Abyssinian Pilot Training School bought three more trainer aircrafts at an outlay of U.S. $ 1.3 Million.

Commenting on the development Abyssinian Flight Services’ Deputy Managing Director, Amare Woldehana (Capt.), said the school made the purchase following the ever increasing demand for pilot training programs.

Two of the newly purchased aircrafts are single engine Cessna 172 and they are bought from AfricAir, a Miami-based Cessna aircraft distributor. The third aircraft was purchased from the Australian Diamond Aircraft Industries and it is a twine-engine Diamond DA42 trainer aircraft. According to Amare, the aircrafts are expected to reach Addis Ababa Bole International Airport on Monday.

The training school was established in 2007 and it currently, minus its new purchases, owns seven trainer aircrafts – a DA42, a Da40, a Diamond aircraft simulator and four Cessna 172s. Thus the new purchase it made takes the total number of trainer aircrafts to nine.

According to Amare, the School has reached to a point where it cannot accommodate the ever increasing demand from Africa, Europe and the Middle East. He noted, “Recently, we were asked to train 180 cadets from an African country. With the latest aircraft purchase we have adequate number of trainer aircraft. But we need to own our own building, have accommodations and other facilities.” “There is a huge demand for pilots globally,” he added.

Abyssinian has thus far graduated 100 pilots. It offers private pilot license (PPL) and commercial pilot license (CPL), programs which are both approved by the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority.

The training programs, according to The Reporter, take from 12 to 15 months and they cost the cadet pilots U.S. $ 48,000. The Newspaper furthered, much of the tuition goes to the cumbersome aircraft fuel cost.

Abyssinian Flight Services, sister company of Abyssinian Pilot School, was established in April 1999. It provides charter flight services for UN agencies, mining and construction firms and tourists. It currently owns Cessna aircraft.

Source: The Reporter