IGRUA

Post the 1962 debacle, India woke up to the need of the hour to strengthen its armed forces, particularly the air force. Consequently, the only organised civil pilots training establishment, the National Civil Aviation Centre at Allahabad, was converted to Pilot Training Establishment for the force. To fill the resultant void in organised and standardised training of civil pilots, the onus fell on flying clubs that had to switch from the relaxed club culture of hobby flying to the serious task of training pilots for airline jobs along the lines of Line Oriented Flight Training (LOFT). Ill-equipped, with slow, low performance aircraft, like the Pushpaks and Tiger Moths, wielding basic instrumentation with little or nothing of avionics, and mostly managed by hobby flying untrained instructors who gave instructions without a structured and standard training curriculum, the output was at best suited for securing Private Pilot’s License (PPL).

Considering that the airlines were modernising and acquiring newer, bigger, faster and more modern aircraft, it was imperative to bridge the yawning gap in pilot training. Since the standards of flying club protégées fell short of that required for immediate commencement of an airline carrier, there was an urgent need for institutes to equip and train civil pilots for streamlined seamless transition.

In April 1983, a high level committee under the aegis of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation recommended setting up four, and at least one immediately, which would cater to not just flying but all other industry requirements pertaining to pilots ( for fixed and rotary wings), aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs), aircraft radio maintenance engineers, and so on. Waylaid by bureaucratic lethargy and financial crunch, the recommendations remained in cold storage till 1985 when the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, himself an airline pilot with remarkable experience in the field, transformed this need into reality—and Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) was conceived.

Objectives

IGRUA commenced operations in 1986 with the primary objective to meticulously train pilots for entry into airlines. The institute endeavours to carry out LOFT to contemporary international standards.

• CPL course for PPL holders, including foreign nationals.
• Ab initio to CPL course with BSc (Aviation)
• Licence renewal tests and licence endorsement checks for former students of IGRUA.
• Simulator training course.
• Multi-engine endorsement course.
• Instrument rating course.
• Refresher course for Chief Flying Instructor (CFI)/Pilot Instructor Incharge (PII) of flying clubs.
• Ground training for perspective flying instructors.
• From ab initio to CPL course for foreign nationals.

Ab initio to CPL course is conducted on a regular basis. The other courses are offered on request subject to adequate number of candidates joining the course.

Of late, the multi-engine endorsement training is also being conducted due to the demand for multi-engine endorsement for induction into airlines and mandatory requirement for renewal/issue of Airline Transport Pilot Licence as per new civil aviation stipulations.

Achievements

Till last count in March 2009, the institute had trained 581 pilots, including 31 foreign nationals, 11 coast guard and other para-military personnel, on fixed-wing and rotary wing aircraft. Almost 100 per cent of Indians have found placement in various airlines in India; 122 students are undergoing training at present. To further enhance output, IGRUA has undertaken the following initiatives:

• To secure a wider spectrum of talented students from across the country, a stringent selection process involving an all-India entrance examination and a pilot aptitude test is conducted, followed by the final selection by an interview board comprising of DGCA representatives and industry bigwigs from Air India and Indian Airlines, besides IGRUA examiners.
• IGRUA simultaneously conducts CPL courses for those who have already done PPL from other flying clubs and wish to acquire quality training to meet airline requirements.
• To cater for a large number of aspirants, the institute is in the process of expanding its existing fleet of 21 aircraft, including two multi-engine C-90 King Air aircraft, by acquiring additional 14 single-engine and two multi-engine state-ofthe-art modern trainer aircraft with glass cockpits.
• To meet standards set by the DGCA and International Civil Aviation Organization, refresher course is conducted for CFI/AFI and PIIs of various flying clubs of the country. Till date, we have conducted 40 CFI refresher courses for CFIs of different flying clubs in India. In fact, IGRUA is the only training Institute authorised to conduct this course.
• Simulator training on six-axis motion C-90 simulator is imparted to corporate pilots to meet DGCA requirements.
• Instrument rating training is provided to the pilots of various flying clubs.
• Multi-engine rating is provided to pilots of the Indian Air Force, Indian Navy and private candidates to meet growing demand for pilots in civil aviation.
• IGRUA provides on-the-job training to candidates undergoing AME diploma in various Indian private institutes.
• IGRUA is in the process of utilising its existing infrastructure and technical expertise to develop a school for training young aspirants for aircraft maintenance engineering and flight dispatcher.