Aeros Academy Cardiff, based at Cardiff airport in the UK, has welcomed its first DA42 training aircraft. The addition of this first DA42 aircraft at Cardiff opens up the training potential for Aeros cadets training onsite, with the academy now able to offer the Aeros complete fast track programme, as well is individual modules for MEP, MEIR and CPL training alongside its current output.

The depth and experience of training now on offer through Aeros at Cardiff airport is buoyed by not only the arrival of its first DA42, but also by Aeros' position at a full international commercial airport with full air traffic services, ex-airline pilot instructors and the backing of the wider Aeros Group academies and their existing fleet of DA42 aircraft.

Cat Burton, Aeros Academy Cardiff senior flying instructor and recently British Airways' most senior female pilot, says: “When I retired at the end of a 45 year airline career with British Airways, as its most senior line captain flying long haul Boeing 777s, I just wasn't ready to stop flying so I started teaching at my home airport at Cardiff. Three years on and I'm loving teaching a new generation of airline pilots as we expand our capabilities here to include multi-engine training to commercial pilot standards and instrument ratings on the Diamond DA42. I'm especially proud that my fellow instructor on the Diamond, James Dawson, also flew Boeing 777s with British Airways. There is nowhere better to learn the skills of an airline pilot than at a fully controlled international airport, mentored by experienced airline veterans.”

Instructor James Dawson, ex-British Airways and Cathay Pacific 777 pilot, says Aeros offers the perfect introduction to instructing: “Having just come from flying long haul on wide body jets, the transition to training cadets on the DA42 in some respect has actually been a navigational upgrade, particularly with regard to the G1000 capability. Teaching back at my home airfield of Cardiff, alongside experienced instructors and under the supervision of our highly experienced SFI Cat Burton, I couldn't have asked for a better introduction. The Aeros Group goes from strength to strength, and I'm optimistic about the future of Cardiff as a professional flight training centre as well as its strong ties to PPL training.”

The first course with the new DA42 at Aeros Academy Cardiff began on 14 September, and is the first of many courses joining the commercial airliners flying in and out of Cardiff. The addition of the DA42, and subsequent training offering, also sees it join other Aeros academies, based at Coventry, Gloucester and Doncaster, in being able to deliver a complete fast track training programme.