Very Light Jet Magazine

Private jets and private jet travel have captured the attention of individual and corporate checkbooks. In my consulting practice, the trend is toward inquiries from hedge fund managers and investment bankers, looking for opportunities in the private jet category.  Very Light Jets as a group are sharing in the spotlight of their larger cousins- the light jets and beyond.

To accommodate that larger designation and demands for services and information about private jets-at-large, the parent company and owner of this magazine is now Private Jet Group International, Inc. www.privatejetin.com

Very Light Jet training issues are at the heart of our recent interview with Bob Barnes of Robert B. Barnes Associates, Inc., presented here.

VLJ Magazine:  Bob, we last interviewed you in [early 2007] when you were just starting an international discussion group to identify various issues and concerns regarding very light jet pilot training and licensing.  What has happened since then?

Barnes:  As your readers may recall, it was in December 2006 that a small group of VLJ stakeholders began discussing the key issues relating to VLJ pilot training with the ultimate goal of helping to improve VLJ operational safety. 

This on-line discussion, which initially began as a simple conversation between two people interested in aviation safety, has now grown to include more than 300 aviation professionals representing VLJ training stakeholders from around the world. And, it has generated more than 200 pages of discussion summaries that identify key stakeholder concerns relating to VLJ training. 

VLJ Magazine:  Is your group gaining any traction on these issues? 

Barnes:  The World Aviation Training Conference, held last week in Orlando, clearly indicated an increasing interest in very light jet training issues.  Nearly 1,000 international aviation professionals gathered to discuss trends in aviation training, not the least of which relate directly to the global introduction of very light or, as some prefer to say, “entry level” jets.  

The half day of breakout sessions at WATS dedicated to VLJ training issues could very easily have been expanded to an entire day and informal discussions about VLJ training occurred outside the formal sessions throughout the entire conference. 

As a result, it was easy to see that our group has succeeded in laying the foundation for the development of international VLJ training best practices but it is also very apparent that there is even more work to be done to ensure the operational safety of the VLJ. 

No longer is it sufficient to say things like “we will have a mentoring program as described in the NBAA Guidelines” or “our training program exceeds regulatory requirements.”  Today, stakeholders are interested in the specific operational details and lessons-learned that will make such a program safe and effective.

VLJ Magazine:  You say there were a lot of informal discussions.  Can you share with us the types of things that were discussed? 

Barnes:  As I just mentioned, stakeholders are looking for training specifics rather than marketing statements.  And, there were quite a few people at WATS who expressed concerns with specific issues such as: 

• The implications of using the AFM to control a manufacturer’s training program;
• The lack of an objective regulatory standard for evaluating pilot training program equivalence;
• The implied requirement that Level-D simulators must be used in VLJ training;
• Where mentoring should be placed in the pilot certification process, if at all;
• The lack of harmonization between international regulatory bodies in regard to VLJ operational issues, including pilot licensing and the issue of mentoring; and
• The ability of the PTS to adequately and fairly evaluate the perceived requirements of TAA operation.

VLJ Magazine:  Was WATS like so many conferences where there are a lot of presentations but not much aside from networking really gets accomplished? 

Barnes:  No, quite to the contrary.  The VLJ break-out sessions featured a great deal of interactivity with attendees and one entire session was dedicated to accomplishing a first-level peer review of 75 draft questions proposed for inclusion in a VLJ Training Safety Audit Checklist.

VLJ Magazine:  What do you mean by VLJ Training Safety Audit Checklist?

Barnes:  Earlier this year, our discussion group began generating questions that stakeholders felt should be asked about any VLJ training program.  Our intended goal is to use these questions to create a self-audit checklist to help manufacturers, insurers, and training providers quickly recognize both the strengths and weaknesses of current or proposed VLJ training programs.

VLJ Magazine:  How does this proposed audit checklist relate to the development of training best practices which, as I recall, was your original goal?

Barnes:  The audit checklist is the first step toward identifying training best practices.  We need to be able to identify how training providers are addressing the key training issues before we can even start to discuss which training program elements might be more effective.

VLJ Magazine:  But aren’t the VLJ manufacturers’ training programs proprietary?

Barnes:  It’s interesting you use the term “proprietary” in conjunction with “training program” because it did indeed get applied several times at WATS in response to specific training questions.  I personally find it totally inappropriate to label anything “proprietary” that relates to operational safety.  Open communications among training stakeholders are essential in order to learn what works and what doesn’t work.  Otherwise every training provider will be forced to go down the same trial and error path until we all eventually arrive at some form of VLJ training best practices.  Isn’t it possible that talking with one another along the journey might be a better way to do this?

VLJ Magazine:  Don’t the VLJ manufacturers already talk with one another through organizations like the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA)?

Barnes:  I can’t say what type of training communication occurs through GAMA but, by virtue of the name, it appears that there are a lot of VLJ training stakeholders who would not be part of such conversations.  Our discussion group was formed and has continued to grow because many people who have a vested interest in the success of the VLJ feel their issues and concerns have not been addressed adequately in regard to operational safety beyond the business interests of certain manufacturers.

VLJ Magazine:  What other topics might be important to readers of VLJ Magazine?

Barnes:  A very interesting question involves the single-pilot operation of VLJ air taxis.

Vern Raburn, President and CEO of Eclipse Aviation, was the keynote speaker at a VLJ conference sponsored by the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) in London during March.  At the close of that conference, he challenged attendees to initiate a research project to validate the acceptability of single-pilot VLJ air taxi operation.

Obviously, the reason for this proposed project is economic.  Even though very light jets are already being certified for single-pilot operation, any jet operated commercially in Europe is required to have two pilots.  Even DayJet in the U.S. is using two-pilots.  While the financial model for a two-pilot air taxi business may be acceptable, the bottom line would obviously improve dramatically if only one-pilot were required.

Last week at WATS attendees in one of our VLJ break-out sessions were asked: "Should the VLJ be flown by single-pilots in air taxi operations?"  This question stimulated some interesting comments but one of the more thought provoking was this:

"When aviation first began, there was only one pilot.  Through the years we've added more crew members as the aircraft and/or its role has become more complex.  Fortunately, we've always been able to produce the number of pilots required.  Now, there is a major pilot shortage on the horizon for all of commercial aviation.  The backlog of aircraft orders and the projected public demand for air travel indicate that there is an increasing spread between the number of new pilots required each year and the projected pilot production.  However, human nature being what it is, we are still reluctant to retrace our steps even if technology can be shown to make the task more manageable by fewer people.  Moving from three to two pilots was a major behavioral challenge for a variety of reasons many of which involved human perception and politics.  Of course, there were also crew management transition issues as well (think 3-pilot vs 2-pilot CRM).  Moving from two pilots to one pilot creates similar challenges (think single-pilot resource management).  However, the reality is that the demand for more pilots and the proven capabilities of technology are now leading us through a complete cycle that began with one pilot over a hundred years ago and is rapidly moving back toward one pilot or less (think RPV) for both economic and practical reasons."

If single-pilot operations are to be the future reality of commercial aviation, what are the issues and concerns that must be addressed in order to facilitate this step?  Is the VLJ air taxi an operational prototype for the future of commercial aviation?

I would certainly be interested in what your readers think.

VLJ Magazine:  One more question before we must end this interview – what do you see in the future for your VLJ training discussion group?

Barnes:  Shortly before WATS, I sent a message to members of our stakeholder group who were planning to attend WATS asking: Should we continue the VLJ training discussion group? 

I indicated that I felt we’ve taken this effort as far as we can as a volunteer activity and we either need to shut it down or transition it to some other form.  As you might imagine, this stimulated considerable off-line discussion at WATS.

Here is what I heard -- We’ve accomplished a great deal but there is even more that needs to be done.  However, it was suggested that this additional work might better be accomplished under the auspices of a respected and unbiased international aviation safety organization. 

Therefore, we are now at a crossroads and the direction this activity takes is literally up to the stakeholders.  Will a major aviation safety organization come forward to continue this work?  Will enough sponsors step forward to financially support these efforts?  We’ll have to see but the time is short.

VLJ Magazine:  Bob, how can our readers participate in this valuable project?

Barnes:  I can be reached most easily by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or by phone at +1-602-321-0169

Thanks to Bob Barnes for his commitment to flying safety and his pursuit of understanding and agreement on the important issues regarding VLJ training.  Stay tuned.