Champaign, ILLINOIS (Parkland College) / April 4, 2016 — Air carriers need well-trained pilots and Parkland College Institute of Aviation has stepped up with an enhanced program to prepare students for their first job with air carriers. Through this program both students and the airlines win.

For someone to be eligible to serve as a first officer aboard a Part 121 Air Carrier operation, FAA now requires each pilot to possess an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP). Previously, first officer applicants had to produce a Commercial Pilot certificate with a minimum of 250 hours documented.

In July 2013, after completing its investigation of the 2009 Colgan Air Bombardier Q400 crash, FAA released upgraded standards for pilot certification and qualification for air carrier operations. The altered regulation is commonly referred to as the “1,500-hour rule.”

However, the agency’s 2013 rule also created the Restricted ATP (R-ATP) qualification, allowing a pilot to serve as an airline first officer before reaching the necessary 1,500 hours for a full, unrestricted ATP. An R-ATP certificate requires that the pilot be 21 years of age and successfully complete a checkride. However, in lieu of the minimum hours, it offers credit for specified education and training. This part of the newer regulation acknowledges that specialized, quality training can be an effective substitute for total experience. One of the options for R-ATP minimum experience requires 1,250 hours for graduates holding an associate degree with an aviation major from an approved school.

“Our students who earn the Associate of Science degree, have earned 30 approved aviation credit hours of coursework,” said Sybil Phillips, Director of the Institute of Aviation. “They receive their instrument and commercial training through our Part 141 curriculum and can receive the R-ATP certificate with 1,250 total hours instead of 1,500 total hours.”

“This allows these students to more quickly gain work for a Part 121 air carrier and at reduced cost,” added Phillips. Parkland’s Institute of Aviation is prepared and qualified to deliver this experience to students in a shorter time and at considerably less expense, providing a major benefit for both students and the airlines for which they may eventually work.

The Institute of Aviation’s reputation of producing outstanding alumni dates back to its founding in 1946. Institute alumni fly for all major U.S. airlines and for military, corporate, cargo, and charter organizations worldwide. More than 3,000 Institute of Aviation graduates have gone on to train other pilots as instructors.

FACTS ABOUT PARKLAND COLLEGE INSTITUTE OF AVIATION

Parkland College is a community college located in Champaign, Illinois. Through Parkland's program, students can earn a transferable Associate of Science in Aviation degree, FAA-approved private pilot certification, and commercial pilot ratings. Parkland is leasing the University of Illinois’ fleet of airplanes, equipment, and ground school facilities under a three-year agreement. More information can be found at http://www.parkland.edu/aviation.

MORE ABOUT PARKLAND COLLEGE

Parkland College is a fully accredited, public community college established to serve the needs of District 505, the third largest community college district in Illinois. The college is a center for educational opportunity and community enrichment in east central Illinois and has earned a national reputation for excellent academic standards, innovative programs, and quality instruction.

Built on 233 acres of landscaped grounds in Champaign, Illinois, the beautiful, quiet campus is situated near the intersection of Interstates 57, 72, and 74 and is just four miles west of the University of Illinois campus. Parkland is a reasonable drive from downtown Chicago, Indianapolis, or St. Louis.

Parkland College facilities include more than 150 classrooms and labs, an extensive library collection, an FM radio station, an educational TV station, an experimental agricultural land laboratory, an art gallery, championship Cobra athletics, and excellent physical education and recreation facilities, including a newly remodeled fitness center. Our cultural center contains a 320-seat performing arts theater and a 50-foot dome planetarium, the second largest in Illinois. Parkland also has a child development center to serve the needs of faculty, staff, students, and families in our community.