CAT Editor-in-Chief Rick Adams, FRAeS, talks with Kit Darby, one of the leading experts on professional pilot careers about the state of the North American aviation market – recovery, retirements, furloughs, pay packages, and advice for moving to the head of the queue when hiring restarts (perhaps sooner than you think).

The first section of this five part series is on Airline Recovery Scenarios and the Impact of Pilot Retirements.

Kit Darby outlines possible airline recovery models, pilot retirements at the major US airlines, scenarios for the resumption of pilot hiring, and a comparison of airline early-retirement offers. 

CAT Editor-in-Chief Rick Adams, FRAeS, highlights the stories that caught his eye in a new Halldale feature titled Rick’s Picks.

CAT Editor-in-Chief Rick Adams, FRAeS, talks with Kit Darby, one of the leading experts on professional pilot careers about the state of the North American aviation market – recovery, retirements, furloughs, pay packages, and advice for moving to the head of the queue when hiring restarts (perhaps sooner than you think).

The second section of this five part series is on Furloughs, Leaves of Absence, and the US CARES Act .

Kit discusses “what scares him more” than the coronavirus.  Also, furloughs, leaves of absence, and what happens when the CARES Act expires in October.

When the FAA releases revised guidelines for pilot training for the modified Boeing 737 MAX, insiders expect a motion-based FFS will not be required. CAT Editor-In-Chief, Rick Adams, FRAeS, reports.

The anticipated training requirements for the modified Boeing 737 MAX aircraft will not likely require hardware changes to full-flight simulators or other MAX flight training devices which have already been built. “We’ve just done a large update to all the segments,” CAE’s Nick Leontidis told CAT. “The FAA and everybody else are doing their testing; there’s some required modifications, and we have just finished an update for all our sims. So things seem to be progressing in the right direction. I’m going to assume that things are quite mature at the moment.” Leontidis, Group President, Civil Aviation Training Solutions, for the Montréal-based simulator manufacturer and training services provider, confirmed that the updates are software-only.

“They’re obviously being very, very quiet about the whole thing,” he added. CAE had a representative on the FAA working group evaluating the training changes.

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Safety advocates’ push for a standardized approach to training pilots for Part 135 operations has gone from being a pipedream to near-reality. Robert W. Moorman explores this development.

The industry-wide proposed “standardized curriculum” (SC) concept for pilots training to fly Part 135 aircraft is gaining steam and could become the norm. Announced through an FAA Advisory Circular (AC 142-1) in May 2020, the SC, if adopted, will address administrative inefficiencies that exist between Part 135 operations and Part 142 training centers and enhance safety.

Safety is a key driver of the SC, which supports The National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) Most Wanted List initiative to increase safety in Part 135 operations. The SC concept is designed to increase safety by improving the consistency of training, testing, and checking delivered to Part 135 operators. Various segments of the aviation community are supporting the idea of the SC and its common-sense based approach to training.

What makes the proposed initiative unusual is that it is voluntary. In addition, the SC would not alter or modify existing regulations regarding Part 135 pilot training or operations. AC 142-1 describes the SC concept as an “acceptable means, but not the only means” for Part 142 training centers to obtain authorization to offer training for Part 135 operators, according to the FAA.

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Meet the three finalists contesting this award and vote for your favourite.