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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 1842.PDF
932 FLIGHT Left, graduates of fh< Indonesian Ayiatio:; Academy, and, right, ai traffic control instruc tion at Djakarta. By CAPT. A. J. CHAVES CIVIL AVIATION . . . Helping Indonesia CANCELLATION of KX.M.'s traffic rights in Indonesia by the Government of that unhappy country (see next page) makes topical this review of the international help which Indonesian civil aviation is now receiving. The work of an I.C.A.O. mission—typical of many which are at work in undeveloped countries—is described by Capt. A. J. Chaves, chief of pilot training at the Indonesian Aviation Academy. THE establishment of an I.C.A.O. mission in Indonesiastemmed from a general agreement between U.N.O. andthe Government of Indonesia in November 1950 by which the former agreed to provide the new republic with technicalassistance in various fields requiring development—aviation being one of those specified. Subsequently, under supplementaryagreements negotiated directly between I.C.A.O. and the Indonesian Government, expert facilities were established inJuly 1951 in the following spheres: air traffic services, radio operations, radio maintenance, airports, maps and charts, andaviation economy. In addition, ten fellowships were awarded to Indonesian nationals for training in aeronautical engineering, air-port construction and radio engineering. The first team of eight experts—coming from such diverse countries as America, England,Scandinavia, India and Australia—were led by a C.A.A. expert from the U.S.A., Mr. Lake Littlejohn. He was succeeded in 1952by Mr. E. L. T. Barton, a communications specialist from the U.K. Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation. Until then the training of airline personnel had been handledin a limited way by K.L.M., who are responsible (under a contract extending to 1960) for the technical direction of Garuda Indo-nesian Airways, the national airline. I.C.A.O. had also recom- mended that Indonesian pilots should undergo instruction at AirService Training and 25 were already taking courses there. The rapid growth of aviation in Indonesia, however, outpacedits supply of trained crews. Encouraged by the success with which the mission had functioned in various other fields, the Govern-ment considered the establishment of a national aviation college to accelerate the training of air and ground crews for G.I.A.From a long-range point of view the college was also conceived as a national asset in an area almost completely without facilitiesfor aviation training. When approached, I.C.A.O. was very glad to be associated with this scheme, which was inaugurated at theend of 1952 and resulted in the institution of the Akademi Pener- bangan Indonesia (Indonesian Aviation Academy). The locationselected was a disused airstrip built during the Japanese occupa- tion and situated 25 miles south-west of Djakarta near a smallvillage called Tjurug. A principal training adviser—Mr. M. F. Vandiver, ex-chief pilot training adviser in S.A.S. and with wideand varied experience of world-wide roving commissions on behalf of I.C.A.O.—was appointed to set up and operate the academy.Fourteen expert personnel representing an international cross- section of aviation were recruited by I.C.A.O. to assist in theenterprise, which was placed under the administration of an Indonesian director. Because of limited equipment and facilities in the early stages,the training of airport managers, radio operators and air traffic controllers was undertaken first, followed by pilot and groundcrew training with the arrival of six D.H. Chipmunks and main- tenance equipment. In the middle of 1953, Mr. Vandiyer took over from Mr. Bartonand continued to combine the functions of mission chief and prin- cipal training adviser till April 1957. He has been replaced by Mr.W. J. V. Branch, Chief of the PEL section in I.C.A.O., Montreal. Because of certain technical difficulties, flight instructors werehired directly by the Indonesian Government, though their recruitment was arranged by I.C.A.O.—to whom they weretechnically responsible. The original Canadian team of element- ary flying instructors was replaced in 1953 on the extension of thescope of training to include advanced airline work. Pilot training —both ground and flight—was reorganized under a chief of pilottraining who has had experience of operations and training in Air India and the Indian Department of Civil Aviation. He was assistedby instructors from Indonesia (ex-Air Force) and from India, Australia and the U.K. In the five years during which the I.C.A.O. mission has beenoperating in Indonesia, it has set up and manned 34 airports with Academy-trained personnel; organized under difficult circum-stances a reasonably reliable and efficient communications and radio facilities network; and produced a total of 243 trainedaviation personnel—30 airport managers, 31 air traffic controllers, 37 commercial pilots, 28 aircraft and engine mechanics and groundengineers, 48 radio maintenance personnel and 69 radio operators. The Aviation Academy at Tjurug is developing rapidly into anA.S.T. of the East. At present a further 300 personnel are under training and expect to graduate in time to take over to a largeextent when K.L.M.'s technical aid to the airline expires in April 1960. The latest equipment—with classrooms, hangarsand workshops, and a fully equipped aerodrome with two run- ways and its own radio D/F beacon—is converting this onceremote village into a modern township which may in time be a centre for the training of aviation personnel from the neighbouringcountries. Very comprehensive syllabi and the latest methods of teachingand training, approved by I.C.A.O., are being utilized to produce graduates capable of handling effectively the most modern equip-ment. A large part of the air traffic control and radio maintenancetraining is carried out "on the job" at Kemajoran, Indonesia's largest international airport. A. & E. maintenance trainees alsoacquire valuable experience servicing, maintaining and overhaul- ing the Academy's aircraft fleet, which consists of 12 D.H. Chip-munks, six Saab Safirs and two DC-3s. All pilot training is tailored from its commencement for pre-cision airline work. Elementary training to 125 hours is carried out on the Chipmunks, the Saabs being used for a further 25hours—for navigation and instrument flying. With the co-opera- tion of Garuda Indonesian Airways, Link training accompaniesflight training all along. The latest ground flight training equip- ment for the Academy—in the shape of an AT-100—has recentlybeen installed. No difficulties have been experienced in taking pupils directly from Chipmunks on to the DC-3, and first soloson the latter have averaged 35 hours prior dual instruction. The Advanced Flight Unit, in which a further 120 hours are flown,operates in its latter stages on the basis of a small airline. In all sections, along with ab initio training, the mission'spolicy has always been to select the best material for instructor training, so that a smooth transfer can be effected when the missionpulls out. This plan has proved most encouraging, and a total of 38 Indonesian instructors—both flying and ground—now workalong with the I.C.A.O. experts. More than fifty per cent of G.I.A.'s aircrew are now Indonesianand 16 Indonesian captains operate the Convair and Dakota ser- vices. In other departments of the airline organization, too, mereand more Indonesians are taking over and assuming technical responsibility for the operation of their airline and aviation groundservices. With its 3,000 islands strung out over an area equal almosT atits widest point to the distance from New York to San Francisco, and with very limited means of surface transport, Indonesia'sprogress and development as a nation cannot be dissociated fr'-ni the growth of its aviation. Not only in the airline business but nsuch spheres as agriculture, police and customs patrol, medical a .1, oil prospecting and private flying, Indonesia provides aimitlimitless scope for aviation. Even the augmentation of G.I.A 's present fleet of 50 aircraft—Convairs, Herons and DC-3s—w< ilarger and more modern equipment in the shape of Convair 44 "> and Lockheed Electras only taps infinitesimally Indonesia :>immense air traffic potential.
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