www.uninews.com

Aerostar ties up with FSI for training pilots

New Delhi, Aug 29 (UNI)

Aerostar Aviation today announced a tie-up with US-based Flight Safety International (FSI) for training pilots.
FSI has equipped 235 flight simulators, 135 aircraft models to train on, 3,000 courses of various types and trains 75,000 general, commercial and military aviators in 43 learning centres in the United States, Canada, Britain and France.
Aerostar plans to train 250 students in the first year. The fee will be 51,000 dollars (about Rs 24 lakh) for a course spread over 40 weeks in which students need to clear their theory exams as well as finish 225 hours of flying with multi-engine endorsement.
The company has tied up with various banks to make the facility of loans easily available. The first batch will start from November. It also plans to set up a flight safety academy in the country by early next year.
‘‘India is an important and growing aviation economy,’’ said Aerostar’s managing director Manav Singh. ‘‘This strategic alliance with FSI will provide an opportunity to overcome the existing shortfall of pilots in the aviation industry.’’
Aviation experts say there is a currently shortfall of 1,500 pilots in India. When at least 450 aircraft are inducted over the next three to five years, about 4,500 pilots will be required. More than 500 foreign pilots fly in the Indian skies at present.