A Veteran Pilot’s Perspective of EATS

I recently attended the European Airline Training Symposium (EATS) in Berlin, and one feature of the future of aviation training was clear to see. It was the presence of many delegates, clutching hand-held controls, with their faces obscured by VR google-facemasks.

I was swept back to the memory of my A330 conversion course in February 1994 when a keen 29-year-old and experienced 42-year captain commenced our first computer-based training program on our company’s first side-stick, fly-by-wire aircraft. My senior colleague was experiencing his first encounter of using a mouse, keypad and a question bank of 1,000s of multiple-choice questions. All very acceptable and expected now, but it was a very steep learning curve for anyone over 29!

Now we meet the next generation of learning tools that embraces the convenience of remote, virtual and easily repeatable 3D learning, using the skills that any gamer or X-Box enthusiast has perfected in the schoolyard.

As part of another aviation development program, I was provided with an Oculus Quest 2 VR set to assess a new product. At first I was almost mesmerised, as I was transported to a surreal world that reminded me of my first experience scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef. Like that occasion, my movements where clumsy and awkward and I felt my head moving exaggeratedly, as I spun my view up and down and around. This played havoc with my inner ear semi-circular canals, and my dizziness exaggerated my excessive leverage on the controls. As you can guess, my aircraft control dexterity was challenged, and I was still only programming the MCDU!

But then, consider, where does that leave the majority of our mature pilots? Those who have not had the occasion to practice with VR products in the comfort of their own, non-observed environment. Those men and women of a certain age, who chastise their offspring for wasting time, only to have to ask them for help to get started on their new format conversion course. The reluctance of asking for help can often leave us struggling to get past signing in our username and PIN number!

We often meet normal challenges in learning new aircraft types and SOPs in conversion courses. But now add in the challenges of becoming adept with the new tools of learning. These variables, combined with the minimum time of training provided by the aircraft manufacturers, can leave our colleagues struggling for competency, confidence and command composure.

My challenge to the many VR developers is to design and develop a training program for pilots greater than 35 that allows them to embrace the joys of VR training and the joys of remote, almost-real learning experiences.

Conor Keeling is anA330 Captain for a major European airline,flying for 33 years and 20,000 hours since 1981. He is a Vocavio Advisory Board Member.