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A Look at the Evolution of Flight Training

There have been changes to avionics, airspace, navigation, and other aspects over the past 40 years.

Thursday, November 28, 2024 at 10:00 AM ET

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Although the laws of physics have not changed since the beginning of time, flight training has evolved and continues to do so. [Courtesy: Randy S. Bolinger]

Key Takeaways:

Flight training evolved from traditional ground schools to accessible home-based learning via digital media, while pilot safety improved with advanced noise-canceling headsets, some offering carbon monoxide detection.
Navigation dramatically shifted from ground-based NDBs and VORs to precise satellite-based GPS technology, fundamentally changing flight planning and execution.
Cockpit instrumentation modernized from analog "round dials" to integrated "glass cockpits," and aircraft surveillance progressed from transponders to mandatory ADS-B, requiring continuous adaptation for pilots and instructors.

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I started my aviation career when Ronald Reagan was president. If you do the math, that means I am coming up on 40 years as a pilot—and approximately half of that has been as a flight instructor.

Although the laws of physics have not changed since the beginning of time, flight training has evolved and continues to do so. Join us as we look back on some of the key changes to flight training over the past 40 years.

Meg Godlewski

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.