Airforce may train SAA pilots with taxpayer's money

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Sackboy

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Airforce may train SAA pilots with taxpayer's money
Date: 22 June 2009

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The following article is a rough translation from the Afrikaans Sake24 publication:

By James-Brent Styan

South African airways (SAA) hopes to begin training commercial pilots again next year.

Ms Robyn Chalmers, spokeswoman for SAA, told Fin24 that the airline is working with the airforce on a project for the training of pilots.

The new program is named the African Aviation Training Initiative and taxpayers may in the future pay for the training of pilots.

Chalmers said that the training of commercial pilots is in the national interest.

"The options being investigated have determined that national resources must be used to train future pilots".

According to Chalmers, the program has already incorporated a management structure and strategy into a business plan.

"The business plan is already being spoken about at Cabinet level".

SAA cancelled its cadet program in 2006 when the airline could no longer afford it. The last group of pilots who were trained by SAA began their training in October 2006. The group of nine were all from previously disadvantaged groups and completed their initial training in May last year.

The cancellation of the training program saved SAA about R60m per year.

According to Chalmers, the decision to close the cadet program was the right one.

"SAA is firstly an airline and therefore is not in the business of training pilots".

As a result, SAA is struggling to find pilots from previously disadvantaged groups.

The most recent figures indicate that that SAA has 789 pilots, of which 89% are white men and women.

The new training plan for commercial pilots will be able to address these demographic figures.

"A massive amount of money is required to implement a well structured pilot training program that will redress the demographic balance in a suitable time period. This kind of financing is totally outside the capabilities of the aviation industry," Chalmers told Fin24. "If a solution for the challenge to financing can be found, then the new strategy can begin in 2010".

Helmoed-Römer Heitman, a military researcher, told Fin24 on Friday that there had already been informal talks between SAA and the airforce for a number of years.

"The talks are largely based on two concepts. Firstly, the airforce does not want to hinder their current pilots from joining SAA, provided they first serve in the airforce for a few years. The second concept is that there is sufficient ability in the airforce for the training of pilots. This could mean that in the future, the airforce could train all the SAA pilots".

According to Heitman, there is support for a combined flying school for SAA and the airforce in Hoedspruit.

The SAA pilots are:

2 coloured women

3 Indian women

18 coloured men

27 Indian men

37 black men

45 white women

657 white men
Click to expand...
http://www.saairforce.co.za/news-and-events/790/airforce-may-train-saa-pilots-with-taxpayers-money
 
1st of April?

They can't even train their own pilots for small single/double seater aircraft without importing Zim trainers. How the hell will they train airline acceptable pilots?
 
Dunno if I'd want to be in an Airbus being piloted by a SAAF graduate...

"Ladies and gentlemen, please put your seats in an upright position. We are going to pull a quick barrel-roll to the left, followed by an Immalman loop before descending to final approach to Jo'burg or Tambo International..."

:sick: :D
 
The new program is named the African Aviation Training Initiative and taxpayers may in the future pay for the training of pilots.

Chalmers said that the training of commercial pilots is in the national interest.
Click to expand...

picard-facepalm
 
Where the friggin hell do they come up with this shyte? You couldnt make up storied like this man.I give up. Im paying for flippin everything now including the pilot's training and the ticket to fly with him/her/it/
 
Sackboy said:
http://www.saairforce.co.za/news-and-events/790/airforce-may-train-saa-pilots-with-taxpayers-money
Click to expand...

For your info. I spoke to an air force flight instructor in a bar (no link) during apartheid. He was involved in a program assessing other race groups for pilot training. The air force desperately needed pilots. What I can remember (apartheid nomenclature).

Indians – capable in all respects but not ‘risk takers’. Unsuitable.

Blacks – massive ‘risk takers’ but incapable in other respects. Unsuitable.

A very important attribute for an air force pilot was ‘locus of control’ (psych. term). This refers to the degree with which the individual required outside validation. In the context of the air force, it refers to the degree to which the candidate responded to orders. A pilot with a strong locus of control (responsible only to himself, ignoring orders or outside validation) in a fully armed fighter jet, can cause havoc in a city if he loses it. However, you require some degree of independent thought in a pilot to handle crises and unforeseen circumstances. The Soviet model had an extremely weak locus of control for their pilots (centralized command, no independent thought, just follow orders). A fine balance. Just enough, but not too much for the ideal candidate.
 
The South African Air force has been training SAA pilots with your money since we had Harvards in the sky. They leave after they completed their training and worked back the necessary time for greener pastures, i.e. Commercial flying. As for black pilots, the pilatus that came down at ysterplaat and killed the instructor and pupil, was flown by a black pilot, who was flunked and after appeals and interventions, went further with his training. The black pilot who did the aerobatics display at Mbeki's inauguration, also wrote off a Pilatus soon after (cant remember if he was killed or not) So think again the next time a 737 pilot introduces himself and hope and pray he was trained by the early SAAF and not the modern day kamikaze school we have now.
 
my apologies....its not ysterplaat but langebaanweg. Got my gps co-ords mixed and landed at wrong base...i'd fit right into the ne SAAF!..*runs off to apply for position as navigator*
 
There are certain things you simply cannot apply BEE or whatever to. Or I guess they can, but does not mean you should. Taking a "previously disadvantaged person" and stuffing him into a cockpit and telling him to learn to fly is not a good idea and never will be. Schools are there for everyone to attend now. If you want to learn and do well in school, then you can do it now, whether you are black or white. If you dont want to learn and do well, then that is your own fault. Therefore, places like SAA & universaties that train pilots and doctors, people that you really want to know are actually skilled and qualified for the job and did not just get it because of their skin colour, white or black, should take the people that have earned it into their training programs....and not base admittance on meeting a BEE ratio.
 
Palimino said:
For your info. I spoke to an air force flight instructor in a bar (no link) during apartheid. He was involved in a program assessing other race groups for pilot training. The air force desperately needed pilots. What I can remember (apartheid nomenclature).

Indians – capable in all respects but not ‘risk takers’. Unsuitable.

Blacks – massive ‘risk takers’ but incapable in other respects. Unsuitable.

A very important attribute for an air force pilot was ‘locus of control’ (psych. term). This refers to the degree with which the individual required outside validation. In the context of the air force, it refers to the degree to which the candidate responded to orders. A pilot with a strong locus of control (responsible only to himself, ignoring orders or outside validation) in a fully armed fighter jet, can cause havoc in a city if he loses it. However, you require some degree of independent thought in a pilot to handle crises and unforeseen circumstances. The Soviet model had an extremely weak locus of control for their pilots (centralized command, no independent thought, just follow orders). A fine balance. Just enough, but not too much for the ideal candidate.
Click to expand...
AFAIK to be a fighter pilot you have to have an aggressive streak as well.

FeekyChuck said:
my apologies....its not ysterplaat but langebaanweg. Got my gps co-ords mixed and landed at wrong base...i'd fit right into the ne SAAF!..*runs off to apply for position as navigator*
Click to expand...
I don't think Navigators exist anymore, it's all pilots now.
 
My white flying instructor has over 2000 hours and can't get a job at SAA.
A few others like him too.

If they wanted pilots badly, there's plenty of white guys around they can choose.
 
alf101 said:
My white flying instructor has over 2000 hours and can't get a job at SAA.
A few others like him too.

If they wanted pilots badly, there's plenty of white guys around they can choose.
Click to expand...

Most of the pilots like this I know, and know of, end up getting jobs overseas for higher pay and better perks. Some of them did not want to go, but had no choice.

Why on earth they are trying to "BEE" the cockpit in such a manner is beyond me. Regardless of your race, or past, you still need the training and experience. A decent instructor will tell you that not everyone is cut out to be a pilot, commercial or military. It has nothing to do with your racial classification/skin colour.

B
 
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