Get set for a high-flying career

A swanky aviation school sitting right in the middle of a suburb in Marathahalli, Bangalore always draws the attention of most passers by. Hindustan Aviation Academy is a registered educational society in the forefront of:

-Training students for a civil aircraft maintenance engineering license programme
-Teaching aeronautical engineering and management sciences
-Training diploma students in six engineering disciplines

The Academy was established in 1983 in Bangalore, and over the last 24 years has helped students specialise under the various aspects of aerodynamics. The Hindustan Academy group runs three colleges — Hindustan Aviation Academy, Hindustan Electronics Academy and Hindustan  Business School.

“Every generation likes to think that it lives in a time of unique change. The courses at HAA are designed to help a student discover his/her capabilities, evolve skills, achieve more and transform their future. It will help a candidate to work with efficiency, motivation and interest. Life starts now. And learning is a fundamental part of life,” says K C Samuel, Chairman, Hindustan Academy.

HAA course offerings

The Civil Aviation Authority issues certificates of “airworthiness” to private and commercial aircrafts that are in fully serviceable condition. To receive this certification,  maintenance must be carried out on the aircraft at timely intervals and it must be made fully serviceable — a job that can only be carried out by qualified aircraft maintenance engineers, who are issued with a license in a particular category by the Civil Aviation Department. The Academy prepares students to appear for the different categories of the DGCA examinations, in the Mechanical and Avionics stream.

“The government does not have/ will not spend money on training students in aircraft maintenance. This is why private schools have mushroomed across India. Our students are hired by many international airlines. We also have many foreign students learning the programme here,” adds Dominic Mathew, HOD, Civil Aviation.

The Academy conducts three-year programmes in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering (AME), approved by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Government of India with an annual intake of 120 students. The course is organised into six semesters. Final semester students undergo practical training at a reputed airline. On completion of six semesters and clearing three DGCA examinations, students are awarded a Basic Aircraft Maintenance Engineering License, (BAMEL), which qualifies them for employment with a civil airline.

The Academy has heavily invested in the programme. And this is evident from the number of aircrafts that are on display on the campus. “We are currently working on 4 aircrafts — Cessna, Airbus, Layer Jet 25 and the Boeing. These are bought from countries like Russia and the US, disassembled and shipped over,” explains a faculty member, Diploma in Aeronautical Engineering.

The course is structured in such a way that it includes all aspects of aeronautical design to maintenance. So, students spend 50 per cent of the curriculum poring over textbooks and the remaining 50 in a laboratory.

 Some of the subjects covered in the first year of Aircraft Maintenance Engineering include Air Laws, Airworthiness requirements, Basic Aerodynamics, Electronics Fundamentals, Radar, Structure and Systems, etc.

The AME course is largely popular with male students as there are only 5- 10 female students in each of the courses. But that does not mean that enthusiasm runs low among female students.  Clarifies a final-year female student of AME, “I thoroughly enjoy the course that I am pursuing. It allows me to work hands-on with aircrafts and its complex engines. This is a very thrilling experience for me.”

The first batch of diploma students will graduate in 2012.

All in a day’s work? No!

The aeronautical courses offered do not offer specialisations. A common assumption among students is the certificate awarded at the end of the programme. This is completely governed or controlled by the  Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The certificate awarded does not guarantee a flying license, but a license to work in aircraft maintenance.

There are 130 staff members teaching and training the 3 streams.  There are over 1000 students on campus, with 2 hostels for boys and 1 for girls.

Private firms that come in for recruitment conduct an entrance test, followed by an interview, based on the guidelines provided by the DGCA.

Graduates join the industry as technicians — not in the repair department, but in maintenance.

There are 375 hours of practical training under each semester. These sessions allow students to work on everything from soldering metal scrap to redesigning aircraft engines.

The campus is also popular overseas, with more than 25 per cent of it student population coming from countries such as Yemen, Africa, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Bangladesh.