NZFF

Posted: **Sun Apr 17, 2011 11:53 am**

Trainee pilots restricted
Aspiring pilots may soon have limited access to taxpayer subsidies for their studies
Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce is picking through the student loan scheme, as the Government moves to cut costs. On the hit list: students over 55 and pilot training courses - both are areas where loans have ended up being written off.
Full Item Here:
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyid=194766

Posted: **Sun Apr 17, 2011 1:45 pm**

That's not going to help the airlines. I have a friend who is in Boeing 737-800 type instructor working for Pac Blue and they are struggling to get pilots. I can imagine other airlines are in the same boat.
Every time I go flying with him he hands me a "How to Become an Airline Pilot" flyer from the reception desk at the Canterbury Aero Club.

Posted: **Sun Apr 17, 2011 4:08 pm**

Although I'm very lucky to be apart of this scheme, its far too expensive for the NZ Government to afford. Half the kids in my intake have never even been in a light aircraft before, but some how have this flaming passion for flying.

As for a pilot shortage, sure, some Airlines require pilots, but there's definently no pilot shortage globally, and it's most likely only going to get worse in the next few decades to come.

Posted: **Sun Apr 17, 2011 5:10 pm**

Just goes to show you how much the training institutions care. They aren't at all worried about where you end up, they just want bums on seats and your money!
ANybody can learn to fly with enough time and money, but not everybody is destined to get a good job. What's needed is a better selection policy and thats where the airlines could help, put potential pilots through a selection scheme first and weed the weak links out.

Posted: **Sun Apr 17, 2011 8:58 pm**

This is nothing new. When I was instructing at NAC, we had to work out where former students ended up, the vast majority, of helicopter pilots at least had ended up working in the industry. The list of fixed wing pilots was quite the opposite however. Deane is quite correct, far to many muppets get into the schools. On my course, there were three that come to mind and thank god none of them are involved with the industry. I know people who had to sit their PPL six, thats right, six times. You would have thought alarm bells would have started to ring. SOME schools really dont care as long as they get your, or the governments, money. The idea of self funding up to PPL is one that I have believed is correct for some time.

Posted: **Mon Apr 18, 2011 5:02 pm**

I hope this will weed out a lot of the guys who just sign up for it because they can, and don't really have any particular interest in aviation. Granted there are plenty of very enthusiastic and committed people who've benefited from the student loan scheme, quite a few of us here on NZFF for example, but it seems like for every one of us there are two or three more who don't know a 172 from a Jetranger and expect to be right hand seat in a 747 in a few years' time.

This might also cause a few of the larger training organisations around the place to start treating their students like people and not walking dollar signs.

QUOTE

Mr Joyce says one approach would be to get potential pilots to pay their own way to a private licence, and then apply for a loan for their commercial licence.[/quote]

I'm glad he's considering that because that's exactly what I was suggesting to a few of the other aero club people the other day would be a good idea - keep the dream alive for the dedicated guys but discourage the ones that just want the fancy uniform.