CESSNA HAS UNVEILED a computer-based instruction (CBI) programme to train pilots in fewer hours at its Cessna Pilot Centers (CPCs). The initial private-pilot course is to be introduced by US-based CPCs in the second quarter of 1998. Beginning in 1999, courses will be developed for other ratings and for international licences.
The CBI course being developed with San Diego-based King Schools is a Windows-based multi-media program designed to run on an IBM-compatible personal computer, and will come in the form of a set of CD-ROMs supplied to each student who enrols for flight training at a CPC. This will allow students to continue study at their own homes.
Features include extensive use of full-screen video in each ground-school lesson and a preview of the subsequent training flight. The latter shows the student what to expect on each flight using video shot from the left seat of a Cessna 172 Skyhawk. Each lesson is followed by a quiz, and a student has to answer all questions correctly before being allowed to progress. A mistake takes the student back to the previous part of the lesson.
The manufacturer is working closely with the 350 existing USCPCs, while expanding its training-centre network. Cessna plans an advertising campaign to stimulate interest in learning to fly, which, it is hoped, will generate demand for new Skyhawk trainers.
Source: Flight International
