Emirates Flight Training Academy, developed by Emirates airline to address its growing need for pilots, has signed an agreement with Cirrus Aircraft and Embraer to order 27 new aircraft. The order includes 22 single-piston engine Cirrus SR22s and five twin-jet Embraer Phenom 100E, valued at more than $39 million at list prices.

The aircraft, which will be delivered starting in 2017, will be used by cadet pilots as they train to become fully-qualified commercial pilots for Emirates. This order will allow academy cadet pilots to receive, for the first time, 100 per cent of their training in Dubai. Previously, cadet pilots underwent a majority of their training at a variety of locations overseas.

Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ executive vice president and chief operations officer, said: “Industry forecasts show growth in the need of pilots particularly over the next few years. The Emirates Flight Training Academy is our investment and response to this pressing need. The academy will offer training programmes using the latest available technology and advanced aircraft. While the biggest beneficiary of this programme is Emirates, it’s our plan to offer the programme to external candidates around the world.”

The academy will initially focus on Emirates’ existing cadet pilot programme for UAE nationals, with the aim to expand intake to other candidates in the future.

Once accepted into the cadet programme, students will be provided on-campus accommodation and will undergo rigorous ground training. After completing this component of their education, they will begin their in-flight training on the Cirrus SR22 aircraft to learn basic commercial piloting skills. Cadets will then advance to the Embraer Phenom 100E aircraft to obtain their twin-engine jet rating and their Commercial Pilot Licence on a multi-engine aircraft with Instrument Rating, and frozen Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence (ATPL).

Emirates’ order includes five Embraer Phenom 100Es, with options to purchase five more.

In traditional cadet programmes, students move from single-engine piston aircraft to twin-engine piston aircraft before transitioning to jet airplanes. With the Emirates Flight Training Academy, students move from the single-engine piston Cirrus SR22 directly to the jet-powered Embraer Phenom 100E. This eliminates an extra step in becoming a commercial pilot and gives cadet pilots an enhanced curriculum during single-engine training, as well as more experience flying jet aircraft before being trained as an official Emirates pilot. Overall, the programme including ground school, flying and simulator training lasts three and a half years.

As the backbone of the Emirates Flight Training Academy fleet, the Cirrus SR22 aircraft has a modern composite airframe; two large 12” flight displays; a flight management system keypad controller; and an integrated engine indication and crew alerting system. The Emirates order includes 22 aircraft, with the option to purchase an additional 10 in the future.

“Our partnership with the Emirates Flight Training Academy demonstrates immense forward momentum within the global aviation industry,” Dale Klapmeier, co-founder and CEO of Cirrus Aircraft, said.

Emirates’ order of five Embraer Phenom 100E represents the largest in the aircraft type’s history to be used for flight training purposes.

“Emirates’ dedicated flight training centre offers one of the industry’s most innovative and advanced airline pilot training programmes,” Marco Tulio Pellegrini, president and CEO, Embraer Executive Jets, said.

Each of the newly-ordered aircraft will be based at the Emirates Flight Training Academy facility, which is currently under construction at Al Maktoum International-Dubai World Central. Once completed, the academy will be able to accommodate up to 500 cadet pilots at a time.

The facility will include ground school classrooms, ab initio flight training, ground-based simulators, a dedicated runway, maintenance centre, housing accommodations for men and women, a gym, football pitch, tennis courts and a mosque.

Emirates operates a daily scheduled flight between Dubai and Malta via Larnaca, Cyprus. For more information and flight schedules, visit www.emirates.com/mt.