Flight simulator. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Jamshedpur, Sept. 11: Aspiring pilots of the steel city would learn the nuances of flying without entering an aircraft’s cockpit. Simulation would help them experience “final approach” or the first landing of a student pilot sitting in their institute!

City-based Alchemist Aviation Private Limited, a flying school, has imported a flight simulator to give trainees first-hand experience of flying.

“The maiden simulator in Jharkhand has been imported from Switzerland. Priced around Rs 1 crore, it will provide advanced training to wannabe pilots. The hi-tech machine will also give trainees a feeling of flying conditions in big airports,” S.K. Upadhyay, the chief engineer of Alchemist Aviation Private Limited, told The Telegraph.

According to Upadhyay, those opting for a commercial pilot’s licence (CPL) would undergo 25 hours of training at the simulator. An experienced pilot would assist the trainees in using the simulator.

Elaborating on the functioning of the simulator, the officials of the institute said a simulator creates real flying scenarios.

“The trainees will feel as if they are inside a cockpit while sitting in the flight simulator. Besides options for normal take-off and landing, the simulator can reproduce emergency situations too,” said a senior official of the flying school.

Alchemist Aviation is also procuring a new Cessna aircraft with latest features from the US to cope with the spurt in the number of students. The aircraft is expected to reach the flying school by the end of the month. The flying school, which started operations in February 2007, has five aircraft, including two Cessna 172 as well as two Cessna 152 models and a Piper Seneca.

The directorate-general of civil aviation (DGCA), the central government regulatory body responsible for implementing, controlling and supervising airworthiness standards, safety operations and crew training in India, had given permission to acquire the aircraft as well as the flight simulator.