Soon, trainees at Thiruvananthapuram aviation academy to fly twin-engine aircraft

Thiruvananthapuram: The twin-engine aircraft, purchased by the Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology (RAGAAT) five years ago, will finally be inducted for training in the academy soon.
The Piper Seneca aircraft that had been remaining idle in the hangar since 2014 will be an additional attraction for city’s prestigious flying club where trainees have so far been trained in single-engine aircraft only.
The flying instructors will join for the training course in flying the twin-engine aircraft soon. The chief flying instructor and deputy flying instructor will have to attend training sessions to conduct flying classes for students. Though both the flying instructors hold pilot license and conduct training in single-engine aircraft for students in the academy, they need to complete a training programme under the guidance of a chief flying instructor from another academy to receive the permit to fly the twin-engine aircraft.
The twin-engine aircraft is among the five aircraft owned by the academy. Lack of permit to include it in the training courses and uncertainty over maintenance work had kept the aircraft in the hangar all these years. With development of the facilities including hangar at Chackai, the academy completed its maintenance work in association with Bombay Flying Club.
As the maintenance of the aircraft requires an engineer qualified in the category, the assistant engineer at the academy completed a six-month training programme to conduct future maintenance of the aircraft.
After completing all mandatory checks and flight test, the Piper Seneca V received airworthiness certificate from the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) in March.
18/09/19 Anasooya S/Times of India