A BOOM in multi-million-pound sales at a private aircraft specialist in Bournemouth, with deliveries scheduled into 2010, has driven a demand for pilots qualified to fly the Pilatus PC-12.

Until now pilots had to train in Switzerland but following the accreditation of the Bournemouth centre by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), pilots can now train at Bournemouth International Airport.

Bob Berry, managing director of the UK Pilatus Centre said: “We have six pilots enrolled to gain their PC-12 type rating and more enquiries filtering through.

“We are now seeing earlier models being replaced by customers who want the latest version so the demand for type rated pilots is increasing rapidly.”

Examiner Andrew Dixon has been appointed head of training at the centre and he will oversee a team of three instructors.