Careers for Freshers

Flying

Flying as a career has everything - glamour, travel and good money. Besides, the idea of defying gravity and streaking across the blue skies is definitely appealing. There is more to flying than that. As a commercial pilot, you are responsible for the billion-dollar aerodynamic machine and the numerous lives that are entrusted in your hands.

• Eligibility
A candidate must have completed their Intermediate in science and acquire at least 50 %. You need to complete the requisite number of hours, clear written papers and the medical examination.

You can also write to the DGCA, requesting them to send a form. The address of DGCA is:

Director of Airworthiness (CEO),
C/O Director General of Civil Aviation,
East Block III, R.K Puram
New Delhi-110 066.

• Student's Pilot License :
The first license you get is a Student's Pilot License or an SPL. To be eligible for this license, you need to pass your SSC or an examination equivalent to that, be at least 16 years of age and have a medical certificate from an approved medical practitioner. On clearing an oral exam based on air regulations, navigation, meteorology, aircraft and engines conducted by the chief flying instructor of a flying club, you will be given an SPL.

The oral exam is elementary and based on facts about airplane signals, specifications about the aircraft you intend to fly and directional orientation. You cannot fly a solo in SPL.

• Private Pilot's License :
To acquire the Private Pilot's License or PPL you are required to complete 40 hours of flying that includes 15 solo hours. You also need to clear three papers - the Composite paper (a combination of Navigation, Meteorology, Air Regulations), Aircraft and Engines paper (Aerodynamics, theory of flight and engines) and the Specific paper that is based on a particular aircraft.

• Commercial Pilot's License
A Commercial Pilot's License is what you get after completing 250 hours of flying. It includes 150 hours of solo flying, 25 hours of cross-country flying, 10 hours of instrument flying and 5 hours of solo night flying. You need to clear six papers, namely Navigation, Meteorology, Aircraft & Engines (technical paper), Specific (based on a particular aircraft) and Air Regulations. Clearance at the medical examination conducted by the Air force at their medical centers in Dhaula Kuan, New Delhi and Institute of Aeronautical Medicine (IAM), is also a must.

After a CPL, you can build up on more flying hours, login 750 hours of flight time, clear the requisite papers and acquire a Senior Commercial Pilot's License (SCPL).

After an SCPL, you can login 1500 hours of flight time and acquire an All Transports Pilot's License or ATPL. The ATPL allows you to fly any kind of aircraft and no doubt, is the most difficult license to acquire. A pilot receives these licenses only after approval of the DGCA.

• Institutes
This is what you should be looking for when choosing a flying club:

- How many aircraft does it have? How many of them are fit for flying?
- What are their charges per flying hour?
- Does the Chief Flying Instructor (CFI) enjoy a good reputation
- Are the students who have passed out of that flying club and the ones who are flying there happy with it?
- How much do you pay?

There are numerous flying clubs that are government aided as well as private. A government aided flying club is definitely cheaper, charging about Rs 1,800-2,500 per hour.

In a private flying club, the expenses with each flying hour cost nearly Rs 3,500-4,000.

Amongst private flying clubs, Ahmedabad Aviation Academy (AAA) in Ahmedabad rules the roost.

Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udaan Akademi, better known as IGRUA is a government-aided flying academy and candidates are chosen from all over India. The admissions are difficult and the prospective candidate must have a PPL with 60 hours of flying apart from clearing an entrance examination.

• The early years
Entry is at the level of a trainee pilot and after a year of working under the supervision of an experienced pilot, the first job is that of a co-pilot. Promotion to the post of captain can come after eight years in service.

• Prospects
You can join a commercial airline as first officer or you could join a big company such as TISCO, Kirloskar and Reliance and fly their aircraft. .

If you are doing your course at IGRUA, chances are, national airlines like Air India, Indian Airlines and Pawan Hans will pick you up from the campus.

• Money
A trainee pilot is taken on a monthly pay scale that ranges between Rs 2,500 to 3,500. In private aircraft, pilots draw anywhere between Rs 15,000 to 20,000 a month.

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