Definition
A training method that uses realistic, real-world flight situations as the framework for learning, rather than isolated drills of individual maneuvers. The student is placed in a scripted scenario — for example, a cross-country flight with a developing weather problem — and must apply knowledge, judgment, and decision-making to handle it. The instructor uses the scenario to teach and assess both technical skills and aeronautical decision-making in a connected, realistic context.
Plain English
Instead of practicing one skill at a time in a vacuum, the student flies a made-up but realistic flight where things come up that they have to handle. The lesson is built around the situation, not around a list of separate maneuvers.
Context Anchor
You may see SBT in ground lessons, flight lessons, instructor lesson plans, and FAA instructor guidance about teaching real-world decision-making.
Derivation
Scenario comes from the Italian scenario, meaning the outline or setting of a play. In training, the word keeps that flavor: the lesson is staged like a small flight 'play' the student must act through, making decisions as the situation unfolds.
Why Pilots Care
It builds the judgment and problem-solving ability pilots need when facing unexpected situations that checklists alone cannot cover.
Grounding Statement
In SBT, the lesson is built around a realistic flying situation, and the student practices making safe choices inside that situation.
Intuition Check
SBT is not just telling a flying story during a lesson. The scenario must be used to practice real decisions and actions, not just to make the lesson more interesting.
Example Sentence 1
The instructor designed an SBT lesson in which the student had to divert to an alternate airport after simulated deteriorating weather along the planned route.
Example Sentence 2
SBT lets a student practice diverting around unexpected weather while managing fuel and navigation decisions at the same time.