Which way is up?

Perpetually recognised as a benchmark in training standards, the ADF demands a significant ‘return of service’ from trainees to justify the substantial investment.

Combined with the fact that service in the ADF is as much about attitude, commitment and lifestyle as it is about flight training, it inevitably happens that the military route is not for everybody ‚ and not everybody is suitable for the military route.

Consequently, many pilots take a civilian path to the cockpit. Historically, this has involved flight lessons at the local aero club or flight training organisation, frequently on a pay-as-you-go basis. Theory was done through self-study, TAFE colleges, courses managed by the flying school or a combination of all of these.

As I can testify, the speed of progress through the syllabus most often was determined by funds — and the attainment of a basic commercial pilot licence could take years.

While this form of training still exists, the 1980s saw the growth of ‘integrated flying schools’ and full-time courses. Some full-time schools such as NASA, later CATA, at Cessnock had existed since the late 1960s but came to the fore a number of years later.

With integrated ground theory and a lower total hours requirement to attain the commercial licence, graduates could gain their qualifications more quickly due to the concentrated nature of their training.

The continuing focus on the content and provision of flight training and ground studies has seen the industry evolve further. Today, full-time courses and cadetships are widespread while tertiary qualifications are available up to and beyond masters degrees in aviation.

Furthermore, the International Civil Aviation Organization has taken the “integrated” concept to a whole new level with the multi-crew pilot licence (MPL). This licence offers reduced flight training hours and needs less experience, not merely by virtue of concentrated training but training specifically aimed at graduating directly to the flight deck of an airliner.

The MPL effectively by-passes the traditional career path through general aviation, achieved by finely tailored training and the significant utilisation of flight simulators.

When pursuing a career in aviation, the modern trainee pilot faces not only a variety of choices but significant expense. With so much at stake, it is critical that he or she finds the most appropriate means of training. And as always, there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution.

Old school

Despite much commentary to the contrary, the traditional pay-as-you-go flight training route at the local flying school is not extinct. But its nature has changed over the years and competition from full-time courses has consumed a sizeable amount of the market.

There are some trainee pilots who cannot afford commit to a full-time course or the sizeable loan it would inherently involve. And there are those who start out learning to fly simply for pleasure and gradually move toward an aviation career.

In these cases there will always be a place for the schools that offer the part-time option, although a large proportion of their work will remain in the private licence training and hire market.

While many of these schools have fallen by the wayside over the years there are those that have adapted. Some have expanded their theory training facilities while others offer full-time training and pursue students from overseas.

The long-established Royal Aero Clubs of Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia all continue to offer training through to the commercial licence level and in certain instances have joined with institutions such as Griffith University to bring formal tertiary qualifications into the mixture.

It is this growth of diplomas and degrees that has spawned another aspect of flight training and a whole new group of training providers — the universities.

Degree of satisfaction

The commercial and airline transport pilot licences have long existed on the fringes as a recognised academic qualification. Despite the effort and cost involved to attain a standard of competency in theoretical and practical spheres, the licences never really made the grade as a credible educational qualification.

This remained the case even though the exam pass marks were set far above the usual 50 per cent and the licence holders were destined for a career of involving regular scrutiny.

Gradually, educational providers started to recognise that aviation studies could be brought into the fold. In some cases they were lobbied by individual flying training organisations while in others the institutions saw the aviation field as an untapped source of potential students.

Ultimately, the level of qualifications on offer grew to encompass a number of levels across a range of areas in aviation.

Many of the independent flying schools have formalised their training processes with vocational and educational training to such an extent that a commercial licence now equates to a National Certificate IV in Aviation. Postgraduate studies for qualified professional pilots also exist as masters degrees and even the ability to undertake a PhD with some recognition of prior learning along the way.

However, it is the rise of the universities as providers that has introduced a whole new aspect to professional pilot training.

The list is extensive and includes the Universities of NSW, Newcastle and South Australia, Griffith University, Swinburne and RMIT, all offering degree courses combined with flight training. As you would expect, a bachelor’s degree is not achieved overnight so the courses are generally over three or four years, while diploma courses are somewhat shorter.

And while the university degree may not be the quickest path to a professional career in aviation, there is no doubting the sense of legitimacy associated with a such a qualification.

An interesting by-product of the universities’ involvement in flight training is that in some instances full-time students are eligible for ‘fees-help’ which is a part of the Higher Education Loan Program available from the Australian government.

The recognition of flight training as a tertiary qualification across the employment spectrum also has brought welcome recognition by the government and the Australian Taxation Office. Even so, flight training is still not cheap with courses ranging from $70,000 to $90,000 depending on the institution, level of flight training and tertiary qualification being sought.

Training their own

Airline cadet training programs are not a new concept. The Qantas cadet program began in the 1960s and ran for a number of years, supplying the airline with pilots trained from day one in the culture and procedures of their future employer.

Today, airline cadet training again has come to the fore although unlike the schemes of days gone by, today’s cadet pilot has to cover the cost of training. However, there are fiscal incentives offered by some airlines in return for subsequent years of service.

Jetstar, Regional Express (Rex) and Qantaslink offer cadet pilot training in some form, Qantas continues to have its long-established scheme under review and Virgin Australia is set to make an announcement on its cadet pilot plans in late April.

Foreign carriers such as Cathay Pacific, China Southern and Singapore Airlines also operate cadet pilot training programs through Australian organisations. The motivators for airlines to conduct cadet pilot training can vary from proposed expansion to a fear of poaching by other airlines and good old-fashioned attrition.

Rex suffered badly in 2007, losing 50 per cent of tits pilots to the major airlines.

Today, Rex has a fully-owned academy in Wagga Wagga to breed its next generation of pilots (see AA Jan/Feb 2012). After a thorough selection process, candidates undergo a concentrated 32-week live-in training course to qualify them as multi-engine instrument-rated commercial pilots. Throughout the training there is an emphasis on those skills relevant to the future airline pilots such as instrument flying and standard operating procedures.

The training philosophy at Wagga is based on the parent airline’s and this is reflected in everything from the cadets’ manuals to their administrative procedures.

The Rex Academy also caters for international students and in this capacity has approval to do training for selected carriers under the scope of the new multi-crew licence. The balance of the $98,000 course cost is provided through a low-interest loan once the candidate has paid an initial 25 per cent.

Repayment of the loan is offset until the successful cadet pilot is employed by the airline and after loyal years of service another 25 per cent of the cost can be waived by the airline.

As the regional carriers are the first to lose their pilots when recruitment at the majors is booming, it’s not surprising that Qantaslink also has a cadet scheme in place. But rather than training their pilots from day one, the program is designed for commercially licensed pilots who do not meet the direct entry criteria for the company’s Dash 8 fleet.

It is effectively a bridging course conducted at Flight Training Adelaide covering instrument transition training, multi-crew co-ordination and crew resource management.

Specifically tailored for the multi-crew environment, the course costs $12,600 excluding accommodation and meals, of which Qantalink pays $10,600 up front. This amount is repaid over three years once the pilot has been employed for a year.

The most substantial scheme is Jetstar’s Pilot Cadet Program. It has two major streams, ab initio and advanced. The former targets candidates with little or no flight experience and the latter caters for commercially licensed pilots with a multi-engine instrument rating and their ATPL theory subjects completed.

Effectively, the ab initio course brings trainees up to the level required for entry into the advanced one. It’s conducted either in Australia or New Zealand at a cost of about $88,000 for the training and $20,000 for the accommodation. Dependent on location, the training takes up to 18 months and candidates are eligible for fees-help or the local equivalent.

Once the course has been completed cadets then move onto the advanced course, where more experienced pilots enter directly. Taking up to three months, this phase of training prepares and qualifies the trainees to become first officers on Jetstar aircraft, including a type endorsement.

Including accommodation, the course costs up to $86,000 and like its regional counterparts, some assistance is offered by the airline. Jetstar will sponsor $21,000 toward the training costs provided the pilot stays with Jetstar for six years.

For an ab initio cadet, the overall cost including the advanced cours is about $180,000, over 21 months, although $21,000 will be sponsored at the advanced level in return for loyal service.

The cadet schemes are varied in nature, costs and motivators. Like all flight training, they come at a cost but the major incentive lies in the high chance of a full-time airline position on completing training. With Virgin Australia also seemingly looking to launch a cadet pilot scheme soon, it is quickly becoming prevalent option in the marketplace.

Way to go

The days of tapping on the flying school door and wandering out to a lone Piper Cherokee to begin an airline career may well be in their twilight. They have given way to the world of full-time academies and universities with substantial fleets.

Smaller flight schools will continue to cater to those seeking to pay progressively or who aspire to a private licence but the larger institutions are beginning to dominate in the commercial licence marketplace.

For the aspiring pilot the cost will always remain the major hurdle, even with the advent of the fees-help scheme and sponsorships. As such, the cost undoubtedly deters many very worthwhile candidates, although the military thankfully still recruits independently of a socio-economic demographic.

However, those with the desire to fly and the courage to face the financial costs now have more options, the opportunity to bypass general aviation and to find the flight deck more quickly than in previous eras. With the growth of the MPL around the world, this trend is set to continue.

Today, there are many flight training paths that lead to a career in aviation, all with their own advantages and obstacles. Ultimately, only the individual can determine which way is up.