Airline Training Solutions Launches New "Two-Crew" Professional Flight Training Program

Representatives of Airline Training Solutions have taken delivery of their first Tecnam P2006T light twin aircraft at their facility at Craig Airport (KCRG), (soon to be known as Executive Airport at Craig Field) in Jacksonville, Florida.

ATS Tecnam P2006T

It was the end of a long trip. After assembly and flight-testing, N594MA was disassembled, containerized and shipped from Tecnam's factory in Italy to their U.S. facility in Richmond, Virginia. After inspection, Hayden Malone, Program Director, Airline Training Solutions assisted the Tecnam technicians in the aircraft's reassembly. "I knew the Tecnam P2006T was a really good airplane, but now that I've had the chance to help in the reassembly, I'm even more impressed with the overall quality that Paolo Pascale, Tecnam's Managing Director and his team in Italy put into the airplane," he said. "I've worked on the best and I can tell you this is an exceptionally well built light airplane."

After receiving the approvals from the FAA, Hayden and his son, Scott Malone, Chief Pilot for Malone AirCharter and Chief Flight Instructor, Airline Training Solutions, then flew the new P20006T from Tecnam North America's facility in Virginia to Jacksonville. "I know the term gets overused, but this is a real 'pilot's airplane.' It has great control feel and balance, which, besides being a lot of fun to fly, will make it a tremendous training platform," Scott Malone said. "Another benefit is the size of the cockpit and cabin. We will conduct all of our flights in the 'two-pilot' crew configuration just like the major airlines and the size and sophistication of the Tecnam's panel really complements our program."

Malone said he believes students can get caught up in relying too much on the technology, and as a result fail to develop good basic flying skills. "That's why our P2006T's has analog flight instruments," he said. "Once our students really know how to fly, we can transition them into glass. It does have a Garmin 430 so we can get satellite weather and traffic information. That's not only important to the training, but it's critical for the safety of our students and instructors."

As part of their familiarization with advanced glass panels, Hayden Malone explained that after the students earn their commercial and instrument ratings, they would have the opportunity to take part in actual revenue flights with Malone AirCharter flying their Cessna Citations or a Beechcraft King Air B200. Scott Malone explained that now that the Tecnam P2006T is in Jacksonville, they would use it to finalize Airline Training Solutions' training curriculum including the ground school classes. "We have a lot of prospective students wanting to see and fly the airplane," he said. "Once they do I think they'll be really excited."

The elder Malone said that, while the overall flying qualities of the P2006T are critical to the success of the program, from an operational perspective, the airplane's fuel efficiency is paramount in keeping the cost of the program comparable to other schools. "When Scott and I flew it down from Richmond, we were burning only 10 gph of Avgas total. That's close to what we'd burn in our 172 and a fraction of what we'd use in our Seneca," said Hayden Malone. "We couldn't offer this type of training program without the exceptional economy of the P2006T. We have delivery positions for nine more Tecnams - I think this is the beginning of a long relationship."

FMI: www.maloneaircharter.com