Progress Flight Academy Flight Instructor Rating
An excellent route to a career as a Pilot is the Premium Integrated Course offered by Progress Flight Academy enhanced by a period as Flight Instructor at the Academy. This pilot career opportunity is available to South African residents. Flight instruction is a very satisfying profession and the experience gained is a distinct advantage for an airline pilot career because all airlines need Training Captains so the flight instructor rating can improve promotion prospects.
As a Flight Instructor at Progress you will achieve many hours multi-engine flight instruction which will have a high proportion of instrument and night time. This is because our students receive as many multi-engine dual flight instruction hours as single engine.
Progress Flight Academy is expanding the Flight Instructor team to cater for planned growth. We employ only flight instructors who trained with us.
The January 2024 course is being promoted as a special for South African residents who are interested in a pilot career. This Premium Professional Pilot Integrated Course is one year duration with graduation scheduled for December. The ground school is ATP (Airline Transport Pilot) syllabus and the ATP examinations should be passed during the course.
Progress Flight Academy employs Flight Instructors who have graduated from the Professional Pilot course. All our Flight Instructors hold a Commercial Pilot Licence with valid Instrument Rating (multi-engine).
The attributes we seek in Flight Instructor candidates are a sound theoretical knowledge, a high standard of flying skill, a temperament suited to instruction, and a pleasant personality. The candidate must agree to a three year commitment as Flight Instructor.
The Flight Instructor course is four months duration. Candidate instructors will initially be trained in lecturing techniques and will then prepare and present Private Pilot Standard theory lectures to students. The course includes instruction in flight briefing and twenty hours of flight training in the Piper Warrior single-engine aeroplane. This is followed by a Flight Instructor test conducted by an external South African Civil Aviation Authority Designated Flight Examiner.
The Flight Instructor training is done by our most senior instructors to ensure the excellent standard that we expect in all our training.
Once qualified the first eighteen months will be flight instruction of ab-initio students in the Piper Warrior at our Somerset East base. During this period the TCI (Test and Check Instructor) endorsement will be obtained.
The IRI (Instrument Rating Instructor) and MEI (Multi Engine Instructor) endorsements will then be achieved and the remaining eighteen months will be spent giving advanced flight instruction for the multi-engine stage at Progress aerodrome. This is a really interesting and valuable experience and much flying time is logged in instrument weather conditions and at night.
The experience gained during the three years should meet the flight time requirements for the Airline Transport Pilot Licence. Progress Flight Academy will assist you to achieve this licence which opens many doors.
About four and a half years after starting your training you will have all the qualifications and experience you need for appointment as First Officer, except the aeroplane type rating. The employer normally assists with this training under a bond.
Most of our flight instructors achieve their initial pilot job as co-pilot (First Officer) on the Beechcraft 1900 multi-engine turboprop with a contracts company; and with their excellent flight instruction experience they often attain fairly rapid promotion to Captain.
The Beech 1900 time provides the turbine experience that airlines in South Africa require for appointment to the position of First Officer on medium jet airliners.
Some pilots enjoy the contract flying so much that they continue for many years.
Opportunities are available at some foreign airlines for immediate transition to First Officer on aeroplanes such as Boeing 737 and Airbus A320.