Feilding flying school takes off
A Feilding pilot academy winging its way to Whanganui.
Development of a new training facility for the New Zealand International Commercial Pilot Academy, formerly Flight Training Manawatu, is well underway, with construction on the Whanganui site to begin in March.
In just under five months, the company will take-off from the Taonui Aerodrome, where it has been based, under one name or another, for 23 years.
Chief executive Phillip Bedford said the school would move as soon as construction was complete, and expected to be operating out of Whanganui by July 1.
‘‘[The move] is an absolutely outstanding opportunity for us,’’ Bedford said.
He said the school was looking to expand its roll and attract more international students and the new purpose-built complex would give them the opportunity to do that.
The academy has 40 students working through their two year training programme at the Taonui facility - 18 from New Zealand, and 22 from India, Oman, Singapore and Papua New Guinea.
The Whanganui Airport complex will provide room for 100 students at a time.
Bedford said it had also been designed to mimic the environment the trainee pilots would work in during their careers.
The final layout will be similar is to that of a small airline, including a ‘‘corporate area’’ where the academy will also run some commercial flight operations - like aerial survey and photography.
Bedford said the move will also have positive benefits for the region, and was part of regional economic development project by the Whanganui District Council.
The council estimated every 10 aviation students attracted to the city would result in a $880,000 per year boost to Whanganui’s economy.
The council’s holdings company Commercial Pilot Academy Limited purchased Flight Training Manawatu in September 2015.
At the time,company chairman Matthew Doyle told the Manawatu Standard the plan was to relocate the school from Feilding in an attempt to boost Whanganui Airport’s business and viability.
‘‘This is a strategic opportunity that we have been pursuing for some years to maximise the use of our existing airport assets and to bring new business and people to our district.’’
Whanganui mayor Hamish Mcdouall said the city had one of the top provincial airports, and was one of a just a handful that still had a joint venture arrangement with the Crown. The school would provide more traffic, and a steady income to the airport.
The academy will lease the space for their buildings as a longterm airport tenant, pay landing fees and support aircraft maintenance services.