The King Faisal Air Academy () is a military officer academy and

flight school Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted under a str ...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the ...

founded on 10 January 1968.

History

Founded on 10 January 1968, by Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, Minister of Defense and Aviation, King Faisal Air Academy was officially opened on 20 May 1970 under the auspices of King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz. The college has an internal and external scholarship system to study other aviation sciences such as aviation engineering, accounting and law.

Present

Training lasts for twenty-seven months, with bachelor's degrees in aeronautical sciences awarded to aircrew and engineering degrees awarded to technical specialties. Programs include fighter pilot, weapon director, air traffic controller, and information technology training. Because most of the

Royal Saudi Air Force The Royal Saudi Air Force ( ar, ‎الْقُوَّاتُ الْجَوِّيَّةُ الْمَلَكِيَّةْ ٱلسُّعُوْدِيَّة, Al-Quwwat Al-Jawiyah Al-Malakiyah as-Su’udiyah) (RSAF) is the aviation branch of the Saudi Arabia ...

's equipment is made by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, instruction is in English, and much of the faculty is British. Unlike other officer training schools, graduates of KFAA are trained as both pilots and officers simultaneously and are fully qualified for both flight and command duties upon graduation. Some graduates go on to further training with the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

Columbus Air Force Base Columbus Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Columbus, Mississippi. The host unit at Columbus AFB is the 14th Flying Training Wing (14 FTW), which is a part of Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The resident ...

References

Flight training Education in Saudi Arabia K {{aviation-stub