ABOUT CCAT
The Cabair College of Air Training (CCAT) is based at Cranfield in Bedfordshire and was founded in 1991 to offer a high quality outlet for ab initio commercial pilot training courses. Now referred to simply as Cabair Integrated, the College is dedicated to the conduct of Integrated Course training only.
The Cranfield University site allows our students to train in a unique aviation environment, which includes the renowned School of Engineering.
CCAT has trained sponsored cadets for many airlines in the past including British Airways and a range of Middle Eastern customers such as Kuwait Airways and Royal Brunei Airlines. For the last ten years it has run very popular schemes to supply First Officers to Flybe – one of Europe’s most successful regional carriers.
CCAT is a good example of how by using the most up-to-date equipment complemented by experienced seasoned instructors, a flight training organisation (FTO) can actually help mould a much more able and airline-ready pilot. This is borne out by the fact that Cabair’s ‘Pool’ of recently qualified pilots is more often than not empty, the majority finding employment with an airline soon after graduating.
The vast majority of flying schools and FTOs operate successfully to the highest possible standards, but while safety would never be compromised in any way, it is a fact that some aircraft operated are not the latest specification. Sometimes, the aircraft used are 25 years old or more. If a pilot is aiming to spend his or her future life flying aircraft with sophisticated hi-tech avionics such as those found in the modern Boeing and Airbus airliners, would it not be an advantage to learn to fly in something similar? Would it not make him or her a better pilot - more conditioned, confident and able to take control of a glass cockpit A320 or B737?
In 2006 Cabair College of Air Training replaced its training fleet with brand new state-of-the-art Diamond aircraft. These 15 single-engine and 4 twin-engine aircraft have fully integrated ‘glass cockpit’ with avionics more akin to the flight decks found on the aforesaid Airbus and Boeing. Students complete the majority of their basic training on the single-engine DA40 before moving onto the DA42 twin for the instrument flying. The DA42s are used in conjunction with equally modern simulators which faithfully replicate the cockpit and handing of the aircraft themselves. They have proved enormously popular with instructors and students alike. See a video of the aircraft here.
Upgrading the fleet and installing matching simulators was a considerable investment, though one that is starting to prove invaluable. Normally the Instrument Rating Test (IRT) is the most stringent and notoriously difficult flying test a student pilot has to complete during his training, and first time passes are not too commonplace. However, since the acquisition of the glass cockpit fleet in 2006, 100% of students have achieved first series passes, with the first 16 tests in 2007 passing every section first time. An outstanding achievement.
For anyone considering training to be an airline pilot, remember that your choice of FTO could well make a big difference to you getting a job at the end of training. This coupled with your choice of course and the environment where you train can all have an effect on the kind of pilot you become.
Here are a few basic recommendations when choosing your training provider:
• Consider a full-time Integrated course of training, as this is a route favoured by many airlines, and attracts bank funding solutions due to the minimised risk of not gaining employment.
• Choose an FTO who has trained airline sponsored cadets in the past – such as Cabair.
• Visit all the FTOs and examine for yourself the facilities, equipment, pass rates and employment statistics.
• You do not need a degree – good A levels are adequate
• Go through some kind of pilot assessment and selection before commencing training (most FTOs including Cabair will insist you pass a pre-entry assessment anyway)
• Though pilot recruitment within the airline industry is not currently as we would wish, now is still a good time to train. But we would say that wouldn't we? However, if you do your research, recruitment tends to go in cycles, and when the airlines begin to recruit in earnest, they will be looking for newly qualified pilots 'ripe' for putting through type rating. that means you will have had to trained during the quite period to ensure you are ready - licence in hand to join them.
