• Environment and ATC：

• CAA Taiwan has created a highly regulated environment for the airlines according to FAA and latest ICAO standards. The flight school must comply with the same operational requirements of every other airline in the country (Manuals, SOPs, and structure), no exception, which translates in the smoother transition for students to the airline industry.

• Taiwan has no uncontrolled airports and basically no uncontrolled airspace. Always under radar contact with ATC (no squawk VFR) with the possibility to use practice areas specifically approved in cooperation with MOTC and CAA, Taiwan is one of the safest environment for a flight school around the world. Airlines never use uncontrolled airports, so basically it is useless for cadet pilots to learn how to operate in and out of uncontrolled airports.

• Great selection of instrument procedures to the international standard (RNAV, ILS, LDA, LOC, VOR, NDB approaches)

• The complex environment with terrain (mountains), sea, islands, perfect for the practice of all meteorology developments in the Pacific region

• Standard ICAO phraseology (not non-standard American slang on ATC)

• Extremely reliable weather resources issued by the Aviation Weather Bureau of Taiwan. Weather radar on the base airport

• Tower, Approach radar environment to include operations in the traffic pattern (more practice of ATC Communications)

• Filing flight plans with the flight information station every time for each flight. 

• Airlines procedures requesting engine start for each flight

• Marshaller required for parking procedures

 

 

 

• Airplanes：

• Latest technology aircraft with an average life of 10 years. 

• Reliability, safety, more complex aircraft systems that need to be studied by the students (Anti Icing, Autopilot, Oxygen system)

• G1000 avionics fother smoother transition to the airline environment

• Aircraft using turbocharged engine systems to guarantee performance in any flying condition below 10.000 feet

• Maintenance：

• In-house maintenance programs conducted according to the CAA standards required for the airlines (except Minimum Equipment List not required)

• In addition to the PIC and students, mechanics are required to conduct daily checks, pre-flight walk around and post-flight walk around inspections of the aircraft after every flight.

• Each aircraft is released by a qualified and license mechanic using a Technical Logbook just like in the airline. PIC must sign to accept the airplane

• 4 maintenance programs for each airplane recurring every 100, 200,1000, 2000 hours (not the classic 100 hour and annual inspection)

• Supervision of PMI from CAA

• Fuel availability all the times in all airports around Taiwan (using Jet A-1)

 

• Flight Operations :

• Number one: always SAFETY first. Duty time, Rest period, flight time limitations for all instructors and students

• Highly standardize environment with an extremely tough selection process for flight instructor applicants

• Professional flight instructors who choose the job as a career and not as a time building tool (average flight instruction time in Apex is 1200 hours)

• Multicultural environment with individuals having different backgrounds to provide different teaching experiences to the students under the same standard with the focus on the English language

• Preparation of Operational Flight Plan for each flight just like any other airline

• Alcohol test for every flight to guarantee the highest standard of safety

• SOPs and manuals (FOM, FCOM, FCTM, Staff Training Manual) follow the latest standard in the aviation industry as required by multiple airline cadet programs (Chief Instructor have backgrounds with Swiss Airlines, Lufthansa, China Airlines, Tiger Airways, Air China, China Eastern, Hainan Airlines, China Southern, Shenzhen Airlines and many more)

• Checklist usage with concepts of flows and read and do lists resembling airlines procedures

• Multi Crew training conducted during CPL with PF and PM with dialogue boxes description and roles assignment for each crew member

• Many instructors have experience with ab-inition cadet programs for major Asian and International airlines

• Standardized pre-post flight briefing

• Training syllabuses developed according to the Part 141 standard with objective, equipment, recommended time, tasks, completions standards, grading system, comments for each lesson.

• Standardized policy for repetition of lessons, technical review board policy for each student

• Cancellation, no show, student unprepared policy

• Standard pilot uniform must be worn for professional appearance to create in the student the correct attitude for the airline industry

• Dispatchers, schedulers, students affairs representative

• Training manager to monitor student progress

• In house CAA examining authority for the issuance of all licenses (following FAA ACS)

• Developed SMS for risk assessment and management

• Standardization Pilot, Safety Pilot

• Safety Meetings with CAA, students, and instructors

• Direct coordination with Tower controllers and the possibility for students to spend one day at the tower as observers.

• Continuous supervision of CAA POI and AOI 

• Standard procedures for documents retention of students, employees and flight instructors

• Required paper copy of training records

• Use of ETA Talon Systems

• Use of student management system internally developed by IT for monitoring student progress and status (upper management, finance, sales and marketing, ground school division, flight school division, HR)

• Voluntary reports, irregularity reports filing, safety bulletins

• Disciplinary review board policy for students and instructors

• Self Practice FTD available to every student for free

• Exclusive employment opportunity & prepartory course：

。First priority to apply for APEX CFII job

。First hand airlines recruit opportunity notification

。A320 Type rating, Jet oriented course and Multi-crew concept training

。