Air Services Limited Flight Training School (ASLFTS) is gearing to introduce two new programmes that are aimed at having adequately trained personnel on the ground, monitoring flights.Captain Kinch teaching studentsA company official said that the school is expanding its programmes beyond the traditional flight training.“There are other aspects to operation to get a flight out safely…You also need ground agents such as your flight dispatchers and also flight watchers, where as the flights go out there is someone there to monitor the flights,” he said.The official enlightened that during this year, ASLFTS is looking to enhance training and develop programmes to supplement these areas such as the dispatching process and the flight watch process.These programmes are being developed by the skillful personnel of ASLFTS with guidelines from the International Civil Aviation Organization and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). After completion, the courses would be submitted to the GCAA for scrutiny and approval.He noted, “While we have all these plans, we still have to engage the authorities to make sure the programme meets the required standards…We are looking to have those programmes submitted in the coming months.”The school is currently involved in training ambitious persons desirous of joining an elite group of pilots. Aspiring pilots are taught the basics to survive in any organization which recruits them for their skills.ASLFTS began operations in 2003 to supply Air Services Limited with a cadre of professionally trained pilots to crew its ever expanding fleet. The school is fully approved by the GCAA. In March 2013 GCAA awarded the school for its invaluable contribution to the development of aviation in Guyana.The school offers the Private Pilot Licence, Instrument Rating and Commercial Pilot Licence, which are done in stages. All training is done at the Ogle International Airport, where the school is located; 15 minutes from Georgetown.On January 13, a batch of seven students commenced the initial phase of their Private Pilot Licence training, Ground School or theory. Duration of this phase is about two months and is done in a state-of-the-art classroom, fully equipped with all modern training aids. The students are being taught by Captain Antonio Kinch.Kinch, a Barbadian, teaches both ground school for the Private Pilot Licence as well as Private Pilot flight and Commercial Pilot flight training. He was trained in the United States of America in California and Florida.Kinch said he chose to work at ASL because it is a stable and sound company. “They have three departments: Maintenance, Commercial Sector and the Flight School, so I think that it was a very wise to choose this company as a career path. And so far it has been a very rewarding experience,” he said.He enlightened that ASLFTS trains students at an international level.Following the theory, there is the practical step where students are exposed to flying the Cessna 172. The students’ will be assessed at different stages by the Chief Flight Instructor, Captain Andrew Ebanks,Wholesale Football Jerseys, who will decide their readiness for the GCAA Flight Test.
