Subham Aviation has got permission to run a Flying School in Nepal. This might be one of the best things to have happened to Nepalese aviation for quite some time. With the possibility of also simulator training facilities, Nepalese airlines (and pilots) are also likely to find solace in training in a simulator in their home country.
The flight school is going to be run by Geeta Aviation, an organization that will fall under the aegis of Shubham Aviation. Although where the school is going to be located and what the tentative costs for students are going to have not been fixed as of yet, what is known is that four single-engine aircraft from Belgium and one multi-engine aircraft from the US (all of which have already been purchased) are going to be a part of the flight school.
Talking to Aviation Nepal News, Captain Janak Adhikari, who will be the CEO of the flight school, expressed his delight to run the first-of-its-kind institution in Nepal and said that the financial brunt of pilot training abroad that students generally have to bear would come down considerably. His two-year-long journey of trying to get approval for the school has finally come to fruition.
Around 150 students (60-70 from Geeta Aviation) go abroad for pilot training each year. And the total cost that the students bear is close to a billion rupees. All of this is likely to circulate in Nepal itself. At a time when the cash reserves of the country are dwindling, retention of a billion Nepalese Rupees is something that the economic sector of Nepal will be thrilled at.
Captain Janak also hopes to lure in students from outside Nepal as well. The flight school will be running the flight school in accordance with EASA standards. A few years ago, Aviotrace Nepal School of Technology also started a novel endeavour as a technical institute that allowed students to pursue Aircraft Maintenance Engineering. Their course also complies with and is a part of the EASA module.
Talks have already taken place between a French team, Shubham Aviation, and the Ministry of Nepal to arrange for simulators that mimic the conditions of aircraft and the environment outside, as having a specified number of hours under a simulator has been a part of being a Commercial Pilot License (CPL).
