Sabena Flight Academy facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
CAE Oxford Aviation Academy Brussels - Sabena Flight Academy

Motto	One step ahead
Motto in English	One step ahead
Type	Airline pilot school
Established	1953 (1953)
Director-General	Francis Clavette
Location	Steenokkerzeel, Mesa, Évora , Belgium, United States, Portugal
Campus	Brussels Airport, Falcon Field Airport, Évora Airport
Colours	Blue and Grey
Nickname	CAE SFA
Affiliations	CAE, IAAPS

The CAE Oxford Aviation Academy Brussels - Sabena Flight Academy is a school that trains people to become airline pilots. It started in 1953 and is located in Steenokkerzeel, Belgium. This school is now part of the CAE Global Academy, a big network of aviation training centers.

Training happens in Brussels, Belgium, and also in Mesa, USA. The school is one of the oldest places in Europe to learn how to become an airline pilot. They offer a special course called "Airline Transport Pilot Integrated" (ATP Integrated). This course helps students get a 'frozen' Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL). This license becomes fully active after a pilot has flown 1500 hours in a multi-pilot airplane.

History of the Pilot School

How the School Started

The idea for a pilot training school began in 1953. The Belgian government owned the airplanes used for training. They asked Sabena, an airline, to run the school. It was first called École d’aviation civile (EAC). Students learned theory and how to fly at the Grimbergen airfield.

Early training planes included the de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth. Later, in 1968, they used Siai Marchetti SF260s. For more advanced training, they used the Saab Safir 91B. This was later replaced by the Cessna 310B and then the Embraer Xingu.

Sabena Takes Over the School

In 1991, the government gave the school to Sabena. Its name changed first to Belgian Aviation School. Then it became Sabena Air Training Center. The school moved to a new building at Brussels National Airport.

They decided to do flight training in Phoenix, USA. This was because the weather in Arizona is good for flying all year round. Even when Sabena went bankrupt in 2001, the school kept operating. In 2004, two former Sabena managers bought the school. It was then named Sabena Flight Academy.

CAE Buys the Academy

In 2008, a Canadian company called CAE bought the school. This purchase was part of CAE's plan to create a worldwide training network. This network is known as the CAE Global Academy.

Other School Locations

The school has two other training locations:

• Sabena Flight Academy Africa is located in Douala, Cameroun.
• Sabena Airline Training Center (SATC) is located in Mesa, Arizona.

How to Become a Pilot: The ATP Integrated Course

This course helps students become airline pilots. It has several steps, from testing to flying real planes.

Getting into the Course

To join the course, you need to pass an assessment at Sabena Flight Academy. This assessment checks:

• Your knowledge of physics.
• Your English language skills.
• Your personality and motivation.
• Your psychological profile.

If you do well, you can join the course. New courses usually start about three times a year.

Classroom Learning (Ground School)

The first nine months are spent in Brussels. This is where students learn the theory of flying. They prepare for 14 exams from Joint Aviation Authorities/European Aviation Safety Agency (JAA/EASA). These exams cover many topics about airplanes and flying. Students also spend 20 hours in a flight simulator. Passing these exams and the simulator check is a must. After this, students travel to Mesa for actual flying lessons.

The 14 ATPL exam subjects are:

• Air Law (rules for flying)
• Airframes/Systems/Powerplant (how planes are built and work)
• Instrumentation (using airplane instruments)
• Mass & Balance (how weight is balanced in a plane)
• Aircraft Performance (how a plane flies in different conditions)
• Flight Planning (planning a flight route)
• Human Performance (how pilots react and make decisions)
• Meteorology (weather for flying)
• General Navigation (finding your way)
• Radio Navigation (using radio signals to navigate)
• Operational Procedures (how to operate a plane safely)
• Principles of Flight (why planes fly)
• VFR Communications (talking to air traffic control when you can see outside)
• IFR Communications (talking to air traffic control when flying by instruments)

By the end of these nine months, students will have completed 750 hours of classroom learning.

First Flying Lessons (Initial Flight Training)

The next six months are spent in Mesa, USA. Students fly for 140 hours in single-engine planes. These include the Diamond DA20 or Piper Archer and Diamond DA40. Then, they fly for 28 hours in a multi-engine plane. This could be the Diamond DA42 or Piper Seminole. This multi-engine plane is used for the CPL Skills Test. If they pass, students return from Mesa with a Multi Engine IR Commercial Pilot Licence.

Advanced Flying Lessons

Advanced flight training takes place back in Antwerp, Belgium. Students fly for 8 hours in the Diamond DA42 or Piper Seneca V. This training teaches them to use aircraft instruments in Europe's busy air traffic areas.

Preparing for an Airline Job

The final part of training lasts three weeks. It uses a full-motion Boeing 737-CL, Boeing 737-NG, or Airbus A320 simulator at Brussels airport. Students spend 28 hours learning multi-crew cooperation (MCC). This teaches them how to work well as a team in a jet airplane. It also helps them get ready for airline job interviews.

In total, the integrated course includes 243 hours of flight training. It also has 750 hours of ATPL theory lessons. The course takes about 18 months to finish. After completing it, pilots get a JAA CPL with an Instrument Rating and Multi-Crew Cooperation credit. This means they are ready to work as a First Officer for any airline in the JAA region.

Aircraft and Simulators

Diamond DA42 Sabena Flight Academy

Here are some of the aircraft used for training:

Here are some of the flight simulators used for training: