Qatar Aeronautical college

First discussions of aviation in Qatar began as long ago as 1927. These centered on the provision of an emergency landing strip close to Doha for aircraft on international routes. With the beginning of the oil companies, a requirement for air support was identified and airstrips were laid at Doha, Dukhan, Umm Said and Al Hamla. At the same time, the strategic and commercial importance of Qatar was being recognized internationally.

Air traffic to the oil companies’ strips gradually increased and with it the demand for passenger services and so, in 1952, the Gulf Aviation Company began the first scheduled services in Doha. From then on expansion was rapid, and a new runway was built to meet the requirements of international airlines operating larger passenger aircraft.

Half a century later, Doha possesses one of the busiest and best-equipped airports in the Gulf, its own national airline Qatar Airways, one of the fastest-growing in the world, and a world-class training institution for the aviation industry, Qatar Aeronautical College.

Qatar Aeronautical College was founded in 1975 as the Civil Aviation College of the Gulf States, with assistance from the United Nations Development Program. It changed its name in 1996 to Qatar Aeronautical College, and its programmes have now expanded to include training not just for Airline Pilots but also for Aircraft Maintenance Engineers, Air Traffic Controllers, Meteorologists and Flight Dispatchers.

Qatar Aeronautical College is located on a purpose-built campus in Ras Abu Aboud, directly behind Doha International Airport.

The main building includes administration offices, departmental offices, classrooms, workshops, an examination hall, a library, a cafeteria, and a snack bar. Behind the main building are a mosque and four residential blocks providing single-bedroom accommodation for students and some staff members. Cable TV, telephones and laundry facilities are available in shared living areas. Students and staff residing in the college are provided with three meals a day in the cafeteria.

The Pilot Training Division (PTD) has its own building on the QAC campus with classrooms, briefing rooms, a library and a cafeteria, plus two simulators – one single-engine and one twin-engine. There is also a facility on the airport (called the “flight line”) where the College aircraft are located. PTD has ten PA28-181 Archer single-engine aircraft and three PA34 Seneca twin-engine aircraft (as of March 2004). PTD also runs the Flight Dispatcher Training Programme.

The Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Training Department is located in the main building of Qatar Aeronautical College. Its dedicated facilities include a Basic Hand Skills Workshop, a Basic Engine Workshop and a Basic Electronics Workshop. In addition, there is a B737 Procedures Trainer, and shared access to a hangar and flight line at Doha International Airport, which is adjacent to the College.

The Air Traffic Control / Meteorology Department is also located in the main building. Its classrooms and laboratories are equipped with multi-media facilities, and students enjoy the use of a state-of-the-art multi-training ATC simulator for radar, non-radar and 3-D Aerodrome simulations. The Aerodrome simulator gives the trainee a real tower control environment with an added advantage of the capability to simulate emergencies, weather, touch screen communication facilities, single, parallel, and crossing runways operations.