Chennai: A total of 52 officers graduated from the Flying Instructors’ School (FIS) based at Air Force Station, Tambaram, Friday.
The Qualified Flying Instructors Course (QFIC) is a gruelling 25-weeks package. It encompasses nine phases of flying training and over 190 hours of ground training. The training of 146th QFIC commenced 24 December 2018. Of the 52 officers, 42 belong to Indian Air Force, 2 – Indian Army, 5 – Indian Navy, 1 – Indian Coast Guard and 2 – from Myanmar Air Force, a press release said.
The valedictory function was held Friday. Air Marshal Rajesh Kumar was the chief guest and Air Commodore MS Awana was the chief host.
Group Captain A N Karulkar, Commanding Officer of the Flying Instructors’ School, under whose supervision all the training is done, summed up the achievements of the course.
The chief guest stressed on the invaluable role played by QFIs who are instrumental in producing pilots who meet the desired standards for their organisation.
The graduates were awarded the coveted symbol of ‘Qualified Flying Instructor’ which they can now wear proudly on their uniforms. The pilots who achieved distinction in flying and ground subjects were awarded trophies, the release said.