Every year, a number of Irish flyers from a variety of backgrounds take part in its programme to create commercial pilots. These new pilots will have been trained to such a level that they can go on to fly with the airlines, or in a variety of other flight-related jobs . . . from aerial fire-fighting and air taxis to stunt flying and search and rescue.

Carl O'Daly(23) is typical of the sort of person who travels to Canada to take part in the PRI programme . . . if it is possible to have a "typical" candidate for what is a unique opportunity. Trained as a chef in GMIT, he worked in catering in Dun Laoghaire and Thurles before spotting an ad in the national press for a flying school in Canada that raised his interest levels.

"It was only a small ad, " he said.

"But I rang up and checked it out, and it seemed like the ideal move for me. I met PRI's Recruitment Director Eddie Russell in Dublin and was impressed that a fully qualified pilot would take the time to meet me and explain the program" Carl already had an interest in becoming a pilot . . . hardly surprising, given that he has a family history in flying. His grandfather was a pilot with Aer Lingus and KLM, and an uncle is currently working for the same Dutch airline. Not to mention the fact that, from an early age, he had been ferried back and forth (especially to the Netherlands), so travelling on a plane was second nature to him.

"The course appealed to me for a number of reasons, " he said.

"Firstly, there was the travel aspect . . . I thought that it would be a good idea to cross the Atlantic because I had never been in North America before. And the price of the training seemed very reasonable.

I also liked the fact that both Eddie and Diarmuid O'Riordan the Course Director had trained at the school and still work there" Having arrived on August 4 of last year, Carl found himself is a cockpit very quickly.

"I started my ground school in the first week, but within a few days I had been inside a plane, " he said. "It was a Cessna 152, and it was like nothing I had ever experienced before. I had been in the cockpit of a 737 when I was younger . . . they don't allow you to do things like that anymore . . . but as regards to learning how to fly, I had never been near a training aircraft before."

Some people come to the PRI academy having done some introductory flying, but for Carl, everything was new.

"I suppose the course was what I had expected, because I came with an open mind, and didn't really know what to expect, " he said.

"And, by early September, I was flying solo, doing short laps of the runway. It was great, and when you land after your first flight, everybody makes a big fuss of you."

It has to be stated that a "short lap" of the Flying Schools airbase is about two miles . . . its runways are significantly longer than those at Dublin Airport.

Ground school is as important for trainee pilots as their time in the air, and at various stages of his training Carl was either in the air or in class.

"It is fairly intensive training, " he said. "I had just finished studying for my private licence when I had to start studying for my commercial licence. I will be finished my instrument training in a couple of weeks, and I have just completed my instrument flying, so I should have my commercial licence in a few days."

In fact, if this article had been published next week, the likelihood is that Carl would have already achieved his commercial licenceless than a year from starting his training!

"I am at the business end of the course, moving at a steady pace, " he said. "At this time, we are constantly hit with exams and flight tests, and soon I will have completed my instrument training and my multi-engine training. The multi-engine training takes place in a Piper Twin Comanche, which is an impressive plane."

So when Carl completes his initial training, does he have any plans for his future career?

"Hopefully I can work as an instructor here at the school, " he said. "That would be for about a year. And, after that, I don't really have any interest in returning to Ireland . . . so I'll go wherever the work takes me. I don't know if I want to jump straight into an airline . . . I'd like to try a number of different planes first as there seems to be a lot of work out there."

And would he recommend the course to others?

"Definitely! I think that I am experiencing a lot more in aviation than I would at home. Canada offers a good experience, a good life and a good school for learning to fly."