Sanders Aviation to train pilots for Delta at Walker County Airport JASPER, Alabama — Working in partnership with the Delta Air Crew Training Center in Atlanta, Sanders Aviation is launching a training program that will feed a pipeline of new pilots for Delta, as well as all leading airlines. The first class in the Sanders-Delta Airline Transport Pilot Certified Training Program (ATP-CTP) is scheduled to begin Sept. 27 at Jasper’s Walker County Airport-Bevill Field. The 10-day course involves 30 hours of classroom academics, hands-on experience in full-motion flight simulators, and several hours of training in the Sanders Flight Training Center’s multi-engine airplanes. The certification course is designed to help students, mainly former military pilots, land a job as a pilot for Delta and other large airlines. “This is going to cover everything they need to know to transition from the military to the airlines,” said Jessica S. Walker, chief operating officer at Sanders Aviation. “So if they’ve been flying F-18s, F-35s or KC-135s, this is a course that focuses on how to use the first officer, how to act as a captain, how to talk to air traffic control around the world, how to use all resources possible to transition from the military life into the airline.” Delta’s partnership with Sanders Aviation comes as the Atlanta-based airline company looks to increase its pilot ranks amid retirements and an expansion of routes. During the next decade, Delta expects to hire more than 8,000 pilots to staff the daily flights it operates around the world. The entire industry is scrambling to find pilots. Over the past three decades, the number of commercial pilots in the U.S. has decreased by 30 percent, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. At the same time, air travel has been increasing and is expected to double in the next 20 years, the International Air Transport Association estimates. The Boeing Pilot Outlook predicts the industry will need 117,000 new pilots between 2017 and 2036 in North America. Walker said the ATP-CTP course under the Delta partnership consists of three days of academic instruction in Jasper, three days in Delta’s simulators in Atlanta, and four days of preparation leading to a check ride in a Beechcraft Travel Air with Sanders Flight Training Center. Once the students complete the program, Delta will review their job application, Walker said; however, whether the student is interested in Delta or not, they will be prepared for a job at another major commercial carrier or air courier delivery service, she added. Each session will have about 12 students, and the class will be repeated multiple times every year the agreement is in place. It’s expected to place 100 pilots into Delta’s pipeline annually. This adds to the nearly 400 military aviators who already train with Sanders Flight Training Center each year. “We hope to help those who want to transition out of the military to find a new home in the aviation industry,” Walker said. “We really strive to be the full package and make sure our students are fully trained to become the best and most qualified aviators in the industry.” Sanders Aviation was founded in 1996 by Joseph Gordon “Gordo” Sanders Jr., a former military aviator and FedEx Captain whose nickname was his call sign. He and the other instructors at Sanders Flight Training Center have more than 60,000 hours of combined flight time. Sanders Flight Training Center has trained thousands of pilots from all over the United States and military aviators stationed abroad in Germany, England and Japan. Sanders Aviation has also been working to increase interest in the aviation industry in Walker County. It recently launched a course called “Theory of Aviation” to expose high school students to career opportunities in the growing field. “The class is a very hands-on experience. We take them on field trips and to Sanders Aviation. They are able to see maintenance take place, fly the simulator, and experience a day in the life of an aviator. They love it,” Walker said. Sanders Aviation’s activities are paying substantial benefits for Walker County, according to Steven Puckett, managing director of the Prosperity Fund, an initiative formed by Birmingham-based Southern Research to spur growth in Alabama’s coal country. “Sanders Aviation is working to create a more robust aviation industry in Walker County and to train a new generation of aircraft pilots, mechanics, and flight support personnel,” Puckett said. “The firm’s partnership with Delta and its educational outreach efforts are positioning it for future growth, which will spark economic vitality in the Jasper area.” The Prosperity Fund is assisting with what could be the next major milestone in Sanders Aviation’s growth – a possible 1,500-foot extension of the runway at Walker County Airport-Bevill Field that would allow the airstrip to handle military aircraft and larger civilian planes. A feasibility study is under way. ### .