Challenges In The Sky, Countered On The Ground @FSTC

If there is one organisation that has been working over the last few years to keep Indian carriers in the air, it is Flight Simulation Technique Centre (FSTC). Having trained more than 1100 pilots – both Indian and foreign – the Centre feels that the government should help out and reduce taxes to enable it to be competitive, as TIRTHANKAR GHOSH found out.

- Tirthankar Ghosh

“…Because there was nobody there... There was nobody in this field ready to take this plunge,” said Capt Dilawer Singh Basraon, Managing Director, Flight Simulation Technique Centre (FSTC) recounting the reasons why he and his partner – incidentally both are pilots – set up the centre. “This was considered forbidden territory. ‘Oh! You can’t do it!’ many told us. But we did it and we are here.”

Sitting in his office in Gurugram, one can hardly fathom the kind of work FSTC has been doing – rather silently — to boost India’s commercial aviation. The country’s first registered standalone Approved Training Organisation (ATO), FSTC is the largest in the region with the most number of full flight simulators.

FSTC currently provides full flight simulators to airlines in India and conducts type rating programme on B737 NG, A320 and ATR for self-sponsored individuals as well. FSTC has been in operation since 2011 and has created a pool of trained pilots. More than 1100 pilots have already been trained by FSTC and have been inducted by all the major airlines like IndiGo, Vistara, SpiceJet, GoAir, Air India and Jet Airways.

The simulator centre for pilots flying A320s and B737s has come as a godsend. Earlier airlines had to send their pilots to simulator centres in Europe or US for training at very high costs. Today, there is FSTC. All the airlines, including Air India which has its own training establishment, reach out to the Gurugram centre to train pilots at lesser costs.