ST Aerospace’s commercial pilot training arm, ST Aerospace Academy (STAA) has been awarded a contract to train pilots for Xiamen Airlines. Under the agreement, Xiamen Airlines’ cadet pilots will undergo STAA’s Commercial Pilot Licence with Instrument Rating programme, followed by its High Performance Aircraft Training (HPAT) course.
The first batch of 30 cadet pilots are expected to begin their 60-week long flight training at STAA’s flying school in Ballarat, Australia in March 2013, upon completion of an eight-week intensive English language course at Xiamen Airline’s facility in Xiamen, China. They are expected to graduate in April 2014. STAA expects to increase the intake to at least 50 for subsequent batches.
HPAT serves to help cadet pilots to transit smoothly from handling low power single engine and multi-engine aircraft that are used in basic training to multi turbo engine aircraft as an intermediary transition to airliners that are operated by commercial airlines. STAA’s HPAT programme is the only one in the region where all flights are conducted on international air routes. This has the value add of allowing cadet pilots to gain valuable real life experience communicating with air traffic controllers from different countries, as well as flying in varied weather conditions and terrains.
“STAA stands out as a premier pilot training academy with quality programmes, accredited training methodologies, comprehensive range of aircraft and well-equipped facilities. We are fully confident of STAA’s capabilities in helping us to meet our operational need for well qualified pilots. This confidence is also built on the strong foundation of ST Aerospace’s reliable and consistent maintenance services for Xiamen Airlines’ aircraft fleet over the last two decades.”