University of Leeds, Year 2

peakaviationsites
May 8, 2015
3 min read

It is Tuesday. 23 September 2014.

After the summer vacation it was time to return to the university. Aviation Technology and Management is different from the Aviation Technology with Pilot Studies course in that in the former, two specific management modules are being taught while in the latter there is a module covering the material for the ATPL theory examinations. Personally, I find the Management course more valuable in terms of providing students with a better commercial awareness of the industry. The workload is also greater compared to the Pilot Studies course.

As far as the ATPLs are concerned, you also have to sign up with a ground school to sit them in front of the CAA and the university can only provide you with the foundations for the exams.

There are two specific management modules:

Aviation Project Management and Finance – During this module each student has to

produce a business plan for his own unique start up airline and present it in May. The coursework should be 30 pages, excluding the appendices, and should include executive summary, market opportunity, financial analysis, strategy, risk factors, etc. It is really interesting and I have the opportunity to learn various concepts and airline techniques. The university library has a great number of resources, which can be used for the project. I find these two books very useful – Straight and Level and Wheels Up.

Aviation Management Project – Students work in a team on a project to develop a training package for senior management of a major airline.“The projects consists of designing and delivering a training programme for senior management at a major, real airline. It is intended to enable senior managers to lead their airline’s transition to a new business model, devised by students”.

Our team chose Air France, which experiences management issues and financial losses in the short – haul sectors, trying to stay competitive with the low – cost carriers. On the other hand, long – haul flights are very profitable for the company and can be further improved, which is one of the areas we currently develop as a team.

It is Friday. 8 May 2015.

The second year of my Bachelor’s degree is towards its end. I am really happy from what I experienced and learned during this period. Everything started at the end of September 2014 where my classmates and I were introduced to the six modules taught during the year

Aviation Technology and Management BSc Information

Aircraft 1 – Split into 4 parts, the module is very technical with emphasis on engines (both piston and jet), avionics (from the basic principles of pressure sensing to the depths of Area Navigation Systems, IRS, GPS, etc.), performance and an overview of the systems and components of a commercial aircraft (Avro RJ100). There is a final exam, worth 60% of the module mark.

Aviation Project Management and Finance – This is one of the most demanding and enjoyable modules as each student has to submit his own airline business plan (~50 pages), present it at the end of the year to his/ her classmates and a number of lecturers from the school. There is a test and a coursework, which are assessed during Semester 1. There is no final exam :)

Aviation Management Project – Another management module which required a lot of work, however almost all of it was team work.

Aviation Management Project – Another management module which required a lot of work, however almost all of it was team work. My classmates and I worked on Air France and submitted number of reports, essays, etc. on a regular basis thro ughout the year and finished with presentations of the training programme we had developed.

Airline and Airport Operations – The module introduced us various topics with emphasis on airport management and security, transportation of freight, the role of IATA, ICAO and other major organisations, airline management, etc. There two other modules – Health, Safety and Environment and Mathematical Techniques 2.

In October 2014 I finished my Night Rating

at Advanced Flight Training, based at Sherburn in Elmet aerodrome. The same place where I completed 5 hours of training during the summer in 2014. The course is very good structured, completed it in 05:05 hours and my instructor – Jeff is a very professional and friendly person.

In April 2015 I started my MEP, ME-IR and ME-CPL training in Kalmar, Sweden where I spent the whole month and I am in England now to finish my university exams. I have to do some more hour building and will be back at Diamond Flight Academy in June to finish the rest of the training and qualify as an instrument rated commercial pilot.