The Hindu Business Line : Fighter pilots don't fit the bill to land airline jobs

THE fighter pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF) may have the more glamorous job compared to their transport counterparts. But when it comes to landing jobs with the private airlines of the country, it is the latter that come off with a distinct advantage.

Commercial pilots would have logged in extra flying hours and are also more familiar with those aspects of flying that are important in civil aviation.

"What counts in commercial flying is the number of flying hours. A typical sortie for a fighter pilot lasts 20-30 minutes while our transport counterparts are airborne for much longer duration. While we focus on our mission and are guided by controllers, the transport pilots' role is ferrying from point A to point B," an IAF fighter pilot told Business Line.

Once airborne, the fighter pilot is guided by a specialised arm of the Air Force, called fighter controllers. The fighter pilots have limited exposure to the type of flying required to fly commercial jets as they mainly operate in their exclusive airspace far away from big towns and cities.

"The most critical aspect of fighter flying is fuel. Often, the fighter aircraft will simply dive down and land using the shortest route. On the other hand, transport pilots have to follow a set route and they are more familiar with Instrument Landing Systems (ILS), Jeppeson Chart (standard routes across the globe) and other aspects that are akin to commercial flying," the pilot says.

As per the norms of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, a pilot needs 1,500 hours of flying time to qualify for the Airline Pilots License. While a fighter pilot can hope to log about 100 hours in one full year, his transport counterpart can get past that figure in a month.

Another handicap for fighter pilots comes in the form of the mandatory requirement of 15 hours of flying on a DGCA recognised multi-engine aircraft. While the Dorniers and Avros of the IAF are recognised, a fighter pilot has to shell out about Rs 2.5 lakh from his pocket at a flying academy if he wants to add those hours to his flight record.

A large number of IAF pilots retire at a time when they have several years of flying life left and can get absorbed in the civil aviation sector. Several pilots even take premature retirement after serving the IAF for the mandatory 20 years to join private airlines.

Air India had appealed to the IAF some time ago to release more transport pilots who could join the country's flag carrier. Indian Airlines, on the other hand, relies more on training Commercial Pilot Licence (200 hours) holders and growing them within the airline.

Deccan Airways, a helicopter charter turned budget commercial airline, however, sees no disadvantage for fighter pilots. "Almost all our helicopter pilots are retired servicemen. About 40 of our 200 fixed wing pilots are ex-IAF.

Many of them, including Wing Commander Rajiv Kothiyal, who was the first test pilot to fly the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft, are former fighter pilots," says Deccan Airways Managing Director, Captain G. R. Gopinath.

What is important, says Capt Gopinath, is that the pilot should have the required clearances from DGCA and other bodies. Beyond that, whether he has logged 1,500 hours or 8,000 hours is of little relevance, he says.

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