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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 strides forward have been made.

If you haven’t read the Q2 2024 review, I highly recommend reading it first to get a better context for this report.

The numbers and graphs

In contrast to previous reports, I decided to only show the condensed version of the Q3 statistics (i.e., only show one graph with the information traditionally shown on three graphs).

Note: Unique Mentors and Unique Students refer to the number of mentors who mentored at least one session and the number of students who received at least one session respectively. This is not an indication of the number of active training places.

P1 PPL(A)

 

The P1 saw similar session volumes to the previous quarter, with a slight increase in the number of mentors mentoring and students receiving sessions.

P2 SEIR(A)

 

The P2 saw a slight decline in the number of sessions conducted, also seen in the number of mentors and students.

The Flying Programme

 

The Flying Programme saw a steady rise in session volume, mentors and student numbers.

Exams

 

As promised in my last review, I am publishing the number of exam forwards and passes for each quarter. In Q3 we saw two students be forwarded for their P1 skills test, with one passing and the other still awaiting their exam.

What are the numbers saying?

As expected in the previous review, we saw very similar numbers in all three training programmes in Q3 versus Q2. The reason for this will be detailed later in the review, and I am not concerned with these figures.

A great positive is that we continue our 100% pass rate under the new examination system – a testament to the quality of our training programmes.

So…what exactly did we do for 3 months?

As I detailed in the previous quarterly review, I needed to make some changes to Pilot Training. As with any well-functioning organisation, it starts at the top (i.e., with me). I’ve made sure to be more active in the staff and mentoring teams, something I hope my team can attest to. While I am crazy busy with university, I am committed to giving my VATSIM role the time and excellence it deserves.

Mentor Feedback

One of the first things I did last quarter was to get mentor feedback. With low mentor retention and low session volumes, I wanted to understand what our mentors thought of Pilot Training.

From the survey, we had six mentors respond. The main feedback was:

1. Most of our mentors do not have more than 4 hours a week to commit to mentoring, mainly due to real-world studies or work.
2. Most mentors enjoy mentoring.
3. Not all mentors feel their efforts are recognized by the division, nor do they prefer doing pilot mentoring over other forms of division contribution.
4. The mentor onboarding process is too long.
5. The department has lost some of its “flying club” atmosphere.
6. Staff involvement seems low.

Getting feedback from our mentors is so vital – they are our feet on the ground! Going forward, I intend to run similar polls at regular intervals.

So, what have we done to address these points?

Shortening the mentor onboarding process

Recently I published a new version of the Training Handbook (more on that later) which detailed our all-new and significantly shorter mentor onboarding process.

Mentors can now start solo mentoring after one OTS (previously three) and are subject to regular supervised sessions as stipulated in the Handbook.

Additionally, mentor support and teaching standardisation documentation are actively being developed for both P1 and P2.

Staff involvement

I have introduced a new guideline for our staff members: I expect us all to do three mentoring sessions per month.

As leaders in the department, we cannot ask mentors to do the dirty work and not do anything ourselves. Going forward, our staff will lead by example and set the standard for our courses.

 

This guidance was introduced midway through September. Despite it not being implemented for a full month, we saw that all staff members did at least one session.

The club vibe

Community is tricky to get right. However, doing something is better than nothing!

We’re looking to bring back the GA Club and integrate it into the Pilot Training environment. Additionally, regular mentor-student events will be organised by Craig Stewart (the Training Department Assistant).

There is no definitive date on when this will be introduced, but I would like to see these things sooner than later.

The Training Handbook

To put it bluntly, I got fed up with trying to maintain the original Training Handbook document. As noted in the release notes, the latest Handbook release has a bunch of known errors and outdated content. This isn’t the standard I hold myself to, but I needed to pull the trigger and formalize the new mentor onboarding process.

As such, I am completely rewriting the Handbook from the ground up. It will have a new format and will be significantly easier to use and maintain. While I do not have a date of completion for this, I will try to complete it as fast as possible alongside my studies.

Closing thoughts

The third quarter was the first of many in a new chapter for Pilot Training. I am very pleased with the progress made in a few short months. We are rebuilding, we are pushing forward, and we will become the best ATO on the network. The numbers may not reflect it now, but these changes will build a solid foundation for success in the long run.

Students: I am pushing to give you the best training the network has to offer.

Mentors: I trust that you feel that we as staff listened to your feedback and made changes that improve your quality of life. As always, my DMs are open so please reach out if you have further feedback.

Staff: Thank you for your dedication to your roles. I’m thrilled to see us pull together and work as a team. Let’s keep it up!

The rest of VATSIM UK: Thank you for understanding our position as Pilot Training. I hope that we represent the division well and engage well with our members.