Welcome to Caribbean Aviation Training Center! Thank you for your interest in our flight school. We are happy to provide you with some preliminary information within these few pages about learning to fly and becoming a licensed pilot. However, we strongly encourage you to visit and let us show you around our flight school. Better yet, we invite you to schedule an introductory flight with one of our friendly aircraft instructors for your very own one-on-one discovery flight. This is where you get to actually fly the aircraft under the guidance of our Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA) certified instructors. You will actually experience how it feels to maneuver the aicraft through turns, climbs, descents and even landings. You will also get to see and enjoy the fantastic aerial view of the city of Kingston, surrounding foothills and the Kingston Harbour (rated as one of the best natural harbours in the world). Did I mention that this flight also counts as credit towards your Private Pilot Certificate? So what are you waiting for? Don't miss out on this great opportunity of a lifetime to explore and what has always been a realm of intrigue and fascination for people over the centuries. We will be very honoured to help you achieve your dream of flying an aircraft and soaring to new heights. I am sure you will have a few questions of your own for us to answer, so please, be sure to read through our FAQs and feel free to contact us should you have any further questions to find out how best we can be of help to you.

Flying an aircraft is among one of the most rewarding and exciting experiences most people will ever accomplish and the skills and knowledge gained during the training will last a lifetime. Whether you intend to fly for pleasure, business or professionally, you will want to ensure that you receive the best possible training and become equipped with the necessary skills to master the art of flying. This is where CATC excels.

Caribbean Aviation Training Academy was formed in November 2000 as a flight school dedicated to providing top-notch fixed-wing flight training in Jamaica's student pilots and also serving the entire Caribbean region. Since then, CATC has training hundreds of pilots now flying for numerous companies throughout North and South America, the Caribbean and even Europe. In fact, CATC went on to become winner of the 2006 Cessna Pilot Centers' "Diamon Award", a very prestigious award that merits the highest performance within a pool of hundreds of Cessna Pilot Training Center schools spread across the globe.

So whether you are learning to fly for the purpose of travelling with family and/or friends to that unique destination for the weekend, attending a business meeting/seminar with company staff or training for that "Captain" position on the airline company of your preference, CATC is more than capable of getting you there. We take great pride in providing our customers with training that is world class. Earning your flight certificates with us guarantees your flying privileges just about everywhere in the world you go.

With a staff of highly trained and competent instructors and almost 365 days per year of great flying weather, our customers enjoy one of the most conducive environments to efficient and accelerated flight training. CATC is based at Tinson Pen Aerodrome, located in Kingston, Jamaica and is less than 5 minutes by air from the Norman Manley International Airport. A short flight across the harbour will make available to our customers all the benefits of flying at a major international airport and offers the accessibility of a radar controlled environment and the necessary infrastructure and equipment for practicing IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) flying. This experience leads to valuable skills and confidence that will enable our students to fly in any of the busier airports found in large metropolitan cities around the world. Usually, this experience and exposure comes at a high premium because of added cost for flight schools to be based at airports such as this. However, CATC's ability to operate from a relatively small airport while enjoying the advantages of international airport operations is defnitely an added bonus for our students and pilots.

Below is a list of the courses that we offer. Please feel free to ask for further information.

The private pilots license is the first rung on the ladder of aviation training and development. A person holding a private pilot license is allowed to fly an aicraft for recreational/personal use in generally good weather conditions. The pilot may take passengers, however, not for compensation or hire. The Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority requires that applicants be 16 years of age in order to obtain a student pilot certificate (similar to a learner driver permit) and used during the interim training for the Private Pilot License (PPL) and 17 years of age before completing the PPL certificate. The appplicant must be able to read, speak, write and understand the English language. Although there are no academic pre-requisites, students who wish to pursue the commercial license or airline transport license for the purpose of flying professionally will be at a significant advantage with tertiary level academic training.

The instrument rating course is designed to provide the applicant with the skills and knowledge necessary to maneuver the aicraft solely by reference to the aircraft instruments. This course requires an additional forty (40) hours of training beyond the private pilot training. However, some of this training may be completed in a simulator. This rating will allow the holder the privilege to fly in weather that normally would be prohibited for non-instrument rated pilots. Since more often than not, a commercial pilot will be required to fly his or her aircraft on a fixed schedule, it is imperative that the skills necessary to operate in weather conditions that would othewise be unfavourable for VFR (visual flight rules) be mastered before undertaking such a flight. It is a valuable and indispensable skill that is sometimes called the pilot's "best insurance policy". In practice, most instrument training flights are conducted under "simulated" conditions. This is achieved by using what is called a view-limiting device. A device worn by the trainee that restricts the pilot from seeing outside the aircraft for the purpose of simulating flying in the clouds and other visual impairments, due to weather, reducing the visibility in flight.

The commercial license is required for all operations that are conducted for compensation or hire. Pilots employed to fly for airlines, air taxi operators, crop dusters, charter companies, banner towing, flight instructors, etc., all require a commercial license. The course iteself takes approximately forty (40) hours of training flight time but the applicants total flight time cannot be less than two hundred (200) hours of total aeronautical experience by the time the flight test is taken. In practice, this means that most pilots who follow the usual process will need to build flight time and experience after achieving their PPL and Instrument Rating. This period is totally flexible and can be accomplished as fast as the student desires. This "time building" is most often accomplished by pilots, who rent an aircraft (sometimes sharing expenses with another pilot in who also needs to build flight time) and fly to various places to gain experience and skills that will help them preparing for the commercial pilot test.

The Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) is generally regarded internationally as the highest level of certification within the aviation training marketplace. Sometimes refered to as the PhD of aviation, it marks the attainment of the highlest level of training established and the most stringent testing standards for holders of such certification. The ATPL requires a minimum of 1500 hours of flight experience and is usually accomplished by working in the industry until this experience is attained. Quite often, pilots who are already commercially rated pilots, will complete the Flight Instructor course which qualifies them to teach people to fly while building flight experience towards the ATPL certificate.

The Flight Instructor Certificate is an approved course that provides training in both skill and knowledge that enables the applicant to teach the art of flying to others. It requires at least a CPL or ATPL to being the course. It provides the applicant with the necessary knowledge and skills in the "teaching process" and also techniques and strategies to aid students in faster development and more efficiency while maintaining a high level of safety. Even though total training time will vary from indidvidual to individual, the JCAA requires a minimum of 40 hours of ground training and 25 hours of flight training. Flight instructing is a very exciting and challenging endeavour. For some, it has become their career in aviation and is considered by others as the cornerstone job of aviation. One significant advantage for flight instructors is the ability to gain (log) valuable time and experience which eventually qualifies them for higher paying jobs, flying more advanced aircraft.

Caribbean Aviation Training Center
Tinson Pen Aerodrome
Marcus Garvey Drive, Kingston 11, Jamaica W.I.
Tel: 876.757.0211 Fax: 876.901.7341
Email: caribav@mail.infochan.com