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Kids at Jazz
Moderators: sky's the limit, sepia, Sulako, lilfssister, North Shore, I WAS Birddog
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Black Sheep
- Rank 0
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Sat Sep 02, 2006 5:39 pm
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Matra Magic
- Rank 1
- Posts: 18
- Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2007 4:28 pm
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expatforever
- Rank 1
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2007 1:27 am
- Location: Asia
You cannot compare your first solo in a jet in VFR condition in the training area and prepared 100 times with an ATC babysitting you the day of your flight with a real flight in real conditions. You don t need any experience and there is no decision making skills (or almost no) in this first solo. A very clever monkey (and motivated with some bananas?) would be able to do the same one day. But this monkey won t have enough time to take your seat since the military flight will be completely automatic in a very near future.
No 200 hours pilot is able to land solo, with a small piston or turbine twin, on a runway covered by ice in a 35 KT crosswind just after an NDB approach (folowed by a circling why not?) up north the night with moderate turbulence. This guy will just crash. Tell me I am wrong. That s a why those small twins Captain (charter, medevac...) have more than 200 hours total time (or 250 whatever).
No 200 hours pilot is able to land solo, with a small piston or turbine twin, on a runway covered by ice in a 35 KT crosswind just after an NDB approach (folowed by a circling why not?) up north the night with moderate turbulence. This guy will just crash. Tell me I am wrong. That s a why those small twins Captain (charter, medevac...) have more than 200 hours total time (or 250 whatever).
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expatforever
- Rank 1
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2007 1:27 am
- Location: Asia
An airforce baby pilot trained at 17 and now flying with Air Canada?
You must be proud of you. You are one of the best pilot in the world haha.
Who won t become arrogant after that?
For me you are just an arrogant pilot and you have been very lucky.
Some pilot don t want to be involved with the airforce because the free training they receive has a cost (in addition to the tax we have to pay). You may have to kill thousands of life.
I would rely much more on a medevac captain than on an arrogant VFR single jet pilot playing over the runway.
You must be proud of you. You are one of the best pilot in the world haha.
Who won t become arrogant after that?
For me you are just an arrogant pilot and you have been very lucky.
Some pilot don t want to be involved with the airforce because the free training they receive has a cost (in addition to the tax we have to pay). You may have to kill thousands of life.
I would rely much more on a medevac captain than on an arrogant VFR single jet pilot playing over the runway.
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expatforever
- Rank 1
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2007 1:27 am
- Location: Asia
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Matra Magic
- Rank 1
- Posts: 18
- Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2007 4:28 pm
An airforce baby pilot trained at 17 and now flying with Air Canada?
It was 20 years ago. I am now 39
You must be proud of you. You are one of the best pilot in the world haha.
I don't know who told you that but you're absolutely right
Who won t become arrogant after that?
Not me
For me you are just an arrogant pilot and you have been very lucky.
You're right again. Mainly after a mission in Kosovo
Some pilot don t want to be involved with the airforce because the free training they receive has a cost (in addition to the tax we have to pay).
I paid that cost. 15 years in the Air Force
I would rely much more on a medevac captain than on an arrogant VFR single jet pilot playing over the runway
Me too !
Hey Expatsomething ! Take your pills and a big breath. The doctor is on his way...
It was 20 years ago. I am now 39
You must be proud of you. You are one of the best pilot in the world haha.
I don't know who told you that but you're absolutely right
Who won t become arrogant after that?
Not me
For me you are just an arrogant pilot and you have been very lucky.
You're right again. Mainly after a mission in Kosovo
Some pilot don t want to be involved with the airforce because the free training they receive has a cost (in addition to the tax we have to pay).
I paid that cost. 15 years in the Air Force
I would rely much more on a medevac captain than on an arrogant VFR single jet pilot playing over the runway
Me too !
Hey Expatsomething ! Take your pills and a big breath. The doctor is on his way...
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Matra Magic
- Rank 1
- Posts: 18
- Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2007 4:28 pm
By the way expatforever,
we are talking here about having guys with low time on the right seat on a dash-8 or a CRJ with experienced captains on the left seat. I gave the example of the first solo on a jet in the Air Force just to prove that it's not a big deal to have these guys with 250h00 or 300h00 flying right seats on those plane because anyway basically, the captains can fly that plane alone I am not talking about having low time guys flying solo in a commercial operation. I am sorry if you misunderstood my previous posts. And by the way, they also sent monkeys in space but I am not sure about he food they've got
Fly safe !
Matra Magic
we are talking here about having guys with low time on the right seat on a dash-8 or a CRJ with experienced captains on the left seat. I gave the example of the first solo on a jet in the Air Force just to prove that it's not a big deal to have these guys with 250h00 or 300h00 flying right seats on those plane because anyway basically, the captains can fly that plane alone
I am not talking about having low time guys flying solo in a commercial operation. I am sorry if you misunderstood my previous posts. And by the way, they also sent monkeys in space but I am not sure about he food they've got Fly safe !
Matra Magic
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expatforever
- Rank 1
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2007 1:27 am
- Location: Asia
Wow a mission in Kosovo. I didn t know you were an hero sorry.
Have you ever received a bullet?
Your reply just show how arrogant you can be.
And now you pretend the Jazz fleet can be operated solo by the Captain!!! Again an arrogant point of view from an airforce pilot.
And yes, you are right, the airplanes will have to be opperated solo with a 250 hours F/O. that s even worse, the captain will have to double check everything instead of being focused 100% on the flying, they will have to be flight instructor aswell.
There is no point to fly solo with a 250 hours "pilot" when you have thousands of turbine pilots available. The only problem is who can accept 30 000$ a year? An experienced turbine pilot or a 250 hours pilot?
Have you ever received a bullet?
Your reply just show how arrogant you can be.
And now you pretend the Jazz fleet can be operated solo by the Captain!!! Again an arrogant point of view from an airforce pilot.
And yes, you are right, the airplanes will have to be opperated solo with a 250 hours F/O. that s even worse, the captain will have to double check everything instead of being focused 100% on the flying, they will have to be flight instructor aswell.
There is no point to fly solo with a 250 hours "pilot" when you have thousands of turbine pilots available. The only problem is who can accept 30 000$ a year? An experienced turbine pilot or a 250 hours pilot?
I really can't believe what I read on this fourm sometimes. Why must the argument go on and on and on.... about these 200 hour wonder pilots. It's time we give it a rest. Let us conclude that yes in Canada, maybe because the air is different, the snow is different from other parts of the world, or Boeing and Airbus make a more complicated a/c for Canadians that you need 3/4000 hours to sit in right seat of a jet. For those who agree with the Canadian system and want to put up with the Canadian attitude towards aviation enjoy! For those who want to open their eyes and see what goes on in the rest of the world...go for it. The opportunites are there, and you don't have to put up with a McWage. Canada isn't the end all to be all of aviation, quite the contrary, most CDN expats I meet all agree Canada is a great place to be...unless you are a pilot.
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expatforever
- Rank 1
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2007 1:27 am
- Location: Asia
Associated Press
Jul. 18, 2007 10:01 AM
BRUSSELS, Belgium - As the Garuda Indonesia Boeing 737 approached Yogyakarta's main airport, veteran Capt. Marwoto Komar instructed his rookie co-pilot to extend the flaps to slow the plane for landing.
Seconds later, the Boeing slammed into the runway at double the normal landing speed, careened into a rice paddy and caught fire - killing 21 people. Initial findings from the probe into the March 7 crash suggest a misunderstanding between the pilot and his first officer may have contributed to the crash.
Analysts say such apparent miscues are a troubling sign that a worldwide shortage of experienced pilots is starting to affect flight safety.
OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1') http://gcirm.azcentral.com/RealMedia...930?_RM_EMPTY_
The shortage is the result of extraordinary air traffic growth in the Persian Gulf, China and India; the rise of lucrative low-cost carriers in Europe and Asia; and the sustained recovery of the U.S. airlines from the industry recession caused by the Sept. 11 attacks.
"There is a giant sucking sound, luring pilots to rapidly expanding airlines such as Emirates and Qatar and the budget carriers," said William Voss, head of the Flight Safety Foundation. When experienced pilots leave developing countries in Asia and Africa for the Gulf, those countries must hire replacements fresh out of flight school, he said.
And poaching of pilots and mechanics is expected to intensify as Asian markets like China and India burgeon.
Around Asia, flyers from national airlines such as Garuda have deserted for better paying jobs with new and successful budget carriers, such as Malaysia's AirAsia. In Europe, Belgium's largest carrier Brussels Airlines recently complained of losing an average of 10 captains a month to pilot-hungry airlines in the Gulf, and have requested government intervention.
In the United States, where thousands of veterans were laid off after Sept. 11 and left the industry, regional carriers have been giving jobs to first officers with considerably less experience than would have been required 15 years ago.
At some airlines, such as Northwest Airlines, pilot shortages have led to record-breaking flight cancellations in recent months. In the last full week of June, it canceled about 1,200 flights, or about 12 percent of its flight schedule, because it could not provide sufficient pilots to replace those who were grounded after reaching maximum allowed hours.
After that, the airline said it would continue recalling all of its furloughed pilots and hire additional pilots.
Figures released by International Air Transport Association show that global air travel will likely grow 4 to 5 percent a year over the next decade, though the aviation boom in India and China is expected to exceed 7 percent.
The Persian Gulf, the fastest growing region for both passengers and cargo, registered growth of 15.4 and 16.1 percent respectively in 2006. Reflecting this expansion, in the first half of this year Boeing and Airbus received a joint total of 1,100 new orders.
"Airlines such as Emirates, Qatar or Etihad are getting a new Airbus 330 or Boeing 777 each month, which means they also need to take in pilots at a phenomenal rate," said Gideon Ewers, a spokesman for the London-based, 105,000-member International Association of Airline Pilots Associations (IFALPA).
India and China alone will need about 4,000 new pilots a year to cope with their growth - the same number now employed by Germany's Lufthansa. Airlines need 30 highly trained pilots available on average for each long-haul aircraft in their fleet, or 10 to 18 for short-haul planes.
Traditionally, new pilots come up through flight training academies with a strict regimen of classroom training and 50 to 60 hours flying for a Private Pilots License. It takes another 250 hours flying plus a battery of tests for a Commercial Pilots License, which allows the pilot to fly on instruments, rather than only visually, and on airliners with more than one engine. A total of 1,500 hours of flight time are required for a license to co-pilot a commercial jet.
According to the latest available figures, there are 1.2 million pilots worldwide, but just 14 percent have the professional Airline Transport Pilots License.
Paradoxically, flight schools now complain they are understaffed as instructors get hired by regional carriers who have lost pilots to expanding airlines.
In an effort to retain experienced pilots, aviation authorities in some nations - including the United States - are considering extending the mandatory retirement age from 60 to 65 years.
"It makes no sense to force experienced, qualified and healthy pilots to retire while airlines are scrambling to fill those seats," Voss said.
Other airlines and government regulators plan to moderate their standards, allowing new graduates to co-pilot with experienced captains. But this places greater stress on the command pilot who must fly multiple segments while monitoring a copilot's performance.
"The reality is that when airlines are short of pilots they may be tempted to roster their pilots up to the maximum flight time allowed by regulations," Ewers said. "Naturally, fatigue may then become an element."
The London-based International Airline Passengers Association said in a statement it cannot tolerate lowering safety standards and is campaigning for global safety regulation so all airlines meet the same criteria.
The critical shortfall has led the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization to introduce a shortcut - the Multi-Crew Pilot License - where a trainee, supervised by a pilot and co-pilot, will fly a wide-bodied jet within 45 weeks, about what it takes to obtain a driving license in most European countries.
Some pilots' associations have expressed concern that such quick-fix training schemes, where candidates don't accrue any solo flying, ignore the broader safety issues.
"Although all airline pilots are trained to the same standards ... there are certain intangibles that only come from experience," said Patrick Smith, a U.S.-based airline pilot and aviation writer. "The idea of some kid flying a 737 around Africa with 300 hours of total time is a bit scary."
Jul. 18, 2007 10:01 AM
BRUSSELS, Belgium - As the Garuda Indonesia Boeing 737 approached Yogyakarta's main airport, veteran Capt. Marwoto Komar instructed his rookie co-pilot to extend the flaps to slow the plane for landing.
Seconds later, the Boeing slammed into the runway at double the normal landing speed, careened into a rice paddy and caught fire - killing 21 people. Initial findings from the probe into the March 7 crash suggest a misunderstanding between the pilot and his first officer may have contributed to the crash.
Analysts say such apparent miscues are a troubling sign that a worldwide shortage of experienced pilots is starting to affect flight safety.
OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1') http://gcirm.azcentral.com/RealMedia...930?_RM_EMPTY_
The shortage is the result of extraordinary air traffic growth in the Persian Gulf, China and India; the rise of lucrative low-cost carriers in Europe and Asia; and the sustained recovery of the U.S. airlines from the industry recession caused by the Sept. 11 attacks.
"There is a giant sucking sound, luring pilots to rapidly expanding airlines such as Emirates and Qatar and the budget carriers," said William Voss, head of the Flight Safety Foundation. When experienced pilots leave developing countries in Asia and Africa for the Gulf, those countries must hire replacements fresh out of flight school, he said.
And poaching of pilots and mechanics is expected to intensify as Asian markets like China and India burgeon.
Around Asia, flyers from national airlines such as Garuda have deserted for better paying jobs with new and successful budget carriers, such as Malaysia's AirAsia. In Europe, Belgium's largest carrier Brussels Airlines recently complained of losing an average of 10 captains a month to pilot-hungry airlines in the Gulf, and have requested government intervention.
In the United States, where thousands of veterans were laid off after Sept. 11 and left the industry, regional carriers have been giving jobs to first officers with considerably less experience than would have been required 15 years ago.
At some airlines, such as Northwest Airlines, pilot shortages have led to record-breaking flight cancellations in recent months. In the last full week of June, it canceled about 1,200 flights, or about 12 percent of its flight schedule, because it could not provide sufficient pilots to replace those who were grounded after reaching maximum allowed hours.
After that, the airline said it would continue recalling all of its furloughed pilots and hire additional pilots.
Figures released by International Air Transport Association show that global air travel will likely grow 4 to 5 percent a year over the next decade, though the aviation boom in India and China is expected to exceed 7 percent.
The Persian Gulf, the fastest growing region for both passengers and cargo, registered growth of 15.4 and 16.1 percent respectively in 2006. Reflecting this expansion, in the first half of this year Boeing and Airbus received a joint total of 1,100 new orders.
"Airlines such as Emirates, Qatar or Etihad are getting a new Airbus 330 or Boeing 777 each month, which means they also need to take in pilots at a phenomenal rate," said Gideon Ewers, a spokesman for the London-based, 105,000-member International Association of Airline Pilots Associations (IFALPA).
India and China alone will need about 4,000 new pilots a year to cope with their growth - the same number now employed by Germany's Lufthansa. Airlines need 30 highly trained pilots available on average for each long-haul aircraft in their fleet, or 10 to 18 for short-haul planes.
Traditionally, new pilots come up through flight training academies with a strict regimen of classroom training and 50 to 60 hours flying for a Private Pilots License. It takes another 250 hours flying plus a battery of tests for a Commercial Pilots License, which allows the pilot to fly on instruments, rather than only visually, and on airliners with more than one engine. A total of 1,500 hours of flight time are required for a license to co-pilot a commercial jet.
According to the latest available figures, there are 1.2 million pilots worldwide, but just 14 percent have the professional Airline Transport Pilots License.
Paradoxically, flight schools now complain they are understaffed as instructors get hired by regional carriers who have lost pilots to expanding airlines.
In an effort to retain experienced pilots, aviation authorities in some nations - including the United States - are considering extending the mandatory retirement age from 60 to 65 years.
"It makes no sense to force experienced, qualified and healthy pilots to retire while airlines are scrambling to fill those seats," Voss said.
Other airlines and government regulators plan to moderate their standards, allowing new graduates to co-pilot with experienced captains. But this places greater stress on the command pilot who must fly multiple segments while monitoring a copilot's performance.
"The reality is that when airlines are short of pilots they may be tempted to roster their pilots up to the maximum flight time allowed by regulations," Ewers said. "Naturally, fatigue may then become an element."
The London-based International Airline Passengers Association said in a statement it cannot tolerate lowering safety standards and is campaigning for global safety regulation so all airlines meet the same criteria.
The critical shortfall has led the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization to introduce a shortcut - the Multi-Crew Pilot License - where a trainee, supervised by a pilot and co-pilot, will fly a wide-bodied jet within 45 weeks, about what it takes to obtain a driving license in most European countries.
Some pilots' associations have expressed concern that such quick-fix training schemes, where candidates don't accrue any solo flying, ignore the broader safety issues.
"Although all airline pilots are trained to the same standards ... there are certain intangibles that only come from experience," said Patrick Smith, a U.S.-based airline pilot and aviation writer. "The idea of some kid flying a 737 around Africa with 300 hours of total time is a bit scary."
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Matra Magic
- Rank 1
- Posts: 18
- Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2007 4:28 pm
Wow a mission in Kosovo. I didn t know you were an hero sorry.
You didn't give me the chance to tell you that
Your reply just show how arrogant you can be.
I already told you that
And now you pretend the Jazz fleet can be operated solo by the Captain!!! Again an arrogant point of view from an airforce pilot.
I was F/O at Jazz ! I just gave credits to the great guys I had the chance to fly with. But you're the kind of guy who read a sentence and assume too many thinks
I think it's better to stop here. We are well far away from my original posting concerning having low time guys at Jazz. I think people on this forum have more interesting things to do than reading your comments and mine. I was polite when I wrote my post, you just ''attacked'' me with your strange behaviour assuming too many things. I am sure of something. I would prefer to fly alone rather than with a guy like you. Frustrated, on the defensive, etc... It's not my fault if your career doesn't turn the way you want and it's not these kids's fault neither !
Whatever you think about me, take care and fly safe Expatforever
Matra Magic
You didn't give me the chance to tell you that
Your reply just show how arrogant you can be.
I already told you that
And now you pretend the Jazz fleet can be operated solo by the Captain!!! Again an arrogant point of view from an airforce pilot.
I was F/O at Jazz ! I just gave credits to the great guys I had the chance to fly with. But you're the kind of guy who read a sentence and assume too many thinks
I think it's better to stop here. We are well far away from my original posting concerning having low time guys at Jazz. I think people on this forum have more interesting things to do than reading your comments and mine. I was polite when I wrote my post, you just ''attacked'' me with your strange behaviour assuming too many things. I am sure of something. I would prefer to fly alone rather than with a guy like you. Frustrated, on the defensive, etc... It's not my fault if your career doesn't turn the way you want and it's not these kids's fault neither !
Whatever you think about me, take care and fly safe Expatforever
Matra Magic
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expatforever
- Rank 1
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2007 1:27 am
- Location: Asia
MM,
you say:
I think people on this forum have more interesting things to do than reading your comments and mine
But this is your thread and your post and your idea, you started and you have choosen to speak about the low experience of some of the new Jazz F/O. Jazz has never done that before and I think this is worth speaking about this subject. Jazz is not prepared to put in line those 200 hours F/O, in addition thousands of turbine pilots are available in Canada (which is not the case in Asia-Europe) and the initial flight training in Canada doesn t aim the jet cockpit.
MM you wrote:
I was polite when I wrote my post
you just ''attacked'' me (poor former airforce pilot and hero, somebody attacked you on this forum...)
Let s remenber your initial post:
it seems that having young guys from the college flying at Jazz is a problem for some of you guys. I think it's more based on jalousy than anything else. Let me tell you something I flew a F*****G fighter I was 20 years old with 200h00 total
So the first thing you had to say was assuming we were jealous. Without any preliminary discussion.
You said you flew a F*****G fighter... Whom pilot can insult his airplane...
That s the first time on Avcanada I see a pilot insulting the airplane he has flown or the aiplane he is flying
you say:
I think people on this forum have more interesting things to do than reading your comments and mine
But this is your thread and your post and your idea, you started and you have choosen to speak about the low experience of some of the new Jazz F/O. Jazz has never done that before and I think this is worth speaking about this subject. Jazz is not prepared to put in line those 200 hours F/O, in addition thousands of turbine pilots are available in Canada (which is not the case in Asia-Europe) and the initial flight training in Canada doesn t aim the jet cockpit.
MM you wrote:
I was polite when I wrote my post
you just ''attacked'' me (poor former airforce pilot and hero, somebody attacked you on this forum...)
Let s remenber your initial post:
it seems that having young guys from the college flying at Jazz is a problem for some of you guys. I think it's more based on jalousy than anything else. Let me tell you something I flew a F*****G fighter I was 20 years old with 200h00 total
So the first thing you had to say was assuming we were jealous. Without any preliminary discussion.
You said you flew a F*****G fighter... Whom pilot can insult his airplane...
That s the first time on Avcanada I see a pilot insulting the airplane he has flown or the aiplane he is flying
No seasoned and highly experienced arctic medevac captain would land on an ice covered runway with a 35 knot crosswind either.expatforever wrote:No 200 hours pilot is able to land solo, with a small piston or turbine twin, on a runway covered by ice in a 35 KT crosswind.
Asia is going to be a very scary place to travel from this point forward... Africa is known as the most unsafe airspace in the world but I'd bet that title get's handed over to Asia in the not too distant future as we are seeing the beginning of the accidents with low cost carriers.
The article expat posted from the Associated press is a good read.
As has been mentioned in previous posts. The problem in Asia and Africa is not the 200 hour "wonder" first officer. If that was your case than Europe would have been suffering the same fate for the past 30 years. European airlines are some of the safest in the world along with their North American and Australian/NZ counterparts. If you want to start finger pointing as to the causes of the higher rates in Asia and Africa, I think you should look at the Maintenance, Crew training, CRM, ATC, Airport facilites, ect..
The Aussies are doing it so why cant operators in Canada???
Article below.
SOURCE:Flightglobal.com
Australia's Rex launches cadet pilot programme
By Leithen Francis
Regional Express (Rex) is launching a cadet pilot training programme, a first for the Australian regional carrier which until now has generally recruited cockpit crew that already have a commercial pilot’s licence.
The eight-month cadet programme starts later this year and the initial intake will be 20 students, although each year the carrier hopes to train 40 new pilots, a Rex spokesman says from Sydney.
He says the cost of training is A$80,000 ($71,000) per head but the airline is offering to cover half as long as cadets stay on with the company after graduation.
The spokesman declines to reveal which flying school the cadets will be sent to for ab initio training but says the training will be done in Australia and Rex has earmarked two flying schools.
"Rex recognises that the high cost of flying training is a major obstacle to many young people who desire to make a career in the sky [so] we are prepared to assist with the cost of training so that a commercial pilot’s licence is within reach of many who would otherwise be unable to afford it," Rex chief of staff Jim Davis says in a statement.
He says each cadet will be given a A$40,000 loan to cover up to 50% of the cost of the training but in return "the cadets will have to commit to staying with Rex for six years".
Those that complete the cadet programme will receive a commercial pilot’s licence with a command instrument rating and multi-engine endorsement and each will be given a job at either Rex mainline or one of the airline’s subsidiary carriers such as Airlink or Pel-Air.
Rex is Australia’s largest independently owned regional carrier and it operates Saab 340s. Pel-Air operates types such as Fairchild Metroliners and Israel Aerospace Westwinds and Airlink is a relatively small airline that operates Raytheon Beech 1900s and Cessna aircraft.
Rex, like many carriers in Australia, has traditionally only employed pilots that already have licences but Rex needs to increase its pilot numbers because it is expanding its operations.
Article below.
SOURCE:Flightglobal.com
Australia's Rex launches cadet pilot programme
By Leithen Francis
Regional Express (Rex) is launching a cadet pilot training programme, a first for the Australian regional carrier which until now has generally recruited cockpit crew that already have a commercial pilot’s licence.
The eight-month cadet programme starts later this year and the initial intake will be 20 students, although each year the carrier hopes to train 40 new pilots, a Rex spokesman says from Sydney.
He says the cost of training is A$80,000 ($71,000) per head but the airline is offering to cover half as long as cadets stay on with the company after graduation.
The spokesman declines to reveal which flying school the cadets will be sent to for ab initio training but says the training will be done in Australia and Rex has earmarked two flying schools.
"Rex recognises that the high cost of flying training is a major obstacle to many young people who desire to make a career in the sky [so] we are prepared to assist with the cost of training so that a commercial pilot’s licence is within reach of many who would otherwise be unable to afford it," Rex chief of staff Jim Davis says in a statement.
He says each cadet will be given a A$40,000 loan to cover up to 50% of the cost of the training but in return "the cadets will have to commit to staying with Rex for six years".
Those that complete the cadet programme will receive a commercial pilot’s licence with a command instrument rating and multi-engine endorsement and each will be given a job at either Rex mainline or one of the airline’s subsidiary carriers such as Airlink or Pel-Air.
Rex is Australia’s largest independently owned regional carrier and it operates Saab 340s. Pel-Air operates types such as Fairchild Metroliners and Israel Aerospace Westwinds and Airlink is a relatively small airline that operates Raytheon Beech 1900s and Cessna aircraft.
Rex, like many carriers in Australia, has traditionally only employed pilots that already have licences but Rex needs to increase its pilot numbers because it is expanding its operations.
