Bhanu Choudhrie said they are competing on price and quantity. They are going after the professionals, working with the airlines and building out a global pilot network. For them, it’s about focus, making the team is creating unprecedented opportunities to re-imagine a future in which they do not have to rely on their physical presence to work and interact with others. The key to the transformation is doing something they all love to dolearning and doing it faster and better.
Bhanu Choudhrie is at the center of that change. By applying technology to aviation training, he hopes to tap into the knowledge and capabilities of young people in rural India and build the next generation of aviation talent. He emphasizes that the aviation industry’s goals are to create a more equal workforce and to become a more democratic business. AAG is not just responding to women’s economic challenges, he says, but to the challenges posed by a more networked, global economy.
The FAA requires all commercial airline pilots to obtain training that involves at least one flight simulator. Since training is a proprietary practice, new technologies must be able to replicate a full flight in a realistic manner. It also requires pilots to use real-time flight data from other aircraft and other airports. While this is currently possible in most training centers, the training often takes place in a monotonous, traditional setting. AAG has modified its training modules to be driven by interactive touch screens that allow the students to adjust and control the flight path.
Companies are implementing “sim-drive,” an alternative approach to traditional simulation training. Bhanu Choudhrie describes the approach as “sim-drive,” an alternative approach to traditional simulation. “In my opinion, innovation is all about adapting to changing market conditions,” says Choudhrie. “Training is no different. I believe that the training industry is rapidly evolving from a mostly black-and-white solution to imparting safety and knowledge to teaching new competencies in a variety of skills from aerodynamics to how to negotiate an airport. In the end, our pilots, and everyone in the aviation industry, will be the real winners.” Bhanu Choudhrie believes that training is an industry worth investing in, given the positive impact that pilot training has on the economy.