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."