New Schofields’ CFI

Bankstown Airport’s Schofields Flying Club has appointed Bill Cooper as its new Chief Flying Instructor and Chief Pilot.

Cooper brings a multitude of experience to the role, having been involved with flying schools and clubs in the Sydney basin for the past 45 years. As well as heavy involvement with the Camden Aero Club from 1965 through to the club’s demise in 2003, Cooper taught aviation at Sydney TAFE for three decades after earlier studying PPL, CPL, ATPL and flight navigator courses there himself in the late 60s.

More recently, Cooper was CFI/Chief Pilot at charter/training operator Camden Aviation from 2003-2007, before taking up the CFI role at the now defunct Sydney Aviation College from 2007 until earlier this year. To date Cooper has a mammoth 8000 flying hours to his name.

Cooper said in his new role he hopes to carry on the tradition of flying clubs, which he says are somewhat of a rare breed these days despite offering something different for the student than more formal flying schools.

“It fills a particular area  – you couldn’t call it a niche, because it’s a lot bigger than a niche,” Cooper said of the important role flying clubs play. “Clubs appeal to individuals who want to come and sit around and talk, apart from flying, so it’s much more of a social atmosphere than the average flying school.

“There are two issues here at Schofields for me – one is to learn the culture of the place, and the other is to make the membership and the students happy.”

New Schofields’ President John Young said Cooper’s experience made him an easy choice for the role.

“8000-odd flying hours experience, he’s got all the delegations for covering what Schofields does on its AOC, and he’s got the general experience and knowledge of the industry,” Young said.

Cooper’s appointment at Schofields consolidates the club’s CFI role, which had previously been split between an IFR CFI and a VFR CFI. Young hopes the new set-up will breed cohesiveness.

“Any organisation works better when you’ve got a chief, rather than a pair of chiefs,” he said. “From our point of view it’s much smoother and more efficient having one person in control delegating the work to others rather than two trying to work cohesively together.”