Sir - I read with interest Pierre Kemmler's letter (Flight International, 5-11 April, P83) and would broadly endorse his views. The problem with aviation training seems to be the confusion between identifying suitable candidates for training; defining the required body of skills and knowledge required by pilots; determining optimum training methods, and guaranteeing acceptable standards of performance.
Trying to force individual countries to conform to a global curriculum solves no problems.
Over the years, nations have constructed their own training and licensing framework. Each country's system reflects the social, technological and economic development of commercial and military aviation within that country.
I have been awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Travelling Fellowship for 1995 to investigate this. I will be visiting several countries which have contrasting approaches to pilot training and licensing. I want to ask regulators, trainers and operators what they expect from their national systems. I am also interested in hearing from anyone who has a view on the subject.
Given that air transport is a global activity, employing similar working practices and equipment, it makes apparent sense to standardise the training and licensing in some way. Provided that we can guarantee, the safe operation of the system, does it matter that pilots are not all trained, the same way?
NORMAN MACLEOD
The Old School House
48 Church Street, Bucktden
Huntingdon PE18 9SX, UK
Source: Flight International