ATAC calls for flight training presentations

The Air Transport Association of Canada (ATAC) is now accepting presentation abstracts for the flight training portion of the 85th Canadian Aviation Conference and Tradeshow, which will be held in Montreal on Nov. 18-20, 2019. A limited number of speaker slots are available to industry leaders and academics from around the world to share their knowledge with a Canadian audience.

Founded in 1934, ATAC serves as Canada’s national association for commercial aviation and flight training. The ATAC conference is regularly attended by more than 500 participants, including senior members of 41 flight training institutions that together deliver approximately 80 per cent of all commercial pilot licences issued in Canada.

The theme of this year’s ATAC flight training conference is Embracing Change in Ab Initio Flight Training.

Prospective speakers are invited to submit abstracts on any of the following topics:

·     Human factors and psychology in flight training, especially ab initio training

·     Evidence based and competency based training for ab initio students

·     Trends in airline new hires as they relate to ab initio training

·     Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of ab initio flight training

·     Language acquisition in ab initio flight training of non-native English speakers

·     New instructional techniques, including mobile learning and gamification

·     Simulation for ab initio flight training, including virtual and augmented reality

·     Canadian licensing issues, including recognition of foreign credentials

·     International regulatory trends, including upcoming regulatory changes

·     Diversifying pilot training, including recruiting more instructors and pilots from under-represented groups

·     Promoting flight instruction as a career

·     Technology for better operational control and/or information management in ab initio flight training

The presentation format is flexible, but the default time slot is 45 minutes including question and answer with the audience.

To propose a presentation for the flight training portion of the ATAC conference, please send a short abstract (maximum 300 words) before Aug. 31, 2019, to Darren Buss, vice-president, at dbuss@atac.ca. Please title your email ATAC 2019 ABSTRACT, and include a short biography of the speaker, as well as contact information, title, position, and employer. Authors of accepted speaker proposals will be notified on or before Sept. 30, 2019.

Preference will be given to presentations with practical, real-world training insights, particularly as they relate to ab initio flight training. Presentations of academic papers are discouraged, although summaries of relevant aviation training and education research projects will be considered. Sales presentations will not be accepted at the conference but are welcome on the tradeshow floor. Please contact Debbie Simpson at tradeshow@atac.ca for tradeshow information.

We sincerely thank all those who propose presentations and will endeavour to respond to all submissions.