Data Insights Transforming Airline Pilot Training

Flight data has become a critical factor in enhancing the safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of aviation worldwide. But beyond these operational domains, flight data also holds the potential to revolutionize pilot training processes, offering insights that were previously unreachable or very hard to access.

What is Flight Data?

At the core of aviation flight data analytics are two fundamental sources of data: the Quick Access Recorder (QAR) and the Flight Data Recorder (FDR). These systems are the black boxes that chronicle the life of an aircraft, documenting everything from altitude and speed to system performance and pilot inputs. In smaller business jets and General Aviation (GA) aircraft, this information can also be retrieved in the form of flight logs within modern avionics, which can be a gold mine of time-series data for otherwise QAR and FDR unequipped aircraft. With the advent of connectivity solutions that expose the ARINC 429 bus—a digital data bus standard used on higher-end business and transport aircraft—accessing and downloading this data has become easier, offering a rich repository of information. As a rule, all these sources of data provide an uninterrupted stream of 1Hz or more data that, once decoded and converted to meaningful units, can tell the story of each aircraft second by second.

What is flight data used for?

Initially introduced as an important investigative tool, in modern aviation, flight data underpins Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) and Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) programs that aim to proactively maintain and improve safety standards. It is instrumental in detecting exceedances—events where an aircraft operates outside the predefined safe envelope of flight parameters. However, this data is not just a collection of numbers and charts. It's a narrative of each flight's story, bearing implications for pilot privacy and, thus, is governed by strict rules and regulations. This protection is double-edged; it ensures pilot confidentiality but also restricts pilots from gaining insights into their performance directly from the data. In many airlines, the process of engaging with this data for self-improvement is cumbersome, requiring pilots to navigate a labyrinth of safety department protocols—a challenge when such departments operate in silos. Meanwhile, many other departments already get access to the same data. In some cases, without applying any filtering, this same data is used to drive value in aircraft maintenance (through health monitoring, predictive maintenance), efficiency, and cost optimization. One could ask a meaningful question: "How come, critical data that represents the performance of pilots is available to so many people inside an airline, but not to the pilots themselves?"

Let’s give pilots access to their data!

Imagine this scenario – a young Generation Z pilot who has started their line training on an Airbus A320 aircraft a month ago goes for her regular run in the park. After wrapping up her workout, she looks at her smartwatch, finishes the training on her tracking app and looks at her performance – 6 kilometers, average pace just below 5 minutes per kilometer, average heart rate that much, altitude gain – that much. Fast forward a few hours – our young pilot has just landed an A320 full of passengers at London Gatwick airport and feels that it was “a bit too long, maybe flared too high, did not deploy reverse fast enough”. At least this is what her captain and line instructor tells her based on his feeling about the landing. She then asks herself – “If I can measure my workout, why can’t I measure my work?”

The straightforward answer is – “Of course you can!” As the industry pivots towards Evidence-Based Training (EBT) and embraces the philosophy of 'learning from all operations', a more nuanced approach to flight data is required. The integration of EBT training approach recommended by ICAO—and Learning from All Operations (LFOA) necessitates a granular examination of flight data. This would enable pilots to engage in self-learning and continuous development, tailoring their training to their unique experiences and needs. While the above scenario may look very specific to ab-initio line training, the reality is that all pilots at any stage of their career can benefit from data that talks to them about their performance and development needs. On top of that, the impending need to onboard approximately 650,000 new pilots over the next decade—a figure outlined by Boeing—adds urgency to this endeavor. With the influx of digital-native pilots, there is an expectation and demand for immediate access to data insights to inform daily operations and personal growth.

And here comes the challenge. As the current use of flight data is limited by design and regulation, the only way for pilots to “have a taste” of their own flight’s data is through cumbersome internal processes involving Flight Safety departments (if possible, at all), or even worse – only during occurrence reviews and investigations. All of these are in complete opposition to the principles of Learning from All Operations. Of course, providing uncontrolled access to this data is not an option as its misinterpretation could lead to opposite effects, not to mention the privacy risks that arise from a lack of data governance and controls. What is needed is a solution that stands between the pilots and their data and ensures that the data is clean, analyzed, interpreted, and carefully curated.

FlightAdvise – helping pilots learn through data-enabled post-flight debriefing

Enter FlightAdvise. Fliant’s revolutionary solution is not just another mobile application for pilots, but a comprehensive training and development coach that uses data insights derived from flight data and provides a data-rich debriefing for pilots, their instructors, and training managers. “Like Strava, but for Pilots” is probably the best and shortest explanation that we’ve heard so far. With FlightAdvise, pilots get access to tailored and carefully curated insights that tell the story of each flight.

Compared to other solutions, FlightAdvise is precise, straight to the point, and doesn’t expect the pilots to spend hours analyzing flight data or looking at animations – on the contrary, it is easy to use and focused on potential areas of improvement. One of the key aspects of the whole platform is that it’s not based on FDM, it’s not focusing on threshold exceedances and will not lead to pilots “riding the FDM profile”. With the platform, Airlines decide what and when to show to pilots, enabling a true Learning from All Operations culture.

For those airlines that would like to enable TRIs (Type Rating Instructors) with data, the solution offers an aggregated view of trainee performance, so instructors can prepare and tailor training sessions taking into consideration the personal development needs of pilots. Expanding on this idea, and looking across the whole operation, training managers can extract valuable insights that fit into the airline’s EBT program better than just “exceedance event reports” coming from the FDM/FOQA program, which ultimately leads to a much more effective and efficient EBT program.

Conclusion

The potential of flight data to revolutionize pilot training is immense. By providing pilots with access to their performance data, similar to how athletes monitor their training, the aviation industry can enhance safety, efficiency, and personal development. FlightAdvise represents a significant step forward in this direction, offering a data-enabled coaching tool that bridges the gap between pilots and their performance data. This innovative approach not only facilitates a culture of continuous learning and improvement but also aligns with the evolving expectations of digital-native pilots. As the industry moves towards more evidence-based and personalized training methods, tools like FlightAdvise play a crucial role in shaping the future of aviation training, making it more data-driven, accessible, and tailored to individual needs.