TRAINING

The integrated airline transport pilot programme at Pilot Flight Academy takes just two years to complete and as a newly-qualified pilot, you will have all the certificates and ratings you need to start a career with an airline. The programme requires motivation and dedication, and you are challenged on both your efforts and attitudes from the first day of school to prepare you for a career as a pilot.

On the very first day of the education programme, you will receive a uniform and an iPad which contains the complete syllabus. The programme starts off with eight months of theoretical training. Thereafter, you will have about 230 flight and simulator hours before you must pass a skill test conducted by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Once passed, you will receive the following European pilot certifications: EASA frozen ATPL(A) with CPL(A), IR/ME, MEP, APS MCC, LPA, PBN and Advanced UPRT. You are then able to operate as a co-pilot on multi-pilot, multi-engine aeroplanes in commercial air transport and ready to start your career as a professional pilot!

Theory

Our pilot training programme consists of many hours of high-quality classroom instruction for the ATPL(A), the highest certification for commercial pilots. All theoretical knowledge subjects are equally important.

During the theoretical training, you will be educated in 13 subjects and sit through 13 exams. The subjects are delivered in three blocks and following each theory block, you will sit for the official CAA exams in the subjects delivered. The first theory block will cover five subjects, while blocks two and three will cover four subjects each.

The theoretical training consists of 764 hours in total, of which the majority of hours will be conducted in a classroom. You will also have the opportunity to experience simulator demonstrations and visits to the hangar and ATC tower!

All instruction is conducted in English by our multi-national Theoretical Knowledge Instructors.

Air Law

The Aviation industry is thoroughly regulated through law. You need to know all the “dos and dont’s”. That’s what makes your flight safe.

Aircraft General Knowledge

You need to know your aircraft. Not only in daily operations, but if something fails, you need to know how that effects other systems.

Mass and Balance

To fly safely, you need a balanced aircraft, and it can certainly not be too heavy. Apply your knowledge of mathematics to find the right loading of your aircraft.

Flight Performance and Planning

How long of a runway do you need to get airborne? What will be the optimum cruising level for today’s flight? Performance calculations will give you the answer.

Flight Planning and Monitoring

Have you seen an aviation chart? They don’t look much like the one you would use for a hike in the mountains. You need to interpret the symbols and know how to find your position.

Human Performance and Limitations

This subject takes you deep in to the body and mind of the humans. Why does the aircraft have a pressurised cabin? How do you interact with the rest of the crew? Since the human body is not designed for flying, we definitely have limitations on 35,000 feet, and you are about to learn all about it.

Meteorology

Meteorology is one of the major subjects for a pilot. All pilots need to know the weather systems across the globe. Can you expect challenging conditions on landing in New York tomorrow morning? Maybe you need extra fuel? On the other hand, you might be expecting tailwind and land before schedule.

General Navigation

This subject takes you through what you need to know to get from A to B. Did you know that the shortest route from Oslo to Tokyo is across the North Pole? And that the magnetic field of the world is actually changing over time?

Radio Navigation

How can you know the distance to the airport? You will learn the details of the GPS system amongst other systems onboard, and ground based systems used for navigation.

Operational Procedures

This subject mixes knowledge from some of the other subjects and take it into practical knowledge. How many flight attendants do you actually need on an aircraft with 189 passengers? How does the oxygen mask work? Or what does the separation have to be between two aircrafts coming in for landing at an airport?

Principles of Flight

How does it actually work? An airliner of 80 tonnes gets airborne at any given time somewhere in the world. How is it possible? You will learn all about the physics in Principles of Flight.

Communications

Communications with Air Traffic Control (ATC) will give you the clearance you need for your route. A designated set of phraseology is in place to make the communication efficient. You need to learn it all. Roger?

Flight

USA

Pilot Flight Academy has partnered with a well-established flight academy in Denton, Texas, USA, called US Aviation Academy to provide the first phases of the flight programme. The big advantage of training in the USA is capacity and weather, allowing regular and continuous flight training which is important in the basic phase of flight training. The operation in the USA will be under Pilot Flight Academy’s Approved Training Organisation (ATO), Standard Operating Procedures, and training and safety standards. Curious to know more about your training in the USA? Check out our blog post here!

Norway

Upon return to Norway, you will advance to a multi-engine Diamond DA 42 NG simulator and DA 42 NG aircraft for the Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) phase of flight training. Advanced UPRT (Upset Prevention and Recovery Training) has been included as a mandatory part of the pilot training since 2020. In the final phase of training, you will learn how to operate bigger aircraft as part of a crew in the APS MCC course (35 hours) in Pilot Flight Academy’s advanced Boeing 737 simulator.

Airline Cadet Training

In addition to delivering commercial pilot training to individual students through our Integrated ATPL programme, Pilot Flight Academy has delivered training to a number of sponsored airline cadets over the recent years.

Pilot Flight Academy currently has a cadet pathway for Widerøe and SAS. To find out more, click here!

Pilot Flight Academy is highly recognised by Civil Aviation Authorities and airlines for its high-quality training, modern facilities and equipment. Pilot Flight Academy has been trusted in delivering cadet pilot programmes for Air France, British Airways and easyJet on behalf of L3Harris. In addition, Pilot Flight Academy is proud to have been selected by All Nippon Airways Group to deliver sponsored cadet programmes for ANA and Peach Aviation.

“First of all, we would like to send a BIG appreciation to all the PFA staff and instructors who helped us come through the last two years of training!! There is no doubt to say that everything we experienced in Norway has made this two years of journey to be one of the greatest accomplishments of our lives, and the biggest satisfaction was to be able to complete the entire training program with all six of us in a group.
Although there were situations where things got a little difficult, the beautiful view of Gaustatoppen and the fjords made us forget the difficulties, and those views will definitely be something that we will never forget for the rest of our lives.
We also feel lucky that we studied with our classmates from 20T9; to be immersed in a classroom where everything was conducted in English (or sometimes in Norwegian) is something we can never experience in Japan, and interacting with our classmates made the theory classes rich in context. (Hope we had more time to spend in the classroom together if it wasn’t for COVID-19…). Out of school, we were invited to the constitution day party and new years party, which we really enjoyed, and sometimes we played football together. It is a good memory that we shared some enjoyable times!
In the future, what we learned in PFA will in no doubt be a big help for our pilot career, and we all feel proud that we received the basis of our aviation career in PFA. We all look forward to flying the Norwegian sky again someday in the future✈️. TUSEN TAKK!!“

Widerøe, a Norwegian airline, invested in Pilot Flight Academy as it valued the high quality and standard of the training delivered, recognising the opportunity for a potential quality commercial pilot supply.

In an audit by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, the inspectors quoted that they “considered Pilot Flight Academy as the best ATO in Europe they had inspected.”

Pilot Flight Academy is unique when it comes to student financing that is offered through the Norwegian, Swedish, Danish and Finnish governments. Up to 90% of the total (Integrated ATPL) programme costs can be financed. Additionally, funding for accommodation and other living costs can be granted. Airlines seeking cadets from Scandinavian countries are entitled to receive government funding for Scandinavian cadets in their cadet programmes.