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Pilot Training

A group blog by Pilot Training in Division Updates

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Contributors to this blog

  • Daniel Crookes 40
  • Darren Hill 30
  • Gdpr Removed 9
  • Ben Carpenter 5
  • Lewis Hardcastle 1
  • Matthew Wilson 1
  • Lewis Hammett 1
  • Tarik Merrylees 1
  • Cole Edwards 1
  • Riley Casement 1

About this blog

Entries in this blog

Staff Changes

VFR Flight Instructor

Hi all! I am pleased to announce that @Benjamin Arrowsmith is joining us as the new VFR Flight Instructor! Ben brings a wealth of real-world instructing experience and has presented some insightful ideas for moving the P1 course forward. Over the next week, I'll be handing over to Ben and he will lead the course (including it's practical rewrite 👀). Welcome to the team Ben! Safe landings ✈️
Darren Hill

Darren Hill in Staff Changes

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Pilot Training

Changes to the Pilot Training Waiting Lists

What's Changing? Each of the Pilot Training waiting lists can be subject to three types of restrictions: Minimum network experience This requires members to have a minimum number of flying and/or ATC hours on the VATSIM network Minimum activity This requires members on the list to maintain a minimum amount of activity on the VATSIM network Maximum list size This will close enrollment to the list if it reaches a predetermined size The implementation of t
Darren Hill

Darren Hill in Pilot Training

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Staff Changes

Initial Flight Instructor

Hi all! I am pleased to announce that @Cole Edwards has been selected as our new Initial Flight Instructor! Cole presented some amazing ideas and visions for both The Flying Programme and Pilot Training overall and will be an amazing asset to the team. He brings along good experience mentoring in the division. Over the next few weeks, Cole will work with Craig and Ben to take over the responsibilities of the role. All the best in your new role Cole, and welcome to the team! S
Darren Hill

Darren Hill in Staff Changes

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Pilot Training

Quarterly Review: Q1 2025

A massive shout out to everyone who is involved with Pilot Training at the moment: our wonderful team of mentors, our FIs ( @Ben Carpenter, @Benjamin Arrowsmith, @Firas Bashee, @Cole Edwards, @Tarik Merrylees), and our TDA @Craig Stewart. Join the team We are always looking for new mentors across our training courses: P1, P2, and TFP. Irrespective of your experience, if you are interested in contributing to the division and passionate about flying then please reach out! Helpdesk:
Darren Hill

Darren Hill in Pilot Training

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Pilot Training

Pilot Training Q2 2018 Summary

Hi all, A quick summary from the Pilot Training Department of Q2! Q2 Progress We have made great headway in our mentor recruitment which is reflected by the number of sessions conducted as the months of Q2 progress. Oliver Hall has departed the team as IFR Flight Instructor, this role will soon be filled. FTE production has been slow over the past 6 weeks due to availability with the team, but we will gear back up as this month continues! But our biggest de
Daniel Crookes

Daniel Crookes in Pilot Training

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Pilot Training

Quarterly Review: Q3 2024

Join the team We are always looking for new mentors across our training courses: P1, P2, and TFP. Irrespective of your experience, if you are interested in contributing to the division and passionate about flying then please reach out! Helpdesk: https://helpdesk.vatsim.uk/ (select “Pilot Training” as the department) A new horizon The third quarter of 2024 played host to a mentality shift within the Pilot Training team. The numbers may not show it directly, but some great stri
Darren Hill

Darren Hill in Pilot Training

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Pilot Training

P1 PPL(A) Syllabus and Moodle Updates

Hi all! After months of planning, getting .net approval, and a late night push with @Ben Carpenter, we are extremely proud to announce our revised and streamlined P1 PPL(A) syllabus. These changes are the first step in a wider effort my Pilot Training to improve training efficiency, modernize our syllabus, and encourage more self-study for students. Syllabus Changes Note: changes are effective immediately. The overall changes can be summarized as follows: Removal of t
Darren Hill

Darren Hill in Pilot Training

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Pilot Training

2024: In Review

Hi all! With the new year well underway, I want to take a moment to review and reflect on the successes of Pilot Training in 2024. As most of you will remember, mid-2024 saw a massive shift in how I was running Pilot Training. Read more here: Since then, I've made sure to deliver on my promises of being a better leader to my team and to improve our training programmes. I am beyond excited to announce that with the incredible help of the FIs (@Benjamin Arrowsmith, @Ben Carpenter,
Darren Hill

Darren Hill in Pilot Training

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Pilot Training

Pilot Training - Q3 2018 Summary

Hi All, 3 down 1 to go! Q3 of 2018 for the PTD has seen some of the highest numbers of mentoring sessions in a long time. This coupled with a noticeable increase in members interaction with the PTD has made these past few months, in my opinion, our most successful quarter to date! ? Q3 Progress: Mentor recruitment (particularly within the P2 & P3 courses) has continued to be very successful, Tom Knowles joined the team in July taking over the role of IFR Flight Instr
Daniel Crookes

Daniel Crookes in Pilot Training

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Staff Changes

Pilot Training Manager and Initial Flight Instructor

Hi all! I am please to announce two appointments to the Pilot Training team! @Lewis Hammett returns to the team as our Pilot Training Manager @Riley Casement joins us as our second Initial Flight Instructor alongside Cole Both of them bring the enthusiasm and passion we need to take our training forward. I cannot wait to see where Pilot Training goes! Safe landings ✈️
Darren Hill

Darren Hill in Staff Changes

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Pilot Training

P4 Syllabus Update

Hi All, As mentioned in the Q2 department report we have been working on new Syllabi and lesson plans for our courses and the first one to release will be for the P4 (IFR Pilot) course. The actual content of the rating and the way in which we examine the course will remain the same. This change introduces lesson plans for mentors to follow which will speed up and focus training. The CTS reports have been adjusted to include each lesson as an item to be marked, as opposed to the old met
Daniel Crookes

Daniel Crookes in Pilot Training

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Pilot Training

VFR Expansion to The Flying Programme

Changes to The Flying Programme We’re pleased to announce the launch of a brand new VFR (Visual Flight Rules) course within The Flying Programme, built specifically to support everyday pilots who want to fly light aircraft confidently on the VATSIM network without getting too buried theory or technicalities. This course provides a practical, no nonsense introduction to VFR flying, focusing on the essential knowledge and skills needed to operate competently in the online environment. Unlike t
Riley Casement

Riley Casement in Pilot Training

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Pilot Training

Quarterly Review: Q3 2025

First of all I just want to say a massive thank you to the entire mentoring team who have made 2025 possible in the Pilot Training Department! Join the team We are always looking for new mentors across our training courses: P1, P2, and TFP. Irrespective of your experience, if you are interested in contributing to the division and passionate about flying then please reach out! Helpdesk: https://helpdesk.vatsim.uk/ (select “Pilot Training” as the department)   Overview H
Ben Carpenter

Ben Carpenter in Pilot Training

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Vacancy

[Vacancy] Advanced Flight Instructor

Hi all! I am pleased to announce we will be recruiting for a new Advanced Flight Instructor who will co-run the department alongside our current advanced flight instructor @Tarik Merrylees. The advanced FI is responsible for creating and maintaining the P3_CMEL(A).  The Advanced Flight Instructors main responsibilities to begin with will include: Working alongside the current advanced FI to create the P3_CMEL(A) Oversee the development of the P3 CMEL(A) Moodle, lesson plans,
Ben Carpenter

Ben Carpenter in Vacancy

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Staff Changes

VFR Flight Instructor Appointment

I'm please to announce that @Riley Casement has been appointed as our new VFR Flight Instructor! Riley will be working alongside @Benjamin Arrowsmith   Riley has been the Initial Flight Instructor for the flying programme course and has been making some amazing change and has transformed the department. He brings some amazing experience and I look forward to seeing Riley starting to take over the responsibilities of the role over the coming weeks! I wish all the best to Riley and
Ben Carpenter

Ben Carpenter in Staff Changes

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Vacancy

[Vacancy] Initial Flight Instructor

Hi all! I am pleased to announce that with Riley's appointment as the VFR Flight Instructor we will be recruiting a new Initial Flight Instructor to run the Flying Programme!    The Initial Flight Instructors main responsibilities will be: Has overall responsibility for training of both the flying programme IFR and VFR; Assisting new pilots with gaining experience on the network Maintains training standards of the Flying Programme course; Select and train n
Ben Carpenter

Ben Carpenter in Vacancy

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Pilot Training

Quarterly Review: Q1 2024

A look back on 2023 The 2023 calendar year saw some major changes to Pilot Training across the network, notably the introduction of the P5 and P6 ratings. In addition, the VATSIM UK ATO was audited for the first time in 2 years – a new experience for everyone involved due to the new audit structure and scope. One thing that didn’t happen much last year was regular updates from our department. The lack of the usual quarterly reports is something I let slide while life got busy, and th
Darren Hill

Darren Hill in Pilot Training

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Staff Changes

Advanced Flight Instructor

Hi all! I am pleased to announce that @Tarik Merrylees is joining Pilot Training as our first Advanced Flight Instructor! Tarik has an extensive background in real-world instructing. His passion for developing the P3 CMEL(A) course and bringing a new perspective to the Department is simply fantastic! While we will not commit to any release date, the P3 CMEL(A) is now officially under development! Welcome Tarik! Safe landings ✈️
Darren Hill

Darren Hill in Staff Changes

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Pilot Training

Moodle Theory Exam Changes

Hi all! In light of .net's recommendations with our recent Pilot Training audit, there have been some changes made to the Moodle theory exams. For both the P1 PPL(A) and P2 SEIR(A) courses, the three and two exams respectively have been concatenated to one exam with the same question weighting. The changes are as follows: P1 PPL(A) Three exams -> One exam Pass mark 75% -> 70% Total questions 60 -> 40 Total time 90 minutes -> 60 minutes
Darren Hill

Darren Hill in Pilot Training

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Pilot Training

Ben Carpenter

Hi all! Ben Carpenter will be stepping down from his role as Initial FI. Ben has worked tirelessly to create the TFP course that we have and has done a grand job managing its running. All the best with your future endeavors Ben, and don't be a stranger! Blue skies and tailwinds ✈️
Darren Hill

Darren Hill in Pilot Training

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Pilot Training

P5 (Advanced IFR Pilot) Rating VATSIM UK

VATSIM UK's Pilot Training Department is proud to announce that we are now certified to train and award the P5 (Advanced IFR Pilot) Rating. After 9 long months of development and content creation, we have finally done it! Our P5 base will be located at Aberdeen (EGPD) International Airport, our first time venturing this far north! The P5 course requires different types of non-precision approaches to be conducted, so we felt that Aberdeen would be a perfect choice as it has published LOC, VO
Daniel Crookes

Daniel Crookes in Pilot Training

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Pilot Training

Modernising and Updating the P1 PPL(A)

Background ✈️ Our P1 PPL(A) course was released on 18 September 2020 and the course has remained largely unchanged since release, besides a few clarifications on lessons and shifting a lesson or two around. In that time, we have produced 11 P1 ratings and have conducted 270 mentoring sessions (as of 23 February 2023). However, recent discussions have highlighted the need for some major changes to the P1 course. Why is change necessary? 🔍 The Waiting List It is well known that
Darren Hill

Darren Hill in Pilot Training

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Pilot Training

The Flying Programme Launch

Introduction ✈️ On the 13th of March 2021, Pilot Training put out a prospectus forum post describing The Flying Programme. Envisioned as an expansion of the P0 Initial Pilot rating, The Flying Programme proposed sessions, group flights, and seminars open to all home members on VATSIM UK to assist in starting out on the network. On the 13th of February 2023, The Flying Programme will be released. A special thanks to @Ben Carpenter, who has led the TFP development team since March 2
Darren Hill

Darren Hill in Pilot Training

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Pilot Training

P2 - Single Engine Instrument Rating (Aeroplane) Release

P2 SEIR(A) is a go! As many of you know, the P2 has been in the works since early 2021. Over the past 1.5 years, the course has presented us with challenges which have required hours of tireless volunteering by the team to overcome and produce the final product. Firstly, I'd like to extend a sincere and massive thanks to: @Daniel Crookes @Freddie Charlesworth @Lewis Hammett @Tom Knowles @Firas Bashee If I forgot your name, please feel free to shout at me! who have each d
Darren Hill

Darren Hill in Pilot Training

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Pilot Training

P3 Syllabus Update

Hi All, The P3 (VFR Pilot) syllabus has been updated in line with the recently changed P2 and P4. The CTS reports have been adjusted to include each lesson as an item to be marked, as opposed to the old method where each item on the report was criteria to be marked for each lesson. After each lesson is completed general comments about the lesson and information the mentor wishes to provide to the student will be posted in that lesson on the mentoring report. The mentor will then decide
Daniel Crookes

Daniel Crookes in Pilot Training

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