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In an ideal world, the job you perform, is the job of your dreams, but the job of your dreams may frequently end up being...well, just a dream. The reality of becoming a pilot is not a case of "Grow up. Grow wings, Fly!", in fact, there are many hoops you must jump through, hurdles to overcome and of course, exams you will need to pass before you can actually introduce yourself as "John Smith, airline pilot and all-round hero!".
Who better to tell us about these stages and give us a real insight into what it takes to become an airline pilot than an actual pilot? Here's what he had to say:

The average worker is said to use 10,000 sheets of paper every year. It is also estimated that we waste 2.5 days each year simply looking for things. Research also suggests that 95% of statistics are made up on the spot (though these ones haven't - trust us!). For flight instructors,10,000 sheets of paper is probably an incredibly conservative estimate and also a cause for concern. Wouldn't it be nice to have everything you need for flight training just a click away, not buried somewhere under piles of files and papers or somewhere on your hard drive? Wouldn't it also be nice to spend less of your time preparing for and going through pre-flight briefings and more time actually up in the air? If this were all possible while staying EASA compliant and not cutting corners, wouldn't that be making far more effective use of your time rather than thumbing through, filling out, then filing yet more paperwork?

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” Socrates (the philosopher, not the Brazilian footballer).

According to the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board), over 88% of all chartered plane crashes and over 50% of commercial airline crashes can be attributed to pilot error. At first glance, these numbers appear incredibly high, however, when considering the overall decline in air accidents over the last fifteen years, the overall trend is actually improving. Why? To a large extent thanks to greater consideration being given to a pilot’s competencies and not just their proficiency. That is why from 1 January 2023 ICAO introduced changes to the Dangerous Goods training program, making it mandatory to follow a CBTA approach.

It is clear that Competency-Based Training Assessments (CBTAs) are playing an ever-increasing role in ICAO compliant flight training courses such as ours. But what are CBTA programs and how are we implementing them? To best answer these questions, let’s first take a look at the “C” in “CBTA” to “get us off the ground”:

When is the moment that awareness becomes true understanding? When is the moment that a shrug of confusion becomes a nod of real recognition? Many of us have leafed our way through files, documents and literature - some of them simple; many of them complex. Countless times we have put them to one side for another day, perhaps a better day when the morning coffee really kicks in and the Sun is shining. Other times we leave them, never to return. Why? Because sometimes we may read something, but we lack the connection with what we are reading.

We launched cooperation with Wizz Air three years ago, promising a Loadsheet procured in less than 60 seconds. We achieved that by building a software solution with a User Interface (eXperience) fully aligned to the airline’s Ground Handling procedure—a simple, even simplistic interface requiring minimum interactions. But optimizing human interactions can only go so far. Every consecutive change brought limited return—it would not decrease the time further. The next step was connecting systems that could provide data to the “calculator” (e.g., DCS, flight schedule, EFB), eliminating redundant data input completely.  

Familiarisation and differences training are critical components of the EASA training framework that enable pilots to stay updated with the latest equipment and procedures, ultimately ensuring aviation safety. With Evionica’s e-learning class rating courses, pilot students can easily and flexibly train to fly new aircraft.