October 2005 - American Bonanza Society

ABS LIFELONG LEARNING &THE ABSAVIATOR PROGRAMAN ABS EDUCATION COMMITIEE REPORT PREPARED BY TOM TU RNER. ABS TECHNICAL SERVICES MANAGERAlthough many ABS members are very familiar and comfortable with the concept of lifelong learning in their prafessionallives.the beneficial philosophy of conlinuing educalion is nol normally encouraged in personal avialion. Professional pilols arerequired 10 complete recurrent training frequently. There is ample evidence Ihallhe vastly better safety record of commercial aviation-when compared to personal flying-is a direcl resull of Ihis lifelong-learning requiremenl.The goal of this new program. as announced allhe 2005 ABS Convenlion. is to make you a safer. more knowledgeable and moreconfident pilot. We hope Ihal by identifying Ihe wide variety of learning opportunities. and by recognizing members who have gone farbeyond the minimum requiremenls for maintaining proficiency. you will be encouroged to mop out your own lifelong-learning strategyand become even safer operaling Beech airplanes.BPPPBPPP, lnc. plays a vital role in Beech pilot education.BPPP is the "flagship" type-specific pilot training programand continues to be at the forefront of ABS-recommendedtraining. One element of lifelong learning is to encourage fargreater member participation in BPPP programs, includingrepeat visits to BPPP training.Recelll changes to BPPP 's recurrent trailling curriculumcreate options for you to learn lIelV thillgs each time yourelllrn. The changes have received IVidespread praise frommembers.Simulators and other Opti01lS• Simulator-based training provides an intensified yet controlledlearning environment with the ability to practiceevents that cannot be accurately or safely duplicated inactual aircraft. They also have the opportunity to experiencecarefully crafted decision-making scenarios that forceyou to think (as well as fly) your way through a situation.• In recent years, a number of good seminars have becomeavai lable that, although they do not include flight instruction,can add significantly to your knowledge about safeoperation of personal aircraft.• Similarly, several complller-based training programs arenow available that educate about vital safety issues and providethe means to gauge the level of learning achieved.• A number of private flight instructors (including somewho also instruct in BPPP) are well known for superb,type-specific training. Learning with these Beech experts isalso recognized as valuable to the well-rounded Beechpilot.ABS will seek out and review these types of learningopportunities for acceptance in the Lifelong Learning program.We encourage members to submit additional programsto be considered.To be accepted, a program must have direct applicabilityto the safe operation of Beech airplanes. Further, the programmust have specific completion standards and award a completioncertificate or other method of indicating the member hasmet those standards.ABSAviator DesignationABS assigns each program a point value. The moreBeech-specific the training is, the more inclusive the syllabus(ground and flight training, etc.), the more time and effort ittakes to complete, the higher the point value.Your objective ullder ABS Lifelollg Learning is to eam atleast 100 cUlllulative poi/lls in a conseclllive 12-molllh period,or at least 150 poi/lls in a consecutive 24-monlh period. Whenyou meet this objective, you will be designated an ABSAviator.This designation includes a certificate, Bonanza Bucksredeemable for savings on ABS merchandise, preferred seatingat the ABS Convention Awards Banquet and (unless youopt out) public listing as an ABS Aviator on the ABS websiteand in ABS Magazine. Once earned, the ABS Aviator designationis valid for one year.Using the same award criteria, you can earn successiveABS Aviator levels I through 5- the level number indicatingthe number of years you have earned the award. When youearn the award a sixth time, you earn a permanent ABS MasterAviator Award.ABS Aviators must be members of ABS in good standingPage 9253 www.bonanza.org ABS October 2005