I dropped the reference in another thread about potential changes in maximum flight and duty times.
I figured it'd be a time for a quick refresher:
(and for the record, in my opinion, the MCPL is Mephistopheles incarnate)
I figured it'd be a time for a quick refresher:
(and for the record, in my opinion, the MCPL is Mephistopheles incarnate)
Shortcut or Fast Track?
A new ICAO initiative aims at nothing less than a complete overhaul in the way in which commercial air transport pilots are trained and licensed.
By Oliver Sutton
Air Transport World, October 2005, p.51 Buy this issue
Last year, ICAO's Air Navigation Commission tasked its Flight Crew Licensing and Training Panel to investigate whether a new pilot's license could respond to airline demands for pilots better prepared to operate modern aircraft and systems at a lower cost.
The new license, referred to as the Multi-Crew Pilot License, also is seen as a basis to introduce competency-based training for other pilot certificates at a later date. The initial push for change came from Germany.
The MPL would see trainees moving into the right seat of high-performance jet transports with just 240 hr. of instruction. Of this, only between 60 and 120 hr. might actually be in the air and the student would have performed just 12 takeoffs and landings in the type he or she is to fly. The MPL is designed to bypass the training for the current commercial pilot certificate with instrument rating and let the trainee head directly for the "frozen" airline transport pilot license.
The proposal, which currently is going through the ICAO approval process, is creating plenty of discussion in the airline pilot community. Words like experience, airmanship, air sense and aircraft handling skills are being invoked.
The Flight Crew Licensing and Training Panel was tasked specifically to review current licensing (ICAO Annex 1) and training (Annex 6) standards "in order to ensure their continued relevance in meeting current needs while preserving and improving upon existing flight safety levels." An earlier inquiry under the ANC's safety oversight program established that very few member states had defined formal criteria for judging performance in pilot licensing exams or for demonstrating maintenance of competency as required under Annex 6 rules.
The panel further was to determine whether competency-based flightcrew standards could complement and/or replace existing standards based on knowledge, skill and experience that have been in use since Annex 1 came into being. It also was to assess the extended use of flight simulators "in acquiring or maintaining the competences required for the various levels of licenses and ratings, taking into account the type of simulator being used, and determine the credit to be given."
Until the 1960s, most commercial pilots came from an armed forces training background that stressed flying skill, knowledge and mental attitudes. Hours in the air were what counted, with hands-on experience the best and only teacher, and airmanshipalso called the art of personal survivalonly was acquired in the air. Aircraft handling was a key skill. Instructors were schooled in standardizing the learning process so that students had a consistent and professional approach to flying high-performance aircraft. Years went by with little change in this learning process for military pilots, a majority of whom continued their careers in the air transport industry. Pilots without military training could progress toward their civil licenses but were obliged to follow flying club and civil flight school training methods. Not all received the same quality of training, and standardization of instruction was patchy worldwide.
Magic Numbers
Motivated trainee pilots would mortgage their futures to obtain their PPLs and then build up their flight hours to the ICAO CPL minimum by glider towing, spraying or instructing. Often they were poorly prepared and the aircraft they flew had little or nothing to do with the increasingly technology-based equipment they hoped to fly for a career. Once the magic number of hours was achieved, the trainee would head for the CPL/IR and hopefully a job. Many countries, with the notable exception of certain Asian carriers, had no flight training facilities at all and were obliged to depend on US or European expertise.
Some enlightened airlines introduced ab initio training for selected students. The first ab initio trainees with a CPL/IR on low-performance piston singles and twins were regarded with some suspicion by senior line captains, but by and large they turned out pretty well. What went wrong was that the license requirements still were based on a set number of flight hours in aircraft that bore little resemblance in flying characteristics or onboard systems to the airliners in service.
The MPL would introduce competency-based training in place of outdated or irrelevant experience requirements. It would get trainees on the flightdecks of the aircraft they can expect to fly much earlier in the training process. Introduction of competency-based training will define much better the capabilities of pilots at all levels and will improve standardization worldwide. The basis of such training is valid and reliable tests that will measure whether or not the training objectives have been achieved. A valid test measures what it sets out to measure. A reliable test obtains consistent results when administered by different instructors.
The ICAO review represents the most thorough look at existing flightcrew licensing and training standards in the past 50 years and will result in a first-time Document, "Procedures for Air Navigation Services-Training." Documents such as PANS-TRG have to be approved by the ICAO Council and are recommended to members for worldwide application. The result is that PANS recommendations can go into use far earlier as standards. Key features of the MPL are the employment of well-proven training methodologies and an increase in flight simulation.
Competency-based training may be a new concept for aviation, but it has been in use in systems engineering methodology including Instructional Systems Design and the Systems Approach to Training since the 1980s. Competency-based training and assessments are based on a systematic approach under which competencies and their standards are defined, training is based on the competencies identified as required and assessments are developed to determine whether these competences have been achieved. Competency is judged as pass or fail, with no reference to other candidate results. This is not rocket science, but it represents a major step forward in modernizing pilot training procedures.
The MPL training scheme under present proposals will consist of a minimum of 240 hr. of training subdivided into four phases:
" Core flying skills " Basic level of competency " Intermediate level of competency " Advanced level of competency including proof of competence
The initial part of the program would include 60-120 hr. of real flight time. The trainee would start with the usual ground school using modern aids, e-learning and part-task trainers. Core flying skills would be acquired in a single- or multiengine training aircraft, with early introduction of crew resource management, VFR cross-country navigation, first solo and basic instrument flying.
Airmanship
Together with CRM, the concept of Threat and Error Management is introduced from the start of the course. TEM, which could have been called airmanship in the past, is defined as "an overarching safety concept that recognizes the influence of threatening outside factors on human performance in the dynamic work environment." Examples of threats could be adverse weather conditions, stressful ATC activities, airport problems, terrain and traffic awareness, errors in aircraft handling and ground navigation, technical problems and incorrect aircraft configurations.
The next step in the curriculum is the basic level of competency, introduction to multicrew operations and instrument flight. The trainee will carry out upset recoveries, IFR cross-country navigation, night flight and instrument flying. Time also will be spent in part-task trainers.
The intermediate level of competency will see the trainee move to a generic simulator of a high-performance, multiengine turbine aircraft where he or she will be instructed further in CRM, line-oriented flight training and how to handle abnormal situations, emergencies and threats. In the advanced level of competency, the student moves to a Level D six-axis simulator and eventually performs 12 takeoffs and landings as pilot flying on the real aircraft. He or she then gets an MPL qualified as copilot in type, followed by a line introduction under supervision of select captains.
What are the benefits and possible downsides to the MPL? The reduced experience in "real" airplanes is an obvious concern, but there will be a close follow-up by the authorities and not just during the initial implementation phase. Only Approved Training Organizations will be permitted to provide MPL training. What today is an undefined flying experience (airmanship, flying skills, attitudes) will be replaced by structured training in simulators.
The expanded use of flight simulators is seen as beneficial in letting students have their first experiences, and make their first mistakes, in a controlled environmente.g., MGTOW rejected takeoffs, maximum crosswind takeoffs or reduced visibility landings that might or might not exist during actual flight training. A simulator makes it possible to train the student in pilot-flying and pilot-not-flying duties. Flight data can be recorded and played back during debriefing sessions. The use of simulators reduces the risk of accidents during training and lowers noise and environmental impact around airports and ATC congestion. The cost of training is cut significantly. The student can practice maneuvers that are essential to the operation of a jet transport such as TCAS alerts and responses, GPWS warnings, smoke and fire onboard and passenger evacuation procedures. Additionally, the course structure will be stabilized and training timescales become reliable and no longer dependent on weather, aircraft status and other restrictions.
On the downside, the transfer of learning from flight simulators to the real flying environment has not been evaluated fully. Can the trainee really learn airmanship in a simulator where there is no threat to life and limb? Risk control will include close follow-up during the initial implementation of MPL and supervision on the flightdeck.
Simulation of the real-world ATC environment is seen as not fully representative or realistic at the present time. The risk may be mitigated by some jumpseat flying and introduction of new ATC simulation technology. Some Level D simulators do not reproduce ground effect well while landing, which is a reason for the requirement to perform 12 takeoffs and landings in a real aircraft.
As to timescale, the ANC was to conduct an initial review of the MPL proposals in early 2005 and distribute them to countries and international organizations for comment. A final review should be conducted by this month, and if all goes well the proposals will go to the ICAO Council for adoption and acceptance in early 2006 with an applicability date of November 2006. The ANC's intention is to include MPL procedures and requirements in other pilots' licenses later on, and possibly in the training and licensing of other aviation personnel.
After years of atrophy, ICAO finally is setting standards for licenses that will better reflect today's airline environment. MPL is one step on the way and it remains to be seen whether the product will meet skill and attitude requirements.
irate:
