ST Aerospace Academy (STAA) has completed the first multi-crew pilot license (MPL) programme in Singapore, training six cadets who are employed by Tiger Airways.
The six will receive their MPL from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) in early October 2011, and are expected to fly the Airbus A320 as First Officers, said STAA's parent ST Aerospace (ST Aero) in a statement.
The first phase of the programme was conducted at STAA's flying school at Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. Phases two to four, and the ground school training, were conducted at STAA's headquarters in Singapore.
The curriculum involved putting cadet pilots into the A320 simulator environment right from the start of the second phase, said ST Aero.
"This maximises the students' learning time in the cockpit environment of the aircraft that they will eventually work in. The syllabus also introduces the Airbus A320 cockpit to students progressively, hence allowing them to fully master the principles and practical handling of aircraft systems before Line Oriented Flight Training," it added.
"The strength of the STAA MPL programme lies in its focus and relevance for commercial airlines," said Stewart Adams, Managing Director, Tiger Airways Singapore.
"Trainees were placed in the multi-crew cooperation environment right from the start and they were also coached and assessed against a clearly defined set of competencies continuously. We will certainly continue to consider the STAA MPL programme to meet our operational needs for pilots in the future."
STAA said that the growing popularity of the MPL means that it now plans to offer the programme to more airlines in the Asia Pacific.
Apart from MPL programmes, STAA also offers Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) programmes and advanced pilot training courses. Its customers include Hainan Airlines, Juneyao Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
