Government of Nigeria Allocates 2.3B for Training Aircraft

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) of the Government of Nigeria has approved funds for the production of Hungarian Magnus Sentinel training and surveillance aircraft. After an FEC meeting last week, Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika disclosed that the FEC has approved N2.3 billion for the commencement of local assembly of Magnus Aircraft at Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria, Kaduna State.

The aircraft will help train pilots in spin and spin recovery. The minister believes that while spin and spin recovery is no longer trained because of the advancement of today’s aircraft, this type of training should come back to Nigeria’s aviation industry.

"We were all trained like that as pilots; but because airplanes become more and more technologically advanced, the need for spin and spin recovery didn't arise, because they are becoming more and more sophisticated,” Sirika said to The Premium Times of Nigeria.

"But again, the world realised that we still get into spin or there is a need for this skill to be developed for recovery out of spin situation.

"So, most of manufacturers stopped producing trainers for that purpose; and so there are not many people now that do that manufacture.

"And the company, Messrs Magnus, realised that gap and started to produce airplanes that can get into spin and out of it, so that students can be trained on that.

"So this airplane is fully aerobatic, goes into aerobatics; and I think the Nigerian Air Force and the Air Force around the region will be interested and excited by this development, we are taking the lead in civil aviation.”

The aircraft will be produced in Nigeria, said Sirika. "It is our intention to produce them here, assemble them here in policy, when in the future, you know, sell them out to where we're interested around the world.”

Source: The Premium Times, Nigeria