According to reports, all training aircraft at Asian Academy of Aeronautics are grounded.
The school just last week had only two aircraft active in use; 1 Cessna 150 single-engine aircraft and 1 PA32 multi-engine aircraft.
However, due to technical issues both aircraft have been grounded leaving the students with no aircraft to train onboard in.
According to the AAA website, the schools have a fleet of 14 aircraft to choose from and 2 flight simulators to train.
Aircraft, especially training aircraft at flight schools require heavy maintenance as the aircraft are used intensely during vigorous training conducted on daily basis.
As aircraft require mandatory maintenance and unforeseen maintenance works, it’s often common for training schools and even airlines to not have their entire fleet of aircraft available for operation. Schools would be able to foresee maintenance requirements and plan for future adjustments if required. It is shocking that the schools only come to a point where only 1 or two aircraft only available for students.
The school has reported that the availability of parts and affordability of parts due to the impact of COVID19 are reasons behind aircraft require longer maintenance time.
On average a single student on a single training flight would fly an aircraft for about 1.5 hours, blocking the aircraft for a total of 2 to 2.5 hours.
This means the school would be able to train an average of 4-5 students or more per day using a single aircraft. With only one or two active aircraft in the fleet, this means each student would only be able to get one single flight in over a month.
Consistency is a very important factor in learning to fly and progress to master the skills to operate an aircraft. Been able to fly a single flight in a month would weaken the student's skills and would require additional time to learn and develop the skills.
Long gaps between training flights are unadvisable and it is recommended for students to get 2 to 3 training flights a week to stay consistent and develop the skills needed to fly an aircraft quicker according to experienced instructors.
According to the AAA website, the school charges US$ 49,431 per student as a course fee. This means in the last 3-4 years alone the school would have generated a revenue of 150,000,000 MVR yet they do not have an aircraft available for training.