Leveraging VR in the age of the metaverse: Opportunities and challenges in private pilot licence training

The Private Pilot Licence (PPL) training programmes have undergone significant transformation in recent years dueto rapid technological advancements, particularly in the age of the Metaverse. The integration of the Metaverse into pilot training has resulted in a significant transformation of conventional training methods, as pilots now utilise thevirtuality continuum as an integral component of their training programmes. The virtuality continuum encompassesthe comprehensive rangeof technical potentials between the physical and virtual environments. In the age of theMetaverse, virtual reality training allows the pilot trainee's visual perception to be fully substituted by computer-generated three-dimensional scenes that accurately depict the environment required to facilitate the training scenario.Hence, this research investigates the utilisation of virtual reality (VR) technology within the context of the age of theMetaverse. The research objectives of this study revolve around the opportunities and challenges faced by pilot trainees while utilising medium-fidelity VR technology during their PPL training. The research methodology employed in this study was qualitative, as it aligned with the ontological perspective that emphasised subjectivism. The epistemological framework has been based on the interpretivism paradigm. This research employed a grounded theory technique and utilised semi-structured interviews as the primary data collection method. The study used a sample size of six participants and employed snowball sampling. The findings derived from thematic analysis suggest that a significant proportion of pilot trainees agree with VR's efficacy in the domains of theoretical instruction, pre-flight aircraft inspection, and procedure training. The obstacles would be trainees encountering isolated experiences while using VR. The trainees also feel detached from their immediate environment and trainer. Additionally, trainees felt training via VR allowed them to encounter constraints in their capacity to acquire muscle memory and encounter limits in training specific skills, mainly due to the absence of certain physical equipment. The findings from this research are anticipated to be utilised to develop VR instructional frameworks that could facilitate future PPL training.