Calcutta, March 2 :     The West Bengal government is scouting for a private party to take over the ailing Behala Flying Training Institute. No flight has taken off from its airstrip in six years. Indeed, even its licence from the Directorate-General of Civil Association expired on December 31, 1999. Training stopped abruptly in April 1994 when the institute's chief pilot instructor quit. At the time, it had 32 trainees, whose dreams of graduating as pilots were shattered. Over the past four years, the state has spent Rs 2 crore on its 36 idle employees. Now the transport department has decided it will try to revive it. A search is on for a pilot instructor. The institute recently asked the state government for an additional allotment of Rs 70 lakh to buy a new trainer aircraft, a Cessna-172, from a seller in the United States. But the cash-strapped administration is hard put to find the money with which to buy the aircraft. It is hoping a private party will be interested enough in the institute to pump in funds. A senior officer in the state transport department said a specific proposal had been received from a bidder. It will be examined next week. The institute had three aircraft but two Pushpaks were withdrawn from service because of major defects. Only a Cessna-152 could be used for training. But the Cessna's airworthiness certificate had also expired. After the institute approached the the Director of Air Worthiness (DAW), it was asked to test the aircraft by flying it for 40 minutes. It failed the first test flight in November last year after test pilot Captain B.Pande landed on the runway after 10 minutes' of flight and complained of unusual engine vibration. The DAW then asked that Captain A. Sabu to be brought in from the Jamshedpur Aviation Academy to conduct the second test flight on December 7. He flew for 55 minutes. Satisfied, the DAW agreed to certify the plane's airworthiness but later asked the transport department to get the Cessna's engine overhauled. This will cost about Rs 2 lakh and the government will have to put out a global tender first. Even if it is overhauled, the Cessna will be considered outdated because its engine will be10 years old in 2003. Till such time as a guardian angel is found, the institute can do little but distribute salaries to its idle staff. The institute was founded by the Roys of Behala. The state government took it over in 1964. A trainee is required to fly 250 hours before being granted the commercial pilot's licence from the director-general of civil aviation (DGCA). It costs about Rs 2,100 to fly for an hour.