Neuroscience tech trial for cadet pilots
Rome, Italy based ATO Urbe Aero has been trialling new neuroscience technology, designed to aid real-time evaluation of the different human factors that affect pilots. Urbe Aero says that the aviation industry is moving away from an hours-based to a competency-based training approach and neuroscience is nowadays able to provide objective insights regarding human factors behind those core competencies that a pilot should overcome, such...
Landmark win for ‘self-employed’ pilot
The British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) says it’s delighted with a court win for one of its members that will likely have wider implications in the industry in terms of the employment status and rights of so called ‘self-employed’ pilots and agency workers. BALPA has funded former Ryanair pilot Jason Lutz’s employment tribunal and supported him throughout his claim against MCG Aviation Limited and Ryanair relating to his...
ACT NOW! – CAA advises urgent action on licence applications
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is urging EU-licensed pilots, engineers and aviation businesses operating in the UK to gain dual UK licences as quickly as possible, fearing that some may leave it too late to make an end of year deadline. Currently, the UK CAA is permitting EU licensed pilots to operate UK-registered aircraft (meanwhile the EU has decided not to reciprocate by recognising UK licences). However, this permission...
FTEJerez ATPL scholarship opens
Commercial pilot flight training organisation FTEJerez, based at Jerez de La Frontera in the southwest of Spain, has announced its first fully funded ATPL Scholarship, representing an extremely rare opportunity in the commercial pilot training sector. Through the initiative, the academy will sponsor the full price of an Airline First Officer Programme (FTE’s integrated ATPL course) for two successful candidates, valued at €119,500.00...
What a Performance! – The CAA exam with a 95% failure rate
Following the introduction of a new Question Bank (QB), between January and April 2021 the UK ATPL theoretical knowledge exam ‘Flight Performance and Planning – Performance (A)’ dropped from a previous 88% average pass rate to just 5%, marking a new low for the subject and indicating that all is not well with the current UK exam system for commercial pilot cadets. Prior to Brexit, the UK CAA had ‘acquired’ ATPL exam database...
The PPL exam lottery
A growing number of flying schools, instructors, examiners and student pilots are expressing exasperation over the new UK PPL ground exams, after witnessing unprecedented numbers of students failing their exams in recent months. The problem has become so bad that instructors and students alike are describing some of the exam questions as ‘exotic and unrelated to the course content’, with one well-respected instructor/examiner publicly...
