Aviation India: Careers

Mumbai: With the aviation boom underway, and an estimated shortage of 450 pilots, many feel the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) must facilitate an easier licensing process. The DGCA, however, insists that students must have maths and physics as subjects in Class 12; 200 hours of flying, including 25 hours of multi-engine flying; and strong theoretical knowledge of aircraft, aviation, and aerodynamics.
The DGCA says it is aware of the changing needs and is planning to phase out certain portions of the syllabus. “The profiles of commercial pilots are changing, and so is the business of aviation and the technology of aircraft: we are trying to update study material accordingly. But this won’t happen overnight. About the DGCA exams being the toughest to clear, well, that’s because we maintain quality.
...We do maintain very high standards where we expect pilots to have in-depth knowledge about aircraft, flying, and other aspects of aviation,” says Kanu Gohain, Director General of Civil Aviation.
Students feel that the DGCA theory exam is unnecessarily tough. “The DGCA course is more of an engineering course than a pilot training course. It is very technical, and in some cases redundant. I have had to learn about non-directional beacons, but this technology was last used in the 80s, and no aircraft in the world is equipped with it, but the DGCA insists that we must know everything about it. How pointless is that! Why not teach us about new technology and instruments that may enter India in the future?” asks Dhruv Malkani.
According to Shafique Khan, the DGCA still follows the 1954 Aircraft Act. “We need to throw it out, as most of the ideas in there are outdated. Technology has changed, ground realities have changed, and so has the mindset.”
But not all instructors are convinced that the DGCA must minimise the amount of theory in its courses. “We at Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) follow the syllabus laid down by DGCA. And honestly, there isn’t any harm in doing so. Most students these days want to take the easy way out. But the truth is, as a pilot, one needs to have a sound theoretical knowledge as it is essential in times of emergency for effective analysis,” says Wing Commander (Rtd), Sudesh Kumar, chief ground instructor, IGRUA.
25/11/07 Sanghamitra Bhowmik/Daily News & Analysis