Graham Warwick/Atlanta
FlightSafety International (FSI) has received approval to begin construction of its first Chinese training centre, close to Kunming International Airport. The centre, to open in 1996, is a joint venture between FSI and Xingyun, an investment subsidiary of Yunnan Tobacco.
The centre will have space for six simulators, but will begin operations with two - for the Boeing 737-300 and 757/767 - now under construction at FlightSafety Simulation in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The Kunming centre will consist of a training building with adjacent accommodation tower. The former will be modeled on existing FSI pilot-training centres, but with an additional, story to house flight-attendant training. The latter will have an indoor pool and gymnasium.
China's Civil Aviation Flying College is to send additional students to the FlightSafety Academy in Vero Beach, Florida, for ab initio training. Two classes of 25 cadets each will begin training later this year and will be joined by the first cadets from China Eastern Airlines early in 1996. Air China's first group of US-trained cadets graduated from Vero Beach earlier this year.
FlightSafety has expanded the curriculum for Chinese students with additional airline-oriented experience and line-flying training. Cadets receive a US commercial/multi-engine/instrument rating and transition to turbine-powered aircraft before returning to China. The US-based training takes about a year.
Source: Flight International
