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, @Cole Edwards, and @Firas Bashee), mentors, and department staff (@Craig Stewart) we have ended 2024 with one of our best quarters ever!

The numbers

P1 PPL(A)

The P1 course, across the board, saw its second best quarter ever, and our best in over 3 years! We saw a sharp increase in the number of sessions, and notably we also saw an increase in the number of sessions per student. On average, we gave each of our 11 students 4 sessions, which equates to roughly 1.8 per month when factoring in the Christmas break. Simply fantastic!

P2 SEIR(A)

The P2 also saw a very positive Q4, where we saw some new mentors and students received regular sessions. Despite the challenges in 2024, the year produces very comparable data to previous years.

The Flying Programme

Unfortunate no TFP sessions were conducted during Q4 2024. However, 2024 overall was a great foundational year for TFP.

Exams

We continued our 100% pass rate under the new exam system throughout 2024 - a truly fantastic achievement!

My thoughts and reflections

Despite everything 2024 threw at us, we persevered and overcame. The improvements we've made to Pilot Training, in both course content and management, cannot be understated! Our training times are shorter, our students are getting regular sessions, our courses are getting better, and the exams results are simply excellent.

To all the DSG, staff, and members who supported me through 2024 - thank you. I'm more motivated than ever in my role to lead this incredible department, and most importantly I've come to enjoy it and the network again.

What's next?

In looking at the statistics for January 2025, we are on track to obliterate even the fantastic Q4 we saw last year. Our sessions per month for students has increased further, and TFP is on track for a record quarter.

For the P1, our next step is to introduce video briefings to further streamline our content delivery. In TFP, we're looking to optimize our content to best supplement the new NMOC released by the VATSIM PTD.

Additionally, there will be openings for staff in Pilot Training opening soon, so stay tuned!