IFA invests €2.1m in training fleet additions
Portugal’s International Flight Academy (IFA) has confirmed a new €2.1m contract with Textron for seven Pipistrel aircraft. Two of the new aircraft will be the Velis Electro model, the world’s only certified fully electric aircraft, powered by two water-cooled lithium batteries, with a flight range of 50 minutes, plus reserves. The two new electric trainers will be the first of their kind in Portugal, the school confirmed. The...
British Airways opens application process for its Speedbird ‘self-sponsorship’ new pilot career pathway
British Airways is now accepting applications for its Speedbird Self-Sponsored Pathway for aspiring pilots. The self-sponsored programme runs jointly with the airline’s fully funded Speedbird programme, with the main difference being successful applicants must pay for training cost. Candidates who are training at one of British Airways approved training organisations (ATO) including FTEJerez, L3 Harris, Leading Edge or Skyborne, can...
BNU partners with two Oxford Airport-based flight schools
Buckinghamshire New University’s (BNU) Schoolof Aviation and Security has announced the launch of its ATO Preferred Partner programme with Leading Edge Aviation (LEAL) and Pilot Flight Training (PFT), both based at Oxford Airport. BNU describes its Preferred Partner scheme as a quality mark initiative that gives current and perspective BNU pilot degree students further information about the range of choices they can make for their...
Skyborne expands electric future
Skyborne’s US pilot training facility is enhancing its environmentally focussed future with the recent announcement that it has signed a letter of intent with Bye Aerospace for an additional 30 eFlyer all-electric training aircraft.The commitment builds on Skyborne’s 2020 order of 10 eFlyers, bringing the total to 40 electric aircraft now set to join the academy’s US fleet in Vero Beach, Florida.Producing zero CO2 emissions and with...
British Airways Speedbird Academy to return this year
BA recruitment team members Lucy Sylvester and Suzy Morgan confirmed the return of the airline’s Speedbird Academy in 2024 in a recent interview with FLYER Livestream. During the interview, which featured insights into Suzy’s career from gliders to captaining the Boeing 777 for British Airways, the pair confirmed the return of the hugely successful Speedbird Academy after it launched in 2023. The 2023 Academy application process saw...
UK CAA consulting on vertiport network
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has launched a consultation on design proposals for vertiports at existing aerodromes, paving the way for vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft operations in the UK. Vertiports are sites used for the arrival, departure, and surface movement of VTOL aircraft and the CAA says the creation of a network to connect communities by air will be possible with the introduction of this...