Albert Rios

Missed Class
21 SEP 11

Training
Training pilots involves many aspects. There are four basic types of training when
speaking in terms of pilots in the airline industry. In addition to the four main types of airline
training there is also line-oriented flight training. Organizations are another factor in training, as
well as training devices.
The four basic types of training used by the airlines include new hire, transition, upgrade,
and recurrent training. New hire training is based on introducing the new hire to the particular
airline. It usually lasts about two to three weeks, and encompasses airline specific practices,
policies, and procedures. This is all done before moving on to the next type of training, transition
training. Transition, or conversion, training is based on a specific aircraft. The main purpose of
this phase of training is to instruct pilots on how to operate different types of aircraft in their line
operations safely and efficiently. Upgrade training can sometimes be combined with
transition/conversion training. Upgrade training is used to prepare pilots for a change in or to
take on a higher position. Recurrent training is the final of the four types of training. Recurrent
training is mandated by FAR 121.427. It affects all pilots, and is usually done every year for
copilots and every six months for captains. The purpose of recurrent training is to make sure that
pilots have kept all proficiency in the skills and knowledge they are expected to know in order to
fly as a pilot for an airline on specific types of equipment.
Line-oriented training flight training, or LOFT, is training that uses simulation in the
sense that it includes full real-life missions. A session of LOFT begins the same way a normal
line trip would; with planning, paper work, and dispatch. It is treated as if though it were an
actual flight, the only difference being that it is done in a simulator versus an actual flight in a
real aircraft. Various specific problems are placed into the simulation without the ability to stop it

to figure out what is going on or to discuss the problem. This gives the training session a more
life-like feel, and tests the pilot on what they would really do, should the problem really occur.
Training organizations come into play when a carrier decides to outsource their training
programs. Reasons for an airline to outsource its training to an organization include a lack of the
appropriate facilities, equipment, or instructors in order to carry out the operation on its own.
Many times this can also be more cost efficient. Many airlines have created separate training
centers, calling them flight academies. An example of this is the former Delta Connection
Academy, as it was a subsidiary of Delta Airlines. Airlines can also contract their flight training
out to completely separate, unassociated training organizations. An example of this type of
training organization is Flightsafety Boeing Training International. Contracted training is usually
used for corporate flight operations. There are also designated training centers, such as the FAAs
Advanced Qualification Program. These training centers can produce flight instructors and
evaluators for air carriers on specific planes and carriers.
When it comes to training devices simulators seem to be the most popular. There are
several different types of flight simulators. They can be as simple as Microsoft Flight Simulator
X, a computer software. Computer software are only as valuable as the hardware used to control
it. FSX can be used in conjunction with joysticks, full you and rudder systems, throttle quadrants,
gauge sets, and radios. There are also full tilt flight simulators that actually move, which are
fairly close to real flight. Another form of simulator is the Vertigon, which emulates vertigo and
spatial disorientation. Military flight simulators are even more expansive and can incorporate all
of the forms of flight simulation, along with an artificial gravity to place a greater G load on
the training pilots.