The answers below are in response to the following 100 aspiring pilots:-
Cheah Wing Seng, Satia Silan, Lee Shaun, Malcolm, Gurubaran Visvanathan, Jay, Eric, Airliners_Din, Ephrain Long Jisheng, TopGUn, Manveen, Paul, Federick, Kenny, James, Andrew, Adrain C, Isaac, Varadarajan, Awss, Ashjit, Faireez, Shoaib Khan, Zuratul, Shoaib, Shahir, Pani, David, Alan, Girish Sachdev, Hui Qi, Kaizad, Azlan Roni, Emanuel Dadson, Christ Lockert, Phoenix, Yaw Ibrahim, Mohammed T, Haslam Romeo, Ken, Nicholas, Jejaka Q, Chen Junwen, Nabiel Hanif, Cornelia, Anant Mohan, Anshul Sheoran, Kanan P G, Rohan Jain, Ariff, Ashley, Ripudaman, Gibson, Lee Jan Jie, Aihui Peh, Aubrey, Monica, Sannan Tariq, Darab, Ng Pin Yuan, Stan, Vic, Shelly, Ammar Fahmi, Ahmad Mirza, Joel, Dan, Will, Johan, Soo Huai Chien, David, David Siew, Raj, Drahman, Barry, Alan, Mike, Givian, Henry, Roger, Rahul, Jackson Primer, Syazwan, Tunde Adekoya, Jaswinder, Richard Phun, Hamzani, Salehuddin, Din, Shaun, Valarie, Amy, Derek, Jibol, Flyboy, Michael, Derek, Joseph, Dragon Xu, Edwin Ng.
Many wannabes continue to ask me how to go about being a pilot in Malaysia or Singapore but lack the initiative to search for the answers in my site or the Web. Initiative is one of the qualities, among many others, that the interviewers would be looking at.
Well, below are the some of main issues that have already been answered but I will nevertheless run them through briefly again.
Airlines
A suitable local pilot has the choice of joining the following main airlines in Malaysia:-
a. Malaysia Airlines
b. MAS Wings
c. Firefly
d. Air Asia
e. Transmile
Fortunately, he can also go down South to Singapore and apply to:-
a. Singapore Airlines
b. Silk Air
c. Tiger Airways
d. Jetstar Asia
Requirements
The first step into this career is to have the basic academic qualifications. Kindly contact the airlines concerned (and not me) if your qualifications or requirements do not match closely.
So, in order to join any flying school leading to a CPL/IR in Malaysia, you must have at least a SPM with 5 credits, inclusive of English, Mathematics and a Science subject. That is the minimum required but if you wish to be sponsored by the airlines, then a degree would give you that edge since there are thousand of applicants for the limited places available.
Let’s look at the requirements for the following airlines:-
Singapore Airlines
1. Singapore Citizen, Singapore Permanent Resident or Malaysian Citizen
2. Must have GCE ‘A’ level, Polytechnic Diploma or Degree. In addition, you must have obtained a minimum of 5 Credits in the GCE ‘O’ level or its equivalent. These must include English, Mathematics and a Science subject, preferably Physics, taken at one sitting.
3. At least 1.65 m in height
4. Myopia of not more than 500 degrees and astigmatism of not more than 125 degrees, fully correctable with optical aids. For candidates who have undergone corrective eye surgery (e.g. Lasik), the pre-surgical visual acuity should also meet the above requirements.
5. Medically fit
Malaysia Airlines
1. Malaysian citizen, age between 18 to 26 years old (as at date of application)
2. Pass SPM or its equivalent qualification recognized by Malaysian Government with six (6) credits including Bahasa Malaysia and a minimum of B4 in Mathematics, Physics and English taken at one sitting OR
Possess Diploma / Degree in Engineering or Science related disciplines with minimum CGPA 3.0 or above and six (6) credits with pass in Bahasa Malaysia in SPM taken at one sitting.
3. Must be physically and mentally fit with good eyesight (visual acuity of at least 6/60 without optical aid, correctable to 6/6) and not color blind.
4. Minimum height 163 cm (5ft 4in).
5. Prepared to sign training bond.
Air Asia
1. Malaysian citizen, aged between 18 and 28 as at date of application
2. Passed SPM (or its equivalent that is recognized by the Malaysian Government) with at least A2 in English and mathematics and B3 in Physics taken at one sitting. (Those from the Arts stream should have at least an A2 in General Science); or
3. Posses a Diploma/Degree in Engineering or Science-related disciplines with CGPA 3.0 and the above and at SPM level scored at least a B4 in the subjects above taken in one sitting.
4. Good command of English and Bahasa Malaysia both written and spoken
5. Must be physically and mentally fit with good eyesight (visual acuity of at least 6/60 without optical aids, correctable to 6/6 and not color blind. Should be able to successfully pass a medical examination up to Class 1 standard conducted by a Department of Civil Aviation Authorized Medical Examiner (DAME)
6. Minimum height of 163 cms (5 ft 3 ins)
Scholarships and Bonds
Normally, the airlines would sponsor the cadet’s training in the program and upon successful completion of the training, he must sign a bond. It is not a full scholarship as such because some airlines would require the successful cadet pilot to pay back a portion of the training on a monthly basis.
Flying Training Schools
Successful candidates are sent to various flying schools to be determined by the airlines. Private candidates (who failed to get airlines sponsorship) can still pursue their own training in the various flying schools in Malaysia below:-
1. HM Aerospace in Langkawi
2. Air Pacific Flight Training
3. Malaysia Flying Academy
4. GGIFA International College of Aviation
5. KLIFA - KL International Flying Academy.
For more flying schools overseas, please click here.
Cost of Training
It varies between training organizations and may depend on the type of aircraft used. It can vary from one trainee to another, depending on how quickly he picks up his flying lessons and reaches the appropriate standard.
It is important not to judge your choice of training organization solely on cost. You should also look at how they can help you to achieve your ultimate goals.
The cost of the training up to CPL with IR (Frozen ATPL) would be between RM 190,000 to RM 225,000. For the details, please contact the schools listed above.
Other queries…
For Malaysians, I would suggest that you go to the DCAM’s Website for the “Abridged Guide on Becoming a Pilot” here.
For more of the finer points on age, eyesight/color blindness, medical requirements and many other issues for the aspiring pilots, they can be searched or found under the various Categories in this site.
For new cadet pilot recruitments for the next season, please contact the airlines, failing which, watch out for the advertisements in the newspapers or go to their websites.
SIA do recruit, periodically, Indian candidates who meet the requirements.
Airbus A320 type ratings are offered by CAE located at MAA, LCC Kuala Lumpur but I believe they are full at the moment. The other establishment that offers similar ratings is found at Clark Aviation in the Philippines. From their website (not sure if it is still active or updated), it states that they have a full flight simulator with advanced visual and motion systems. According to them, on successful completion of the simulator phase, trainees would be required to demonstrate their skills on a real A320 aircraft by competently conducting 12 take offs and landings under the supervision of an experienced instructor.
The successful completion of the final part of the training would lead to the issue of an A320 type rating to enable you to operate as a Co-Pilot in commercial flights under the supervision of an experienced airline captain. I am not sure if their rating is recognized by some of the airlines. However, I have heard that one current Tiger Airways co-pilot was trained in this institution. For current cost details, please e-mail them at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
To others, kindly do a thorough search in my Site or the Forums for most of your answers.
I wish you all the best in your future flying career and a Happy New Year 2009! 
|
p syhamiel 
