EBT practice guide
From mixed EBT to full EBT: an operator's roadmap
Mixed EBT keeps the licence and operator proficiency checks in their traditional form while introducing evidence-based modules. Full EBT replaces them with an assessment and training cycle built on competencies. This is what the move requires, in what order, and where programmes usually stall.
The difference
What actually changes
A simplified comparison. Your authority's approval defines the detail for your operation.
| Criterion | Mixed EBT | Full EBT |
|---|---|---|
| Proficiency check | Kept in traditional form | Replaced by the assessment phase of the EBT cycle |
| Session structure | EBT modules added alongside existing sessions | Evaluation, manoeuvres training and scenario-based training |
| What is recorded | Items passed, plus competency grades in EBT modules | Competency grades across the full cycle |
| Programme adaptation | Limited | The programme responds to your own competency data |
| Instructor demand | Assessment and facilitation in part of the programme | Facilitation throughout: the main change management task |
| Evidence expected by the authority | Modules delivered as approved | The cycle, the data behind it and what you changed as a result |
Mixed EBT is a transitional design. Programmes that treat it as a permanent destination tend to carry the cost of both systems and the benefits of neither.
Prerequisites
What has to be true before you move
Instructors can facilitate, not only assess
The single biggest determinant of whether full EBT delivers. Budget for it first.
Concordance is measured
An adaptive programme driven by unreliable grades adapts to noise. See the concordance guide.
Your competency data is usable
Grades tied to observable behaviour, in one system, exportable, not spread across spreadsheets and PDFs.
Scenario coverage exists
Enough scenarios across the relevant training topics that the cycle can be built without improvisation.
Device capability is known
Each simulator's capability determines which parts of the cycle it can credit, now more than under item-based checking.
The authority is engaged early
Approval is a conversation about evidence. Starting it late is what delays programmes, not the paperwork.
Roadmap
A realistic sequence
Durations depend on fleet size, instructor numbers and your authority. The order rarely changes.
Pitfalls
Where programmes stall
Facilitation treated as a briefing
Instructors who were trained to demonstrate and correct need real practice, not a slide deck.
Adapting to noisy data
Without measured concordance, the programme chases variation between instructors rather than real competency trends.
Sliding back to checking
Within two to three years, programmes drift toward the familiar unless someone watches the data and says so.
Two systems forever
Running paper alongside the platform beyond the parallel run doubles the work and halves the evidence.
With AeroEBT
The migration without a data break
AeroEBT runs mixed and full EBT in the same system, so the move is a configuration change rather than a new platform. Historical records stay with the pilot, instructors keep the same iPad workflow, and the migration timeline shows where the programme stands at each step.
- Pre-built full-EBT programme template
- Scenario coverage checked against your regulatory references
- One pilot record across the transition
- Evidence pack for the authority produced from live data
Questions operators ask
How long does the move take?
For most operators it is measured in training cycles rather than weeks, because instructor development and evidence gathering set the pace. The programme design itself is the fastest part.
Do we need new simulators?
Usually not. You need to know what each device can credit, which matters more under full EBT and is exactly what the FSTD Capability Signature describes.
Can we run some fleets on full EBT and others on mixed?
Yes, and most operators do during the transition. The important thing is that the data from both is in one system so you can compare them.
What does the authority want to see first?
Evidence that you can collect, read and act on competency data, including instructor standardisation, before the cycle depends on it.
What if our instructors resist?
That is usually a signal that facilitation training came too late. Instructors who have run a good facilitated debrief rarely want to go back.
Plan the move with people who have done it.
A 30-minute demo covers where your programme is today, what full EBT would require and a realistic sequence.
We respond within one business day.