Training Program Overview

Welcome to the PilotEdge Training Center!

Feel free to browse through the CAT Ratings and I Ratings. If you’re ready for your first rating, check out the Taking the Tests guide, then connect to PilotEdge during our coverage hours (8am-11pm Pacific time) and get started! Check out the Training Roster to see your progress!

We also have a large number of in depth workshops that go into greater detail on many of the concepts needed to be successful during the rating flights.

About the Training Program

This is a voluntary training program for pilots to help improve their skills and build their confidence.

Pilots fly in our skies, receiving ATC service from our controllers, performing tasks ranging from VFR pattern work, to Bravo transitions, IFR TEC routes, IFR SIDs/STARS, and a range of different instrument approaches. The controller will then make a determination if the task was completed successfully, and if so, the pilot passes that rating and can move on to subsequent ratings.

Everything is handled through practical tests in the airplane providing a source of education and fun for all involved.

Note: In order to encourage pilots to adequately prepare for each test, pilots are limited to 2 rating attempts per day, regardless of whether a given attempt is successful or not.

Who is this for?

These programs serve a wide audience from pilots who are just getting started with online flying to intermediate pilots who are looking to sharpen their skills and learn more advanced VFR and IFR concepts. Instrument rated pilots will be familiar with most of the material, but we’ve received plenty of feedback over the years from IFR pilots who found tremendous value in the program, both as a refresher of some areas of operation they hadn’t visited in a while or as a nice introduction to the airspace around Socal.

For brand new pilots, this program attempts to provide a structured, PRACTICAL, step by step learning environment for pilots who are new to the world of online flight.

Similarly, there are many intermediate pilots who are already conducting successful IFR flights on the network, but are uncomfortable flying anything other than a fully coupled ILS approach after receiving vectors to final. The thought of visual approach, a non-precision approach, or even joining a radial does not fill them with the requisite level of joy. This program seeks to help raise the bar for these pilots, introducing them to a broader range of skills and techniques for VFR and IFR alike.