Air school produces 23 more graduates

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The annual Starlite Aviation graduation ceremony took place a few weeks back at the Mossel Bay airstrip.

It was an auspicious occasion, with several Kenya airforce and army pilots graduating and high level dignitaries from that country in attendance.

The graduates savoured every moment, walking forward slowly and proudly, enjoying their time under the spotlight.

"Pilots don't hurry," an expert commented to the Mossel Bay Advertiser. "They are taught not to rush. They must always be cool, calm and collected."

The fine function took place in the Starlite hangar at the airstrip. Mossel Bay provided superb weather for the event. It was a warm, balmy night, with the slightest breeze, so the hangar was left open, with a helicopter right outside, almost protruding into the hanger, as part of the "décor".

The reason Starlite Aviation attracts students from all over the world, besides its professionalism, is that Mossel Bay has a superb climate, providing more flying days per year than most other flying schools internationally.

Besides the Kenyan airforce dignitaries, the graduation was attended by Karl Kebert, Starlite Aviation Group vice chairman; Klara Fouché, director of training and director of Starlite Aero Sales; and Kate Odendaal, director of global training.

In his speech, Kenya airforce Major Omar Abdullahi spoke of pilot training as a journey one must take.

He emphasised the important qualities of humility and acute awareness needed by a good pilot and the necessity to learn from mistakes.

He stressed that pilot training was rigorous and uncompromising for a reason. The responsibility of being a pilot was great.

He emphasised the importance of never being complacent and used his own experiences to bring his message across.

The Kenya airforce and army dignitaries and graduates with (back) Starlite Aviation's chief instructor JP Bothma, chief flying instructor Riaan Rudolph and senior instructor Stefan Fouché.

Major Abdullahi praised Starlite for its top-class training.

Fouché said the company's holistic approach encouraged students to set personal goals, to be accountable and responsible, to develop social and interpersonal skills and to carve a successful career path in an environment conducive to learning.

She went on to say how proud she was of the calibre of students graduating from the academy.

Besides recognising the students' achievements, it was an occasion to bid farewell to the Kenya Army 5A course attendees, who had been at the academy for 10 months.

Fouché praised them for their hard work and dedication in successfully completing every phase of their training.

Graduation achievements:

Contract students:

• Kenya airforce: five fixed-wing private pilot's licence (PPL) graduates

• Kenya army: eight commercial pilot's licence (CPL) helicopter graduates

• Solos: one helicopter, one fixed wing

Civilian students:

• Four helicopter PPL

• One fixed wing PPL

• Solos: two helicopters, three fixed wing

Starlite instructors:

• Two airline transport pilot licence (ATPL) graduates