£7m Training Scheme For Qantas Pilots

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30541, 9 September 1964, Page 24

£7m Training Scheme For Qantas Pilots

Qantas Airways has embarked on a programme to develop Its pilot-training facilities ’to meet unprecedented expansion of services planned for the next two years, says Mr C. O. Turner, chief executive and general manager of the airline. The pro-, gramme will cost about £7m over the two-year period. Within the next 18 months Qantas will take delivery of five new Boeing 707’s, an increase of almost 50 per cent on its present fleet of 11. They will be used to improve services bn existing routes and to open up new routes now being planned, says Mr Turner. Qantas has started a largescale recruitment drive for air-crews.

It plans to boost its training facilities to ensure both a steady supply of young pilots for employment as second officers and fully qualified captains to command the aircraft. The development programme is in two stages: the purchase of two small twinjet aircraft for pilot training preparatory to Boeing command, plus expansion of ground training facilities; and a cadet pilot training scheme, to be run in conjunction with the Department of Civil Aviation and the aero clubs, de-

signed to train boys leaving school to Qantas second officer standard. Mr Turner says the purchase of jet trainers with swept-back wings will enable pilots to be trained on aircraft with flight characteristics more closely resembling the Boeing 707. Several types of small jets are being considered. A final decision will be made early enough to ensure delivery by the end of next year. Qantas has ordered a second Boeing 707 training simulator and. has arranged to fit “motion” to its present simulator. A visual system will be installed that can be used by both simulators. These measures are designed to give every capable junior pilot employed by the company sufficient training and aeronautical experience to qualify for command training when vacancies arise, says Mr Turner. They will mean that, given a steady rate of expansion in the coming years, all future captains will come from within Qantas ranks. The second phase of the programme, a cadet pilot training scheme, is being designed to meet the shortage of second officer material in Australia. Details of the scheme are still being studied. The aim is to produce between 15 and 20 graduates a year.