I am an ex-PPL, CPL, and IR student at the Lombok Institute of Flight
Technology, and am continuing to study at LIFT for my FI (Flight
Instructor) rating (currently).
I am posting this as I, a former student of the company,would like to
clear up issues regarding these problems while our past instructors were at LIFT. Posts coming from these 3 instructors are biased,
and while some points may be true and valid, others are a false
exaggerations, with more regard to personal disputes.
At that point, we had no choice but to stop flying the
aircraft. Unfortunately, management did not appreciate the safety
issues involved and we were all told that if we did not continue to
fly the aircraft we would all be fired from our jobs.
The management, engineers and every department in LIFT, DID NOT ONCE
doubt the decision made by an FI or student to cancel, or postpone any
flight due to safety reasons. I can personally say this as many times,
I have postponed a flight due to W/X, or completely cancelled it, with
the mutual agreement with an instructor, if its an aircraft Issue.
Both the management, and engineering team agreed with our responsible
decision, with little asked. Eventually, when a high amount of flights
were cancelled by one of the junior instructors (no names mentioned),
things began to get stupid. One flight was cancelled, and the instructor wanted the aircraft grounded (I have maintenance logs as proof), due to
'inoperative nav light' (left wingtip). As any good pilot knows, these
lights are only required during operations between sunset and sunrise.
To the engineers, myself, and other students, this was not a problem
with the aircraft, but a lack of motivation to fly.
This leads to my next point, being fired for not wanting to fly.
I can understand 100% not wanting to fly due to reasons with power
surges/losses etc. However, when it comes down to grounding an
aircraft due to a single light, it shows laziness to fly, not an
aircraft problem.
I am limited in where I can comment, as I would not like to give any
comment on areas where my knowledge is not sufficient. In the case of
the aircraft, I can personally confirm that there is no problem
whatsoever with regarding safety and the performance of the aircraft.
Various maintenance flights (both local, and to the nearby island of Sumbawa
Besar) have been completed with exceptional results. I have written a
formal report regarding the flights, analyzing each phase of
flight and how the aircraft performed (these reports will be happily
be shown).
After completing test flights, suggestions were made to TCM (Teledyne
Continental Motors), the engine manufacturer, to leave the Aux Fuel
Pump in the 'ON' position during all transitions TO and FROM level
flight (All climbs and descents, including take-offs and landings, and
maneuvers requiring changes in power and/or altitude). This has
eliminated any possibility of fuel vaporization in the fuel injection
system.
Even the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, with teams of experienced and
world class engineers working behind the scenes, still have problems under the close scrutiny of FAA, therefore, as long as we handle our issues pro-active and
positively, safety will still be preserved.
It's sad to say, as a fresh CPL holder, at a young age of 20, I would
have expected to see more respect, and discipline within the aviation
industry, regardless of where in the world we are located. I just
honestly hope whoever reads this, is responsible enough to make a
proper judgement call for themselves. I am not in any way saying LIFT
may not have its various problems, but please remember, this is a new
institution, under pressure of all sorts of factors within the
aviation industry domestically and internationally.
Safe flying to everyone out there!
Best Regards,
Jack Forrest