Tamworth's pilot training capacity to soar after funding injection

The $5 million in state funding comes from the NSW Regional Development Trust, and will be joined by $1.61 million of Tamworth Regional Council's own funding to upgrade lighting and air conditioning to meet industry standards.

"We are grateful to the NSW government for this investment in the International Flight Training Tamworth, a facility our community is very proud of," Mayor Russell Webb said in a statement.

"Funding infrastructure like this supports regional communities like Tamworth to contribute to the growth and success of the aviation industry locally and internationally."

The project is aimed at bolstering Tamworth's reputation as "a leading pilot training hub in Australia and across the Asia-Pacific", according to a statement released by the NSW government, with Australia-trained pilots in high demand from airlines across the world.

"This funding is about delivering new jobs and investment for regional communities," Minister for Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said.

"The International Flight Training investment is about securing NSW's place as a leader in aviation training. By upgrading international training facilities we're helping ensure NSW remains at the forefront of global aviation standards."

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During a news conference in front of the International Flight Training building that would receive the upgrades, Cr Webb said there was a lot of work to be done to improve what he considered one of Tamworth's "crown jewels".

"This building here is now being occupied by two flying schools, Singapore Flying College and the Sydney Flying College," Cr Webb said.

"The building, as big as it is, is quite aged, and there's a lot of work that needs to be done here."

The $6.61 million would enable council to start work "straight after Christmas" on the 30-year-old buildings, but more would be needed to fully upgrade the site, with council also waiting on federal funding to complete the upgrade.

"We've got a fairly big grant application in looking for more money [from the federal government]," Cr Webb said.

"We would like to actually put some solar panels on the roofs around here, we'd like to create a renewable energy source for all of the air conditioning."

Visitors toured the academy, tried flight simulators, and met instructors at the SFC Pilot Academy Open Day in Tamworth.

It's not going to be cheap, Cr Webb said, but it's something that needed to be done to support one of Tamworth's growth industries.

The upgrades will start on the classroom and flight simulator facilities, and then move on to upgrading the cadet accommodation, in order to hit the goal of 200 cadets per year through SFC's college, and attract more cadets from Singapore and other airlines.

SFC Aero's CEO Joseph Pilo, at a recent Tamworth Open Day. Picture: Gareth Gardner.

SFC Aero's chief executive Joseph Pilo has welcomed the infusion of funding as the company seeks to expand its operations at Tamworth, already having investing heavily in its Tamworth operation.

Mr Pilo said without the funding SFC Aero's growth "would probably" be limited, instead the funds would benefit all users of the training space, not just the company's operations.

"SFC is proud to be part of this growth journey," Mr Pilo said.

"We're proud to be part of Tamworth, and we're happy to see that we can create more jobs in the community."

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