Thorpedo Makers Will Train Indian Pilots

Dallas, TX-based IndUS Aviation, makers of the Thorp T-211 and Thorpedo light sport aircraft, will soon set up two pilot training centers in India. In collaboration with its Indian subsidiary, IndUS Aviation Products, the company will also establish a maintenance training college in the country.

"There is an increase in demand for flight training as the country's aviation IndUStry is poised for a boom," said IndUS Aviation (India) managing director Ravi Kiran Kota. "The demand for pleasure flying is also gaining ground, and hence the need for more training institutes".

Classes are expected to begin by March 1st at both colleges -- one in the northern part of India, and one down south.

India's Business Standard reports exact costs for the training centers were not disclosed, although IndUStry sources said set up costs are typically "a few million dollars" for such a venture.

IndUS also plans to install flight simulators at the colleges, first using small desktop sims and later adding bigger, high-end simulators.

Two or three programs for students looking to earn either an Indian commercial pilot license (CPL) or private flying license would be conducted at a time, said Ravi, with 20-25 students in each class.  A CPL course would last 12 months, with the private course expected to take about half that time.

The institutes will eventually house Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) certified, multi-engine flight simulators, flight training devices, multimedia-equipped flight education classrooms, an aviation library and offices to support advanced flight training.

FMI: www.IndUSav.com