Flight Dept 2.qxp_Finance 27/10/2021 10:02 Page 1
FLIGHT DEPARTMENT MANAGEMENT
Managing Flight Training: Tips from a Veteran Andre Fodor draws from years of experience piloting and managing flight departments of many different shapes and sizes to share tips on managing training within your operation... s professional pilots, training is intrinsically a part of our lives. We train for our pilot ratings. We train to be type-rated on an aircraft. We train to stay current, and to learn differences in avionics, or new procedures. We complement proficiency with more training, using them as building blocks as we learn about changes in the airspace (such as the Atlantic High Altitude, or coping with NextGen’s airspace upgrades). Being type rated in a variety of aircraft, from Light to Large Jets, and from experience gained in management positions held within flight departments of various different shapes and sizes, I believe I have learned a few tricks of the training trade during my career. As I share some of them here, I do so in the hope they may be helpful to other pilots or flight department managers
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Manage Your Training Nerves
There is always a measure of nervousness that comes with training. Pilots, by nature, are perfectionists. The desire for perfection can translate into anxiety, which can impair the quality of training. 84 Vol 25 Issue 11 2021 AVBUYER MAGAZINE
A friend with many years of professional experience (he has flown as a Boeing 767 captain, and also as a high-end business jet pilot), still suffers training and ‘check ride’ anxiety. At the pinnacle of his career, he was offered a position at one of the world’s most prestigious airlines, and immediately nerves set in. At the time, we had a long discussion about training and outcomes, and it was important to remind him that he had accepted the new position, and training challenge, by choice. Reflecting on his many successes, we also discussed the causes for some of his training mishaps in the past. The conversation highlighted that he lacked nothing in professional skills, but that his nerves often depleted his high performance energy. I could identify. Many years earlier, I had been required to pass at least two flight checks each year, and I got nervous every time. One day, while walking to the simulator bay with sweaty palms, I reflected that I was going to have to endure training and testing for my entire career, whether I was scared or not. It dawned on me that if I could relax, and allow myself to feel self-assured, my chances of success www.AVBUYER.com
