The Liberty Gazette
September 28, 2021
Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely
Mike: Great news! Stephen F. Austin State University is jumping in to help supply the next generation of airline pilots. Universities and smaller aviation companies across the United States and around the world are gearing back up to fill the void that has been developing for years. The disruption from biological warfare over the past couple years hasn’t changed the need. Airlines are expanding again after a pause, and many of their pilots are reaching mandatory retirement age, 65.
Starting from scratch, there are a number of routes to the airline cockpit, and SFA’s Flight Initiative, starting this fall, helps make that process more direct and less time consuming. The university has partnered with HCH Aviation at A. L. Mangham Jr. Regional Airport, in Nacogdoches, to provide the professional flight training portion of the curriculum. The FAA has granted the company a provisional certificate to operate under the more stringent regulations.
Students will train in state-of-the-art Redbird simulators that are interchangeable between single and twin-engine aircraft, and they will fly new Piper 100i airplanes.
The Piper 100i Aircraft is an updated version of the Cherokee 180. It now has an advanced electronic flight information display with a GPS moving map and an autopilot, qualifying it as a Technically Advanced Aircraft (TAA). The instruments are computer screens, termed “glass cockpit,” rather than the old-style round instruments that pilots refer to as “steam gauges.” Most light plane manufacturers are no longer making complex airplanes with retractable landing gear, yet one of the requirements a commercial pilot certificate is 10 hours of training in these airplanes. With a shortage of this type, in 2018, the FAA added the TAA class of airplane as an alternative to meet the commercial requirements.
HCH’s program is geared toward putting pilots in the cockpit of airliners as soon as possible after graduation. The students not only train in technically advanced aircraft but also learn the standard operating practices which airlines use. By introducing the students to these practices early, their progress toward a pilot seat in an airliner is greatly enhanced.
They will still need to meet the minimum experience requirements for an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate to be hired by an airline. But those required hours will be reduced once HCH is established beyond the provisional, or probationary status, and the students earn a degree from SFA in Aviation Science.
Since the airline industry has made something of a comeback, the pilot shortage has returned, meaning flights will continue to be canceled until there are enough qualified pilots allowed to fly. To meet the demand, several smaller aviation companies now partner with the major air carriers as part of the career pipeline, and they will be looking to hire pilots graduating from the program at SFA to keep the supply of pilots flowing.
Visit their Facebook page, HCH Aviation, and their website, https://hchaviation.com where you’ll note a professional pilot median career earning potential as compared to other careers, as well as training cost comparisons. HCH comes out “Best in Class.”
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