Says Pilot Personality Tests Are NOT 'Pass/Fail'

Don't believe the rumors. In his latest update to customers, Eclipse Aviation CEO Vern Raburn (shown at right, and below) says this mantra must be called on once again, to silence critics of the Albuquerque, NM-based planemaker's required personality test for prospective Eclipse 500 pilots.

"I would like to clear the air on some misconceptions regarding the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality test," Raburn writes. "The rumor that this is a test to disqualify certain individuals from Eclipse 500 training is completely false -- there is no pass/fail.

"The reality is that it has been proven that people learn differently depending on their personality type," he continues. "With this in mind, we will use this test to categorize how each pilot learns so that we can tailor their Eclipse 500 training experience accordingly. In addition, the MBTI results will be shared with you in an effort to teach you how your personality type learns in various situations. In the end, this will provide you with more effective instructor communication, allowing you to get the most out of your experience and become the best pilot possible."

In other Eclipse news, Raburn says the company's recently announced partnerships with Flight Simulation Company (FSC) of The Netherlands and Higher Power Aviation (HPA) of Fort Worth, TX will soon bear fruit in the company's FAA/Industry Training Standards (FITS)-approved training program... and that more and more pilots are learning to fly the VLJ.

"United Airlines is continuing to administer the Flight Skills Assessment (FSA) in Denver, CO," Raburn explains. "Eclipse Customer Care is handling all FSA scheduling. Many [customers] have already traveled to Albuquerque for Emergency Situations Training, and to date 67 students have completed this course. In addition, 24 pilots, including FAA, Eclipse, and customer pilots have finished their type rating training and there are 26 additional customer pilots in training now."

Eclipse also recently accepted its first non-motion Flight Training Device (FTD) from simulator manufacturer OPINICUS, and it is currently going through qualification testing. Raburn says that FTD will be upgraded to a full motion simulator later this year, which is also when Eclipse will begin to transition training to FSC and HPA.

"When our new training facility is finished at Double Eagle II Airport on Albuquerque's west side in August, the simulators and training will be based there. When this facility comes online, both the flight skills assessment and HPA's Part 142 type rating training will be conducted in the simulators. Until then, we will continue training our customers in their aircraft.

"In addition to these unique, industry-leading training features, Eclipse is fostering a new level of customer operational safety by adopting airline industry best practices that we strongly believe will raise the bar for safety among Eclipse 500 operators. We are in the process of implementing a comprehensive, airline-quality Safety Management System (SMS," Raburn adds. "The SMS integrates information collection, analysis, corrective actions, and monitoring to manage operational risks. We are building programs such as Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) and Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) to combine recorded aircraft systems data and human-reported data from the pilots.

"This is the first-ever application of proven, cutting-edge Part 121 safety management by a general aviation manufacturer, and is a continued affirmation of our commitment to promoting the airline-quality operational safety for our customers," Raburn concludes. "We'll be providing you with many details of this exciting new approach to fleet wide safety within the next 90 days."

Raburn adds this training program -- combined with the SMS -- has been well received by the insurance underwriters... and will possibly allow for reduced insurance rates in the future.

FMI: www.eclipseaviation.com