Perth Airport, Scotland based flight school ACS Aviation Limited Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Graeme Frater shared a statement following the closure of Tayside Aviation. Check it out below.

“As Managing Director of ACS Aviation Limited based at Perth Airport, we have been on a growth trajectory since 2016 despite the challenges of the pandemic. We started 2023 in a strong position with a plan for our fleet renewal programme which starts with the addition of the Tecnam Aircraft P-Mentor. By choosing the P-Mentor we are embracing the new philosophy in flight training offered by Tecnam. This fleet expansion will not only improve the quality of training and reduce the costs for its students, but also help to preserve the environment. Recent study shows that operating with a Tecnam single engine fleet can reduce emissions by up to 60%. This equates to 10 tons of CO2 for each student by the time they receive their Commercial Pilot License.

The outlook for this year changed on 20th April 2023 when Tayside Aviation ceased trading with immediate effect. As the sad news filtered out that the Dundee based company with a 55 year legacy had entered administration, we had to review our forecasts and planning for the next few years. I have personally spoken to dozens of students and families impacted by the demise of Tayside Aviation. It was our aim to support as many students and staff as possible. In recent months we have grown the workforce at Perth Airport by 20% whilst supporting over 100 impacted students.

It’s been a challenging period, methodically adding additional capacity and managing the increased demand for flight training at Perth Airport. This has seen us extend our lease to operate Perth Airport and acquire further office accommodation on the Perth Airport site.

We have been in regular dialogue with Geoff Jacobs and Blair Nimmo who were appointed as Joint Administrators of Tayside Aviation. ACS Aviation were interested in setting up a base at Dundee to facilitate the additional demand for training, however we have been unable to agree terms with Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd which is a public corporation wholly owned by the Scottish Ministers. We do intend to purchase a number of assets from the administrators, starting with the ALSIM ALX Flight Simulator. The ALX provides up to 4 classes of aircraft-from single-engine piston, twin engine piston, twin turbine up to medium category twin jet. The device is designed and approved for ATPL, CPL, and MCC in compliance with all current regulatory standards. The ALX offers advanced technology simulation equipment tailored to all specific training requirements. In addition, it has a proven track record for cost-effectiveness and helps save numerous aircraft hours. The device will be relocated to Perth Airport in July with a view to it being fully operational in September 2023.

Earlier this year we had two Diamond DA42 Twinstar aircraft out on lease to Aeros Flight Training at Leeds East and FTA Global at Brighton, both are now back based at Perth Airport operating Multi-Engine Instrument Rating training at Perth for commercial instructors Bill, Charlie and Ian who joined our experienced team in recent months.

Adding capacity and facilitating this growth doesn’t come without its challenges, I would personally like to thank everyone at Perth Airport for their support over the past 7 years, however more specifically over the past couple of months as we have been working at full capacity. A special thanks to Scott Whittet from Morris Leslie for giving us a platform to grow the business over recent years.

There are two organisations that are integral to our success, starting with Andrew Neofytou from Flight Deck Wingman for supporting with mentorship and pre-entry assessments and Norman Beasant from Pathway Pilot Training Ltd. who manages the entire ground school module for our Fast Track students.”

Source: Graeme Frater (ACS Aviation Limited)
Photo Credit: ACS Aviation Limited (shown as meta image)