Blue skies thinking at the Fujairah Aviation Academy

Alan Peaford visits the fast-growing Fujairah Aviation Academy and discovers why it enjoys one clear advantage.

Fujairah’s position on the easterly side of the Hajar Mountains gives it a clear advantage over the other emirates – with clear being the operative word.

Apart from the worst of the summer days, the breezes from the Indian Ocean seem to keep the humidity at bay and the dust haze that blights the major cities of Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi us a rarity.

In other words, it is perfect flying conditions.

And that is good news for the Fujairah Aviation Academy (FUJAA) based at Fujairah’s international airport.

Although currently in a collection of temporary structures at the corner of the main terminal building, FUJAA is preparing to move to the new office building built by the airport authority to house airline representatives. The academy is taking a floor to include 20 large classrooms to meet the growing demand for its services.

“This is a great place to fly,” said Capt Bilal Pasha, who heads the marketing function for the academy as well as being a senior instructor. 

“I came here myself to learn,” he added. “I had begun learning in Dubai but even then the airport was getting busy and I decided it was worth driving here to do my PPL and then my ATPL. With the new road it is just 50 minutes from Dubai and you are almost certainly going to get decent weather and no hold ups for taxi clearances.”

The academy itself – formerly known as Fujairah Aviation Centre – was originally founded in 1986 under the patronage of HH Sheikh Saleh Mohammed Hamad Al Sharqi, brother to the ruler of the emirate.

As one of the school’s first students and still a keen pilot himself, Sheikh Saleh promotes and supports interest and knowledge of the aviation industry to aspiring pilots.
All of the FUJAA courses are approved by the UAE GCAA and, upon successful completion, result in the issue of a UAE licence. As a member of ICAO, licences issued by the UAE are convertible to the licences of other ICAO states, subject to their civil aviation regulations.

More recently the academy has expanded, opening an aviation maintenance and engineering college. It is planning to add a new hangar, which will include workshops and enable the aspiring engineers to get real experience with the FUJAA fleet of two Diamond DA42 twinstars, three of the single-engine Diamond DA40s, two Cessna 172s fitted with Garmin G1000 glass cockpits, and four S-model C172s with the traditional cockpits.

The student body has now passed the 200 mark. More than a quarter have come from Nigeria – both for pilot training and engineering; other students are from the UAE’s armed forces, where they are undergoing civil conversions. Yet more are from Dubai or elsewhere in the region, learning over time, with a contingent from the Indian sub continent, who are keen on careers in aviation.

“The fact that Fujairah doesn’t yet have a lot of commercial movements is good for us,” Pasha said. “There is no waiting for taxi clearance, no holding or orbiting. We have unrestricted take-offs and landings and the 12,300ft runway is so long we can do three touch-and-go manoeuvres in a single pass.”

With the training area located only five minutes flight time after take-off, students are quickly working rather than wasting valuable time waiting to get off the ground. The airfield is equipped with NDB/VOR/DME/ILS and radar navigation facilities. “The tower here is really good and we have air traffic control, meteorological and flight briefing available 24 hours a day,” Pasha said.
As part of a drive to encourage more Emiratis to take up aviation, the academy is offering special discounts.

It is also offering a distance learning course with a UK partner to cater for those who wish to carry on working while training and it also offers a full English language proficiency (ELP) training, which is now mandatory for pilots.

But it is not all rosy.

Air space in the UAE is restricted because of the huge growth of commercial air traffic and military and that has led to greater demands on the nation’s airfields.

“Umm al Quwain is closed now, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are effectively closed to general aviation or training flights, as is Al Bateen. This creates problems for students having to fly their qualifying cross-country flights,” Pasha said. “At the moment we can use Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and can request slots at Al Ain, but it is getting harder.”

Like many, Pasha believes there should be a greater understanding of the value of training for the future of air transport. “These are tomorrow’s pilots,” he said. “ATC needs to recognise students and work with them. The industry needs them.”