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Guest Opinion: Simulation Comes of Age

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • General Aviation (GA) faces a persistent high accident rate stemming from deficiencies in both fundamental flight skills and higher-order risk management, negatively impacting the industry.
  • The article proposes transforming flight training to "educate aviators" rather than just "train pilots," highlighting flight simulators as an effective and economical tool to address these weaknesses by mastering fundamentals and realistically teaching risk management.
  • Full implementation of simulators is hindered by restrictive FAA regulations regarding loggable credit and instructors' preference for actual flight hours, requiring courage and commitment to prioritize comprehensive airmanship over box-ticking.
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One of the few advantages of aging (or becoming “seasoned,” as my wife calls it) is gaining better perspective of our lives and careers. For me, a constant over the past 40 years has been watching the tragic consistency of the rate and reasons for General Aviation aircraft accidents.

On a personal level, I‘ve lost too many friends in such accidents. As an insurance professional, I’ve watched GA become crippled by rising insurance costs, particularly for product liability. And now, if the experts are correct, we could be facing another “hard” property and casualty insurance market making that challenge much worse.

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