New pilots earn their wings in teaching courses

Text and photos by K. Basrie

JAKARTA (JP): "Working as a flying instructor earns me less money than piloting a commercial airliner," says assistant flight instructor Yasir Ariansyah.

"But teaching gives me greater satisfaction. That's why I chose this profession."

He is one of seven new assistant flight instructors graduated from the privately run Deraya Flying School.

With 500 flying hours as pilot-in-command behind him, Yasir says his chief job is to spot common mistakes and errors by others, a big responsibility in training pilots.

"This is really an exciting profession," he told The Jakarta Post inside the cabin of a Cessna 152, flying about 1,300 feet above sea level over the capital last week.

Yasir and his colleagues were the first batch of flight instructors graduated from the 25-year-old flying school.

"There were eight of them originally," says Siti Rahayu Sumadi, president of PT Deraya, which manages the school. "The other one is applying for a job in Garuda Indonesia. But the door is still open for him if he fails to join the national flag carrier."

The young flight instructors, all in their 20s, are the first graduated locally, Siti Rahayu says.

"They're very rare talents with noble hearts," she adds.

Each spent about Rp 70 million (US$19,180) to achieve their present job status, which pays a monthly salary of less than Rp 2 million.

"Salary is not a priority," says Erwin Purnama, one of Yasir's colleagues.

Siti Rahayu says her new staff will work for Deraya under a five-year contract. "After that, they can do what they want, whether they want to stay with us or not."

Most of the young instructors say they want to spend their entire careers teaching.

"This is a noble job. And I've vowed to dedicate my life to this profession," Erwin says.

The school's superintendent, Frenchman Eric Bataille, says the new instructors have completed the full 45-hour ground course for flight instructors at state-run Curug Flying School in Jakarta.

"In addition, we no longer rely on instructors from other parties, such as from the Indonesian Air Force and Curug School," says Bataille, holder of an Federal Aviation Authority certificate.

"We're now more independent, which is important for the future of this school."

Located at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base in East Jakarta, the Deraya Flying School has graduated more than 30 students as pilots since it was established in 1972, according to Sumadi.

The school is also the first to get approval from the Ministry of Transportation to run the assistant flight instructor classes.

Applicants intending to enroll in the classes must hold a valid commercial pilot's license (CPL) and a certified logbook with at least flying 150 hours as pilot-in-command.

Bataille says the training course for students enrolled in the assistant flight instructor program includes a three-week ground school at Curug, 45 hours of lectures -- covering pre- and post- flight briefing exercises -- and 20 hours flight training in the Cessna 172.

The entire training course costs $2,675 per person.

The Deraya school runs several classes, including an aptitude test, and courses for private pilot's license (PPL), CPL, CPL Multi-Engine and Instrument Rating.

The school also caters to those wishing to certify licenses earned abroad. On weekends, there are special short flight courses for hobbyists and executives.

Prices differ for each class.

The aptitude test, for instance, which aims at evaluating airmanship and aptitude for a higher certification course, costs $1,095 per student. The PPL course is $6,540, and the CPL costs $14,800.

"Fees could be paid in installments," says Sumadi.

Other enrollment requirements are Indonesian citizenship, possession of a diploma from a senior high school or technical high school, a clean bill of health from a medical checkup and passing grades on the English test held by the Directorate General of Air Transportation.

With the new instructors, the Deraya school now plans to go ahead with its long-term plan to move to a more suitable site outside Jakarta, says Sulikin, an Air Force colonel and one of the senior flight instructors at Deraya.

"It might be in Cirebon (West Java) or Semarang (Central Java)."

The current training ground at Halim is not suitable for students because of the hectic air traffic in the area, he says.

Avindo, another privately run flying school, also uses the airport for training.

Sumadi says Deraya has 23 single and multi-engine planes, eight of which are used for training purposes. The other planes are used for the company's core business of air chartered services.

"I hope our new assistant flight instructors would help produce more talented local pilots here in the near future to meet the growing local demand," she says.

Indonesia's flying schools currently graduate only 100 pilots each year. The country needs 1,100 pilots for the five-year period from 1996 to 2001, according to Angkasa aviation magazine.