CFI Feature: Air Commodore (retd) TK Chatterjee, IGRUA

The CFI Feature series profiled the Chief Flying Instructors of four Indian flight schools: IGRUA, NFTI, Chimes Aviation Academy and GMR-APFT, in no particular order. The first two were managed by CAE, NFTI more so because CAE owned 49% of it. The last two were academies with more flexibility, and both offered a stand alone PPL. All of the schools except Chimes had some foreign involvement, and all were mainly Diamond Aircraft operators (DA-40 and DA-42), except Chimes, which flew Cessna 172s and a Piper Seneca IV, the only flying Seneca in the country at the time. GMR-APFT flew diesel engined Diamond DA-40s, and IGRUA was about to become a full aviation university, the first of its kind. NFTI was known for its IndiGo Cadet Pilot Programme.

About the CFI

This week we focused on IGRUA's CFI, who retired from the Indian Air Force as an Air Commodore. He served 34 years and left on 31 March 2010.

He had the rare distinction of completing both the Flying Instructors Course and the Experimental Test Pilots Course. He then instructed at the IAF Test Pilots School on every kind of fixed wing aircraft, from trainers to fighters to medium tactical transports. With more than 5,000 flying hours, TK Chatterjee was Chief Flying Instructor at IGRUA.

1. What traits must a flight instructor show?

All round knowledge of aviation, very good basic flying skills, command of language, an eye for detail, and the ability to analyse a student's mistakes and suggest fixes that work.

2. Are there natural, born instructors, or can anyone learn it?

Being a natural always helped, he said, but learning to teach was not hard if it was done in an organised way under specialists.

In the IAF a pilot was picked for the QFI course on his flying ability, at around 700 to 800 hours on fast jets. The course was tough and the result affected a pilot's career. Instructor performance was also assessed regularly, with career consequences. The whole process was far more serious. In civil aviation, someone with 300 hours on the simplest aircraft could qualify as an Assistant Flying Instructor.

3. Your take on General Aviation in India?

Industry forecasts put growth at 10% a year, so the potential was huge if the economy kept growing. The opportunity was not only for pilots but for airport staff, maintenance staff, MRO services and more.

The metros were already well connected. The more the hinterland was linked to the mainstream, the more GA would grow. Satellite airports in the metros and airports in second and third tier cities had to be developed first.

Second, the rules were written mainly for scheduled operations and did not always fit GA. The two should be treated differently. Third, the regulator needed an effective way to monitor about 150 GA operators, a number that kept growing.

4. Your opinion on fixed wing flying training in the country?

About 40 institutions offered fixed wing training. Aviation needed a lot of cash, so most of them had very limited assets, and commercial interests clashed with training quality. Small schools were unsure whether trainees were "students" or "clients". Failures were unheard of in the industry. Larger schools could deliver quality because of their volume. A central testing authority for licences would help standardise training.

Most students, though not all, saw civil aviation as a fast route to big money. Academics were not their strength and aviation not their first love, so they struggled with technology heavy subjects. Since the best and the worst left with the same licence, there was little incentive to do better. Once the sector revived and demand for crew grew, competition would improve this.

Staffing was another problem. As in every field of teaching, the best went where the pay was better, and that was not teaching. Some used the industry to build hours and move on. Ex IAF pilots who retired early were the best bet, but most left the Air Force without a civil licence or instructor rating and so were not eligible.

Airlines knew the loopholes, so their crew selection was designed to plug them.

5. If you could change one thing in Indian aviation?

The regulator wanted to control every small thing, but had neither the people nor the technology to keep pace with the industry, and would not delegate authority. Everything slowed down. The working methods of India's civil aviation regulator needed a serious rethink.

Note: the CFI's views were personal and did not necessarily reflect those of the flight school.