Paying billions to study, pilots can have their 'license revoked' at any time
The tuition fee to become a basic pilot in Vietnam is 1.7 billion VND, the training period is 22-24 months. However, according to Captain Nguyen Nam Lien, a pilot's license is only valid for 5 years, and one can "lose their job" at any time if they fail one of the hundreds of exams.
2 years "cost" 1.7 billion VND
In 2012, the Civil Aviation Authority approved the first pilot training school in Vietnam in the form of socialization. The school was opened in Ho Chi Minh City with a training framework based on European standards. Here, the training instructors are mostly foreigners. The pilot students are of many nationalities, in addition to Vietnamese, there are students from Canada, India, Australia, Cambodia...
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| Applicants have to go through many rounds of testing and expensive fees. |
To be able to study to be a pilot, candidates must go through 3 rounds of computer tests and many other tests to achieve the most accurate and honest results about knowledge, qualities, important skills of being a pilot, ability to process information, ability to assess situations, ability to adapt to the job, confidence... The final test results are analyzed by an independent unit specializing in evaluating pilot candidates and sent back from the UK. The number of successful candidates is about 40 - 50% of the number of candidates.
Captain Nguyen Nam Lien - Boeing 787 Flight Crew, who has 38 years of experience and is directly involved in training at the pilot school, said: With the form of socialization, the tuition fee for pilots alone is 1.7 billion VND, the basic pilot training time is 22-24 months, of which 3 months of military training is required. If not socialized, the airline has to spend 130,000 USD to train 1 basic pilot abroad, then spend an additional 55,000 - 60,000 USD/crew of 2 to fly SIM to change the pilot type (with Boeing 787, it is 800 USD/hour of SIM flight).
In Vietnam, the basic pilot training program takes place in 2 phases. Phase 1 lasts for 6 months: Pilot students must complete 14 subjects, 783 hours of study, 30 hours of testing, 3 hours of SIM flight (flight simulator). Students must learn about flight principles, aircraft, systems knowledge, aviation equipment, human factors, meteorology, aviation communications, basic navigation, radio navigation, flight planning, flight performance, load balancing, flight procedures, and aviation law.Phase 2 is learning to fly with 155 hours.
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| Pilot training time is 2 years with a cost of nearly 2 billion VND. |
“For the first violation of discipline, students will receive a warning, for the second violation, students will have to meet with the Disciplinary Council, and for the third violation (especially cheating on exams), students will have all their academic results canceled and must start over from the beginning if they want to become a pilot.” - pilot teacher Nguyen Nam Lien said.
After completing the basic pilot training program, students are transferred to SIMs to learn to become operational pilots. Students must learn about ground operations, learn to manage flight crew capabilities... After completing SIM flight training, students are transferred outside to conduct training flights.
After finishing school, you still have to take exams for life.
Captain Nguyen Nam Lien said that doctors, engineers, or any other professions will have a lifetime license after completing their studies, but pilots spend nearly 2 billion VND to study, but their license is only valid for 5 years. Once they become operating pilots, they still have to take 8 exams each year and undergo periodic training on SIM twice. Even if they fail once, their license will be revoked and they will no longer be a pilot.
“On a flight, if an unexpected incident occurs, the danger will threaten the lives of the pilot and nearly 300 other people, along with the $250 million aircraft. To avoid unfortunate events, pilots must be able to handle situations in the best way possible. That is why pilots have to study and take exams many times a year. If you decide to become a pilot, you will receive a license to study and take exams for the rest of your life,” said Captain Nguyen Nam Lien.
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| A female pilot student and her classmates on their recent basic pilot graduation day, now waiting to learn to convert on SIM. |
The captain with 38 years of experience in the flying profession shared that in a very challenging environment, being a pilot is a very special job, anything can affect the pilot and there are many risk factors that cause unsafety. Pilots must always remember that safety is number 1, the prerequisite for a flight.
It is forecasted that by 2020, the Vietnamese aviation industry will need about 1,800 - 2,000 pilots. Socializing pilot training helps expand the selection of pilot candidates, ensures objective quality, eliminates the mechanism of asking and giving, and especially saves investment costs for pilot training abroad (about 2.5 billion VND).
