elac2

Does anybody know anything about this training facility in Thailand (Isaan). Nakhon Phanom. Are they recruiting instructors? Please advise if have any knowledge as they appear to have no website.

elac2

Passenger 07

This is their website
http://www.npu.ac.th/iac/

batman123

This place is a complete disaster.

12 planes (6 Diamond 42 and 6 DA 40), 8 planes are grounded due to the Thieler bankruptcy.
Ground maintenance is not specialized to fix their planes, they don't have tools and none can fix them.

Planes have no hangar and stay day & night outside under the rain.

Manager is a megalomaniac who has no idea how to run a school or a business , most foreign instructors have been grounded for no reason and Thai people are now running the school.(Thai instructors come from the army and don't speak english, instruction is not at the FAA or JAR standards).

Thai Airways didn't send any of their cadets, and the only have 15 Qatar cadets at this time.

The school is running out of money and pushes the few instructors they still have to fly in any weather regardless of Thai National Air law.They are desperate, they have to fill their contract at all cost.Students do building time, they don't receive proper instruction.

Payments are late, they don't respect contracts, instructors are required to pay license conversion and visa fee.
They won't refund travel/hotel expenses in time (expect 2-3 months for a refund). salary is around 1400 euro/month after tax.

If I had cadets to train, I would avoid to send them to this academy view all the problems they have.

Jonny Bullshit

Hey Batman you got that right. Am hearing the same thing from outside Thailand surprisingly.

The place is a bad joke with accidents waiting to happen.

However anybody wants to go thailand for a month of "Holiday" , by all means apply.

FSJ

IAC was initially set up well (quality staffing was always a problem due to low salaries). However, when 'le famous megalomaniac' tried his hand at flight school tycoon...........!

Unfortunately now very little business coming this way (noone would buy a $300 used car from the megalomaniac!) so expect money will run out in the near future.


Elac2
They are hiring, but only if you are French or possibly Thai. Sometimes the 'megalomaniac' likes JAA licences, sometimes not (he doesn't like the expense of renewing them!). If you are 'le roast beef' best stay away....he hates those! Initially expect 3 months probation, but if you fall foul of the 'megalomaniac' then expect a shorter 'holiday' than 3 months. Expenses should be paid here, but historically they are only paid if you go on a one day strike, and then you will have 1/30th salary deduction for that month!
I heard 1 FAA CFII walked out already! CFI is leaving (licencing issue), QSM is being blackmailed to resign, other FI been sacked during probation period for not reaching the required standard (but was asked to continue flying for the next 4 weeks)........(and so on)


Batman123
You got most of it right. But there are 6 x Da40 and 4 x Da42 aircraft here. 3 Da42 grounded as no registration (however no work for the DA42s at the mom). Usually 2 Da40 grounded due u/s. Extra 300 supposedly on the way since June, but wont take them long to break it!
Main concern here is safety issue with students being sent solo in CAS outside the legal limit (1000' vertical cloud seperation). Just have to pray noone is killed, as management has failed to listen to legitimate claims made by Instructors regarding this.

Jonny Blullshit
Agreed, however....
As for 'a month of holiday' - So far none of the Instructors have been given any holiday yet because 'lye a busy now'

Jonny BS

Although for anyone who has travelled outside Bangkok, the NE of Thailand is not the destination of first choice. . But by all means go and explore the region. Lots of very beautiful temples, the Mekong River and Laos on the other side.

NPU has to be congratulated on trying to get this project off the ground especially with all the opposition from what i suspect is from the military, but this is a fact of life in most Asian countries . Take Pan Am Academy in China for example.

Unfortunately NPU chose the wrong man to lead it as is being proven now with his micro management style and instructors are voting with their feet where they have the choice. A regrettable development in such a new school and it will be hard to shake off this reputation in the future.

Only time will tell as to what further developments will occur, but i agree with Batman123 that the downward spiral to oblivion has started and there is not a lot that can be done.

FJS (please keep the ethnic slurs to a minimum)

batman123

Captain Manager now isolates pilots.(don't forget to call him Captain)
He sent 4-5 of his instructors in a room with no food & water (1 new instructor has been asked to remain isolated after only 3 weeks he start to work). Not even a Bible.Reason?: "Under investigation"!

is this University a kindergarten or a jail?

They have some problem with ATC, pilots flying over Lao without any authorization, called back by ATC a few minutes before to be shot down by LAO air force; Instructors complaining to ATC about students flying illegally in IMC/VFR ontop and landing in heavy rainstorm with 0 visibility.
One of these students was so scared, he thought he would die!!!

Very low standard of teaching, no navigation log, VFR charts expired in 1970 , no standardization at all, no checklists used in flight , no preflight briefing, no flight preparation, no accurate taf or metar, no weight and balance, no fuel management, no landing or take off calculation...(Students turn the directional gyro, instead to turn the plane, they set correct heading on the VOR/OBS instead the DG!!! and they all fly with GPS as a primary navigation instrument).

Managment and flight Thai instructors don't care about their SOP as it could stop flying activity (and money entering) . The SOP has been approved by the Thai DCA, but none give a shit of what is in the SOP (the guys... who were taking care of paperwork, SOP, authorizations, ... have been fired by a stupid farang old fart managerwho has a zero flight instruction experience)

At Isaan Aero Club, they fly at any cost and in any weather with some Thai instructors who don't speak one word of English and who have crop duster pilot experience.
The School requires you to have a level 4 ICAO in English , but their instructors can barely speak better than a gogo girl in Pattaya.

Did you say it's the jungle? yes, it is, it's the Isaan Aeronautic club for monkeys.Some instructors have called this school the cowboys or the Rambo school (" I am the law"!)

Thai instructors are corrupt by their students who give them some gifts(watches, cellphone, moto,...) if they pass them to next lesson or sign them solo.
Thai instructors never do any mistake. The Thai government take care of everything, they cover everything so none know what is going on exactly at IAC(but everyday, they break rules and they put their students in danger).

Their old megalo manager is corrupted as well by students.(New business expansion offered by students like restaurants, bars,...).
I have been told students are running the school by grading themselves.(A+ of course).
The few uncorrupted flight instructors are regularly put in quarantine or fired if they don't agree with the system. IAC management is desperate to cash the money for his own personal debts.
Forget about loss of license insurance or health care insurance.
The money you pay for it, will land in some corrupted pockets and you will never see any slip pay when employed at IAC. If you ask, ask in Thai, cuz none will understand what you want and they will tell you everything is in order.

The academy is financed by the Thai government, they can do whatever they want, spend millions is not a problem....airbus simulator, aerobatic plane for spins, cabin crew training and business aviation management is the next goal of the academy, (or should I say the next goal of their megalo manager?)

They have ordered for several millions of plane and some other simulators which none care about (who give a toss about unusual attitude flight in an extra? and who give a about a fixed A320 at 3 millions euro?).
Still, it is a lot of hassles to be refunded for visa or work permit, and can take months.Some instructors have waited over 6 months, and have been on strike before managment cut their salary.

after reading these facts, no doubt why airlines don't send them more of their cadets; or if they do, they would realize how bad is this "academy"when their own DCA will test them. (They will certainly pass and get a Thai license, the Thai instructors are approved to be examiner as well...and they want their motorbikes!)

The airlines will have to retrain their cadets from scratch.

No need to say this place is not a serious school or a disaster and any company should look somewhere else before to send their students to IAC. We are all very sorry for the people of Isaan who are paying so much for this crashing academy..


"we are the reference in Asia" (Principal)

(oh yes, the reference of what NOT to do!!!!)

FSJ

Heard that last week was an interesting one for IAC!

Firstly, the Thai DCA were making inquiries about various instructors (and students) flying on VFR flight plans, in weather below VFR minimums. It appears local ATC were also involved.

Secondly, 2 senior 'farang' (management) instructors were asked to a meeting by Senior Thai University Management......supposedly to get some information and advice on some of the present issues surrounding the current 'downward spiral' of IAC (particularly on the 'megalomaniac'). However, the 'megalomaniac' thought that they were being fired, and in true form, jumped the gun by distributing a termination letter around the IAC departments!
Apparently they were not paid salary etc for a few months (as university president had not approved their termination) and now a law suit appears on the horizon!

A third 'farang' instructor also walked out (2nd to do so in 1 month period).
So now only 1 'farang' instructor in current flying. With only 2 Thai Instructors (who foreign students have complained of having difficulty understanding), that gives IAC a grand total of 3 instructors for a school with 20 students, and another 20 on the way this month!

Guess they will be recruiting FIs again! Advice for anyone considering a job there......MAKE SURE YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU WILL BE PAID FOR, AND WHAT YOU WON'T BE PAID FOR. PARTICULARLY REGARDING EXPENSES FOR VISAS/WORK PERMIT, AND THE FREQUENT TRIPS TO BANGKOK! (It normally takes around 2 months to be reimbursed, and who's to say you will still be there after that time (or indeed if IAC will still be there!)

I wonder how long the current contract with their only customer will last?
Can't be good news for them at the moment, the cash pot must be almost empty.

On a positive note, I heard recently that a new school is being set up in Sukhothai in partnership with Bangkok Air (opening early 2009). Hopefully they will learn from mistakes made at IAC not to be repeated.

batman123

Flight and ground instructors have not been (fully)paid for August, and some continue to work believing money will come from nowhere....

update eople have been paid for August.

calmpilot

They said you should have at least 1000 of total flying time ,700 hours instructional time As i heard from one of my friend in Qatar,they are not in good situation nowadays.. Try to look some other places friend.

FSJ

Looks like the Bangkok Post seems to support some of the views taken on IAC in this forum:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/080908_Ne...008_news12.php

I also note that IAC has been receiving more bad press on a National Thai Web-Forum:
http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Intern...8#entry2199928

Is the end near.............?

Jonny BS

Many things have been said about IAC but lets hear from the great coward himself - Passenger 07 - who seems strangely quiet of late.

Everything said here is very factual apart from the pigin english of batman123, but i think everybody gets the point that IAC failing.

New Staff: Those contemplating coming to work here should think again. The Principal is a liar and will say anything to please everyone. He has never been a pilot or a flight instructor. His one big claim to fame is as a Flight Engineer with Air F*****.

As to the locals: they are making hay while the sun shines. Standards: They are a joke. The Head of Training (acting standards manager, standards officer, safety manager, chief flying instructor) has no idea how to manage foreigners. Threats of dismissal and jail are his main weapons to bring the high quality foreign FI into line.

Revisiting the Cadets in Cloud issue: Cadets just follow the lead of their FI. He is used as a role model. So the Cadets cant really be blamed for being idiots. Yes cadets are taught to flying in cloud in the circuit pre solo and pre ppl. Quote from the Principal defending his HoT "le cadet's have to learn to fly in le cloud". Yes some are taught to not use the GPS and others use only the GPS taught incorrectly by the local FI. So is it any wander that cadets fly into cloud and over cloud and get lost because they have not been taught basic navigation and have been taught to just pay lip service to VFR law.

And yes it appears the policy of the local FI is not to teach stalling is that it is a dangerous manoeuvre and can lead to a spin. Also, the HoT attitude is that airline pilots don't need to know about this stalling. Incipient stall recovery is all they need to know. Of course the real reason is that the local FI are very afraid of the stall because their own training was so lacking. Quote: "The stall is a velly velly dangerous manoeuvre and it too hard for student, liar lair, we need to keep it easy easy"

But for those who really want to come: Use IAC as a stepping stone to a job elsewhere is Asia. Sure stay 3 months and be given 1 month notice cos you are unable to lower your standards to the IAC standard. Sure ask for standardisation training and not more than 5 hrs will be given. So use the time as a holiday and watch the entertainment. Thailand is very nice as a holiday destination especially when you are being paid to be there. Those who want to make a difference and be part of this experiment to boost the aviation standard in Thailand are off in fantasy land. You will be found to be "No Good", you will be accused of being a Liar Lair by the HoT. You will not be able to change anything as the rot (local instructors) has set in and is growing.

Actually the requirements for a FI started off as 600 hr instructing as this was a Thai DCA requirement. But for all you professionals out there, the salary is also too low for the amount of crap you have to deal with. There was a promise by the coward to increase salary's to attract the right people but this was another lie. Another carrot will be the A320 simulator. Don't get sucked in by IAC.

Have just found this in the Bangkok post, so even people in Bangkok know about the school Bangkok Post | General news | School for pilots just fails to take off

JBS

batman123

EDUCATION

School for pilots just fails to take off SIRIKUL BUNNAG


NAKHON PHANOM : Only three Thai students have enrolled for the first semester at the two-billion-baht International Aviation College _ an institution observers say is a prime example of politicians starting up self-serving projects.

The college is part of Nakhon Phanom University, which was established in 2005.
College dean Prasong Tianthanu said: ''It is disappointing. We planned to produce 100 pilots in five years, and were expecting at least 12 Thai and foreign students to register for the full-time Commercial Pilot Licence programme.

''The short course, 100 hours of pilot training, attracted 15 Qatar Airways pilots.''
The college, which hoped to become the region's pilot-training centre, invested more than 290 million baht buying training planes.

It is paying six-digit salaries to five trainers _ two Thais, an American, a Briton and a Frenchman.

It boasts a European standard training course in English for the first time in Thailand. The course costs about 2.3 million baht. The short course costs 500,000 baht.

Mr Prasong conceded the new college had not won the trust of local and foreign carriers.

The college is far from Bangkok airports, making it harder to draw part-time trainers as well as students.

Now that the plan to train 100 pilots seems unrealistic, the college has shifted its attention to the six-month course.

Apart from the target market in the Middle East, the college is planning to court students from China, Laos and Vietnam.
Gerard Charles, the head teacher, said quality would be the key to the college's survival.

The college offers a European-standard programme, while other pilot schools in Thailand follow the US standard, he said.

Students practise on Airbus A320 simulators, which are not available anywhere else in Thailand.

At the end of the programme, students are required to do five hours' flying training, as well as training in problem solving, to prepare them for every situation.
Four sources in the Higher Education Commission agreed that the college was set up to satisfy a politician and with complete disregard to its worth academically or as an investment.

''The college was set up by a high-flying politician, who has long had solid support in this province. The college was set up to cement his popularity and bring the provincial airport back to life,'' said a source.
The airport now welcomes one commercial flight a day.
The source said many commissioners cautioned that the college is too far from Bangkok, where trainers and repairs are readily available. They suggested the college be built in nearby cities, such as Chon Buri, Prachuap Khiri Khan and Phetchaburi.

They also argued that given the budget constraints, the two-billion-baht college would eat away much needed funding for the 12 years of free schooling and the development of 60 universities throughout the country.
Wing Commander Piya Tregalnon, the president of the Bangkok Aviation Centre, a privately-owned pilot training school based at Don Muang, said the top pilot teachers worked full-time in the air force and could not travel to work at the college as it is too far away. The college now has to shoulder the high costs of hiring foreign teachers.
Students from China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore opt for Australia, which has more than 200 pilot training schools that are experienced and come with good reputations.

Jonny BS

For those interested in a more local flare of Thailand go here for some more entertainment:

International Aviation College Nakhon Phanom University - Thailand Forum