What Flight Training Adelaide means to our pilots

The ties between Adelaide and Cathay Pacific run deeper than a dot on the route map – though flights do resume this month after a five-year hiatus. The South Australian capital’s reliably clear skies are a selling point not just for visitors but also for aspiring pilots. Since 1994, Cathay Pacific has partnered with Flight Training Adelaide (FTA), one of two schools used to train successful applicants in its Cadet Pilot Programme. 

The programme, now in its 35th year, has produced thousands of pilots, more than 1,500 of whom trained at FTA. “There are people throughout the organisation now, including Chief Pilots, training managers and Senior Training Captains, who came through the programme,” says Captain Jules Tidmarsh, Head of Flying Training. 

Cadets begin with ground school in Hong Kong, either at Cathay Academy or Hong Kong Polytechnic University, to learn about the Cathay culture and the flying basics. Those who pass head to FTA for about 35 weeks. There, they notch up aviation milestones: first flight, first solo, first twin-engine experience. “I still vividly remember my first solo flight – knowing that I had to land the plane,” says Captain Tidmarsh. “And the ritual that followed – being thrown into the swimming pool.” 

After graduation, cadets return to Cathay City as Second Officers and begin the Multi-crew Cooperation Course to transition them from single-pilot operations into the environment of a big passenger aircraft. The programme welcomes applicants with no prior flying experience, including an increasing number of women. “Four, five years ago, we’d see one or two women per intake,” says Captain Tidmarsh. “Now it can be closer to 35 to 45 per cent.” 

So next time you’re in Adelaide, keep your eyes on the skies to spot our future pilots earning their wings.

Feeling inspired? “We’d love to see applications coming in from anyone who has an interest in aviation, whether they’ve a background in science or not,” says Captain Tidmarsh. “If you have the right to live and work in Hong Kong or the Chinese Mainland, put in an application and give it a try.”