Page 11 - TNTMay18

Safe and Pro cient
M2 Owner Ken Kemna Credits TRU for Making His First Type Rating a Rewarding Experience.
Kemna started his ying career 14 years ago as he and his wife began decided to step back from the day-to-day operations of their automobile dealership group and ex- pand their consulting business.
“It was our intention that by ying, we could be home more and not be traveling all the time. As it worked out, we traveled a great deal but ultimately decided to buy more businesses rather than consult. However, an addic- tion to ying was the result,” he said with a chuckle.
The Kemna’s owned a succession of aircraft starting
with a Cherokee 6, a Piper Saratoga, two Cirrus, three
Meridians, and nally their current aircraft, a Citation M2.
The Kemna’s took delivery of their aircraft in 2017. “We y mostly for business. We have of ces in Iowa and Florida, and the M2 can always do the leg south and many times north as well. We also y from Iowa to Vegas, California and the East Coast for business. We have always own 200 to 300 hours a year, and this year is no exception,” he added.
Although he had thousands of hours and plenty of turbine time under his belt, Kemna admitted to feeling some trepidation about undertaking his rst type rating.
“Although I had extensive Garmin G1000 experience and turbine time, there is always a fear when going for a type rating,” he said.
Kemna arrived at TRU Simulation + Training in March of 2017, ready to undertake the 14-day training course. What he found far exceeded his expectations.
“I have trained in many simulators in the past and found that they did not operate as designed or as the airplane actually handles. You are never sure you were getting a true experience. The TRU Simulator is built on-site at Tampa where they do the M2 training. These techs are working all the time making certain the simulator is not only operating properly but changing the programming to constantly make it real world,” he said. “Flying the TRU M2 simulator was so realistic, one almost forgets it is a simulator.”
The instructors at TRU also impressed him: “They were caring, kind and very disciplined. With that said, and though they needed to follow the syllabus, they did consider one’s experience and needs. Thus, they spent time working on areas I needed to be more pro cient. From day one I was comfortable with every instructor I worked with.”
During the course, Kemna became adept at handling a wide variety of operational environments, as well as handling emer- gency and abnormal situations. “Many believe training in the actual airplane is a key piece of training, and that may be true. However, what I really want are the events I could never experience or simulate in the airplane. The sim training gave me the con dence to know what I need to do and when. I will always do recurrent simulator training.”
Now a year later, Kemna was looking forward to his recurrent training at TRU. “They make very certain I not only achieved the targets, but that I mastered them. They focus on sending out a safe pilot, not in just going through the syllabus. I leave TRU being a true jet pilot.”
Ken and Vicky Kemna with their Citation M2
and abilities they didn’t have before. It’s continuous learning, not just a refresher of what they learned in the initial type training.”
Investing in Technology & Talent
TRU is investing research and development into new technologies that will make training even more effective for pilots. For example, they have implemented new technology
with one of their FTDs that allows the study of the pilot’s eye movement, including his or her scan, movement and the lingering. This allows instructors to see habits that are potentially undiagnosed, good or bad.
“You see tunnel vision as a part of many accidents throughout history, where a pilot focuses on one CAS message, light or malfunctioning instrument,” Smith said. “We are spending time studying the innate habits of our customers
May 2018
TWIN & TURBINE • 9