Ostend Air College has brought a second DA-42 into service to meet rising demand for commercial pilot training. Marketing director Cathy Surmont says the college is catering to more than 50 students who are gaining their 195 flying requirements. "They achieve this by obtaining 135 on the DA-40, 20 hours on the DA-42 and 40 hours on the simulator," she explains.

The college has decided to focus on one specific type of aircraft. "When the college was set up in 1998 the demand was for Grob and Piper training. It is now for the DA series. We have doubled our aircraft capacity and believe that is sufficient for current plans," Surmont adds.