Aviation College Not Wanted

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31221, 19 November 1966, Page 19

Aviation College Not Wanted

(Kew Zealand Press Association’ AUCKLAND, November 17. The formation of an aviation college would do little, if anything, to correct the shortage of first-class commercial pilots, says the president of The Auckland Aero Club (Mr B. A. Johns) in his annual report.

Air Johns was referring to the reports of a scheme to t?se hoys direct from school tiv the Aviation Industry Association of New Zealand to train at a proposed aviation college Mr Johns says that the formation of another flying training organisation was more • ; keiy to compound the existing problems and to increase the cost of wastage in pilot training. The aviation industry’ and the airlines will freely admit that at no stage have they offered a career at the vocational guidance level to schoolleavers and neither have they pre-selected or encouraged promising young students and private pilots,” says Mr Johns. • Suggestions Made" "Yet i» 1958, soon after our commercial pilots’ school was founded, the club's minutes show that the National Airnays Corporation was unsuccessfully approached with suggestions along these lines. “In 1965 and early this year a number of meetings were held by the Department of Civil Aviation at which all interests were represented. "However, no arguments or suggestions put forward by the Royal New Zealand Aero Club’s representatives were

acceptable, even though they were the only ones present who are in any way connected with training at the private and commercial pilot level. Cost Of £40,000 “Instead, it was proposed that a new school be established regardless of the two already in existence at a cost of £40,000,” he says. “It is anticipated that most of this sum would be asked for from the public funds’’