First Class to Earn License With Out Solo Flight

The first class to earn a pilots license without flying solo include six cadets at Boeing subsidiary Alteon Training, which recently launched its Multi-Crew Pilot License (MPL) program in Australia. The six are sponsored by two Chinese carriers and will learn English from Queenland’s Griffith University. The group has also enrolled in Queensland’s Airline Academy Australia flight school. Six more cadets will join the 15- to 18-month course in March. Cadets go on to familiarity with small prop planes but will not progress to a private license. Instead, the training ensures they will be ready to operate commercial aircraft such as the Boeing 737. They will be trained on a 737 simulator later. China’s Civil Aviation Administration is involved in the program and will ultimately recognize the MPL, which has been approved by ICAO as an efficient way to train pilots. Graduates will be limited to operating in a multi-crew environment and will be prohibited from commanding an aircraft or to fly alone.