Articles
I believe I can fly . . . .
‘Free as a bird’ was written by John Lennon in 1977. Two decades later, R. Kelly released the hit single “I believe I can fly’ in 1997.
How many of us, even before these songs were made popular, held a fervent hope and wish to be able to fly . . . soaring above the clouds, free as a bird?
The passion to be an aviator is instilled in most of us at a very young age – whether it was your first journey overseas or perhaps the respect commanded by the pilot of the aircraft you travelled in, or even just the feeling of looking out of your window-seat at an endless expanse of clouds, with the sun rising and setting at its own whim, or simply the exhilaration of defying gravity.
It is in understanding this passion that Skyline Aviation was established in 2006 and has expanded over the past 8 years, to offer the gamut of aviation-related courses, whether you are a budding aviator or a busy professional who has achieved success in your chosen career pathway, but still harbor that innate need to fly.
Should you aspire towards being a professional pilot, your integrated training program at Skyline would commence with the Private Pilot Licence (PPL) and move on to the Commercial Pilot Licence with Instrument Rating (CPL/IR) as well as the Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL Frozen). Your course of training would be completed with the Multi Crew Co-operation (MCC), which is a Jet Conversion course conducted in the A320 or B737 NG simulator, as transition from light single-engine aircraft to the big jets, enabling you to take your place as a Junior First Officer in an airline.
All courses are conducted with the approval of the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka, and are conducted in Sri Lanka, with options of completing the MCC also available in Dubai, Singapore, Malaysia or the Philippines.
Being aware that a passion for aviation starts young, Skyline’s Introduction to Aviation course is aimed at budding young aviators who would like to learn more about the opportunities and developments in this exciting field during their school holidays. Conducted during the holiday periods of April, August and December each year, the course covers three parts, with each part being an advancement of training from the previous.
If you are already an established professional with a busy schedule, Skyline offers you a specially designed package – the ‘PPL PRO’. With personalised instruction conducted at your convenience, you can be a private pilot, flying with friends and family over the beautiful landscape of Sri Lanka, covering Koggala in the South to Anuradhapura in the North, and Colombo in the West to Trincomalee in the East.
However, if you simply want to experience the freedom of flight before committing to the PPL, Skyline offers any individual over the age of 14 years the opportunity to fly a familiarisation flight with our Chief Flight Instructor, who will guide you through some basic aerial manoeuvres, while you enjoy the scenic views over Ratmalana and Katukurunda.
Some of us, while enjoying the thrill of being able to fly, are more fervent in our desire to understand how an aircraft takes to the sky, and safely transports both pilot and passengers from one destination to the next.
It will always be debated whether it is the pilot or the aeronautical engineer that plays a more pivotal role in the aviation industry.
In reply to those of you who believe that it is the aeronautical engineer, Skyline offers you training for the Aircraft Maintenance Licence (AML), a comprehensive three-year course of study, including one year of industrial ‘on-the-job’ training.
A pilot or an aeronautical engineer – with Skyline, the choice is yours !
Those interested in following Skyline Aviation’s Commercial Piloting program for the Private Pilot Licence and Commercial Pilot Licence or the Aeronautical Engineering program for the Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Licence should contact Skyline Aviation on 0114 210 300 or 0112 635 600.
Aeronautical Engineering & the Heroes Behind the High Flyers
Airports Council International (ACI) statistics reveal that some of the busiest airports in the world, measured by aircraft movements, have movements running into hundreds of thousands every year. Aircraft movements are taken to be a landing or take-off of an aircraft.
Imagine almost one million aircrafts either taking off or landing in one airport within a year! Let us look at some of the preliminary statistics for 2014 (Jan - Jul) across some of the busiest airports in the world:
Airport | 2014 Preliminary Figure | |
Aircraft Movements | Passenger Movements | |
O'hare int'l - chicago, illinois | 585,517 | 66,883,271 |
Hartsfield - jackson atlanta int'l | 582,138 | 94,430,785 |
Dallas / fort worth int'l | 564,960 | 60,436,266 |
Los angeles int'l california | 513,960 | 66,702,252 |
Beijing capital int'l | 482,260 | 83,712,355 |
London heathrow | 376,800 | 72,368,030 |
(Source: ACI)
For each and every one of these movements, there is a team of technicians and licensed aircraft maintenance engineers who will have worked their magic to ensure the safe movement of these airplanes.
It is a technical requirement that each and every one of these take-offs has to have one or more licensed aircraft maintenance engineers signing off for its safe operation.
While the statistics above tease your imagination, just try to fathom the numbers of technicians and licensed aircraft maintenance engineers required for such tasks across the globe!
A licensed aircraft maintenance engineer needs to shoulder the responsibility of signing off on these aircraft movements and the colossal number of passengers that are carried by these aircraft - they sign-off for a safe and comfortable flight.
These are the unsung heroes of the fastest growing industry in the world. Know now, that behind every flight that takes off from the globe, a licensed engineer will have given his blessing.
It is indeed a profession that carries great responsibility. A profession ideally suited for men and women with integrity, dedication, honesty and self discipline - quality pre- requisites for aviators!
The dearth of licensed engineers the globe over has made aircraft maintenance engineering one of the most lucrative careers of all time.
Aviation has, in fact, literally brought countries closer together.
As global trade, business, tourism & leisure opportunities continue to grow and shift across the globe, international travel will too.
Countries across the globe continue to build more airports. They keep expanding existing airports. As airlines grow and enhance their fleet, aircraft manufacturers keep building bigger, safer and more efficient aircrafts - the aviation industry keeps growing no matter what, and with it grows the demand for qualified personnel to successfully and efficiently manage these entities.
The Aircraft Maintenance License is issued by the relevant civil aviation authority of the respective country. It is a globally recognised license and the most valuable instrument for the aspiring aeronautical engineer.
Once one obtains the Aircraft Maintenance License, it will undoubtedly serve as a solid foundation to building one of the most lucrative careers in the global aviation industry.
Skyline Aeronautical Engineering Training Academy (SAETA), with its training facilities in Ratmalana (Colombo) & Peradeniya (Kandy), has been at the fore-front of training engineers for the aircraft maintenance engineering license (AML) since 2009.
The programme is of 3 years duration, which includes 1 year of industrial training.
Other affiliated special courses such as gas turbine, hydraulics, avionics and electrical complement the specialization and are well received by the industry.
The vision to empower a young energetic work- force of qualified licensed aeronautical engineers, who are industry ready for the global aeronautical engineering and aviation industry, has set skyline's sights on a mission.
With training and resource facilities that exceed expectations of the industry, skyline has gained an un-paralleled reputation for producing some of the best engineering interns for the aviation industry.
Those interested in following the Skyline Aeronautical Engineering Programme for the Aircraft Maintenance Engineering License should contact skyline on 0114 210 300 / 0112 635 600.
Watch Skyline's pilots and engineers in action on Sirasa TV's Youth 1st
Watch Skyline's pilots and engineers in action on Sirasa TV's Youth 1st:
"Flying without Wings"
A fantasy made real through Simulated Flight
Have you ever dreamt of what it would be like to pilot an aircraft by yourself? Now, you have the chance of experiencing the excitement of performing dangerous and bone-chilling aerial manoeuvres at an altitude of 35,000 feet. . . . . . .all without a licence to fly!!!!
Take-off your very own airplane, in a smaller craft like the Cessna, or take a chance with the more daring and challenging Boeing 747. Soar into the sky, by day or at night, braving storms, lightning or even terrifying thunder showers – with just a click of a button and a change in the controls, you’ll have entered the spell-binding world of flight.
Your passion for flying can become an instant reality when you step into the cockpit of the Model Simulator (working model of an aircraft) designed and constructed entirely by the Aircraft Maintenance Engineering students of SAETA (the Skyline Aeronautical Engineering Training Academy) for the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Aviation.
Seated at the virtual controls of the Simulator, you feel you are in the cockpit of an actual airplane. You are the pilot-in-command, in total control of the multitude of switches, knobs and levers, all working together to give you the feeling of flying a real life-sized aircraft. Night flying becomes more enjoyable, as you look out onto urban areas demarcated by lighting, and roadways accentuated by car headlights. Even your approach to an airport of your choosing is accurately directed by approach lighting. With realistic flight dynamics and controls, you’ll soon master the skills of taxiing, take-off, cruising, turning, descending and landing, with a few pitching and rolling motions thrown into the bargain for an added adrenaline rush, as you fly through stormy weather.
This innovation, a first in the history of Civil Aviation in Asia, was on display at the ‘DEYATA KIRULA’ exhibition in Anuradhapura from 4th - 12th February 2012. This project was undertaken by SAETA to confidently show the world the capabilities of its young and budding aeronautical engineers, while also wanting them to train under similar conditions and situations that they are likely to undergo in the near future, subjected to stress and strict time-lines, while co-ordinating between teams and maintaining the highest levels of quality and safety.
It was a presentation by these same students and their instructors that convinced the CAASL (Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka) to assign the total design and development of the ‘DEYATA KIRULA’ Flight Simulator to SAETA, who are grateful to the CAASL for giving them the opportunity.
This entire project was made possible through absolute team effort, by entrusting a myriad pre-determined responsibilities to twelve ‘team leaders’, guided under the able stewardship of three senior instructors. The teams comprised: Design (who designed and put together the various aspects to build the project), Structural (metal-work, which involved cutting, drilling and welding, as well as fabricating a fibre-glass cockpit), Hydraulic Systems (developing a motion-platform to generate the moving effects of the airplane through hydraulics and controlled by a joy-stick), Electrical & Avionics Systems (avionics or aviation electronics, encompassing components the pilot directly uses in navigation, as well as weather, radar and radio communication equipment, and other electronic systems not directly used by the pilot to control and monitor flight and engine performance), as well as an Electrical Systems team. To co-ordinate this all, there was an Administration team (in charge of the equipment supply, finance and budgeting, transport, etc.
These engineering students have designed and built electronic circuits and instruments entirely by themselves. It is their knowledge and team effort that has materialised into this fully-functional and complete Flight Simulator which was constructed in less than two weeks of working round-the-clock! The Flight Simulator is a ‘must-see’ for aviation enthusiasts of all ages, especially students seeking a career in aeronautical engineering, as the Simulator displays all facets of aeronautical engineering.
This impressive feat by the engineering students, who have put into practice the theoretical knowledge they have gained by studying for the Aircraft Maintenance Licence, reflects the capabilities of the young aeronautical engineering students, as well as those of the instructors and lecturers at both the Skyline Aeronautical Engineering Training Academy and the Skyline Flight Training Academy.
Teaching is a noble profession, and Skyline are committed to imparting to the students the same degree of knowledge in every subject that their team of lecturers and specialists have, which they have gained through years of experience. The knowledge gained will enable one to soar to new heights as a distinguished aviator with a distinctive identity, whether here in Sri Lanka or anywhere else in the world.
Skyline’s aviation education programs are taught by experienced professionals. Their wealth of practical experience provides an invaluable resource for enriching class interaction. They use their skills in seminars, presentations, discussions and other participation-oriented teaching methods to promote the understanding of concepts learned. The AML (Aircraft Maintenance Licence) graduates are sure to be held in highest esteem in the world of aeronautical engineering, due to the collective efforts to ensure they are ‘job-ready’, with advanced training and an in-depth knowledge.
The demand for these professionals who keep an aircraft in safe operating condition is higher than ever – a recent study by one of the world’s biggest aircraft manufacturers reveals that 300,000 new aircraft engineers will need to be hired in the next 30 years. This is another reason why over 95% of all SAETA graduates have received job offers from renowned aviation companies.
At Skyline, what they do - and do best - is teach the science, practice, and business of aviation and engineering.
As aviation and aerospace continue to evolve, so does Skyline, committed to the expansion of opportunities for Sri Lankan and foreign students. Guiding this process of evolution are dedicated teachers, administrators, alumni, trustees, and advisory board members who share the students' love of aviation and who strive to ensure Skyline’s continued position as Sri Lanka’s premier aviation education institution.