Indian students flying New Plymouth skies

Taranaki : The New Plymouth Aero Club is training 11 Indian student pilots, allowing them to gain their New Zealand commercial pilot’s licences before returning to India to fly commercial aircraft.
New Plymouth Aero Club chief executive Francis Kuriger said booming economies in countries such as India meant their pilot training schools were losing instructors to commercial airlines and prospective pilots had to look abroad for training.
“The Indian airlines tend to prefer pilots trained in New Zealand and Australia as being of the highest standard,” Mr Kuriger said.
The 11 Indians have arrived New Plymouth in stages during the past three months with little flying experience, he said.
Plans are in place for a further 10 Indian students to arrive in March, and Mr Kuriger said there was potential for the arrangement to become ongoing.
The Indians are staying at the Witt hostel and their course lasts about 10 months.
They are being trained on Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s and Partenavia P68s. Flying instructor Tom Price said they are the keenest bunch of students he has ever seen. “Even on the weekends they are here before us,” he said. Indian student Amlan Aparajeet, from Orissa in eastern India, said the reputation of New Zealand’s flying schools was excellent and he was enjoying his stay in Taranaki.
08/01/08 Ryan Evans/Taranaki Daily News, New Zealand