be bored with the basics and really want to delve deep into the weeds, and they lose their classes. This is one of the reasons why all training organizations should implement an ISD program.

Hopefully you agree with my discussion of technical skills vs. soft skills. And if you do then it should give you pause to examine your own companies interviewing process. We need to find engaging instructors who can capture students’ attention and achieve the learning goals outlined in their courses. If we can get that and the technical background then great, but the soft skills should rate higher than technical in the selection process.

Just what is it that makes a great

g • Co B e i ji n

instructor? Think about the characteristics of the great teachers you’ve known.

What was it about them that made them great? I’ll mention a few that come to mind but I’m sure you’ll have your own to add.

1. They are really excited about their profession and take pride in what they do.

2. They show you that they really want you to learn and will do whatever necessary to help you achieve that.

3. They have the right balance of confidence and humility. Too much confidence turns off students, not enough humility and you won’t be able to admit when you are wrong or don’t know something.

4. They have great communication skills both one-on-one and standing in front of a group.

5. When they run into a learning roadblock with a student they find a way around it.

6. They have situational awareness and can see what’s going on in the class and with individual students. They should be able to see that someone just isn’t getting it purely though body language and questions asked.

7. For adult learners they are able to develop lessons that meet the needs of

on d o n G a tw g Ko n g • L l in • H on n • D ub p e n h a ge

the learner.

8. They are able to control the class and discussion without being overbearing or dictatorial.

9. They are able to create a good learning environment.

10. Great instructors consider themselves to be students also. For them it is important to always be learning and keeping in touch with what’s happening in the real world.

So my encouragement to you is to consider what’s really important in your training program. Is it having the latest technological advances in training aids?

Or is it selecting good instructors and providing them with the tools they need to accomplish their jobs? If it’s the latter then we may need to change what we are looking for when we interview prospective instructors. cat About the Author Dave Chamberlin has been an A&P since 1975 and currently works as an engine Tech Rep for Rolls-Royce. In addition he has been a crew chief in the U.S.A.F. for the past 31 years and continues to serve with the 122nd Fighter Wing in Ft. Wayne, IN.

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CAT MAGAZINE • ISSUE 3/2010

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cabin crew training

Left Airlines have shown lots of ingenuity to get passengers attention throughout the pre-takeoff safety instructions.

Image credit: Wizz Air.

Safety and Service: Cabin Crew Training Priorities Saying the right words in the right manner is one of the most important skills a flight attendant must have. The safety onboard the aircraft can depend upon it. Guest author Terence Gerighty explains.

T

he professional training of cabin crew/flight attendants is dominated by the priority of safety at all costs, and the high standards of service and communication skills are inter-dependent on safety procedures. Proficiency in using English for cabin crew must reflect this strong priority. ICAO has established a testing and certification process for all pilots and air traffic controllers because of safety concerns in international travel.

Nothing less should be demanded of cabin crew.

The Hudson River incident – among many others – showed the real priorities for cabin crew training. The three flight attendants onboard had less than four minutes to seize the urgency, hold the attention of the passengers, dictate action, execute it, and ensure a safe evacuation as the plane landed on water.

Too often the public perception of ‘the best’ depends on the uniform, the 22

CAT MAGAZINE • ISSUE 3/2010

smile and the ready and friendly manners of flight attendants. In fact, they are there to ensure passenger safety and to care for the general wellbeing of all inside that pressurised metal tube travelling at 39,000 ft. That’s why Crew Resource Management (CRM) has become so important. It’s all about ensuring smoother communication between crews on board, improving the efficiency of care, sharpening leadership and decision-making under pressure and establishing crews as the safety professionals of the skies.

Standards Service standards of the highest quality are a must, but should never be at the expense of safety. They are clearly important, but passenger security should be uppermost in dictating a safety culture on all flights. Welcoming passengers on board, hitting the right note between insisting on regulations and helping people relax in an often

stressful environment calls for careful training to say the right word in the right way.

The topic of the size of hand baggage and storing it in the smallish overhead lockers (especially on short haul 737s) is a perfect example. Safety dictates that bags must be in the lockers or underneath the seat in front of the passenger. Both are often impossible and the flight attendant is in the middle, wanting to help but aware of the safety implications.

What the flight attendant says and how it is said can make the difference between aggression and resentment at these stressful moments in the boarding process. ‘Let me help you’, ‘Could you put it here’, ‘Let’s try putting it this way’ rather than ‘You can’t do that’ or ‘It’s far too big, we can’t accept it’.

It’s the same with the pre-takeoff safety instructions. This is the key announcement of the whole flight and airlines have shown lots of ingenuity to get passengers attention throughout what is a long list of safety guidelines. Sometimes it’s a video presentation, sometimes a straightforward PA announcement with flight attendants demonstrating exits, floor level lighting, life vests and masks, and sometimes it can even be a zany, rap-style show, anything to get the passengers’ attention. But we still have to ask – are passengers aware of the safety culture on board? Are they aware that all those nagging checks and controls and more checks again carried out by the cabin crew (fasten your seatbelt, tray table up please, armrest down, bags in the lockers, nothing on the floor and so on) are all in the interests of the safety of everyone?

Why don’t airlines make an announcement something like this to start with: “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is most important. Please listen carefully. Yes, stop talking or reading. (Pause) Thank you. We, the cabin crew, are here for your safety and all we tell you now is for that reason. We will certainly check and

double check things from time to time during the flight. Please understand, this is for your safety.”

This will help to create a culture of safety among the travelling public which seems to be lacking. How many know where the nearest exit is in case of an emergency? Do we really know how to put on a life vest? Do we even know where it is? And what about the oxygen mask? How many know how to release the flow of oxygen? In fact, how many read the all-important safety instructions card in the pocket in front of every passenger?

Communication Cabin crew training for safety is known as excellent, right down to sliding into cold water and swimming to dinghies to practise ditching. Flight attendants can even expect to be asked questions about safety features in pre-flight briefings and when they are seated, strapped, and waiting for take-off, landing or during turbulence, they are advised to ‘think safety’, what first actions to take in an emergency, etc. What is perhaps not so excellent are their skills in communicating to passengers the importance and urgency of safety features onboard, and the challenge for many is doing this in English.

Communicating on international flights where English is the dominant language (even though multi-lingual cabin crew is increasingly the norm) is also considered a must. Yet the language is codified, stereotyped, an amalgam of set phrases and expressions. Or is it?

What happens when there is a medical crisis, excessive turbulence, a violent obnoxious drunk, sudden decompression or lots of other minor events calling for the ability to simply say the right thing – always with the wellbeing and safety of everyone in mind. Everything that happens onboard impinges on safety.

Safety is the controlling factor at every level of training and if communicating in English is so important, it is because it is linked inextricably to safety factors relating to the general good.

‘You can’t do that’, ‘you have to’, ‘you must’, ‘not now’ are not intended to spoil life onboard, but fit into the overall perspective of ensuring safety.

But above all, it’s the ability of cabin crew to deliver those instructions and crisp commands spoken in safety related moments: • During turbulence: remain seated please, sorry, you’ll have to wait • With disruptive passengers: stop now, don’t shout, sit down and calm down, enough • During a serious medical incident: sit down please, make room, help me lie him down • During a decompression: pull down the oxygen mask, put it over your nose and mouth • In the last 10 minutes before normal landing: sorry, not now, wait till we land • In an emergency landing: stay in your seats, remain calm, get ready for Brace position, leave everything These are all potentially key safety moments when crew communication should be clear and unambiguous, when firm orders must be delivered without aggression with everyone’s safety in mind.

There are plenty more occasions where flight attendants need to use simple, clear English:

• Settling people in the flight: Is everything alright? Don’t worry, you’ll be fine • Dealing with passenger problems: Leave it with me, I’ll get one for you, I’ll see to it • Demonstrating: This is how it works, first you... then... is that OK? • Treating sickness: Are you feeling dizzy? Where’s the pain? Are you on mediation?

• Saying sorry: I do apologise, I’m afraid not, sorry about that, I’m really sorry • Handling complaints: I do understand, You’re quite right, What can I do to help?

• Serving meals: Here you are, Bon appétit, What would you like to drink?

It is doubtless true that cabin crew training is also concerned with teamwork skills and passenger behavioural patterns, but in the face to face world of passenger contact there is no area of such importance as saying the right word in the right manner – all within the general culture of safety onboard. This is the key to the cabin crew / passenger rapport which all airlines are seeking to establish. It guarantees good relations and ensures the correct climate and awareness of the importance of safety onboard. cat About the Author Terence Gerighty, author of ‘English for Cabin Crew’ (Cengage), co-author of ‘English for Aviation’ (OUP).

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English for Cabin Crew is a comprehensive course designed to: Improve fluency and pronunciation Build key vocabulary and expressions Develop listening skills Ideal for self-study or for one-to-one or group teaching.

For further information please contact elt.heinle@cengage.com or go to elt.heinle.com/cabincrew

http://elt.heinle.com

CAT MAGAZINE • ISSUE 3/2010

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Show REPORT

WATS 2010 – A New Training Era The 13th Annual World Aviation and Regional Airline Training Conference & Tradeshow delivered record attendance figures and a Keynote Address by FAA Administrator, Mr. Randy Babbitt.

Conference Chair and CAT Editor in Chief Chris Lehman, filed this report.

T

he WATS 2010 conference theme “Optimizing Training Technology and Technique in a New Era” was fitting for a year in which the industry has experienced unparalleled scrutiny from regulators, stakeholders and the public. With some 910 attendees from 48 countries, 93 airlines, and with 65 exhibiting companies, and heavier than ever regulatory participation, WATS again provided the largest international forum for the exchange of aviation training expertise.

In the Keynote, FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said “professionalism is what will drive us above and beyond” in the goal of achieving the highest possible level of safety. To achieve this goal – in an industry already demonstrating a very impressive safety record – Babbitt urged airlines to sponsor organizational cultures that foster such professionalism, through the establishment of Safety Management Systems (SMS). Rory Kay from ALPA followed, with a presentation Gold Sponsor:

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that included reference to ALPA’s Code of Ethics for professional pilots, stating that it is as relevant today as it has ever been.

Operational Safety All delegates then attended the joint operational safety session. Speakers included Captain Winston Scott, former naval aviator, astronaut and dean of the Florida Tech’s College of Aeronautics. Scott outlined safety training lessons from the space and military sector, including the importance of integrated academic/flight training and simulation, as well as scenario-based training and the importance of crews training and operating together. Captain John Bent followed with a detailed presentation outlining the high number of recent accidents involving apparent deficient crew training, and the need to embed measurement and TEM into all training thinking (See Captain Bent’s article in issue 1-2010). The session was rounded out by

Dr. Kathy Abbott and Captain John Cox who emphasized the need to get away from “blame” and look to leveraging human and organization performance to improve safety.

With the cabin and maintenance delegates now in their separate conference tracks, pilot delegates continued with a look at “New Training Paradigms.”

Mohamed Elamiri of ICAO overviewed his organization’s Next Generation Aviation Professional (NGAP) initiatives, pointing out the 20 year need for 350,000 pilots, and 450,000 maintenance and other aviation professionals. Lou Nemeth from CAE followed, emphasizing the benefits of competency-based training, contrasting this approach with the traditional prescriptive-based rules in the current US regulations. The competency theme was continued by Captain Matthias Kippenberg of LFT who stressed that the highest professionalism in training can be achieved with stringent candidate selection systems, together with the

right technical, procedural, and interpersonal skills. Anthony Petteford of Oxford suggested that the MPL delivers these skills and provided that airlines support this ICAO initiative, it will be the wave of the future.

The final pilot session of day 1 was “Dealing with Today’s Training Issues” and was kicked off by Janeen Kochran of ARTS Inc., who called for more personal responsibility on the part of flight crews, as opposed to more training regulation.

Captain Cor Blokzijl of Mandala Airlines followed, and advocated the greater use of training scenarios of events that have occurred in the real world, which will lead to better situational awareness.

Captain Blokzijl recently wrote a feature article on the subject (see issue 5-2009).

Wrapping up the session was Scott Nutter from Delta Air Lines who described how Delta’s flight crew training curricula was integrated with Northwest’s after the two airlines merged, creating the world’s largest pilot training program.

In the first session of day 2 “Air Carrier Training Insights”, Robert Barnes opened with the case for “identifying global pilot training Best Practices,” and the need for the industry to have a repository of these practices easy accessible (see page 28 this issue). Captain Roman Hurych of Czech Airlines then discussed the implications of unreliable speed indication and urged delegates to develop a training session on the subject given recent history. Dr. Nihad Daidzic from MSU then outlined his research on Adverse Elevator Effect in Landing Flare, providing some insights on how to improve landing touchdown control.

The second session of the day continued with the “Training Insights” theme, with Captain Cox returning to discuss the unsettling issues surrounding LOC-I, pointing out that this is now the largest cause of accidents – greater than CFIT – and urging comprehensive upset recovery training. Captain Tim Leonard from Southwest then outlined the great efficiencies his airline has realized by its embrace of NextGen through the adoption of RNP, making Southwest the US’s largest RNP full-up airline – all in just three years. The final presentation was jointly delivered by Captain Christof

Above and left FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt delivered a keynote address before visiting the exhibition hall.

All images: David Malley/Halldale Media.

Kemeny of Lufthansa City Line and Captain Mark Maskiell of JetBlue, who outlined the success both carriers have realized with the dual Heads-Up Guidance System (HGS) on their Embraer 190 fleet.

RATS Pilot Moderated by Captain Drew Bedson of Compass and Terry Hibler of FlightSafety, the dedicated regional airline pilot track opened with John O’Brien of Delta Connection describing the importance of competency-based skills in pilot training, and stating that there is no evidence that a specific number of flight hours delivers specific skills. Captain Darren Greubel

of ASA agreed, and remarked that while his airline supports most of the new HR 3371 legislation, they struggle with the 1500 (or 800) hour and ATP requirement as there is no evidence to support it one way or another. Captain Jim Nides continued by pointing out that such rules would inhibit the supply of new regional airline pilots due to the much greater training costs.

The second RATS session saw Captain Larry Neal of Comair describe his airline’s AQP program and asked how the recent FAA N&O rewrite would impact Part 121 training, given HR 3371.

Neal also said that Comair is improving stall training, and adverse weather training. Stall training was picked up by the second presenter, Captain Paul Kolisch of Mesaba. Kolisch said Mesaba’s new stall recognition/recovery training was focused on angle of attack, and asked that FAAs PTS for stall training be changed to advance such improved training. The final speakers were Captains Marcus Smith and David Moxham of Skywest who described their airline’s TEM recurrent training course.

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Show Report

Left WATS 2010 offered delegates the opportunity to attend four different conference tracks and also the chance to network in the exhibtion hall as well as on the golf course.

All images: David Malley/Halldale Media.

Two excellent RATS breakout sessions were led by Scott Foose of the Regional Airline Association (RAA), beginning with John Duncan of the FAA providing an overview of several training concerns of the Agency, including pending rulemaking, mentoring and professionalism. Beth Lyall of Integrated Solutions overviewed aviation Human Factors while Darrin Smith of Delta discussed TEM. Robert Tapaszi of Compass outlined his airline’s captain leadership course.

These presentations were immediately followed by the RAA Training Committee representatives Greg Wooley of ExpressJet and Robin Wall of Skywest, who stimulated discussion in many current regional airline issues, including professionalism, HF, leadership and mentoring.

nology.” German Rangel from Boeing Training then described the high level of simulation used to train mechanics for the new 787 aircraft, including training for the aircraft`s electronic performance support systems used both at the gate and in the hangar.

The final dedicated maintenance session was a breakout led by the ATA’s Maintenance Training Committee with representation from Jay Pointek of Delta, Rhonda Cooper of Sikorsky, Dennis Pelletier of Southwest, and Hans-Joerg Loetter, who represented the European Airline Training Managers group.

Maintenance Track The maintenance track offered an excellent blend of speakers from airlines, manufacturers and government.

Moderator Dr. Bill Johnson of the FAA began by introducing colleague Bruce Corsino from the FAA Plain Language Program, who emphasized the importance of plain language communications. This was followed by Dan Cheney who showcased a DoT award-winning web-based program called “Learning from Accidents.”

The next session began with another FAA initiative, this time on how to address fatigue training in the maintenance workplace (see CAT 2-10 for a feature article). Katrina Avers discussed how prevalent fatigue is across the industry and what can be done to mitigate it.

This was followed by Chris Bisgard from Delta, who discussed the challenges of merging Delta and Northwest`s maintenance training and qualification record databases, using a powerful Learning Management System (LMS).

The next session was a series of manufacturer’s presentations which Johnson characterized as a “graduate level college course in applied training design principles and practices.” First up was Laurent Dussillols of Snecma, who described the role of specifications in the development of maintenance training courses. Aaron Fisher from Pratt & Whitney Customer training then gave a Bronze Sponsors:

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Cabin Track

primer on the whole range of elements that need to be considered in the Overall Learning Experience – from the need to engage the student with interactivity, to the importance of ISD and the role of technology in training. The session was rounded out by Frank Johnson of Airbus who discussed Competence-based Type Training, focusing delegates on the role of competence assessment and learner style.

The last formal maintenance session looked at simulation training, beginning with CAE’s Michele Asmar who discussed the role of virtual technologies in the training of “Millenial Learners.” That theme was continued by Tim Ropp of Purdue with his intriguing presentation “Connecting with the Millennial Generation through X-Box Research and Tech-

Moderated by flight attendant Jeanne Kenkel and Captain (ret) Al LaVoy, the cabin track has been a critical part of WATS for the past 8 years, but 2010 marked a milestone as the conference track was jointly developed with the Southern Californian Safety Institute (SCSI), resulting in an all-encompassing experience for delegates. SCSI staff led by Sharon Morphew conducted several sessions including dedicated breakouts.

The track was kicked off by Captains Dietrich Langhoff and Phillip Heinbockel of Condor who described the “Lessons Learned” from a successful on-ground Cabin Breakouts: • Mastering Seamless Communication – Judy Ravin, ARI • SIG Meeting – Carlos Dias, TAP • Flying Empty the Cabin Crunch – Ivan Noel • Blood Borne Pathogens – Sharon Morphew, SCSI • Global Harmonisation – Pascal LaChance, Transport Canada • Fatigue Countermeasures Training – Erica Hauck, Dr. Katrina Avers & Dr. Tom Nesthus, FAA Supported by:

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passenger evac after smoke was noticed in the cabin at 35,000 feet. This was followed by Ivan Noel of Inflight Innovations who described the latest thinking on the subject of unruly passenger training. This first dedicated cabin session was rounded out by Vicki Jurgens and Sandra Ingram of United, who discussed how to maintain open CRM communications with the flight crew even though the cockpit door is solidly closed in today`s security environment.

The second session zeroed in on operational safety. Captain John Gadzinski of the Spectrum Group took a look at accidents and probabilities as part of his “Managing Risk” presentation, followed

by Larry Parrigin from Southwest Midway with an excellent Lessons Learned presentation concerning a B737 landing overrun and evacuation. And with SMS and AQP becoming more prevalent in the cabin, it was appropriate to hear from John Ross of the Spectrum Group who told delegates how to meet their SMS goals through appropriate risk management and AQP. The safety theme continued in the next session with a presentation from Dr. Robert Matthews of the FAA’s Office of Accident Investigation on the importance of good standard operating procedures. Preparing Instructors for the transition to cabin AQP was the subject of a joint presentation by Chris Hallman of Great Circle Consulting and Greg Hegarty of UAL. Carlos Dias of TAP then discussed the Special Interest Group (SIG), a website and forum for exchang-

ing cabin safety information (www.cabinfiles.com).

The third session zeroed in on the realities of security in today`s cabin. Lori Brown from WMU presented the results of a global study of pilot-flight attendant communications, while Jerry van den Berg of BeSecure Nederland looked at changing industry security guidelines.

WATS veteran Jeanne Elliott of NWA and AFA closed the session with a hardhitting look at the new reality of security today.

Health issues were next on the agenda. Dr. Paulo Alves of Medaire explored CPR and AED training, followed by the FAA’s Dr. Thomas Nesthus with his in-depth look at fatigue. Anna Karlsson of Novair closed the session by discussing the challenges of effective training in a small company. This was followed by the last formal cabin session which was extremely topical - Candace Kolander of the AFA briefed delegates on the evac issues surrounding the “Miracle on the Hudson” while Philip Baum discussed the training implications of the Christmas day 2009 incident.

Pilot Breakouts: • RAA Training Committee – Scott Foose, RAA • FAA National Simulator Program – Harlan Sparrow, FAA NSP • Upset Recovery Training – Sunjoo Advani • ATC Simulation – Marsha Bell, Adacel

All WATS 2010 presentations can be found on the “Proceedings” section of the Halldale website, please visit www.halldale.com/wats. WATS 2011 will take place from April 19-21, 2011 at the Rosen Shingle Creek, where we will once again advance the art and science of aviation simulation and training. cat

Training Technology Update: Two WATS Combined Stream technology sessions were conducted on day 3 of the conference and included: • Graeme Ogilvie, Alsim “How are Advances in Technology Helping in Initial Pilot Training” • David White, Thales “B787 Training Technology” • Kip Caudrey, Boeing Training “Are we Getting Maximum Training Value using Currently Available Simulation Technology” Captain Herbert Schwarz, Chairman of the Aviation Industries Computer-Based Training Committee (AICC), led a session on “e-learning for Air Carriers.” Presentations included: • Brad Cooper, Plateau Systems “ROI in Training – Finding the Right Approach and Strategies for Making the LMS Case in Today`s Cost-Cutting Environment.”

• John Alonso, Outstart “The Flying Classroom – Mobile Learning for the Mobile Workforce: Can we Afford Not to Do It?”

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Training Best Practice

Pilot Training: The Case For Global Best Practices Should there be an independent organization to identify, recognize, and communicate global best practices. Robert Barnes investigates.

A

re today’s airline pilots who are trained to minimum standards up to the task?

This question was asked in AVWeb last December, and again at the recent WATS 2010 conference.

Colgan Air Flight 3407 raised this question and now our industry is experiencing a flurry of regulatory activity in response. Do we really need more regulation or simply better training? And, what is the role of industry best practices in this process?

This conversation involves the concept of competency-based training, the identification of universally accepted best practices, and a renewed spirit of professionalism. It includes some recent comments from an ICAO aviation professionals’ symposium and from a very active aviation blog about how professional pilot training is evolving to meet industry needs.

The common thread is that no matter what one flies, he or she must continuously strive to be the best pilot possible 28

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– a true aviation professional. The path to that level of professionalism starts with the identification of pilot training best practices.

Above How can professional pilot training evolve to meet industry needs?

Image credit: Air France/Ph Delafosse.

Discussion Following the presentation at WATS 2010, there was considerable discussion about how to identify and manage such “universally accepted best practices.” This led to the formation of a group of highly motivated stakeholders that has already started working to identify global pilot training best practices and find ways to make them easily available to all aviation training professionals.

The first question the group faced was: “Is there a need for some type of international organization that would provide a forum such that all flight training professionals could participate in the identification, recognition, and communication of global pilot training best practices?”

In attempting to answer this ques-

tion, it was discovered that there are already more than 25 aviation organizations worldwide that use the term “best practices” when describing their individual training initiatives. However, it also seems that there is no consistent definition for the use of this term.

One group member suggested that the phrase “best practices” implies a collection of standards, procedures, and techniques that are used by pilot training organizations to achieve specific outcomes. But another countered that a “best practice” is not a standard since a standard is the desired proficiency – that a “best practice” should be considered the best way to achieve a specific standard.

Of course, including the word “best” implies that there is some form

of evaluation and rating system for pilot training practices. However, no such process currently exists; therefore, every organization today uses its collective experience to determine its own “best way” to achieve the desired proficiency. In reality, what we call a “best practice” is really only a local organizational practice.

While today’s “best practices” may be defined within the scope of a local organization, the term is still used globally, even in the absence of a neutral base for reference and evaluation. The implications of this are significant unless a specific training practice is known to be widely used and is documented to be effective, it really should not be described as a “best practice.”

It is simply a training practice or technique, nothing more.

Pilot Competency A world-wide conversation has been taking place in the aviation community on whether hours-based training to minimum standards is providing the quality of pilot training we need. The concepts of competency-based training, including the substitution of simulator hours for some airplane hours and broader use of scenario-based training, are being considered as ways to improve pilot training, not just for airline pilots but for all pilots from the very beginning of their training. Several initiatives in this regard are already well underway.

For example, according to ICAO, “By the end of 2011, the Next Generation of Aviation Professionals Taskforce will complete the development of competencies for most of the Annex 1 (Personnel Licensing) functions including: airline transport pilots (ATPLs), air traffic controllers, and maintenance.”

And, speaking at the ICAO Next Generation of Aviation Professionals (NGAP) Symposium earlier this year, Captain Gary Morrison of CAE described his perspective on competency-based training: “Competency-based training is a means of training that places emphasis on achieving benchmarked standards of performance; more precisely, training that focuses on what a person will actually be required to do in the workplace after completing a program of training.”

He added that a well-designed com-

petency-based program has five active components: 1. Apply the principles of the Instructional Systems Design process to benchmark competencies and training outcomes; 2. Use advanced technology; 3. Apply industry best practices and lessons-learned; 4. Introduce effective safety and SMS systems; and 5. Provide effective quality assurance.

The third item in Captain Morrison’s list shows why it is important to identify global pilot training best practices: A key element in training to competency is the application of universally accepted industry best practices.

It quickly became obvious to all involved in discussions at WATS 2010 that there is definitely a need for some type of international forum that would make it possible for all flight training professionals to participate in the identification, recognition, and communication of global pilot training best practices. But what form should it take and how could it actually collect and manage such data?

One suggestion was that it be a not-for-profit association of pilot training professionals from around the world with a common love for the industry and no particular financial interest in the outcome. And, its focus should not be on establishing standards, creating a certification body, or attempting to influence regulators. Instead, its goal should be to provide a credible, independent, international clearing house for pilot training best practices.

Some might feel this to be an impossible task; yet, with the power of today’s Internet, such tasks are being accomplished everyday using wikibased systems – even in the aviation industry!

SKYbrary, for example, is an electronic repository of safety data related to ATM and aviation safety in general. Anyone can comment, propose modification to an existing article, suggest a new topic or submit a draft article. There is, however, an important difference that distinguishes SKYbrary from other Internet wikies - a robust content management and control process ensures the needed quality, reliability and consistency of its stored data.

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Training Best Practice

Perhaps a similar wiki could be developed to collect and share pilot training best practices. If so, its features might include: • A web-based front-end so that anyone could enter and justify a personal “best practice”; • The opportunity for selected users to rate and comment upon these “personal best practices” which could lead to broadly accepted “best practices”; • Sufficient flexibility to allow “best practices” to be categorized by a wide variety of parameters; • Designed to allow even the main categories to be modified as necessary over time to avoid being trapped by changing conventions; and • Users could access these “best practices” for use in their real-life flight training environments.

Would such a library be useful to our global pilot training community?

Consider, for a moment, how the availability of such information might aid the individual flight instructor, the small flight school, the large ab initio school, the college or university involved with flight training, the airline training

Above SKYbrary is an electronic repository of safety data related to ATM and aviation safety.

Image credit: SKYbrary.

One topic currently open for discussion is “What does the term ‘pilot training best practices’ mean to you?” Other discussions will include: • What do you think might be the specific benefits of a pilot training best practices library?

• How should pilot training best practices in such a library be organized and prioritized?

• How should an international pilot training best practices forum be organized and financed?

Moving Forward

If you are a pilot training professional and would like to actively participate in a global initiative dedicated to ensuring pilot competency and professionalism, you can join the International Best Practices Discussion Group by sending a message to RBarnesAZ@att.net. cat

The small group of pilot training professionals that gathered at WATS 2010 to discuss the possibility of collecting pilot training best practices has already formed a steering committee and opened an International Best Practices Discussion Group to encourage wide-ranging comment about various topics relating to the development of such a global resource.

About the Author Robert Barnes is an aviation safety and training specialist from Scottsdale, Arizona (USA). He was the moderator of the International VLJ Training Stakeholders’ Discussion Group from 2006 to 2009 and is involved extensively in issues addressing the human-machine interface.

department, industry and even regulators.

organizations,

Low-cost and Systematic Approaches to Training Training & Simulation Seminar

Tuesday 12th October 2010 Westminster Conference Centre 1 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0ET, UK

Who should attend: those responsible for training and the purchase of training solutions for rail, road, maritime, medical, industrial, defence, civil aviation, security and emergency response. Suppliers of training devices and courses.

Speaking: we would like to hear from potential presenters, especially if they have practical experience of using low-cost training products and solutions, or a broad experience in systematic training solutions.

Email an abstract, bio and full contact details to Richard Curtis: rcurtis@andrich.com.

Sponsoring: to promote your products and services with a table-top exhibit or sponsoring a seminar related activity, contact Jeremy Humphreys: email jeremy@halldale.com or call +44 (0)1252 532009.

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Show PREVIEW

Left The 2009 event in Hong Kong attracted more than 300 attendees.

Image credit: David Malley/Halldale Media.

Organised by:

APATS 2010 Asia Pacific Airline Training Symposium 2010 will take the stage on 14th & 15th September at the Shangri La hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

T

he programme is a rich one, which addresses a broad range of significant pilot training issues, and draws not only on experts from the region, but also from the wider pool of global competence.

Naturally the adoption of New Technology will feature strongly, with presentations from both established players and new entrants. We will also hear from regulators on how their teams should be trained to be able to play their critical part in the training processes.

A major challenge is how to recruit good calibre people into the industry, and, once there, how to work best with them in a world which mixes a great breadth of cultures. Not least of the cultures to be recognised and accepted is that of the new generation of pilots,

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who have a refreshingly different way of thinking about training and operating – do we mould them to the existing system, or should the traditional methods adapt to their capabilities and expectations?

We will hear directly from newlyqualified operational pilots as to how we might plan training patterns for the near future, and other experts will suggest how we make the best use of automation without losing basic flying skills.

How important will environmental concerns be, and is there a situation where recognising these can be an opportunity rather than a threat?

IATA is well into the rollout of the ITQI programme, and with it now being implemented by major airlines in the region, they will give their views on the implementation and benefits of this initiative.

Another programme which is now well established is the training and testing for Aviation Language as defined by ICAO. Now that experience in delivering the appropriate training and testing has been built up, we explore whether or not those tests are being applied in a standardised form. Although the goals in performance are clear, is there a gap between the theory of how to test and its application?

Finally, in a review of another ICAO – derived programme, we will track developments in MPL. Where is it being applied in Asia– and as graduates of this methodology come on line - is it an effective model and does it answer the needs within the region?

With well over half of the speakers coming from the region, partnered with global expertise and moderated by local experts, APATS will continue to be the leading forum in addressing the specific pilot training needs of the region within a global context.

Don’t miss this year’s edition of the most important regional conference on Pilot Training – APATS 2010. To register online visit www.halldale.com/apats cat

APATS Exhibition In addition to the conference, delegates will be able to view the latest training solutions available in the accompanying exhibit hall.

The floor plan is filling up fast with only a handful of booths remaining. If you are interested in exhibiting or sponsoring at this year’s event, please contact (RoW) Jeremy Humphreys, email: jeremy@halldale.com, or telephone: +44 (0)1252 532009 or (the Americas) Zenia Bharucha, email: zenia@halldale. com or call: 407 322-5605.

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world news & analysis

Seen&Heard Compiled and edited by the CAT editorial team.

For daily breaking S&T news - go to www.halldale.com.

WATS 2010 News FAA Administrator Kicks Off WATS 2010 – The 13th annual World Aviation Training Conference and Tradeshow kicked off to a rousing start Tuesday, April 27 when keynote speaker FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt told conference attendees that “professionalism is what will drive us above and beyond” in the goal to achieve a higher level of aviation safety. To help achieve this goal, Babbitt urged airlines to sponsor organizational cultures that foster such professionalism through the establishment of safety management systems (SMS) within their own management structures.

New Aeroservice-FIT Student Training Partnership – Aeroservice and the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) announced a joint new student training program at WATS. The Miamibased training provider and FIT shared a joint exhibit area at the show to illustrate their partnership.

According to Frank Visconti, Aeroservice Chief Executive Officer, FIT will provide approximately 200 hours of initial training at its campus in Melbourne. Once students complete this training segment, they will then travel to Aeroservice for full flight simulator training at Aeroservice. This training will be conducted in the company’s recently purchased and certified Boeing 737 NG FFS. “This program is a new and very creative means of providing ab initiolevel training at the FIT Part 141 school and integrating it with our Part 142 32

CAT MAGAZINE • ISSUE 3/2010

capabilities,” Visconti said. “This gives a new pilot the ability to learn the basics for the ab initio level and becoming a type-rated heavy jet operator within a 250-hour program.”

New Air Campus Training Center – In a ceremony at WATS, Air Campus announced its plan to open its Air Campus Simuflite Center international aviation training facility at the LyonSaint Exupery airport in Lyon, France in April 2011.

The new Center will offer three latest-generation full flight simulators when the facility opens. They include an Airbus A320NG Level D FFS; a Boeing 737NG Level D FFS; and a FNPT II Boeing 737NG Level D FFS provided by Air Campus partner Sim Industries. The Center will also be unique in that Air Campus will also feature not only the Air Campus Academy but a Medical Air

Above Air Campus and it’s partner Sim Industries celebrate at WATS 2010.

Image Credit: David Malley/Halldale Media.

Check Center as well, along with an Air Campus Inn to provide accommodations for future trainees.

According to Air Campus Chairman Captain Laurent Japhet at the ceremony, the intent of the Center is to provide a high level of training for students throughout the world. This will be possible because of the connections at the Lyon-Saint Exupery airport to more than 140 cities throughout Europe and the rest of the world, he pointed out.

New SimJET A320 Procedures Trainer – SimJET Training Systems unveiled a new fixed-base Airbus A320 tactile procedures trainer at WATS. According to SimJET Managing Direc-

tor Nicholas Kranenburg, the low-cost simulator was developed to address the training gap between classroomdelivered computer-based training (CBT) while providing an affordable system for flight schools.

As opposed to flat panel procedures trainers, all controls, knobs, switches, buttons and keyboards on the new trainer replicate the exact look, feel and operation as on the aircraft, Kranenburg pointed out. The fully tactile feature will aid training because research has shown that students have better cognitive recall when training with devices that feature such realistic tactile design, he explained.

The new A320 procedures trainer will also be exhibited at the Asia Pacific Airline Training Symposium (APATS), which will be held September 14-15 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and at this year’s European Airline Training Symposium (EATS) November 9-10. At those shows, the trainer will feature full-motion cockpit seats and a high-resolution Christie visual system, Kranenburg said.

Rockwell Collins 737 NG Sim Delivery – At WATS, Rockwell Collins announced that it has delivered an advanced Edge™ 737 NG full flight simulator (FFS) to the Pan Am International Flight Academy’s North American training center in Miami. This marks the US debut of this new simulator system.

The Edge 737 NG FFS, introduced by Rockwell Collins in 2009, is expected to achieve Level D certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) this May. “We developed our Edge full flight simulator from a clean-sheet design and have been getting outstanding feedback on its capabilities, ease of use and flexibility in creating tailored programs for the end user,” said Ken Schreder, vice president and general manager of Simulation and Training Solutions for Rockwell Collins. “The delivery to Pan Am is especially important to us as we look to introduce more training centers and pilots to the advanced capabilities of this system.”

FFS News Thales’ RealitySeven A320 FFS Achieves RFT – The first Thales UK Reality Seven A320 full flight simulator (FFS) has achieved Ready for Training (RFT) with launch customer Airbus

Industries in its Toulouse Training Centre. This is the first Reality Seven simulator to reach RFT. Launched last year, the new Reality Seven FFS series is based on a modular design, with a common core element (a docking station that incorporates a proven electric motion system) independent of the aircraft type.

Different aircraft modules can effectively be ‘swapped’ out, as a customer’s fleet or training business needs change, without the entire simulator needing to be replaced and without the need for further investment.

Reality Seven uses key technologies including Digital Electrical Control Loading and Electric Motion Systems to drive down operational costs through greatly reduced power consumption whilst continuing to deliver increased reliability and availability above 99 percent. The design also encompasses the latest environmental directives and manufacturing processes to reduce carbon footprint.

CAE FFS Sales – CAE in April sold three full flight simulators (FFSs) valued at a total list price of approximately C$50 million. They include an Airbus A330/A340 convertible to FFS sold to Saudi Arabian Airlines; a Bombardier Challenger 605 FFS sold to Bombardier and a Dassault Falcon 900EX/2000EX FFS sold to Emirates-CAE Flight Training (ECFT). The sale to Saudi Arabian Airlines was concluded during fiscal year 2010 and brings the total FFS sales for fiscal year 2010 to 20. The sales to Bombardier and to ECFT are CAE’s first two for fiscal year 2011.

Flight School News Saudi Aviation Flight Academy To Take Wing – With a groundbreaking ceremony on April 22, Saudi Arabia began construction on its own flight academy. Located at the Thumamah Airport near Riyadh, the Saudi Aviation Flight Academy (SAFA) is being developed in cooperation with Saudi Aviation Club and the Saudi Binladin Group. The Academy is placed to fuel the growth of aviation in the Kingdom by providing a world-class center of excellence for pilot training.

The Academy is to have the capability of training up to 200 cadets within five years. In anticipation of the large interest in pilot training from young

Saudis, SAFA already has access to the land required to increase the facilities in order to double the annual trainee throughput. The Academy, which will occupy 50,000 square meters of built-up area, will run parallel programs that will train candidates wishing to become professional pilots as well as recreational pilots. The SAFA Professional Pilot Program will utilize an approved curriculum to deliver training from zero-time to a commercial pilot certificate with a multiengine class rating AeroElite Training Services Type Rating Certification – AeroElite Training Services has secured FAA Part 142 certification for their cutting-edge A320 courses. The cornerstone program is the A320 Initial Type Rating built around Aerosim’s Virtual Flight Deck™ distance learning program and on-site use of the Virtual Procedures Trainer™. Other approved programs include Recurrent Training and a High Altitude Endorsement program.

Stephanie Raley, training center manager, noted, “Going through the FAA approval process in today’s environment of increased attention to the quality and depth of pilot training programs has been a rewarding experience. We are confident that we have built a training program that rivals any A320 training program on the market today.” With FAA certification complete students will begin training next week.

New Flight 1 and ELITE Ab Initio VFR Trainer – ELITE Simulation Solutions and Flight 1 Aviation Technologies have just introduced the ELITE RC-1V (Victor) a powerful new VFR ab initio flight training device. The RC-1V is designed specifically to meet the needs of middle and high school technical/ magnate programs, Civil Air Patrol organizations and ab initio flight schools and training academies.

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CPL, IFR, Multi, ATPL ground school material. presentations, animations, practice questions.  Customizable to any flight school or cadet program requirements.  For use with a classroom ground school or standalone online ground school.  Videos,

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world news & analysis

The Microsoft ESP-based RC-1 Victor couples Flight1’s high-fidelity aero model, a high-resolution instrument panel on a 22-inch-wide screen LCD, an intuitive “touch screen” instructor/operator station and the signature Microsoft rich visual scenery with a fully enclosed cabin, world class ELITE avionics and flight controls and three high-definition 52-inch LCD displays to immerse students completely in the world of VFR flight.

To provide greater flexibility for users and expand the product’s application to commercial markets, the RC-1 Victor is also available with an IFR FAA certified RC-1 Advanced Aviation Training Device add-on package.

European Flight Training Academy Flight Training – CPaT recently sold a number of computer-based-training (CBT) solutions to the European Flight Training Academy (EFTA), based in Bromma, Sweden. EFTA selected CPaT’s suite of aircraft type-rated courses to help satisfy pilot training curriculum requirements for their training academy.

CPaTs Learning Management System (LMS) is also included.

“These CBT solutions will become an important part of our training footprint” said Kjell Nygren, Head of Training at European Flight Training Academy.

“It will make time in the simulators that much more effective.”

“The MX Advantage maintenance training program developed by Cessna and FlightSafety’s investment in this new Center and training equipment, reflects our common commitment to enhancing safety and to provide our mutual customers with the best, most comprehensive training available and the value they deserve,” said Bruce Whitman, President & CEO.

Helicopter Training Night Vision Goggle Training – FlightSafety International’s American Eurocopter AS 350 B2 flight training device has been certified for Night Vision Goggle training. The FAA Level 7-qualified flight training device is located at FlightSafety’s Learning Center in Tucson, Arizona. The device is equipped with FlightSafety’s VITAL X visual system that provides 220 degree by 100 degree – 60 degrees down and 40 degrees up – wrap around visual capability. It also offers detailed, textureenhanced scenes and realistic presentation of both routine and critical weather conditions.

S92 helicopter FFS Dual Certification – Frasca and Bristow Helicopters received dual qualification for their Frasca-built S92 full flight simulator (FFS). The S92 FFS is the first certified helicopter device under JAA with both Level B FFS and Level III FTD approval.

Maintenance Training New FlightSafety Maintenance Training Center – FlightSafety International will build a Training Center in Wichita, Kansas to support the new MX Advantage maintenance training program developed in conjunction with Cessna. FlightSafety’s new 65,000 square foot Maintenance Training Center will be located adjacent to Cessna. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2010 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2011.

The Center will feature advanced technology equipped classrooms, handson aircraft component training areas, including a hangar that can accommodate up to four Cessna aircraft, and comfortable and convenient Customer service areas. A ramp leading from the runway to the new Center will provide direct access to aircraft for training purposes.

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CAT MAGAZINE • ISSUE 3/2010

Commercial Aircraft Sales April 8 2010 to June 8 2010 Aircraft type Number Operator/Buyer

A320 A320 A320 A350-900 A380

7 5 20 5 32

Cebu Pacific South African Airways TAM Airlines TAM Airlines Emirates

B737-800 1 Luxair B737-800 2 RwandAir B777-300ER 4 (2PR) TAAG Angola Airlines ERJ 135 EMB 190 EMB 195

2 20 4

Flymex Austral Lineas Aereas lot Polish Airlines

Q400 10 (5 opt) ANA Q400 35 (15 opt) Jazz Air CRJ 900 9 (6 opt) Pluna Uruguay

The S92 FFS is being used at the Bristow Academy in Aberdeen to support training requirement for Bristow’s global fleet of S92 aircraft. A second FFS for the EC225 helicopter will be delivered in mid 2010 and will also be dual certified to the same level. Both units feature 6 axis electric motion base, TruVision Global visual system with custom databases and wrap around display system.

Florida Tech and Bristow Helicopter University Aviation Education – Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla., and Bristow Academy Inc., in Titusville, Fla., entered a strategic partnership to offer a combined program of university aviation education and helicopter flight training beginning Fall Semester 2010.

The program will offer a four-year university degree and specialized helicopter-pilot ratings as a Commercial and Instrument helicopter pilot. The schools anticipate the program will be attractive to eligible military veterans under the new Post- 9/11 GI Bill, which provides benefits to fully fund this combined program.

Business Aircraft Training FlightSafety Dassault Falcon 7X Training – FlightSafety International will offer training for the Dassault Falcon 7X aircraft at the company’s Dallas/Fort Worth Learning Center, beginning in January 2011. Training will be available for pilots, maintenance technicians, flight attendants and other aviation professionals who operate and support the Falcon 7X. The new Falcon 7X aircraft simulator will be qualified to Level D and approved for training by the United States Federal Aviation Administration, Transport Canada, Joint Aviation Authorities Training Organization, European Aviation Safety Agency and the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

The simulator will offer Enhanced Flight Visual System, Heads Up Guidance System, Emergency Vision Assurance System and Electronic Flight Bag. It will be compatible with the Phase II avionics software upgrades and feature FlightSafety’s electric motion and control loading technology and new VITAL X visual system.

Hangar8 CAE Pilot Training – CAE signed a contract with corporate jet company Hangar8 to provide pilot training services on eight types of aircraft: Hawker Beechcraft, Bombardier Challenger, Cessna Citation, Dassault Falcon and Embraer. The Hawker training will be conducted at Emirates-CAE Flight Training (ECFT) in Dubai, UAE; training on other aircraft types will occur at Burgess Hill, UK near London; and CAE SimuFlite in Dallas, Texas.

Gama Aviation Learjet Training – CAE has entered into a long-term agreement with Gama Aviation for pilot training services, including e-learning, on four Bombardier aircraft types Learjet 45, Learjet 60, Learjet 60XR, and Global Express. The training will be conducted at CAE’s aviation training centre in Burgess Hill, UK. Gama Aviation pilots and technicians are the first to train on the new Learjet 40/40R/45/45XR full flight simulator recently qualified at CAE Burgess Hill. Gama Group is a leader in aircraft charter, aircraft services, maintenance and modification and aircraft leasing and management with 75 aircraft at bases in Europe, the Middle East and North America. They have been selected the past two years for the best operator Excellence Award from the Baltic Air Charter Association.

Academic News FIT FAA Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative Program – Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) is among five new colleges to join in the Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI) program. Florida Tech is the only school added from Florida. This is the third year the FAA has added schools to the program, bringing the number of participating institutions to 36. The AT-CTI program was first established in 1990 at Minneapolis Community and Technical College.

The program helps recruit candidates for terminal and en route air traffic controller positions.

“We are very pleased to gain this opportunity for our aviation students who are interested in careers as air traffic controllers,” said Dean of Florida Tech’s College of Aeronautics and former astronaut Winston Scott.

F.I.T. Aviation FAA Honors – Two Melbourne, Fl-based F.I.T. Aviation staff members have recently received recognition for their work in the form of FAA awards. Michael Grant, assistant chief flight instructor with F.I.T. Aviation LLC, was named by the FAA Southern Region and the North Florida Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) as the 2010 Certified Flight Instructor of the Year General Aviation Award recipient.

At the university for more than 10 years and with F.I.T. Aviation for six years, Grant earned a Florida Institute of Technology bachelor’s degree in aviation management in 2004. He will complete requirements for a master’s degree in Airport Development and Management in December 2010. He also holds the title F.I.T. Aviation retail and international program manager.

Additionally, Felix Fernandez of F.I.T. Aviation was cited as the top aviation maintenance technician in Area 2 at the Regional General Aviation Industry Awards.

CPaT Training Programs to Southern Illinois University – CPaT donated its MD80, B777 and B737-200 flight training programs to Southern Illinois University based in Carbondale, Illinois.

“We are thrilled with this generous donation from CPaT” said Keven Mitchell, Assistant Professor in the Department of Aviation Technologies. “These courses will be of tremendous value to our students studying our undergraduate aviation programs.”

ATC Training Adacel MaxSim ATC simulators to Ukraine – Adacel won a contract from the Ukrainian State Air Traffic Service Enterprise (UkSATSE) for a network of Air Traffic Control (ATC) simulators to be installed at locations throughout Ukraine.

Adacel will supply one full-sized 360-degree MaxSim control tower simulator, nine smaller footprint MaxSim tower simulators and nine detailed airport visual databases. The ATC simulators will be installed at the UkSATSE Training and Certification Center in Kyiv for ATC training and at seven Ukraine airports for operational unit training.

Manuals FORMATTING TEMPLATES ATOS CONFORMITY FILE CONVERSIONS RING MECHANICS CUSTOMIZED BINDERS AND TABS REVISION TRACKING JETSTREAM REVISIONS SPECIAL PROJECTS ASSEMBLY DISTRIBUTION PRINTING STYLE GUIDES

Graphics COCKPIT POSTERS DIGITIAL FILES FOR INDIVIDUAL USE PROFILES EMERGENCY DIAGRAMS SCHEM SCHEMATICS INFLIGHT TRAINING TRAINING DEVICES SPECIAL PROJECTS

www.jetpubs.com · 715.220.4232 CAT MAGAZINE • ISSUE 3/2010

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world news & analysis

European Flight Training First MPL Student in UK Airspace – Oliver Storry has taken to the skies in an Oxford Aviation Academy Socata TB20 as the first MPL student to go solo in UK airspace. A pioneering course of six MPL students began in September 2009 with Oxford Aviation Academy in partnership with UK airline flybe, leading towards employment as a First Officer on the Q400 turboprop aircraft.

These students have completed their ATPL theoretical knowledge examinations and are working on their 90 hours of core skills flight training at Oxford Airport. They will complete an additional 150 hours of flight training during three more phases of MPL training in simulators conducted purely in a multi-pilot training environment.

New PC-12 NG Simulator in Europe – SimComTraining Centers and Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. have teamed up to introduce simulator-based PC-12 NG training to owners and operators throughout Europe. SimCom will manufacture a type-specific, high-fidelity flight training device to provide Initial and Recurrent pilot training at the Pilatus factory in Stans, Switzerland. It will be the first PC-12 NG in the region is scheduled to be available for training the first quarter of 2011.

Pilatus will have access to a comprehensive suite of advanced training courseware from SimCom, including animated systems presentations, fold-out color panel posters, technical systems manuals and cockpit procedures trainers. Pilatus will conduct the training using its factory trained instructors.

Micro Nav Queens Award – Micro Nav Limited, the Bournemouth-based provider of air traffic control and airport simulation systems, has won the Queen‘s Award for Enterprise. The award is in recognition of the company’s outstanding performance in exporting high-technology air traffic control and airport training systems throughout the world.

The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the UK’s most prestigious awards for business performance and are given in three categories. Micro Nav Limited has won the award for International Trade.

SAF-D Now Independent – Sabena Flight Academy – Development (SAF-D) 36

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has acquired 33 percent of its shares back from CAE. As such, SFA-D can pursue again its business opportunities as a fully independent company. CAE became owner of these shares in June 2008 as part of the acquisition of Sabena Flight Academy (SFA) Brussels. SFA-D will continue to actively promote and sell Lm², an FFS motion-control method and one of its core products.

Patria Receives New Training Aircraft – Patria Pilot Training Oy, operating at Helsinki-Malmi Airport, received the three four-seated Cirrus SR22 GS G3 aircraft it ordered in January for instrument flight training. They will replace Patria’s Piper Arrow aircraft.

New Aircraft Lufthansa A380 Enters Service – Lufthansa has become the fifth airline to introduce the A380 into service with the 28th Airbus A380 to be operating with the global route network of leading airlines. Airbus has received 202 firm orders for the A380 from 17 customers.

Lufthansa has taken delivery of the first of 15 Airbus A380s ordered, with three more to join the fleet in 2010. Lufthansa will deploy its new flagship aircraft on routes to Tokyo, Beijing and Johannesburg.

“Passengers can look forward to a very special flight experience on board the A380,” Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Chairman and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa said at the handover. “In cooperation with Airbus, we have developed many technical solutions regarding the cabin design and furnishings which are being

Above The first of 15 A380s Lufthansa has ordered will enter service on the Frankfurt-Tokyo route.

Image Credit: C.Brinkmann/Airbus.

given a world premiere in this aircraft.

Our innovations in terms of cabin air, light systems, sound insulation and inflight entertainment make our A380 unique. Our pilots, technicians and service professionals have undergone intensive training and are thoroughly prepared for this new dimension in flying.

They are all as excited about this aircraft as our passengers, who are now booking flights specifically with the A380.”

Hong Kong Airlines Airbus Order – Hong Kong Airlines finalized an order with Airbus for six A330-200s, confirming a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) it signed earlier this year. The new aircraft will be powered by PW 4000 engines. Hong Kong Airlines now has 23 A330s on order, the first of which are scheduled to arrive in Hong Kong the second quarter of this year for use, initially, on existing routes and later to launch the airline’s first services to Europe.

Avsoft News New CRJ 700 CBT Course – Avsoft has released its new CRJ 700 CBT course, which is available in both portable classroom and web-based training formats. All major aircraft systems are covered in 26 modules through thou-

sands of technically accurate illustrations and interactive systems. The CRJ-700 course is Avsoft’s first course that uses simulation-based training. The course is designed to deliver approximately 40 hours of instruction.

In order to make the CRJ700 courseware cost-effective, Avsoft has developed several license programs. They include the Straight-Buy Program, WBT/ CBT Lease Program and new Classroom Presentation Program.

Web-Based Training for Sabenavita – Avsoft delivered a set of Web Based Training (WBT) solutions to Sabenavita Training Center in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Sabenavita selected several Avsoft type rated courses to help satisfy its pilot training curriculum requirements for the CRJ200, the CRJ700, and the ATR42-500.

As part of the contract, Sabenavita will have the option of delivering the courseware through a web based Learning Management System or through Avsoft’s Portable Classroom. The Portable classroom is designed to deliver courseware in areas where broadband internet connection is not available while still providing the record keeping required by clients and regulatory agencies.

New Embraer 190 Study Guide – Avsoft has announced the release of the EMB 190 Quick Study Guide (QSG). This is a cockpit review handbook featuring: detailed panel descriptions and graphically precise illustrations, a comprehensive set of questions and answers, aircraft system diagrams, a list of acronyms and abbreviations, and an index.

Avsoft also announced the availability of the Standard Combo Pack for the EMB190. The standard package includes a color 3 page poster set, color system diagrams, color synoptic screens, systems Review software (quiz master), Lights and Switch Guide, and the color Quick Study guide (bound or 7-hole.

CPaT News Virtual Browser Training – CPaT has announced its new Virtual Browser Training (VBT) system for providing aviation training for mobile devices, which enables users to train online by eliminating the need to install Flash, Neuron or Shockwave. In addition, this new VBT system will allow any CPaT developed program to run on PC, Mac,

iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Netbook, Droid phones, HP Slate amongst others.

“To support the global nature of our client base, we wanted to provide our customers with the most efficient delivery method in order to enable their students to train,” said Russell Peck, CPaT’s President. “This new VBT system allows more flexibility and literally students can train anytime, anywhere and on anything.”

Ryan International Airlines Chooses Specialty Courses – CPaT announced the sale of its library of Specialty courses to Ryan International Airlines based in Rockford, Illinois.

Programs include CRM, HAZMAT, ETOPS, Cold Weather, Volcanic Ash, and Low Visibility amongst others. Another service being provided by CPaT is the use of CPaT’s Learning Management System (LMS).

“These courses satisfy our immediate needs here at Ryan International Airlines” said Marietta Clark, Manager Pilot/Dispatch Training. “It gives us a cost-effective and very realistic training tool that fits perfectly into our training curriculum.”

CTC Aviation News easyJet Preferred Pilot Provider – The long-standing relationship between CTC Aviation Group plc and easyJet has been further reinforced by the announcement that easyJet has chosen CTC as their preferred supplier of pilots for the next five years. CTC Aviation and easyJet have worked closely together since the airline first began operations in 1995 and over the years, CTC has placed more than 850 cadet and experienced pilots with Europe’s leading low-cost carrier.

When CTC Aviation launched “CTC Wings” – the company’s career development programme for aspiring airline pilots - in 2003, easyJet was one of the launch partner airlines. The UK’s largest airline is a trail blazer in the cadet training arena, having been one of the first airlines to recognize the potential and provide career progression opportunities for the ‘low hour ‘pilot. For 2010, CTC will be providing 190 new pilots through its FlexiCrew programme with a combination of newly qualified “CTC Wings” cadets and experienced Airbus type-rated first officers.

FSTD Self-Evaluation Programme – CTC Aviation Services Limited (part of CTC Aviation Group plc) was authorized by the CAA to offer FSTD (flight simulation training device) Self-Evaluations as part of an Extended Qualification Programme for its FSTDs. Representatives of the CAA visited CTC’s simulator facilities at the company’s Crew Training Centre – Nursling (near Southampton, UK) to observe the team conducting a successful self-evaluation of one of CTC’s A320 full flight simulators and concluded CTC met the requirements of JAR-FSTD A.020.

CTC plans to expand the self evaluation programme to also include its B737-800 FFS, B737-300 and B737-700 FTD’s and DA42 FNPTIIs.

Airport Training Airport Driver Simulator Upgrade – Environmental Tectonics Corporation’s Simulation Division has received a new contract from an existing customer, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, to upgrade their Advanced Disaster Management Simulator (ADMS) Driver Simulator.

In 2005, ETC Simulation delivered a full cab ADMS-DRIVE Driver Simulator which consists of an Oshkosh T-3000 Truck Cab complete with a 180 degree panoramic visual display geo-specifically depicting the airport. ADMS-DRIVE is used to train and license airport drivers in all aspects of airport operations area (AOA) driving, including terrain orientation, safe driving, including night time and low visibility, snow removal operations, emergency response, wildlife management, runway inspections etc.

Due to recent construction additions to the airport, this new contract allows for the visual database to be upgraded to reflect the current configuration of the airport property. The new virtual environment will also include night, day, and winter conditions to facilitate the most realistic and immersive training environment

Arrivals and Departures New SAF-D CEO – Sabena Flight Academy-Development (SFA-D) welcomes NV JWMC Company, represented

by Jacques Waldeyer, as new shareholder and CEO. Waldeyer, a retired Air CAT MAGAZINE • ISSUE 3/2010

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world news & analysis

Force pilot, was former EVP of SABENA Airlines and president of Sabena Flight Academy.

New Parc Aviation Chief Executive – Parc Aviation, part of the Oxford Aviation Academy group, has appointed Sean Butler as Chief Executive. He will provide strategic and operational leadership for Parc Aviation and its people to continue to drive the success of the business in the future.

Butler has worked with Parc Aviation for more than 15 years. After graduating with a degree in Accounting and Finance in 1991, Sean joined Aer Lingus where he worked in the airline’s flight crew and technical operations divisions.

From there he went on to join Parc Aviation’s flight crew division in 1995. Sean’s initial role was to provide operational support to key clients and to manage flight crew on assignment worldwide.

In 2002, Sean was appointed to the role of Director of Sales & Marketing with responsibility for the generation of new business opportunities for the company’s full portfolio of services.

New Jordan Airline Training Simulation GM – Jordan Airline Training Simulation (JATS) Chairman Majid Al Sadi and the JATS management team have appointed Captain Saif Taher as new general manager, succeeding Nasri Nowar. Taher has 40 years of aviation experience and recently held the position of head of the flight operations department at Royal Jordanian Airlines.

He brings his vast aviation management expertise to JATS. New CAE Appointments – CAE has announced at the World Aviation Training Conference & Tradeshow (WATS 2010) the appointment of new management for its CAE Global Academy and Pilot Provisioning business. The company also announced a new Chief Learning Officer - Civil Aviation position.

Walter Visser was named Vice President, CAE Global Academy. He will be responsible for the management of CAE’s global network of flight training organizations (FTOs), the largest network of ab-initio schools in the world.

He will also be accountable for leading CAE’s growth strategy for its Pilot Provisioning service, including Multi-crew Pilot License (MPL) programs.

Visser was most recently Regional Vice President for the Middle East and India, including managing director of 38

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Emirates-CAE Flight Training in Dubai.

He has more than 30 years of experience in the military and civil aviation training industry, and has been in the CAE organization for the past two decades.

Visser previously served as Regional Vice President, Emerging Markets and before that as a Regional Vice President, Europe & Middle East. He was instrumental in developing the framework for the CAE Global Academy FTO network.

Kris Van Den Bergh, who previously led the CAE Global Academy, was appointed Chief Learning Officer - Civil Aviation. He will be responsible for defining CAE’s training vision. Van Den Bergh began his aviation career as a pilot for Sabena. He later transitioned into the airline’s training department as a simulator instructor, and then served as Assistant Training Manager and Crew Planning & Economics Manager. In 2002 Van Den Bergh joined Airbus Industries and was responsible for developing the flight crew training program for the A380. In 2004 he acquired a major equity position in Sabena Flight Academy (SFA) and became its Chief Operations Officer.

Van Den Bergh joined the CAE leadership team when the company acquired SFA in 2008. cat

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