Pilot Training Program at CAE Global Academy India

Yesterday, in the presence of The Honourable Minister Praful Patel and Mr. Marc Parent, President and Chief Executive Officer of CAE, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and CAE agreed that a helicopter ab initio pilot training program will be launched later this year at the CAE Global Academy Gondia. The program will lead to a commercial helicopter pilot licence (CHPL) and within three years is expected to graduate approximately 100 new helicopter pilots annually.
CAE Global Academy Gondia is the newest and most modern flight school in India, opened two years ago to train aspiring airline pilots. Also known as the National Flying Training Institute Private limited (NFTI), the school is a joint venture of AAI and CAE. Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited, the largest helicopter operator in India, is a minority shareholder of NFTI and will provide expertise and operator insights into the new training program.
“The civil and military sectors in India will require close to 2,500 helicopter pilots over the next 10 years,” said V.P. Agrawal, Chairman of AAI.
This represents CAE’s first ab initio program for rotary-wing pilots, adding to CAE’s extensive experience, infrastructure and capabilities in fixed-wing ab initio pilot training.
The new CAE Global Academy Gondia campus features state-of-the-art classrooms, training devices, and aircraft as well as comfortable, air-conditioned accommodations. In November, a new sports complex was opened. The new helicopter ab initio program will incorporate about a dozen training helicopters, as well as flight and navigation procedures trainers (FNPT).
14/02/11 Rotor News