Innovation in aviation training: Bridging between digital tools and human competency

Airbus is transforming the journey on how pilots and mechanics learn, by moving away from a traditional task-based philosophy toward an adaptable, data-driven and competency-based future.

This transformation is built on three distinct pillars: 

• Competency-Based Training and Assessment (CBTA)
• The increasing use of disruptive technology such as Virtual Reality (VR)
• A new suite of upskilling and ‘train the trainer’ courses designed to help airlines navigate this new terrain

Methodological shift: How has training shifted from tasks to competencies?

Let's focus on pilot training. Traditionally, pilot training can be boiled down into a checklist of manoeuvres or tasks. A typical example is landing with a certain amount of crosswind, managing an engine failure at take off or handling smoke in the cabin. Whenever the trainees ‘tick those boxes’, then it's a wrap!.

Instructors & trainees in SIMU

However, as modern aircraft become more automated and reliable, accidents and other aviation safety shortfalls are becoming less the result of a single mechanical failure, but rather more due to a breakdown in human decision-making, communication or situational awareness. This realisation in the industry has led to the rise of CBTA for Type Rating initial training and command courses, and Evidence-Based Training (EBT) which is the application of CBTA to Recurrent Training & Checking.

So while training used to focus on the ‘task’ itself, now Airbus uses a model defined by nine core competencies – some technical, but many non-technical, such as leadership, teamwork, and workload management. Notably, the trend for competency based training is not just reserved for aviation, the approach is also used in the medical industry and in other industries as well.

In a nutshell, CBTA drives pilots to master their competencies, develop confidence, and build the resilience needed to manage unforeseen situations and overcome the ‘surprise effect’, a stark contrast to older, ‘set piece’ event training.

Turning pilots into realtime problem-solvers

In February this year Airbus achieved a major milestone by completing the revision of its entire pilot curriculum – including a full-scale update of the Type Rating courses to the latest international (ICAO) CBTA standards. By integrating CBTA into every course – from ab initio (entry-level) training to type rating and command courses, Airbus is ensuring that pilots are more than ‘manoeuvre experts,’ but rather they are practical real-time problem-solvers.

Instructors & trainees in SIMU

Susannah Crabol, Flight Training Strategic Portfolio Manager at Airbus recalls:

Since 2015 when we implemented CBTA into the A350 type rating course (and subsequently into all Airbus’ programmes) there have been fewer remedials in our flight training.

She also highlights the importance of the data-centric nature of CBTA. 

“With the model that we use, we receive the feedback from operations data, from the Safety Management System (SMS) data, and from the training data. That comes back per airline, and with data analytics we’ll be able to focus on any areas for improvement in an airline, in their operations.”

Technology: The power of the Virtual Procedure Trainer

If the ‘methodology’ is analogous to the ‘brain’ of Airbus’ training philosophy, then the Virtual Procedure Trainer (VPT) could be one of its agile limbs. The VPT is a cloud-based software which is distinct from the higher-level simulation of an Airbus Procedure Trainer (APT) or a Full Flight Simulator (FFS). VPT, either in a flat-screen environment or using 3D goggles, is designed for pilots to master normal procedures in a virtual environment before they step into the high-fidelity devices.

Virtual Procedure Trainer

The benefit of the VPT is simple: efficiency. Historically, pilots spent their early training hours looking at ‘paper boards’ – static, 2D posters of a cockpit layout – to memorise where buttons and switches were located. They would then jump directly into a high-fidelity FFS. The VPT is a ‘missing-link’‘ in this progression.

Sylvain Vacher, Training services marketing director, explains: 

Through the tool pilot trainees receive a good view of the procedures in a well simulated cockpit, so that when they enter the full flight simulator, they know the related ‘flow patterns’ already. They don’t lose time on working on them inside the full flight simulator and they know they have another tool dedicated to that to be better prepared before entering the FFS.

A330neo and A380 simulators at B25

He adds: 

This time saving step is critical, as the VPT stage frees-up space downstream in the dense FFS sessions for richer, more realistic operational scenarios and for the instructor to assess the pilot’s non-technical competencies, such as decision-making and crew resource management, in line with CBTA principles.

Airbus views the VPT as a complementary tool to the traditional classroom. It allows for self-paced study at home or in an airport lounge, perfecting the "hard skills" of procedural knowledge so that the "soft skills" of crew coordination can be prioritised during face-to-eye sessions in the simulator.

New upskilling and consulting services

Innovation in training is also about the humans who deliver the training. In particular, as airlines move toward EBT and CBTA, they often find themselves overwhelmed by the regulatory and pedagogical requirements. In response, Airbus has launched a new suite of Developer Upskilling and Consulting services.

These are not standard pilot courses. They are Developer and "Train the Trainer" programmes designed to develop training incorporating CBTA and then to standardise how instructors evaluate their peers. These new offers include:

• CBTA and EBT Developer Courses: Teaching airlines how to design their own training based on their specific operational data and in line with the latest ICAO and industry standards.
• CBTA and EBT Instructor Standardisation: Ensuring that every instructor across an airline's network is grading competencies – like ‘communication’ – using the same metrics.
• EBT Implementation Support: Providing the foundations for airlines to transition their entire training footprint to the CBTA model.

Summary: The three pillars of innovation in training