How Your Flight Academy Will Benefit from Dedicated Communications Training

Why are effective communication training skills important for student pilots?

A search of the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) database currently returns 22,443 historical results for incidents in which communication breakdown was listed as a contributing factor. In 2021 alone, communication breakdown contributed to a reported 1,598 incidents and was a primary problem in 770 incidents.

Clearly, pilot communication is important to safety, and this means that high-quality dedicated pilot communications training is a necessary component of flight academy programs.

The problem is that not only do student pilots need to learn ATC communication skills, but they also must practice using those skills to make talking to ATC second nature.

The question becomes, “how do you provide quality communications instruction and radio practice for student pilots?”

The answer is radio simulation training.

Table of Contents

• Four Important Advantages of Simulation Training for Flight Academies
• 1. Improved Comms Training Efficiency & Effectiveness
• 2. Higher Student Engagement
• 3. Ability to Coach Students Who Need Extra Attention
• 4. Better Student Performance Outcomes
• How to Get Radio Simulator Training for Your School

Four Important Advantages of Simulation Training for Flight Academies

Adopting this form of dedicated aviation comms training has multiple advantages for both flight academies and their students.

It’s a turn-key solution that will make your curriculum stand out from other schools in these areas:

1. Improved Training Efficiency & Effectiveness

Depending on the size of your classes, it can take a long time and be very inefficient for instructors to lecture on a topic, and then try to check each student’s comprehension level.

With a radio simulation training program, a portion of the training is automated, saving both time and money. The entire class can complete modules together in real-time as the instructor walks around the room checking on students. As the students learn and practice simultaneously, the instructor is freed up to give feedback, monitor progress, and answer questions as needed.

2. Higher Student Engagement

Listening to an instructor present new material is a good start, but for students to retain what they’ve learned, they will need to practice. The problem is many student pilots are self-conscious when they first begin using aviation phraseology and practice talking to air traffic control.

The ARSim software takes the pressure off by creating a private, safe environment to learn, practice, and receive personal feedback. This is especially important and useful for students whose first language is not English.

English as a second language (ESL) students may be worried about both understanding ATC and whether they themselves will be understood when they are talking to ATC. Working through these concerns in a radio simulator training program helps identify and correct any pronunciation issues early on.

3. Ability to Coach Students Who Need Extra Attention

Historically, many students are reluctant to ask questions. When trainers try to check in with student comprehension, they can sometimes get dead silence rather than feedback on understanding. This means that in a standard classroom setting where students are expected to simply practice on their own, instructors may not know who is falling behind.

When you use advanced radio comms training tools like ARSim, the instructor can use the Dashboard to review the students’ scores to gauge the class’s overall comprehension level.

Instead of spending extra time on topics the class already understands, the trainer can move on to new content. They’ll also know which individual students may need extra 1-on-1 time for a given module.

4. Better Student Performance Outcomes

Students that augment their flight communications lessons with simulated practice communicating with ATC are much more confident and prepared when the time comes to talk to ATC in real life.

Better prepared students do well on their check rides and written tests, meaning your academy’s success rate and positive reviews should increase, attracting even more students.

How to Get Radio Simulator Training for Your School

The Aviation Radio Simulator (ARSim) is the easy route to aviation radio proficiency. Our simulator walks pilots through a built-in training curriculum complete with simulated communication scenarios with the ground, tower, departure, center, and approach control for both VFR and IFR training.

When you purchase PlaneEnglish ARSim for your training institution, you will also gain access to a Learning Management System Dashboard. This dashboard provides a quick and easy way for instructors to track their student’s progress, identify problems, and provide individualized instruction as needed.

Learn more and get in touch with us on our flight school radio sim training page. We look forward to crafting a custom training solution for you and your students.

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