Sweden’s EastAir has successfully gained an exemption from the rule that initial type training on

its Lear 35 should be conducted in a simulator.

Mikael Cappelin, a pilot involved in the training programme, said: “The US don’t let any pilots

with no previous experience in an aircraft of over 12,500 pounds train in a simulator.

“The Lear is 18,300 pounds so it was heavy enough to fall under the ruling. We needed to get the initial type rating in our own aircraft and an exemption from the Swedish Civil Aviation Authority.

Now we are just waiting to fly over to the United States for our six-month recurrent training in a Flight Safety simulator.”

The company has been operating the Lear 35 for around two years and applied for the exemption to develop a larger pool of Lear pilots.

Cappelin said: “Myself and another pilot will be flying over to the US for a week in April. To gain

the exemption we first completed a technical course at SAAB Nyge Aero in Sweden, then each of us

had around nine flight hours in the aircraft.

“Finally we had a check flight with the CAA, which now just leaves us with the simulator recurrent training. The whole procedure has been complicated to get through, taking around a year.”

The company says it is one of the first in Sweden to attain exemption. “Hopefully the situation will get easier in the future, because it is a problem for all young pilots who don’t have any experience in heavy aircraft,” he added.