Turkish Airlines Flight Academy Partners with PlaneEnglish

PlaneEnglish has entered into a partnership with Turkish Airlines Flight Academy (TAFA) to train ab-initio pilots in the fundamental aviation skill of radiotelephony with the ARSim Aviation Radio Simulator. The addition of ARSim to the current pilot training program will improve and accelerate flight training, delivering pilots who are prepared to operate safely and confidently in complex international airspaces.

Pilots worldwide use the web- and app-based ARSim to learn and practice aviation radio communication outside of the cockpit. Since its release in 2019, ARSim has been downloaded by more than 250,000 users worldwide and is a training partner to many ground and flight training institutions, including the U.S. Air Force. TAFA, a sub-brand of Turkish Airlines and training academy for additional regional airlines, will begin using ARSim communications simulator and built-in curriculum in pilot training and will integrate ARSim as part of its ground and flight instruction program.

“With PlaneEnglish ARSim, pilots in training receive focused, interactive practice, and feedback necessary to hone their skills and build confidence in radio communication,” said Muharrem Mane, CEO of PlaneEnglish.

ARSim combines a simulator and training curriculum to deliver training in aviation radio procedures and communication through web-based and mobile platforms. The artificial intelligence (AI)-based synthetic agent emulates all functions of Air Traffic Control (ATC) and gives student pilots the ability to hear and talk to ATC in all phases of flight. The automated speech recognition provides immediate feedback on phraseology, speech patterns, and response time and offers the opportunity for corrective actions and continued improvement. Students are able to train in both ICAO and FAA phraseology standards, in over 300 airports, with a variety of ATC voices and speech rates, controllable background noise and communications, and the ability to customize flight scenarios.

“Pilots receive roughly six hours of radio communications practice while flying during their entire training,” said Mane. “Many of those interactions with Air Traffic Control (ATC) will be routine and repetitive. But what happens when a pilot flies into a different airspace, talks to a different ATC facility, or encounters unusual circumstances and needs to quickly and effectively communicate? ARSim provides hours of unique radio communications training and practice to ensure pilots are prepared for any situation they may encounter and have the skills and confidence to communicate with air traffic control.”

The built-in training curriculum provides independent study opportunities and guides students pilots from learning the phonetic alphabet to mastering the complex exchanges with ATC during instrument approaches. Coupled with the Dashboard Learning Management System (LMS), TAFA will be able to monitor student training progress and proficiency and provide individualized instruction where needed.

The capability to rehearse communication activities in a low stress environment enables student pilots to not only master this key aviation skill and build confidence, but also frees up cognitive space during simulator and flight training to focus on other aspects of flying.