Resilient Pilot, the free pilot mentoring service established in May 2020 in direct response to COVID, marks its one-year milestone this week.
Resilient Pilot is a not-for-profit initiative created to help keep both the pilot and cabin crew community supported, current and connected.
Since launching in May 2020, Resilient Pilot has grown to a team of over 70 volunteer mentors and coaches and Kickstart employees – all of whom are aviators themselves.
The past year has seen Resilient Pilot deliver over 50 free online events including:
- #WednesdayWebinars and #TuesdayTuneIns featuring a wealth of high calibre industry personnel
- Informal and interactive #CrewRoomChats and #its5oclocksomewhere virtual socials
- A series of technical competency workshops
- August 2020 saw the launch of the Resilient Pilot ‘FlightPlan’ designed to help pilots maintain their licences, and the #Avtalent social media campaign created to champion aviation talent to recruiters in other sectors.
- In April 2021, Resilient Pilot extended their support to cabin crew through ‘Resilient Crew’.
Along the way, Resilient Pilot members have raised much needed funds to support the organisation’s chosen charity, Aerobility, who enable disabled people, without exception, to fly an aeroplane.
Next steps to resilience
Resilient Pilot is marking its milestone week with a series of virtual events, culminating on a lighter note with a special #its5oclocksomewhere social on Friday 7 May during which the team will share some of their plans for their second year.
This includes an interactive, web-based resource library and mentor-led desktop loft-type Competency Development Scenarios, as well as the Resilient Crew Room.
Karen said, “One of the few silver linings of this past year has been the way the people in aviation have pulled together to support each other.
“Our amazing team have given up so much of their time to support fellow pilots and cabin crew around the world. Not just with 1:1 mentoring and coaching, but also in developing and bringing to life projects such as #Flightplan and #ResilientCrew and developing further initiatives in response to the feedback we are receiving through our mentoring.
“It’s been a roller coaster of a year and we are far from being out of the woods yet sadly, but I couldn’t be prouder of our team and what Resilient Pilot stands for.”
