A Long Way Ahead

If basic issues such as infrastructure to support helicopter operations, expansion of training facilities and rationalisation of stifling regulations are appropriately addressed, India could well witness a doubling of its helicopter fleet in the next five years

In India, the number of single-engine helicopters and twin-engine ones is almost equal as of now and can be expected to remain so in the coming years. Helicopter operators maintain 1.5 pilots per single-engine helicopter and three per twin-engine one. Thus, 30 helicopters added annually would require 68 pilots to be trained annually. Add to this, retirements and routine attrition and the figure could go up to about 100 per annum. A part of this requirement may be met from the military sector. The residual requirement per year would still be about 75 pilots to be trained in order to meet the minimum requirements. This figure could be higher if the operators purchase more twin-engine machines to meet the emerging operational and safety requirements.

Of the 40 flying training institutions in India, only three are licensed to carry out rotary wing training—the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Rotary Wing Academy (HAL RWA) at Bengaluru, the Vanasthali Aviation at Jaipur and Turbo Aviation at Hyderabad. The only institution, which is actually functional is HAL RWA, producing at the most 18 pilots a year, if all its five training aircraft are serviceable. Currently, only four are available for flying. Moreover, a substantial part of its training endeavour is set aside for army and paramilitary pilot training. The other two institutions are still months away from commencing training. The IGRUA is also working on initiating rotary wing training while the CAE Global Academy, Gondia nurses ambitions to do likewise within the next year or two. Another player toying with the idea of introducing rotary wing training is Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited but its plans to get ab initio helicopter training going at Hadapsar (on the outskirts of Pune) is likely to take some time due to procedural delays. Mauna Loa Helicopters (MLH) has signed a contract with Mumbai-based Carver Aviation, which runs a leading flying training academy for fixed-wing pilots in Baramati in Maharashtra.

Against the requirement of 75 helicopter pilots per year, the indigenous training capability can, at best, produce 10. This figure could go up to 35 by 2013, if all planned projects fructify. The shortfall will still be around 40. Two possibilities exist as a solution; the first is the induction of foreign pilots and the second is training of pilots abroad. The idea of expat pilots is distasteful, especially when the Ministry of Civil Aviation wants operators to shed expat pilots on their rolls. The second option—of training abroad—is already being visited by those aspiring to be helicopter pilots. There is, of course, the small matter of converting a foreign licence to an Indian one. Recognising the need for a face-to-face interaction between potential candidates and foreign schools, some service providers have established presence in selected cities in India to hook up to the foreign training channel—right up to licence conversion. Delhibased Helicop Aviation, headed by Tridib Nandy has been doing precisely that in partnership with MLH, a training school based in Hawaii. The prospective candidate is guided through selection, visa formalities and funding to begin five-month training at Hawaii. On successful completion of training and licence converted, he is then nudged into the helicopter pilot placement process. Helicop Aviation claims a 100 per cent success rate in placement of freshly graduated helicopter pilots in India. MLH is one of only three helicopter training schools in the USA that is nationally accredited and the only one with FAA Pilot Examiners on the staff to ensure quality control and testing throughout its programme. The fact that the minimum requirement of age at entry is only 17 and completion of Class X with mathematics and science and a minimum score of 50 per cent, makes the proposal attractive to aspirants. And what’s the cost of consummating that dream? Typically, $55,000 (Rs. 25 lakh) as in the case of MLH. After returning to India, it could take three months for licence conversion and another three years, depending on the type to upgrade, to captainship.