Unique Interactive Online Course Immerses Simmers in Airbus A320 Operations

Precision Approach Simulations has opened an Airbus A320 Training Program which first lessons modules are available at no charge.

Then you’re free to keep on studying the next courses or not, via interactive streaming videos.You’ll be taught by Raynald Bedard, “a tenured Associate Professor of Aeronautical Science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Prescott, Arizona, USA.”“Precision Approach Simulations has just launched the Airbus A320 Training Program, a unique interactive online course that provides flight simulation enthusiasts with an intimate knowledge of A320 systems and procedures.

The course leverages university classroom proven learning methods to bring Airbus fans a challenging and fun educational experience that’s like nothing they’ve experienced before. The course is delivered via 16 hours of interactive streaming video using experiential teaching methods. Students are required to press buttons, flick switches, turn knobs, and look up information in the provided flight documents.

The course was born out of Professor Ray Bedard’s experiences teaching navigation and flight management systems at America’s leading aviation university: “I went on a quest to discover the most compelling ways to teach complex aviation material to college students,” Bedard says. “What I discovered was that the best way to teach this material wasn’t to teach it at all! It was to provide students with opportunities to learn the material by experiencing it.”

After Bedard began using Microsoft® Flight Simulator in his classroom with extraordinary results, he realized that just like his students, simmers face a big challenge. “New aviation technology keeps coming, and the complexity of add-ons is growing exponentially as a result, he explains. “Developers provide customers with lots of documentation, but there’s no learning plan. We founded Precision Approach Simulations to provide serious simmers with training courses that lead to mastery–by following a proven learning methodology.”

The Airbus A320 Training Program is composed of four modules. In Module 1, the student observes the Captain and First Officer on a typical A320 revenue flight. Module 2 features the same flight, but the student is asked to participate more actively in the learning process by completing the First Officer’s duties while being visually cued. In Module 3, the student deepens his or her understanding of the procedures learned in the previous modules by completing the First Officer’s duties without the benefit of visual cues. Module 4 is a challenging checkride: the student takes 19 interactive tests while assuming the role of the First Officer.

After completing the course, the student will have in-depth knowledge of A320 procedures. Along the way he or she will learn how to read and interpret real-world documents including a Dispatch Release, a Runway Analysis, a Takeoff Data Card, and weather reports. Bonuses include 34 pages of A320 checklists, an audio interview with an A320 captain, and an audio interview with an airline dispatcher.

The course is self-directed, so each student can learn at his or her own pace. Each module includes a private forum, and Bedard looks forward to interacting with students and answering questions.
Interested simmers can get started by visiting a320tp.com. To let them actually experience some of the course before they invest in it, the first 5 sections of Module 1 (about 3 hours of training) are free.

Raynald Bedard is a tenured Associate Professor of Aeronautical Science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Prescott, Arizona. Professor Bedard has been teaching classes in Basic Navigation, Domestic and International Navigation, and Electronic Flight Management Systems for 11 years. He also has 20 years of experience as a Navigator in the Canadian Air Force, with more than 3,000 hours flying in the CP-140 Aurora

Precision Approach Simulations was started in 2011 to provide flight simulation enthusiasts and real-world pilots with uniquely effective aviation learning experiences.”