New ab initio helicopter pilot training program at CAE Global Academy Gondia

New ab initio helicopter pilot training program at CAE Global Academy Gondia

14-Feb-2011 Source: CAE

GONDIA, INDIA–(Marketwire – Feb. 14, 2011) -  Yesterday, in the presence of The Honourable Minister Praful Patel and Mr. Marc Parent, President and Chief Executive Officer of CAE, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and CAE agreed that a helicopter ab initio pilot training program will be launched later this year at the CAE Global Academy Gondia. The program will lead to a commercial helicopter pilot licence (CHPL) and within three years is expected to graduate approximately 100 new helicopter pilots annually.

CAE Global Academy Gondia is the newest and most modern flight school in India, opened two years ago to train aspiring airline pilots. Also known as the National Flying Training Institute Private limited (NFTI), the school is a joint venture of AAI and CAE. Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited, the largest helicopter operator in India, is a minority shareholder of NFTI and will provide expertise and operator insights into the new training program.

“The civil and military sectors in India will require close to 2,500 helicopter pilots over the next 10 years,” said V.P. Agrawal, Chairman of AAI. “Current development of new helicopter pilots is insufficient to meet this requirement, so CAE Global Academy Gondia is stepping up to fill this important need to support continued aviation growth in India.”

This represents CAE’s first ab initio program for rotary-wing pilots, adding to CAE’s extensive experience, infrastructure and capabilities in fixed-wing ab initio pilot training.

“The world-class training at the CAE Global Academy will prepare and position students to land their first jobs as helicopter pilots,” said Jeff Roberts, CAE’s Group President, Civil Simulation Products, Training and Services. “The helicopter ab initio program will blend CAE’s global best-practices training methodology, simulation-based training and flight training to meet and exceed Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DCGA) and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) guidelines.”

The new CAE Global Academy Gondia campus features state-of-the-art classrooms, training devices, and aircraft as well as comfortable, air-conditioned accommodations. In November, a new sports complex was opened. The new helicopter ab initio program will incorporate about a dozen training helicopters, as well as flight and navigation procedures trainers (FNPT).

Helicopter ab initio student enrollment is expected to begin in late 2011, and will use the CAE Aircrew Selection System — a multidisciplinary process designed to evaluate a candidate’s “thinking and doing” capabilities in a contextual aviation environment and under stress.

Following graduation from the CAE Global Academy Gondia with a CHPL, pilots would be prepared for type-rating training on a specific helicopter type. The Helicopter Academy to Train by Simulation of Flying (HATSOFF), a joint venture of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and CAE, offers type-rating training at its training centre in Bangalore.

CAE also has the most extensive network for civil aircraft type ratings with 25 commercial, business aviation and helicopter training centres and more than 150 full-flight simulators in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. These include civil helicopter training programs currently in Bangalore, India at HATSOFF; Dubai, UAE (a joint venture with Emirates Group); Sesto Calende, Italy (a joint venture with AgustaWestland); Morristown, New Jersey, USA; and Phoenix, Arizona, USA.

The CAE Global Academy is the world’s largest network of professional flight schools with 11 campuses in nine countries on five continents – Australia, Belgium, Cameroon, Canada, India, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Portugal, and the United States. With the addition of the new helicopter program, CAE Global Academy will have a fleet of more than 300 aircraft and the capacity to train about 1,900 fixed-wing commercial pilots and rotary-wing commercial and military pilots per year.

About Airports Authority of India

The Airports Authority of India is an organization in the Ministry of Civil Aviation entrusted with creating, upgrading, maintaining and managing civil aviation infrastructure. AAI manages 126 airports in India, including 12 international airports, 89 domestic airports and 26 civil enclaves. Headquarters are at Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan Safdarjung Airport, New Delhi.

About CAE

CAE is a world leader in providing simulation and modelling technologies and integrated training solutions for the civil aviation industry and defence forces around the globe. With annual revenues exceeding C$1.5 billion, CAE employs more than 7,500 people at more than 100 sites and training locations in more than 20 countries. We have the largest installed base of civil and military full-flight simulators and training devices. Through our global network of 30 civil aviation and military training centres, we train more than 80,000 crewmembers yearly. We also offer modelling and simulation software to various market segments, and through CAE’s professional services division we assist customers with a wide range of simulation-based needs.

Photo Caption: The Honourable Minister Praful Patel (right) and Mr. Marc Parent (left), President and Chief Executive Officer of CAE, at an event yesterday where the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and CAE agreed that a helicopter ab initio pilot training program will be launched later this year at the CAE Global Academy Gondia.

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