Flight Training in the 21st Century
2 min read
Just a couple of years ago, the typical flight school airplane was using technologies that have changed very little since the 1950s. Even newly manufactured airplanes still had the standard six-pack mechanical instruments. However, this changed dramatically when systems such as the Garmin 1000 and Avidyne Entegra quickly took over the General Aviation market. Today, you can find Technically Advanced Aircraft (TAA) with sophisticated glass cockpit avionics almost everywhere.
Technically Advanced Aircraft (TAA) are becoming the new standard for flight training, replacing older generation aircraft with "6-pack" instrument panels. TAAs with glass cockpit panels have many advantages. They provide a superb level of situational awareness by showing moving maps, weather infromation, advanced engine monitoring, traffic information, and more.
However, with a greater level of sophistication comes a steeper learning curve.
Flight training for an initial private pilot license is demanding enough by itself. Adding a glass cockpit to the picture makes it a lot more difficult. A whole new way of training has to be adopted in order to prepare students for an initial private pilot checkride on a Technically Advanced Aircraft.
The book "21st Century Flight Training: General Aviation Manual for Primary Flight Training in the New Millennium" by Sean Lane deals with this growing problem. The book covers the new challenges that pilots and flight instructors face today as a result of technological advances in aircraft hardware, software, and infrastructure.
The author introduces a new model for flight training, called Integrated Sensory Flying (ISF). He explains each flight maneuvers for every checkride from private pilot to flight instructor in great detail using this approach.
The book discusses important concepts such as how to improve your learning of flight maneuvers and procedures, Aeronautical Decision Making, task prioritization, and more.
This book will help anyone studying for a checkride, not only on TAAs but also on traditional panel aircraft. I highly recommend it if you are a flight instructor or a pilot in training for any certificate level.
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