The final piece has now been slotted into place. Pacific Flight Services has received the last remaining element required to permit it to offer commercial flight training to international students. We have received our CRICOS number from the Australian Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. [CRICOS stands for Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students.]

So, if you live outside Australia and want to learn to fly in the world’s best flying training environment; if you want to gain your Commercial Pilot Licence and become an Airline Pilot, get in touch. You can make an enquiry or make your initial application. We will begin sending out the required forms shortly. Places will be limited, so it’s a good idea to get your name on the list as soon as you can.

See you soon!

We have heard an unofficial whisper that PFS will soon be running a new Instrument Flight Rating course. No start details finalised yet as far as we know (because, you know, it’s unofficial and a whisper). You can find details about PFS’s IFR courses here.

Numbers are certain to be limited because these have to be pretty much one on one courses. It’s still early days so if you’re interested it’s probably a good idea to get yourself pencilled in. Wouldn’t be surprised if all the available places are already gone by the time it is officially announced. PFS phone number is (02) 9791 0055.

PPL Course

Great news!

UPDATE! New course starting October

One of the things that’s always frustrated us (well, me, actually) has been learning the theory for the BAK and PPL Licence. No pilot will ever tell you they’re stupid, but we often felt a bit challenged, sitting down with the books and the calculators and not really knowing where to start.

And not having anyone to ask those silly questions, like, “how can you have a datum point that’s not even in the aeroplane? How does that make sense?”, or “what’s the difference between a climbus and a numubus again?” “Isn’t ‘katabatic’ a yoghurt culture, and isn’t ‘adiabatic’ a disease …?”

So we’re very happy that PFS is running a PPL Theory course on Sunday afternoons from Sunday 23 August. The course will take 30 hours over ten weeks.

That’s Sundays from 2pm to 5pm.

So you’ll get thoroughly trained by qualified Instructors and you’ll be able to ask the questions you can’t ask if you’re sitting at home alone with your books.

Preferred text is “Trevor Thom“.

Also, if you’re just starting, the PPL course will cover the BAK syllabus as well, so if you’re going for your GFPT, this course is great for you, too.

If you want to know more flick us an email at “instructors(AT)pacificflight.com.au” with “PPL Course” in the Subject and we’ll get right back to you.

The course starts in only a few days time so don’t miss out. Let us know you’re interested straight away.

Email “instructors(AT)pacificflight.com.au”. No need to write anything - just put “PPL Course” in the Subject.

See you next Sunday!

Who else wants to be the first in their group to have the coolest aviation toolbar around?

If you love flying you’ll love the Pacific Flight toolbar. Designed by pilots for pilots. No bull, just useful tools - an internet radio, weather, entertainment, important links to aviation information sites - the sort you could use on a weekly basis - and lots more. It’s secure, and guaranteed virus and spyware-free. No need to give any personal information.

It’s just our 100% FREE gift to you!

Take a look:

To get the toolbar all you have to do is click here to learn more about it or click here to download it direct.

For anyone who is thinking of coming to Sydney to begin training for their Commercial Pilot Licence at Pacific Flight Services, here are a few images from Google Earth - some suitably angled to give you a pilot’s eye perspective of what you can look forward to.

Pacific Flight has been officially registered to offer accredited courses to overseas students. We will be accepting enrolments soon. If you want to get in at the head of the queue and be informed as soon as enrolments open, send us an email or use the Application Form here. Local students of course can continue to apply for all of our courses as usual.

Space Travel

How would you like to be the pilot of this bird?

Richard Branson’s newest toy has just been rolled out in the Mojave Desert. The first mothership for his commercial (sub-orbital) venture into space travel was shown off to the public for the first time on 28 July. Passengers only have to come up with $200,000 to book a seat. But then that’s $15M less than the only alternative - a trip with the Russians to the International Space Station. Unlike any other likely competition, survivors will be official astronauts because they will travel more than 100km into space.

 We’ve already started saving up!

Here is Virgin’s press release about the rollout:

VIRGIN GALACTIC ROLLS OUT MOTHERSHIP “EVE”
WhiteKnightTwo launch vehicle for SpaceShipTwo
heralds a new era in aerospace fuel efficiency,
performance and versatility

Mojave Air and Spaceport, California
July 28th 2008

Virgin Founder, Sir Richard Branson and SpaceShipOne designer, Burt Rutan, today pulled back the hangar doors on the new WhiteKnightTwo (WK2) carrier aircraft that will ferry SpaceShipTwo and thousands of private astronauts, science packages and payload on the first stage of the Virgin Galactic sub-orbital space experience.

The rollout represents another major milestone in Virgin Galactic’s quest to launch the world’s first private, environmentally benign, space access system for people, payload and science.

Christened “EVE” in honor of Sir Richard’s mother, who performed the official naming ceremony, WK2 is both visually remarkable and represents ground-breaking aerospace technology. It is the world’s largest all carbon composite aircraft and many of its component parts have been built using composite materials for the very first time. At 140 ft, the wing spar is the longest single carbon composite aviation component ever manufactured.

Driven by a demanding performance specification set by Virgin Galactic, WK2 has a unique heavy lift, high altitude capability and an open architecture driven design which provides for maximum versatility in the weight, mass and volume of its payload potential. It has the power, strength and maneuverability to provide for pre space-flight, positive G force and zero G astronaut training as well as a lift capability which is over 30% greater than that represented by a fully crewed SpaceShipTwo. The vehicle has a maximum altitude over 50,000 ft and its U.S. coast-to-coast range will allow the spaceship to be ferried on long duration flights.

An all carbon composite vehicle of this size represents a giant leap for a material technology that has already been identified as a key contributor to the increasingly urgent requirement by the commercial aviation sector for dramatically more fuel efficient aircraft. Powered by four Pratt and Whitney PW308A engines, which are amongst the most powerful, economic and efficient available, WK2 is a mold breaker in carbon efficiency and the epitome of 21st century aerospace design and technology.

The twin fuselage and central payload area configuration allow for easy access to WK2 and to the spaceship for passengers and crew; the design also aids operational efficiencies and turnaround times. WK2 will be able to support up to four daily space flights, is able to carry out both day and night time operations and is equipped with a package of highly advanced avionics.

Large numbers of VIP’s, media and more than 100 fully signed-up future Virgin Galactic astronauts flew into Mojave for the rollout onboard a new Airbus A320 aircraft specially chartered from Virgin America, the youngest and most efficient US domestic airline, which launched to great acclaim in 2007.

Rutan’s Scaled Composites facility has been strictly out of bounds whilst design and construction has been underway, but guests today were additionally given a tantalizing preview of SpaceShipTwo, clearly visible but heavily shrouded and well on its way to completion, in the smaller of Scaled’s two hangars awaiting its own rollout in 2009. This will be scheduled once WK2 is at the appropriate stage in its extensive test program, which has already begun with ground tests; it is expected to take its first flight in the fall of 2008. The flight test program will be comprehensive even before SpaceShipTwo is carried as a payload for the first time in 2009.

Commenting on the rollout, Burt Rutan, Founder of Scaled Composites said:

“WhiteKnightTwo represents the apogee of the application of carbon composites to aerospace and all of us at Scaled are tremendously excited at the capabilities of the Mothership for SpaceShipTwo. I believe the vehicle will be developed and sold for a variety of launch applications beyond the initial requirements of our launch customer, Virgin Galactic. We have set up a new business jointly with Virgin, The Spaceship Company (TSC), to develop these vehicles and we very much hope that its efficiency will herald a wake up call to the aerospace industry and the necessity of using new materials and technologies in the future. “

Sir Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Galactic added:

“As usual, Burt and the Scaled team have created a beauty and this is a very proud day for us all. The rollout of WhiteKnightTwo takes the Virgin Galactic vision to the next level and continues to provide tangible evidence that this most ambitious of projects is not only for real but is making tremendous progress towards our goal of safe commercial operation.

Virgin Galactic is central to our ambition at Virgin to become the world’s leading group in the operation of energy and environmentally efficient transportation, in the air, on the ground and in space. We arrived here this morning on an aircraft operated by Virgin America, who run the most fuel efficient commercial fleet in the US, to roll out what by most definitions, is the most energy efficient aircraft in history. We are naming it EVE after my Mother, Eve Branson but also because it represents a first and a new beginning, the chance for our ever growing group of future astronauts and other scientists and payload specialists to see our world in a completely new light. I for one can’t wait!”

For further information go to www.virgingalactic.com.

For downloadable images and graphics go to www.virgingalactic.com/press

As you may know, the flying school at Pacific Flight Services is in the final stages of approval for training international flying students to become airline pilots.

The NSW Vocational Education & Training Accreditation Board (VETAB) has advised PFS that it is approved as a Registered Training Organisation to train students for the TDA40107 Certificate IV in Aviation Operations (Commercial Pilot Aeroplane Licence).

There are one or two details to go to complete the registration process and we will be on our way and accepting students from around the world.

If you’re one of those potential students for the flight school, looking for the right school in the right place, drop us an email here at seo [AT] pacificflight.com.au and get a package of information and enrolment forms to you as soon as the flight deck doors open!

Things have changed in aviation in the last 5 - 10 years. The pilots have changed. The people who want to become pilots have changed. Here’s what we wrote a year or two ago. It’s at least one thing that’s as true now as it was then.

Who is the “New Pilot”? What makes them the new breed that they are? Well, they’re someone who is equally likely to be male or female, works hard, plays hard, is disciplined, results-driven, performance-oriented, self-critical but self-confident, determined, persistent, relishes challenge, looks forward to the future but respects the past without nostalgia. They’re:

Can-do

Will-do

Punctual

Prepared

In fact clearly they’re just like the OLD pilot… complete wan…no hang on, I didn’t say that.

Anyway you’ll agree that CNN’s Ted Turner knows a thing or two about how to be a success (in aviation or otherwise). Here’s what he says:

“I’ve never run into a guy who could win at the top level in anything today and didn’t have the right attitude, didn’t give it everything he had - at least while he was doing it - wasn’t prepared and didn’t have the whole program worked out. “

Yup, that’s the New Pilot. That’s the pilot that makes it into the airlines today.

So there was an image that went with all that:

The guy’s name is Kamil. When we took the photo he had completed his PPL with us, and his CPL with us and was training for his Flight Instructor Rating with us. Later on he also worked as a charter pilot with us.

Kamil is now flying jets for an airline in Europe. And that’s no accident.

The surging growth of the worldwide aviation industry has caused a critical pilot shortage which has encouraged Pacific Flight Services to open its doors to international flight training students.

With the current strong growth in the aviation industry expected to continue for at least several years, the shortage worldwide of professional pilots is already seriously straining the capacity of airlines to crew their flights.

We learnt today that at least one airline is accepting new recruits up to age 55! The main thing the airline is looking for is ‘Attitude’. “If they’ve got that, sign them up!” was the company CEO’s directive.

To take advantage of this situation and help fill the pilot shortage, Pacific Flight Training, as rumored, is gearing up to accept full-time international students.

Pacific Flight Training is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Asian corporate giant, Singapore Technologies Aerospace.

Asked about the rumor, Pacific Flight Services’ Sydney Manager, Captain Rod Crane, said, “Well, learning in Australia certainly makes sense, especially in this climate of growth. We know that Australia, by every measure, is the best place in the world to learn to fly.

• The weather is better and more predictable than both the United States and Europe.
• The prices are lower.
• The skies are far less congested.
• The aviation environment is as sophisticated as any other top-level nation
• and our training standards are at least the equal of anywhere in the world.”

But when does Capt. Crane plan to open Pacific Flight Sevices (Sydney) to international students?

“I can’t confirm anything at this stage. What I can say is that we have investigated our potential market, especially in Asia and the Sub-continent. There were a lot of administrative hurdles we had to jump to satisfy the government agencies. We had to prove we have the infrastructure to train and manage professional pilots at international level. You can imagine there was quite a bit of thorough and meticulous work involved in that! Added to that, we needed to be confident ourselves that we could handle the large number of applicants the studies show we can expect to receive. 

“I’m happy to say that the authorising agencies have approved our credentials and we are now beginning the process of putting everything in place - things like student accommodation need to be finalised. We’ll definitely be accepting the first intake before too long. I can’t tell you exactly when, but within weeks. You’ll just have to keep your eye on our website, I guess!”