Training Chiefs Question Whether Every Lesson Needs a Full-Flight Simulator

Patrick Davis, vice president and general manager of airline training at Acron Aviation, is pushing airlines to rethink how much pilot instruction actually requires a full-flight simulator, devices that can cost between $10 million and $25 million depending on aircraft type. As he put it, "there's a lot of what we currently do in training a pilot that doesn't need all of that technology." He argues a meaningful share of current training tasks could move to lower-cost training devices without compromising safety, freeing the full-flight simulator for exercises that genuinely need its fidelity. Davis estimates that shifting just five sessions per course to alternative equipment could produce a noticeable reduction in per-pilot training spend. The argument lands as EASA works through a new flight simulation training device framework, adopted in 2026 and due to take effect in early 2028, which matches specific training tasks to the minimum device capability required rather than defaulting to the highest-fidelity option. Davis contrasts this with Asia-Pacific, where a patchwork of national aviation authority rules makes it harder for training providers to apply a single device strategy across markets, unlike Europe's unified EASA framework. He points to IATA's Operational Safety Audit as a possible model for harmonizing simulator-device rules internationally. The stakes are significant given the roughly two years it takes to train a new pilot and forecasts of sustained pilot-shortage pressure as Asia-Pacific carriers expand capacity, leaving training organizations searching for ways to add throughput without inflating costs or cutting corners on safety.