We’d like to introduce some of the achievements of Alpha Aviation. We, the entire staff, work together to bring the joy of flying to you in the safest possible manner. That’s our philosophy.

We hope you’ll appreciate our efforts into safe flight, the best possible education of future pilots and helping the aviation industry evolve. And then choose us for your aviation needs.

Robinson R22/R44
We got the type certificate for the R22 from JCAB on behalf of the Robinson Helicopter Company in 2002. A national type certificate reduces the paperwork requirements as well as associated costs in Japan. So, it is easier for Japanese customers to buy a helicopter. In Japan, type certificates for small aircraft were rare a decade ago. We spent a lot of time and money to get one. Surprisingly, it took more than three years to coordinate with JCAB officers and prepare the documents. These are difficult to do, but we were successful because of our technical capabilities and know-how. Furthermore, this experience enables us to provide high-quality service for the sale, maintenance and operation of our aircraft.

Diamond DA-40/DA-42
Diamond Aircraft are attractive, innovative and high-tech. These aircraft have glass cockpits, diesel engines, and the body and wings are made of fiber-reinforced plastic. We have decided to import these magnificent machines, and we acquired the type certificate for the DA40 and DA42. This reduces the import costs and furthers day-to-day aircraft reliability and up-time.

The Difference between the Cessna C172 and the DA40
1. Climb: The DA40 has good climb performance thanks to its better engine. 2. Cruise: The DA40 is easy to control because of its low-wing airframe and its stick type control. Furthermore, it has a better cruise speed thanks to its high horse power output. 3. Navigation: The DA40 comes standard with the G1000 glass cockpit, which makes it easy to maintain airway, speed, and altitude. The G1000 autopilot system helps you fly effortlessly to your destination.

Gold Medals in Helicopter World Championships
The Alpha Aviation team won gold medals at the World Helicopter Championships in Germany (1999), Spain (2000) and Austria (2002). In order to win the gold medals, we trained hard in all our spare time. Thanks to our efforts, our pilots became more skillful and we could perfect our performance and get a lot of visibility internationally. The fact that our customers can be trained by medalists ensures them that our service is of the highest quality. And we made Japan famous in the World Helicopter Championships. Alpha Aviation is the only Japanese company that participated in the World Helicopter Championships. Our participation was self-funded. Our efforts were not only for our own merit but also for the Japanese aviation industry in general. All of this are part and parcel of why we can provide higher quality and safer service for our customers than our competitors here in Japan.

Expansion to Fukushima Airport
There are few airports in Japan at which one can conduct aircraft training, especially in central Japan. Narita and Haneda Airports are only open for commercial airlines, and other airports are ill-equipped, with bad runway conditions or are too small for good training. Fukushima Airport (RJSF) is the nearest airport that is adequately equipped to the extent that that there’s even scheduled domestic and international flights. As a result, training can be conducted efficiently, especially for instrument flight training. In fact, our students get their licenses more quickly than other flight schools’ students do. Regarding training areas, other flight schools use training areas limited to 2,000ft altitude, but we are able to use training areas suitable for training at higher altitudes (4,000ft to 8,000ft). At Fukushima Airport we currently provide pilot training using the DA40, the DA42 and Agusta A109, but in the future, we plan to add the D-Jet and open a business-jet center at our Fukushima operation center.

Coorporation with Universities
Alpha Aviation is the first company to conduct aviation training for university undergraduate students in Japan. We started in 2008. Most universities entrust their students’ training to universities in the USA. However, we can conduct all training in Japan and offer the students high quality training here, which increases their chances of getting a job in the Japanese aviation industry and familiarizes students with Japanese aviation environments that they will encounter when they work in the future. Alpha Aviation uses innovative aircraft, such as “Diamond Aircraft”, at Fukushima Arport (RJSF). All our customers can actually enjoy the same service as university students do without enrolling. Teikyo University has launched a training course for helicopter pilots in 2010. Students are able to get their private pilot license and commercial pilot license in three years in this program. Because Teikyo has a Department of Medicine and oversees medical internships at hospitals, they will also open an EMS training course for those who would like to be EMS pilots. In Japan, there are few EMS pilots, so this program is receiving quite some attention and begets high expectations. Alpha Aviation has kept its top-level market share in the Japanese flight training business for more than nine years and is now marking our 38th accident-free year. Thanks to such achievements, we won the contract for pilot training at Teikyo University.

38th Accident-free Record
“Is an aircraft safe? What is the chance for aircraft accident?” Most people or their families who are interested in training ask us these kinds of questions. They are nervous about accidents. However, we tell them that we have been accident-free since our foundation, and that makes them feel more confident. We know why accidents occur and how to prevent them through our long-time operational experience. Our accident-free record is living proof of this. The president, pilots, mechanics and other employees pay attention to safety as a matter of course. For example, our president gets information from the operation center every morning, at mid-day and at the end of the day and keeps updated. All staff members explicitly clarify what they are to do and what they are responsible for. That’s one of the small parts of what constitutes the reason we can maintain such an accident-free record. Furthermore, safety is priority in training. There are cheaper schools out there, but in our view, choosing a school merely because it’s cheaper is not necessarily beneficial.

Care for the Environment
Most small aircraft equipped with reciprocal engines use aviation gasoline (Avgas). Leaded gasoline had been widely used for automobiles until the mid-1970’s in Japan. The authorities do not recommend it because of its negative impact on the environment. However, in aviation, most operators still use leaded gasoline in order to prevent the engine from knocking. In order to solve this problem, we decided to import un-leaded gasoline and use it in our helicopters, bringing us up to the best international standards. This is achieved thanks to our tireless efforts; we asked the helicopter manufacturer to revise their aircraft’s operating manual to facilitate such a principle. Additionally, and by no means easily, we have sought out overseas petroleum companies and acquired a license for importing the necessary products.

In Closing
We hope this information helps you. The achievements described herein can’t be attained overnight. Even though the road have been long and winded, we have continued to strive to provide people with easy access to aviation services in Japan, and in the future perhaps it’s anywhere in the world. We appreciate when people recognize that we have taken the lead in the general aviation industry in Japan through our serious commitment to safe operations, turning out first-rate pilots and ongoing development in general aviation. We look forward to serving you.

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