Centrik has been selected by QinetiQ to provide comprehensive operational management support to the Empire Test Pilots’ School (ETPS) as part of its complex civilian and military flight test training programmes.

ETPS has been training test pilots and flight test engineers of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft since 1943 and is operated by QinetiQ, an integrated global defence and security business.

As part of its wider strategy to modernise the UK’s training, test and evaluation capabilities through a long-term programme of investment and innovation, QinetiQ required a management solution that was capable of handling the unique challenges of its operation, as well as one that matched the company’s forward-thinking approach.

Matthew Titman, Operations Implementation Manager responsible for the integration of Centrik across QinetiQ’s civil aviation operations, explains: “Being neither a ‘standard’ Approved Training Organisation (ATO) nor aircraft operator we needed a system that had both the functionality and flexibility to adapt precisely to what we do, but one that also aligned with the progressive, modern ethos of the school – something we have certainly found with Centrik.”

ETPS’s training programmes are designed for experienced pilots and flight test engineers, teaching them techniques to safely take aircraft to the edge of their envelope. Graduates go on to test new airframes or to implement new technology and systems on existing aircraft in both the civilian and military sectors.

Centrik’s modular architecture provides all staff and students with a clear, intuitive, centralised dashboard that can be accessed from any connected device, managing everything from flight information, document control, risk and safety reporting, to training logs and personnel records. Outdated and disparate paper and email-based processes are now replaced and standardised within Centrik, helping to significantly improve operational efficiency and safety.

Titman says: “Through helping us to streamline the complex development process of our training modules, Centrik has proven adaptable, intuitive, and the more we use it, the more we understand just how powerful the system is.”

QinetiQ currently has around 180 Centrik users – including students, instructors, management and external viewers – who are all able to record, share, update and action all flight, training, safety and risk information directly into the system. Beyond ETPS, QinetiQ’s use of Centrik has expanded to cover all elements of its civil aviation operations: from Part Specialised Operations to Flight Test campaigns. This offers a level of oversight and transparency that helps QinetiQ traverse the very different regulatory landscapes of the military and civilian sectors whilst providing assurance to the regulator that processes continue to be robust and effective.

Elsewhere, Centrik has been working closely with QinetiQ to develop new capability within the system. A great example of this is the function that allows the duty supervisor to interrogate a user’s profile giving direct access to all training items and documentation required of a user. This significantly streamlines the entire process of the pre-flight briefing.