Association: standard training could attract more pilots

As the industry prepares for a possible pilot shortage, an organization called the Professional Aviation Board of Certification (PABC) has its own plan to address the problem: create a more professional and robust pilot training system that targets pilots as they begin learning how to fly or transition into flying careers. “Our intent is to create what amounts to a standard for pre-employment training of professional pilots,” said Pete Wolfe, a former military pilot and retired Southwest Airlines pilot who is executive director of the non-profit organization (www.pabc.aero).

Wolfe believes that the way pilots enter professional flying jobs is haphazard and that more pilots would make it into the professional flying ranks and overall safety would improve if accredited institutions trained future career pilots to a globally recognized standard.

Pilot training options include ab initio, multi-crew license, bridge programs, general aviation and the military, but not all of these options create a professionally trained pilot ready to fly for the airlines or a corporate flight department. PABC calls this the “pilot preparedness gap,” and it aims to close that gap in a cost-effective manner. “What metric do you use to determine the preparedness and competence of a pilot?” Wolfe asked. “That’s part of what PABC is all about. Flying time should not be ignored. Experience is not to be discounted, but it is not a perfect metric.”

As an example, Wolfe noted that a low-time military pilot will likely have deep knowledge of how a jet operates but wonders whether this pilot will understand minimum equipment lists, operations specifications and the civil ATC system. “Where does that individual get squared away on the civil side?” he asked. “A standard would help them, without having to relearn about jet aircraft.”

What PABC hopes to do in the short term is create a standardized test for commercial pilots. A military-trained or general aviation pilot would have to study only the pertinent material before taking the test. “It will reduce the amount of time they need to become proficient and make them better decision makers,” Wolfe said.

PABC’s anticipated list of services includes creating standards, learning outcomes and study guides; pilot examinations and exam feedback; continuing education for professional pilots; renewal of PABC pilot certification; and online educational resources such as a journal covering aviation training and testing research, workshops and computer-based assessment research.

Since it was founded in 2003, the organization has assembled a board of directors with representatives from educational and training organizations, airlines, regulatory authorities, manufacturers and safety organizations. From the beginning, PABC argued that a standard for early pilot training is needed, but lack of funding in the early days slowed the development of those standards. Now, however, growth in aviation outside the U.S. has made having such a standard much more important, especially as countries such as China and India are looking beyond their own borders for future pilots.

PABC’s next step, besides raising money to get the process under way, update and maintain the standards and pay for psychometric test development, is to get industry stakeholders such as manufacturers, regulators and training firms to help the organization craft a baseline standard for those who want to enter the realm of professional flying. PABC is also looking for volunteers to help develop the standards.

The standard for the schools, Wolfe said, should be generic rather than focused on a particular aircraft type. Once a pilot learns how pressurization systems work, for example, he should be able to apply that knowledge to almost any airplane. This helps the industry by creating a larger pool of knowledgeable pilots who can adapt to any type of operation. It also reduces training costs because the fundamentals of flying remain the same.

If efforts like PABC’s can help lower the cost of training, Wolfe hopes that people who ordinarily might be deterred by the high cost of learning to fly will be attracted to aviation. “We’re hoping there will be scholarships and grants to help those without the means to afford to get into this industry,” he said.

Wolfe is careful to note that PABC is trying to set standards but not dictate the scope and detail of the training programs that will meet the new standards. Once a future pilot learns about subjects such as applicable regulations, minimum equipment lists, OpSpecs and proper use of checklists, he said, “how much better prepared they are for entering a [new-hire] training class than individuals with a catch-as-catch-can background.”