Recognition in the Air

Welcometo the WATS 2018 issue of CAT Magazine.

WATSis CAT`s annual flagship trainingevent, and we always endeavour to have this issue mirror much of the content ofthis international celebration of aviation simulation and training. This yearis no exception and I am particularly proud of the depth and breadth of boththe magazine and the 21st iteration of what the industry recognisesas the largest aviation simulation and training event in the world.

Somefour years ago in this space I wrote of the growing awareness of the impact ofall manner of cultural influences in aviation safety and operations and theimportance of blending these influences to build what some call a “safetyculture” but what I like to refer to as “Aviation Culture”. Three types ofcultural influences create Aviation Culture: National, Organisational, andProfessional. We often only think of the latter two in aviation, as we striveto create positive operating environments in our companies, while furthering aprofessional culture in our employees. One example of the latter is encouragingthe mentoring of new hire pilots.

Thefact is, however, all three cultural influences impact all of us, and weshouldn’t be afraid to objectively recognise and explore their complete range –including our national cultures. If there are national cultural attributes thatexhibit great “power-distance” between young and old, male and female, orbetween members of different social classes, then in the interest of safety theserealities must be recognised and mitigated. This industry has demonstratedconsiderable success in doing just that.

Overthe past year CAT has profiled thestories of a remarkable group of professional female pilots and several of thestories pointed to the fact that actually, some of the families and friends ofthese young women presented greater challenges to them than their airlineemployer, with many indicating that the culture at their airline was accepting,progressive and always professional. One of these airlines was a prominent MiddleEastern national flag carrier that was described as having “no dominantnational culture on the flight deck” as their flight crew hailed from dozens ofnations. That same airline could boast of one of the industry’s most professionalworking environments and highest safety rankings in the world. An “AviationCulture” indeed.

Thus,the very good news is that the primary output of the simulation and training industry’s“Aviation Culture” is the only one that ultimately matters – and that is safety.The successful integration of all these cultural influences has been going onfor a very long time and has delivered enormous dividends, encompassing thework of national and international regulators, air carriers, ATOs and trainingequipment suppliers. Yet very often it has been the vision, ethics and talentsof individual personalities that provided the necessary leadership to advancethe art and science of aviation simulation and training. They have emerged frommany nations and backgrounds, from all corners of the simulation and trainingindustry, and from operator, engineering and executive ranks.

Ifour unique Aviation Culture has performed an admirable service in helping toproduce these enormously talented individuals, and on whose shoulders the restof us stand upon, it has historically demonstrated less success in actuallyrecognising them. And this is where CAT Magazinefeels it can help correct this long-standing omission. We will continue theawards program that was launched at WATS 2017 at this years’ event.

CAT Magazine will present “Pioneer Awards” to individuals whoseleadership and stellar achievements have made such a difference to the aviationtraining sector and ultimately to the safety of the flying public. In order toensure maximum objectivity, the recipients will be determined not by theEditorial Board of this magazine, but rather by the hundreds of ballots cast byyou in the industry. I do hope you participated and had an opportunity to castyour vote.

Seeyou at WATS.

Chris Lehman, WATS Conference Chair , CAT Editor in Chief

Published in CAT issue 2/2018