Unleashing Human Potential
Mayday is a powerful learning tool for businesses to develop their employees' potential. Use 'Mayday' to:
- Engage and develop your staff
- Improve individual and team performance
- Reduce error and mitigate risk
- Motivate and inspire

Enhance your business. Develop your talent.
Mayday is a powerful one-day course for business that takes your people behind-the-scenes of the aviation industry to learn valuable lessons from the flightdeck.
Participants will learn at first hand how leading-edge 'human factors' training has revolutionised the aviation industry and, most importantly, how these lessons can be applied to business.
The Mayday course focuses on a range of essential cognitive and interpersonal skills, including:
- Communication
- Teamwork
- Decision Making
- Situational Awareness
Using a full-motion flight simulator, participants will be exposed to a series of challenging in-flight scenarios that require these skills. This practical, hands-on learning experience ensures participants gain a long-lasting understanding of the principles.
As well as being a powerful and engaging learning tool, Mayday is also fascinating and thrilling, so your staff will want to take part.


Established techniques. Proven results.
Human Factors training originated from a NASA workshop in 1979 that focused on improving aviation safety. As aircraft design had improved, crashes due to technical problems had largely been eliminated. NASA's research found that the primary cause of most aviation accidents was actually human error; resulting from failures of interpersonal communication, leadership, and decision making in the cockpit.
Over the last three decades, CRM has transformed the aviation industry and drastically cut the number of accidents and incidents. It has become a mandated requirement for all commercial pilots operating throughout most of the developed world. It's not about flying skill; it focuses entirely on the non-technical aspects of flying.
A number of Human Factors models have been adapted to different types of industries including healthcare, IT, construction, and financial services; all based on the same core concepts and principles.
Train with the best
Virtual Aviation has provided professional flight simulator training for over 12 years and employs a team of 70 experienced airline pilots and human factors instructors, all of whom are rigorously trained to prepare for exceptional circumstances.
One of our senior instructors, Captain Peter Burkill, captured the world's attention when his British Airways Boeing 777 crashed at London Heathrow Airport in 2008.
When both engines suddenly and inexplicably lost power just 35 seconds from touchdown, Peter's actions, calmness and quick-thinking saved the lives of all 152 people on board.
As Peter testifies "your ability to respond in a crisis is largely due to the training you receive".
The small print
Mayday courses are held at professional airline training centres close to London Heathrow, London Gatwick and Southampton. These training centres are where airline pilots are trained and tested, and they are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The full flight simulators we operate are worth around £10-million each, and are certified by the Civil Aviation Authority to Level-D standard; the highest there is. This means they are so realistic that they are approved for 'zero flight time' training.
The cost of the one-day Mayday course is £740 plus VAT per person, based on four people attending. We will schedule a date to suit your requirements.
Make a booking
For more information, or to make a booking, call Roger Wilson or Mark Green on 0370 350 0747 or send an email to: mayday@virtualaviation.co.uk
What our customers say
“The lessons learnt will be of great benefit.”
—JAMES FIELD, TYRRELL & COMPANYI would like to take this opportunity to thank you and your team, and to say without doubt that my experience of Mayday will live long in my memory as one of the best life experiences I have had. It was more than the simulator; the actual presentation and de-brief were of fantastic benefit and I truly believe the lessons learnt will be of great benefit. The two pilots made it a very interesting and exciting day, and delivered the course very well. I will be recommending the course to everyone.
“In at the deep end.”
—CHRIS SMALL, SAVILLE CONSULTINGI was very surprised about the realism of the experience. We were thrown completely in at the deep end and it required us to use our initiative, judgement, communication skills and work as a team to get us out of the situation we found ourselves in. I cannot wait to do it again.
Some of our Clients

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We're here to help
If you have questions or want to speak to someone about making a booking, call us on 0370 350 0747 or send an email to info@virtualaviation.co.uk