Category: News and Updates

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What’s involved in a course screening?

TVSA offer the following Diploma courses:

  • AVI50222 Diploma of Aviation (Commercial Pilot Licence – Aeroplane)
  • AVI50419 Diploma of Aviation (Flight Instructor)
  • AVI50519 Diploma of Aviation (Instrument Rating)

Potential students wanting to enrol in a Diploma course at TVSA will be required to undertake a pre-training review (screening).

What does the pre-training review (screening) involve?

The pre-training review (screening) will generally take approx. 2 hours to complete however it may take a little longer. It really depends on you and how you progress through the stages.

The pre-training review (screening) includes the following:

  1. Introduction and tour (with Business Development Coordinator)

2. Completion of the following tests:

  • Simulator test or flight assessment¹
  • English test
  • Math test

3. Discussion with the RTO General Manager (or delegate)

¹If you are seeking enrolment in the AVI50419 Diploma of Aviation (Flight Instructor) or AVI50519 Diploma of Aviation (Instrument Rating) you may be required to undertake a flight assessment to confirm if you meet the competency standard in accordance with CASR 61.385. If you need to complete a Flight Assessment, you will incur out-of-pocket costs. The actual cost incurred will be dependent on you – how many flights you need to meet the required competency standard, the duration of flights and the type of aircraft.

Introduction and tour

When you first arrive for your screening appointment you will have a brief discussion with our Business Development Coordinator. If you haven’t been to TVSA previously, you will also be taken on a tour of our facility.

This discussion is primarily used to get to know a little more about you, including your ambitions and goals.  

The Business Development Coordinator will also confirm which course and intake you are interested in enrolling in.

Completion of tests

All potential students will complete the following tests:

  1. Simulator test – this determines your aptitude for flying and your ability to respond to instructions and interact with the instructor. You must achieve a minimum score of 11 in this test.
  2. English and Math tests – these are conducted online using bksb® and will assess your competence in English (reading, writing, spelling etc.) and Math. You must achieve a minim result of ACSF Exit Level 3 for both assessments. For more information about what that means, click here.


If you have recently completed a flight with us, either a Trial Introductory Flight (TIF) or a regular lesson, this can be used in place of the simulator test.

You are welcome to book a TIF for either the same day as the rest of your screening appointment or another day close to it. Please note that while the simulator test is free, you will be charged the current rate for a TIF or lesson, even if it’s part of a Diploma application.

Discussion with RTO General Manager (or delegate)

At the end of your appointment, you will have a discussion with the RTO General Manager (or delegate).

The RTO General Manager (or delegate) will determine your suitability to the course, assess your verbal communication skills, as well as identify any potential issues that may be in the way of you completing the course successfully. You must demonstrate a sound interest in aviation and a willingness to learn.

For those wishing to apply for VET Student Loans (VSL), the RTO General Manager (or delegate) will take you through the requirements of VSL, including the Fee Schedule and census dates.

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For more information about VSL, please click here.

For more information about our Diploma courses, please find the relevant course page on our Nationally Accredited Training page.

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Is it a good time to pursue a career as a Pilot?

For the past few years, securing a pipeline of new pilots has been a primary concern for airlines around the world. In a 2019 poll of flight operations leaders, 62 percent listed a shortage of qualified pilots as a key risk. The root cause of the coming shortage varies by region: in the United States and in the Pacific regions which includes Australia, it’s an aging workforce facing mandatory retirement. In China and other regions where a burgeoning middle class is demanding air travel, the struggle is to expand capacity fast enough.

The impact also depends on the class or carrier, with 83 percent of regional carriers finding it challenging to recruit talent compared with 22 percent of low-cost carriers. Despite these differences, there were few regions in the work that weren’t dealing with how to secure enough pilots to fuel future growth.

Nearly overnight, with the outbreak of COVID-19, the conversation shifted from shortage to surplus. For the carriers that were struggling with pilot supply, this has provided a momentary reprieve. 

The return of demand:

First,Officer,Is,Controlling,Autopilot,And,Parameters,For,Safety,Flight.

A major question facing the aviation industry is when demand will return. For passenger recovery, estimates range from 2022 to 2024 and beyond. For pilots however, demand is driven by aircraft departures and utilisation rather than passengers. The global in-service fleet has already recovered in size to 76 percent of pre-COVID levels. In the Asia Pacific region, where the outbreak was earlier and better controlled, the in-service fleet is already at 89 percent. While utilisation and resulting block hours still lag in historic levels globally, the industry expects the demand for pilots to proceed the recovery of passenger growth by two to three times.

THE Emergence of the pilot shortage:

The most important question is not whether a pilot shortage will re-emerge, but when it will occur and how large the gap will be between supply and demand. Based on a modest recovery scenario, it is believed a global pilot shortage will emerge in certain regions no later than 2023 and most probably before. However, with a more rapid recovery and greater supply shocks, this could be felt as early as late this year. Regarding the magnitude, in our most likely scenarios, there is a global gap of 34,000 pilots by 2025. This could be as high as 50,000 in the most extreme scenarios. Eventually, the impact of furloughs, retirements, and defections will create very real challenges for even some of the biggest carriers.

What the airlines can do:

For airlines who are currently struggling to right-size the operations and remain solvent, the idea of a pilot shortage is far from the top of their mind. However, it has the real potential to limit their ability to regrow and rebuild their operation in the coming years. There are two main areas where airlines can help to reduce the impact of future pilot shortages: 

  • Reinforce the pipeline: continue to invest in training programs ad pilot recruitment, including resolving emerging financial challenges.
  • Engage the workforce: Recognise the likelihood of increased competition, particularly for newly training pilots, and actively engage to improve recruitment.
 
How quickly airlines can regrow their operation will be guided by how quickly they can regrow their pilots. Those that take action now increase the agility of the airline to capture demand as it recovers.

TVSA Pilot Trainings commitment:

TVSA Pilot Training can help you realise your dreams of becoming a Pilot while providing you with world class training to give you the best opportunity for a prosperous career in Aviation.

AVI50219 Diploma of aviation (commercial pilot licence - aeroplane)

The AVI50222 Diploma of Aviation (Commercial Pilot Licence – Aeroplane) is designed to be the start of your journey towards a career in aviation. It takes you from having no experience through to having 150 hours of flight training experience, plus all the theory you need in order to sit your Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) test.

For more information about the course, click on the following link to go to our full-time course page.

Our next intake date is quickly approaching and applications are closing fast.

John Soulis - 250522
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Pilot Jobs Post-COVID

Want to work as a pilot but worried about the impact of COVID?

Now might actually be the best time to start your training.

Think about this:

  • by the time you are ready to look for a job, the industry should be recovering and more jobs available.
  • it’s not just about the big international airlines. With international travel slowed down, people are looking for more local activities to do… a great way to build experience is through charter and scenic flights – just what people are looking for right now.
  • air cargo is still a vital part of global infrastructure.
  • many airline pilots that have been put out of work by the pandemic won’t return to their jobs when it’s over, leaving a pilot shortage when the industry does eventually recover. Some have gone into early retirement, some will be too close to retirement age by the time the jobs are available, and some will have just found something else they enjoy more. A younger generation of pilots will be needed to fill the gaps.
 

The aviation industry, like many others, has cycles. It’s affected by a number of things, like natural disasters, terrorist attacks, politics, global finances, and, most clearly displayed at the moment, diseases.

This isn’t the first time the aviation industry has been impacted by disease. You might remember the SARS outbreak in 2003, or avian and swine flus in 2006 and 2009.

But it bounces back.

FlightRadar24 data shows that, globally, the industry is slowly recovering. From almost 110,000 flights a day in February 2020, the pandemic saw a drop to around 24,000 flights a day in May – but back up to 80,000 a day in December 2020 (Dube et al 2021).

Air cargo dropped only 8%, and had almost returned to pre-pandemic levels by November 2020 (Pearce 2020). Now, air cargo is operating 9.4% above what it was in May 2019 (Gulbas 2021). In November last year, IATA predicted air passenger travel would return to 2019 levels by 2024 (Pearce 2020). Global domestic recovery is already proving strong, with kilometers flown down only 23.9% compared to May 2019 (Gulbas 2021).

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to realise that new strains and ever-changing border restrictions, health guidelines, and vaccination rates will all continue to impact the industry until a “new normal” is achieved.

There is, however, a sense in the industry that it is not a matter of if a pilot shortage will occur, but when. While no one can predict the timeline, if it’s something you’ve been thinking about for a while, why not now?

One thing seems certain, airlines won’t have the spare cash to pay for the training of new pilots for a while. Cadetship programs will be slow to start up again. Individuals are going to have to invest in themselves if they want to be part of the next generation of airline pilots.

Whether you’re looking for a career change, or your next step after school, TVSA is proud to offer several finance options to help students invest in their training. Please check out our Finance tab or contact us for more information.

TVSA offers CPL training under a couple of course options. You can find out more about our Nationally Accredited Training courses here, or give us a call to discuss which training pathway might be best for you

References & Other Resources:

Czerny, A.I., Fu, X., Lei, Z., & Oum, T.H. 2021. Post pandemic aviation market recovery: Experience and lessons from China, Journal of Air Transport Management, 90, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2020.101971

Dube, K., Nhamo, G., & Chikodzi, D. 2021. COVID-19 pandemic and prospects for recovery of the global aviation industry, Journal of Air Transport Management, 92, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2021.102022

Gulbas, E. COVID-19 Air travel update: Optimism with caution, IATA Economic Report, July 2021

Murray, G. After COVID-19, Aviation faces a pilot shortage, https://www.oliverwyman.com/our-expertise/insights/2021/mar/after-covid-19-aviation-faces-a-pilot-shortage.html

Pearce, B., Outlook for Air Transport and the Airline Industry, IATA Annual General Meeting, November 2020

International Air Transport Association (IATA) COVID Resources page: https://www.iata.org/en/programs/covid-19-resources-guidelines/

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) COVID News page: https://www.icao.int/covid/Pages/default.aspx

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Becoming a Flight Instructor

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Reasons to become a Flight Instructor

by Daniel Hadler

Becoming a Flight Instructor is one of many options available to a Commercial Pilot. Anyone can undertake an Instructor Rating, but a passion for aviation, training, and people are all good identifiers of someone who would suit the role well. Whether you are a newly licensed pilot or an experienced airline captain looking for a way to give back to the industry, here are a few reasons instructing might be the next step in your aviation career.

Rewarding

Passing on your knowledge and passion for flying to new pilots and seeing them learn and grow under your guidance really makes the long hours of study on the Instructor Rating course worth it. Some instructors even say that sending students solo is more of a buzz than their own! The sense of achievement in helping someone reach their own goals or get through a challenging time in their training really is one of the best parts of the job.

Challenging

Part of what makes instructing rewarding is also what makes it a challenge. Finding new ways to help students overcome stumbling blocks can be difficult, but worth it when the concept finally clicks in to place. Other aspects such as vastly different flight profiles each day, ever-changing weather (especially in Melbourne!), and operational factors such as busy controlled aerodromes provide a good range of challenging conditions to hone your skills in and become a better pilot.

Build Flying Experience/Knowledge

Working towards an Instructor Rating will increase your knowledge of aviation immeasurably. You will learn more about the theory of flying in the relatively short course (usually 8-14 weeks) than at any point in your previous training. The next step is then learning how to best pass that knowledge on to your students. Your flying skills will also greatly improve. Flying from the right-hand seat provides its own set of challenges and the accuracy and consistency demanded of a flying instructor requires patience and plenty of practice. The learning does not stop once you’ve passed the flight test though. Becoming an instructor is just the beginning. Once on the job you will be exposed to new problems that need solving, as well as new ratings and endorsements to expand your flying and theoretical knowledge as you progress through your career.

Meet New People

One of the best parts about being an instructor is meeting people from all walks of life and introducing them to a shared passion. From full-time commercial students who have just left high school to private students looking for a new weekend hobby. Even the odd airline captain looking for a flight review or just to remember what it’s like to fly a ‘real aircraft’. Everyone has a different story to tell and getting to know your students over the course of their training is often a pleasure in itself.

Work/Life Balance

When compared to other job opportunities in the aviation industry, instructing must have one of the best work/life balances. We are at home every night and work reasonable hours during the day. Fixed rosters are also much more common in instructing than other flying roles such as the airlines. Most instructors also operate out of a fixed base so do not have to do too much travel, and jet lag is definitely off the cards. Whilst the airline lifestyle may suit some, being home each night for dinner and knowing when your days off are can provide a much better alternative to others.

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If flight instructing sounds like something you’re interested in, head on over to our Nationally Accredited Training page for info about our Diploma course or contact us to discuss the best path for you.

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Daylight Savings

Daylight Savings

On October 4th, Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time (AEDT) begins, with clocks going forward by one hour at 2AM.

This will result in Victoria being 11 hours ahead of UTC (UTC+11), rather than 10 hours (UTC+10) as it is now. This has implications for flying training at TVSA. It is important to remember the difference between local time and UTC when planning flights for several reasons.

Daylight Available

Those of you who have completed the CPL Navigation theory subject may remember the pain of converting between Universal Coordinated Time (UTC), Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST), and Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time (AEDT). Depending on your planned route, your daylight available could be more or less than expected. Let’s have a look at a simple example using Bacchus Marsh:

YBSS 3/10/20

First Light – 021928 UTC = 030528 AEST

Last Light – 030854 UTC = 031854 AEST

YBSS 4/10/20

First Light – 031926 UTC = 040526 AEST / 040626 AEDT

Last Light – 040855 UTC = 041855 AEST / 041955 AEDT

We can see from the above conversions for First Light and Last Light at YBSS that if we were to forget the change on the 4th to UTC+11, we might be expecting to be able to depart in daylight an hour earlier than we actually could, or not use the daylight to our full advantage, and accidentally plan to return home an hour earlier than we needed to.

This becomes slightly more complicated when crossing borders into states/countries that are in different time zones. Queensland, whilst on the same time zone as Victoria for most of the year, does not recognize daylight savings time, and as such remains on AEST or UTC+10.

Departure Time

More obvious is the difference when submitting a flight plan on NAIPS. As flight plans are submitted in UTC, it is important to remember the change in the conversion. A simple example of this is as follows:

On 3rd October, you plan to leave on a flight at 11:30AM. This is equal to 01:30UTC, as the difference is 10hrs. On 4th October, the clocks have gone forward one hour, and now the difference to UTC is 11 hours. If you had submitted your departure time as 01:30UTC, this would now convert to 12:30AEDT.

A simple mistake if you are unaware of the change, but it can have implications on the availability of services or clearances if ATC are not expecting you for another hour. The NAIPS website has a UTC clock at the top of the page to help with conversions, and computer clocks (including smartphones) will usually adjust their clocks automatically to suit. These tools can help you avoid entering the wrong time in your flight plan.

SARTIME

A similar issue occurs when considering SARTIME. Whilst this is a bigger problem when the clocks go backwards at the start of the year, the clocks going forward can also present an issue. Let’s say you submit a SARTIME of 0500 UTC, expecting that to convert to 1500 AEST. In actual fact, it converts to 1600 AEDT. If the worst was to happen and you had to conduct a forced landing, your SARTIME would expire an hour after you expected it to, which may delay search and rescue services.

If we reverse this and consider the clocks going backwards an hour at the start of the year, we can see that SARTIMEs nominated under the assumption of an 11 hour difference would actually expire an hour earlier than expected. This results in lots of expired SARTIMEs countrywide and it is an expensive drain on the resources of AUSSAR.

A Safety Notice will be posted to FSM to ensure that you are reminded of the time difference when you log in for the first time after daylight savings commences. If you have any questions about the impact of daylight savings on flying training, please see your instructor, or the Safety Manager, Daniel Hadler.

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Lockdown Update

WFH

What have we all been up to during the Metro Melbourne lockdown?

Our Diploma students have been flying through their theory subjects. Our instructors have been delivering their theory online through Microsoft Teams. We have provided everyone with extra one-on-one tuition to help them check their knowledge and ask any questions raised during or after the online briefings.

Everyone is excited to be getting a large portion of theory done. We hope to take full advantage of the summer weather to get plenty of flying done!

When they’re not delivering theory or helping our students, our instructors have been very busy checking and updating all our training materials. This includes the PowerPoint presentations we use for briefings and our theory assessments.

Our major project this year has been to update our RPL Flight Training Manual, as well as our FTMs for Navigation training and MEIR training.

The lockdown has meant we have been able to give our instructors more time to perfect these. We expect that they will all be ready in time to help our new and returning students get the most out of their training.

We are all keen to be back on site and in the air. Keep an eye on our social media pages to stay up to date. 

You can also email us fly@tvsa.edu.au to be added to our mailing list.

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COVID-19 Update – 21st July

COVID 19

If you are not aware, Premier Dan Andrews announced that face coverings are now mandatory from 2359 tomorrow, Wednesday 22nd July, for all residents living in Melbourne or Mitchell Shire.

In line with these government guidelines, face masks will be required to be worn onsite at TVSA Pilot Training by all staff and students.

Whilst TVSA is based in rural Victoria, many of our staff and students travel from Melbourne to our campus each day. Due to this, our Safety Team feels that it is necessary for the protection of all that everybody is to wear a face mask regardless of where they reside.

We have made a limited amount of disposable face masks available at reception, but we recommend that you purchase reusable masks that are washed between visits.

Also, we want to remind the public that only staff and students who have flight bookings are allowed on-campus. All classrooms are closed and unavailable for private study, please ensure that you are only at TVSA for the time of your flight booking.

When you are on-campus, please remember to sign in when you arrive and sign out when you leave so we have an accurate record of who is here at any given time for contact tracing purposes if necessary.

Once again, we have closed enrolments to all private training, including but not limited to Recreational and Private Pilot Licence training, Trial Introductory Flights, and Flight Reviews. To stay up today with when we can recommence this training, please follow us on Facebook.

As always, our Safety and Management Team are reviewing our current COVID-19 Safety Policy on a regular basis and will provide updates when changes occur.

If you have any questions, please contact us at fly@tvsa.edu.au or call us on 03 5369 5162.

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COVID-19 Update – 7th May

COVID 19

TVSA acknowledges that due to circumstances surrounding COVID-19, businesses, particularly education providers are being temporarily closed to manage outbreaks.

TVSA has considered all reasonable solutions in the event a closure becomes necessary. We have prioritised the progress of all current students and we will adopt a flexible delivery approach to ensure students are impacted as little as possible. Where possible, TVSA will be delivering theory online reducing social contact to practical assessments only.

In the interim, TVSA is taking the following steps to help flatten the curve:

  • Any staff or student with flu or respiratory symptoms is suggested to self-quarantine.
  • If any staff or student is suspected to have symptoms, they may be asked to leave the premises and return home asap.
  • If the above occurs, please immediately notify TVSA by calling the office and emailing fly@tvsa.edu.au.
  • If you have had symptoms, a medical clearance will be required by a GP to return to your training.

Please remember to take a proactive approach to stop the spread by:

  • Covering your cough and sneezes with your elbow or a tissue.
  • Disposing of tissues properly.
  • Washing your hands often with soap and water.
  • Using alcohol-based sanitisers.
  • Cleaning and sanitising frequently used objects such as mobiles, keys and wallets.

 

For more information on protecting yourself and others from the spread of COVID-19 please visit the Department of Health website.