BAe Looking to Develop Regional Aviation Academy

The benefits to be had by going to Asia would be the granting of local establishment funding and cheap labour, both important in the initial and ongoing operational phases of running a large flying training organisation. Lack of viable regional technical expertise, the vagaries of tropical weather and a lack of space (particularly in Singapore’s case) were, however, seen as the primary hindrances of establishing a flying training school in Asia.

British Aerospace is no newcomer to pilot training, having graduated more than 8,000 civil and 3,000 military aircrew in more than a quarter century of providing pilots for other people’s air forces and airlines. With the coming of the airline pilot drought in the mid eighties the Company decided to bite the bullet and establish an airline standard training academy at its then underutilised base at Prestwick in Scotland. Apart from being the production home of the hot selling Jetstream 31, BAe Prestwick did little else and additionally boasted an excellent ATC environment that was similarly wanting for activity. A total of $A45m has been budgeted for the venture and the first courses are due to graduate for Cathay Pacific and British Airways next year. BAe originally thought that a capacity of 128 students at any one time would more than satisfy demand but since the academy has become operational in late 1987, the demand has literally gone through the roof. Capacity at Prestwick can and is being increased though even with a near doubling of long-term activity (the physical limit imposed by ATC and space considerations), the centre will soon be turning away two potential candidates in three.

Our pilot training feature in the January issue (p54) illustrates just how critical the global lack of trained pilots is with an anticipated 10,000 being required for North American carriers this year alone. As a generation of early jet pilots begin to retire, deregulation moves to Europe and Australasia, and air transport continues to post excellent annual increases in passenger uplift, the demand for aircrew will accelerate at a pace never before seen in commercial aviation.

The BAe Prestwick course involves 16 weeks of air and ground training and takes the successful trainee through to a UK ALTP (or equivalent). Most trainees are already employed by their sponsoring carrier and in BA’s case the carrier ‘donates’ the $A150,000 cost of the course if the trainee is successful and agrees to remain with the carrier for at least five years. The course goes from ab initio right through to full endorsement at the highest available level on BAe’s 125-700 simulator. The school operates a three type fleet of 11 Wrens, 19 Piper Warriors and 6 Seneca twins. The Wrens are fully aerobatic and are used for the first 50hrs followed by 105hrs on the Warrior and finally 45hrs on the Seneca. Widespread use of state of the art ground training simulators is employed while specially devised TV video units are primarily used in the technical training role. Courses additionally include extensive study in aviation medicine, meteorology, aircraft instruments, navigation, aeronautical engineering, communications, radio navigation aids and air law. The school is also adding an EFIS equipped 125-800 simulator and will shortly announce an order for additional training aircraft, probably supplementing the Swiss Wren with the now available UK built Trago Mills.

The physical requirements for a similar school in Australia are that it be in controlled airspace with an active ATC facility. This trains pilots from the outset to operate under controlled conditions using procedures akin to those they will ultimately employ in the cockpit of an airliner. However, this naturally brings with it the paradox that the same airfield must not be overly busy with commercial RPT traffic or existing light aircraft operations. Prestwick handles around 100 commercial movements a week with ease so something greater than that locally (given better average weather conditions) should present no real problems. A satellite landing field (or two) are necessary for speeding the ab initio circuit training while relatively large training areas with adequate aerobatic zones are also a necessity. Other requirements are that it be relatively close to a large city or urban centre and enjoy favourable weather conditions year round. A quick survey of a map of Australia rapidly brings forth at least a dozen such places with probably a dozen more being just as capable of accommodating such a facility. With employment of more than 100 people and an in-house fraternity of up to 200 trainees, it is not difficult to see that many urban and rural centres would be more than enthusiastic to host the proposed academy.

Nor should the establishment of such a facility be seen by local flying training organisations as being an attack on their home markets. BAe would use the academy purely to train overseas pilots which in the longer term would only serve to uplift the present image internationally of our own respected integrated schools. For Australia, the establishment of such an academy would truly be a step in the right direction.