Friday, March 16, 2012

European Pilot Academy invests in flight simulator

Falcon Alliance Group, which runs the European Pilot Academy at Malta International Airport, has invested in a €324,000 simulator, which is set to significantly facilitate pilot training. The cost was partly covered by the European Regional Development Fund.

Small Business Minister Jason Azzopardi presided over the official opening of the simulator yesterday, saying that the European Pilot Academy was set up almost 19 years ago and employs 38 people.

Referring to the company as a success story, Dr Azzopardi said: “The people who run this company have demonstrated a strong sense of entrepreneurship, and they have been creating job opportunities by means of their continuous investment. Companies such as this are the unsung heroes of the economy.”

The company plans to employ more people in the coming months.

Falcon Alliance Group chairman Captain Ray Zarb explained that people come to train at the academy from a number of countries in Europe and beyond. About 130 people received training at the academy last year.

It is the only flight training organisation licensed by the Civil Aviation Directorate, and the training provided includes that required for the Airline Transport Pilot Licence.

The academy’s fleet includes both single and multi-engine aircraft, Tecnam P92-JS, Tecnam P2002-JF, Piper Warrior ll and Piper Seneca llBRNAV, and the pilot training portfolio ranges from AirCadets to Advance AirCadet and ab-initio student pilot through JAA-Airline Transport Pilot Licence.

By means of the new simulator, FNPT 2, the European Pilot Academy can offer training to professional commercial pilots before they start working for airlines. One of the advantages of the simulator is that training will be cheaper and can be carried out any time, and irrespective of the weather conditions. Among other things, pilots can simulate an engine failure and practise the methods used to control the aircraft with just one engine.

Falcon Alliance Group chief executive officer Sarah Zarb said that since the creation of an aircraft register, the academy has started receiving requests to carry out maintenance on general aviation aircraft.

Source:  http://www.independent.com.mt

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