The Madras Flying Club, which has shifted its operations from Chennai to the Tiruchi International Airport, is set to offer a host of aviation-related degree and diploma courses from this year in association with the Bishop Heber College in Tiruchi. A Memorandum of Agreement was signed between the college and the Madras Flying Club Aviation Academy on Monday.
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The agreement was exchanged between the Flying Club honorary secretary Capt. Jacob Selvaraj and the CSI Bishop of Tiruchi and Thanjavur Diocese Rt. Rev. D. Chandrasekaran who is also the chairman and secretary of the Bishop Heber College Governing Board.
An Aero Lab is proposed to be established at the college under this tie-up, which would be equipped with aero engines and other aviation-related equipment to be supplied by the 90-year-old prestigious Flying Club.
The courses would begin in June upon obtaining a formal approval from the Bharathidasan University which will award the degree and diploma certificates.
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The Flying Club plans to offer three-year B.Sc. courses separately in Aviation and Aircraft Maintenance; postgraduate diploma in Airline Operations; a six-month Pilot Training course and a one-year diploma courses for Assistant Flight Dispatchers, Air Hostesses and Airport Ground Handling, besides a six-month certificate course for Customer Service Agents.
The Flying Club has prepared the syllabus for the academic programmes and would deploy its team of 20 highly-qualified faculty members to handle theoretical classes at the Bishop Heber College, Capt. Jacob Selvaraj told The Hindu .
The college would provide the necessary infrastructure and academic support for the programmes, its Principal D. Paul Dhayabaran said.
The practical sessions for the Pilot Training course would be organised at the Tiruchi international airport where the Flying Club has been provided with separate space for its functioning.
Capt. Selvaraj said the Club had plans to move two of the six single-engine aircraft in its possession to the Tiruchi airport for conducting the academic courses in Tiruchi. As part of the tie-up, certain subjects including English language paper, Radio Aids, Environment Studies, Radio Telephony-Theory and AC instruments, would be taken by Bishop Heber College.
The courses have been designed to enable students to take up professional careers in various areas in the aviation field including aircraft operations, aircraft maintenance, ground operations, cargo management and air hostessing, said Capt. Selvaraj.
The Flying Club, which is registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975 is recognised by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, New Delhi.
The Flying Club has produced over 1,500 pilots who were successfully commandeering international flights of different airlines, said Mr. Selvaraj adding that plans were afoot to buy a multi-engine aircraft to be stationed at the Tiruchi airport.