Student loans under threat?

[specialvfr]

It seems the general public of NZ have finally woken up to the farce that is the NZ student loan system thanks to a TAIC sponsored request for submissions into the standard of flight training in NZ.

It's a complicated issue with more politics involved in it than even the most cynical among you will realise, but this time we have the added bonus of International students in the mix.

Has the steady increase in international student numbers, coupled with the steady exodus of experience in the instructing industry and abuse of the student loan system finally created the perfect storm in terms of the numpties/Joe jandal's/muppett's (call them what you like) littering the sky being a danger to themselves and the rest of us?

It will be interesting times for sure over the next 12 months. Will we finally see the days of far fewer new pilot entrants back? Will this drive demand for us all up along with salaries, or will the careers simply start employing pilots from overseas? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm? INTERESTING!:}

[specialvfr]

STUFF.CO.NZ 21/12/2010

The spread of mass-market pilot training schools in New Zealand has created a "monster", a southern flight instructor said.
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission opened a public inquiry yesterday after the number of midair crashes or near-misses increased in a decade.
It followed a fatal Feilding crash, a near-miss near New Plymouth and the significant increase in crashes and near-misses involving instructors and student pilots.
The commission said almost half of all midair crashes and near-misses in the past 10 years involved trainee pilots and it was concerned about training safety.
Wanaka Flight Training Chief Flying Instructor Peter Hendriks said easily accessible student loans allowed people without any passion, or those who thought it was cool, to learn to fly.
"The experience level is just not there. The old basic skills are not being emphasised."
Many trainee pilots were drawn to the profession by the prospect of a job in the commercial aviation industry, so learning to fly was often a means to an end, he said.
Instructors were often inexperienced recent graduates.
"Safety? I believe it's a lack of experience in instructing."
To become an instructor in New Zealand requires 250 hours' flight time, which was not enough, he said.
Dedicated instructors were few and far between and, in some cases, a young pilot could qualify and start scenic lower South Island flights not long after training.
Mr Hendriks said the training industry needed a shake-up.
Wanaka Helicopter's owner and chief executive Simon Spencer-Bower – the world's most experienced Robinson C22 pilot – said the Government's student loan system contributed to an increase in trainees.
These "cattle market" schools relied on a high turnover in students, he said.
"I think that's where the training has reduced in quality because of the large-scale commercial training operations being conducted in environments where it's not conducive to the type of flying those students end up doing."
Some training schools did not prepare pilots for flying in mountainous terrain such as in the lower South Island. Because trainee pilots could progress quickly to instructor level, new trainees were sometimes taught by instructors with limited experience.
"It's the blind leading the blind," he said.
Mr Spencer-Bower, who is also a Civil Aviation Authority flight examiner, said some students lacked experience beyond the curriculum and had not weathered a few storms.
Commission chief investigator Tim Burfoot said the inquiry would investigate whether existing training standards were adequate.

[Hasselhof]

There are two things that will bring some reality and sanity back to Australian pilot jobs & pay. Ditching the NZ student loan scheme for pilots is one of them, and hopefully something like the senate inquiry will fix the other. Bring it on :ok:

[mattyj]

I've been flying for 15 years or so and since I did my CPL check..I've never needed to do a steep turn +/- 50 feet onto roll out heading +/- 5 degrees (or whatever it was) once..what a waste of money all those circles in the sky were!!

Best lessons were old Warren teaching me how to do a 200 mile x country at 500 feet AGL all the way...used that a few times!