Simulator manufacturer and training giant CAE says it’s past time to overhaul flight training in business aviation. Tim Schoenauer, Senior Director of Global Business Aviation Training Solutions at CAE, says bizjet training involves repeating the same flight skill exercises (steep turns, etc.) and unrealistic emergency drills that don’t prepare them for the real emergencies they might face. So CAE has developed a data-driven training program based on real-life scenarios encountered by real business jet pilots. He said airlines have been doing it for 30 years and said it’s “more practical relevant training.”
The Continuously Optimized Recurrent (CORe) training system gives pilots emergencies that have not turned out well for other pilots in the previous six months. Since they’re based on real events, from runway excursions to in-flight emergencies, there’s no way to practice or study the correct way to address them so pilots have to think on their feet to solve the problems. It’s all done in the safety of the simulator where their reactions and actions can be analyzed. Schoenauer called it a “data-driven approach” to flight training rather than a “tasks-driven approach.” He elaborates in this podcast interview recorded at NBAA-BACE 2025 in Las Vegas.
