New pilot norms may fuel interest among youth

New Delhi: The DGCA has recommended that anyone who has passed Class X with physics and maths and then completed Class XII from any stream can be considered for becoming a pilot.
In fact, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), US’s regulatory and licensing agency, does not stipulate any minimum educational qualification for becoming a pilot.
It has only three conditions for a student pilot licence (SPL). These are: The person should be 16 years
or older, should be able to “read, speak and understand English” and be medically fit.
But clearing the tough FAA exams mean that the candidate should have knowledge of science and maths.
In India, too, a person can begin flight training at 16 years as the rules stipulate he or she be a minimum 17 years of age for getting the SPL. Then, after another year of flying, he or she can get a private pilot licence for which the minimum age is 18.
If cleared by the ministry and then notified as an amendment to existing rules by the law ministry, this could fuel the interest of youngsters towards flying.
In the past two years, so many youths have opted for this profession that there’s an excess of co-pilots in the aviation industry.
28/02/08 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India