The Art Williams and Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School is currently celebrating 21 years in operation and is pondering the idea of offering an airplanes 2 training programme, taking the institution and its students to the level of large turboprop and jet aircraft training.
Currently, the school offers Licence Without Type Rating (LWTR) training which is done over a three-years ab-initio programme in aircraft engineering, for acquisition of licences in categories A, C, X or R via the airplanes 1 training programme. Additionally, modular training is done for persons with over three years’ experience in aviation.
Art Williams and Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School Executive Manager Nalini Chanderban said with support from FedEx and the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) (The school is a full member of FSF), the institution is seeking to acquire an airbus A310. It was explained that the acquisition of the A310 would pave the way for the school to offer airplanes 2 training which includes at least 240 hours of practical training inclusive of A checks and C checks, in addition to theoretical training.
She said the FSF is assisting the school to acquire an aircraft that is no longer in use, noting that if an airbus A310 is donated to the school, there will be need for expansion and even establishing training classrooms and workshops at other locations such as the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).
“There will be need for more premises, the airplane would not be able to come into Ogle so we might need to look at setting up operations at CJIA, where that aircraft can be housed and workshops set up,” she explained. In addition, Chanderban underscored the importance of having sufficient finance to offset such an initiative, asserting that a feasibility study will have to be done. “We would definitely have to get a solid financial foundation for such a venture.”
High demand
Although Guyana only has Category One Aircraft, the executive manager of the aeronautical engineering school pointed out that there is a high demand for engineers to be licensed to repair aircraft more than 5700kg. “I mean Guyana has small planes and our graduates fulfil the local job market, but there are still jobs are out there for the jets and advanced fly-by-wire aircraft.”
Meanwhile, the school is collaborating with the University of Guyana for the establishment of a degree programme in aircraft maintenance engineering. After completing three years of theoretical and practical training at the Art Williams and Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School, the partners are planning to have students complete a degree programme at the university.
Technicalities regarding to the time span of the programme are currently being worked out. It is the intent of both the university and the engineering school that the programme will be on par with international programmes.
The existing relationship between the two institutions involves a diploma in technology (aeronautical engineering). This arrangement in place allows for graduates of the aeronautical school to complete a diploma in technology, (aeronautical engineering) at the faculty of technology and for a diploma in mechanical engineering.
In 2006, the Art Williams and Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School was nominated as the school of Caricom by the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System (CASSOS).
Accreditation
Additionally, the school is accredited and certified by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), CASSOS, the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA), the Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Suriname (CASAS) and the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority (TTCAA).
The school is also approved under the rules and regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Document 7192, Part D1. “In 2006, we became the first tertiary institution in Caricom to have ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management Systems Standards,” said a proud Chanderban. The Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards certified the school on July 24, 2006.
“That puts us on the global market, so we are not only training persons for an internationally recognised licence, but giving them quality training.”
During the airplanes 1 training for the acquisition of LWTR, students are mandated to pass all theoretical subjects over a three-year period and simultaneously execute 2000 practical hours of on-the-job training.
