Training Pilots To Their Own Weaknesses
Every pilot in a training program follows the same syllabus, which means time and money go to maneuvers some pilots have already mastered while the ones they struggle with get no extra attention. A training model built on continuous performance data could change that, and the idea deserves a closer look. Simulators already record every control input a pilot makes, and the question is whether that record can be used to find each pilot’s specific weaknesses early and train to them.
We explored this question with a practitioner who has worked on it from the cockpit, the command seat, and the boardroom:
General Ray Johns, a four-star officer who led Air Mobility Command and later served as co-chief executive of FlightSafety International, the world’s largest flight training company. He has flown more than 80 aircraft types and has presented this concept to the Air Force, the Navy, the Federal Aviation Administration, and commercial operators.
His view is that the technical case is largely solved for newer aircraft with digital data buses. The harder questions are whether pilots and pilot unions will accept a system that records exactly who is and is not meeting the standard, and whether investors will fund development before any return appears.