The École nationale de l'aviation civile (; ; ENAC; ) is one of 205 colleges (as of September 2018) accredited to award engineering degrees in France. ENAC is designated as a grande école by the Conférence des Grandes écoles (CGE), a non-profit organisation which certifies and monitors grandes écoles (including engineering colleges). ENAC was founded on 28 August 1949 to provide initial and continuing education in the field of civil aviation. The school is an établissement public à caractère scientifique, culturel et professionnel (a public scientific, cultural or professional establishment), and operates under the oversight of the Ministry of Ecological Transition.Décret numéro 2007-651 du 30 avril 2007 portant statut de l'École nationale de l'aviation civile Affiliated with the University of Toulouse and Aerospace Valley, it is one of the five founders of France AEROTECH.France Aérotech, un nouveau réseau pour l’aéronautique et le spatial
ENAC offers 30 engineering and technical programs in civil aviation and aeronautics. Programs include aerospace engineering, aircraft maintenance, commercial airline piloting, air traffic control, and flight instructor. The college also offers three Master of Science programs and 12 Advanced Master programs for students with relevant experience.
History
Origins
In 1945, immediately after World War II, the French air-transport industry experienced rapid growth. To ensure safety and compliance with regulations, demand for qualified staff was high; there was a need to harmonise communications among sectors of the aviation industry. ENAC was founded to address this issue. 50 ans d'Énac, p. 13 Among its founders was Max Hymans, the secretary general of civil and commercial aviation.
During the postwar years, there was a lack of unity in the civil-aviation industry due to the hasty recruitment of large numbers of people from different backgrounds. To standardize personnel, a number of training centers were created. Airfield commanders were trained in Orly, and navigation staff were trained in Le Bourget. Wireless operators and radiotelegraph technicians were also trained in Orly by the Department of Telecommunications and Signaling. Technical managers were primarily trained in engineering schools, including Arts et Métiers and the National School of Meteorology (École nationale de la météorologie). Designers were trained by the École spéciale des travaux aéronautiques, and aircrew were trained by other public or private institutions. 50 ans d'Énac, p. 14 ENAC's mission was to coordinate the training of aviation personnel.
In Decree No. 49-970 (7 June 1948), the rules of French public administration were codified. The regulations applying to civil-aviation officials were overhauled, affecting the technical staff in particular. Several new groups of civil servants were established: air traffic engineers, air navigation operation engineers, aerial telecommunication civil engineers, air traffic controllers, telecommunication controllers and air navigation agents. The creation of these groups was followed by a ministerial decision on 12 August 1948 which paved the way for the first recruitment by competitive examination, which was held in October 1948. On 14 April 1948, the International Civil Aviation Organization established requirements for aircrew licensing, including a minimum number of flight hours for each category of pilot. 50 ans d'Énac, p. 15
Before adopting the name ENAC, the school was called a "service of education and internships" (service des écoles et des stages) and was funded by the general secretariat for civil and commercial aviation. This contrasted with the tradition of French civil-service personnel being trained in grandes écoles. Jules Moch, the Minister of Works, Transport and Tourism, unsuccessfully proposed the name "École nationale de l'aviation marchande". 50 ans d'Énac, p. 18
Aviation-safety university in Paris
ENAC was created on 28 August 1949 (Decree 49–1205) in Paris at the initiative of Secretary General of Civil Aviation Max Hymans and Jules Moch to train professionals in civil aeronautics and coordinate all air-transport stakeholders, including aircrew, technicians, and civil servants. The university is in Orly, south of Paris; ENAC's buildings at Orly were an examination center until the early 1990s. René Lemaire considers ENAC "a university of aviation safety".Speech on 3 March 1951. Aviation safety is synonymous with ENAC, since it was the rationale for the training of technicians and airmen at a single school.
As noted in a report of the inspection générale de l'aviation civile, "It was in the minds of the creators of the university to develop between the aircrew and the ground staff a community of ideas, reciprocal knowledge, and esteem, that are essential for the teamwork required by air transport." However, it is doubtful that the report's "community of ideas" could be only expressed by courses at the same university. Other factors were different lengths of training; 50 ans d'Énac, p. 25 air navigation civil engineers in the telecommunications branch study for 30 months at the university; operations students are trained in 27 months; air-navigation engineers in two years, and air traffic controllers in nine months. A consistent education was provided to students in different cycles, integrating programs.René LEMAIRE, 1952
First partners
On 13 October 1959, the first major partner of the university was recognised; this enabled the recruitment of pilots with no previous flight experience. The previous year, the university held training sessions on an experimental basis and was responsible for teaching theory for the airline transport pilot licence. Flight training was provided at the Service d'exploitation de la formation aéronautique (SEFA) center at Saint-Yan Airport (opened in 1949) until students received a commercial pilot licence; advanced training was provided at the Air France school. ENAC also provided theoretical training for pilots of a number of airlines, and the question of cost arose. 50 ans d'Énac, p. 28 The expensive training, not paid by France, was eventually borne by private airlines.
To give its students a thorough understanding of the air-transport environment, ENAC sought to cooperate with the École nationale de la météorologie; a 29 May 1950 report noted the influence of meteorology on air traffic control and advocated meteorological training for air-traffic controllers. 50 ans d'Énac, p. 32 Close links also traditionally existed between civil aviation and the Air Force. After World War II, as civil aviation was developing, members of the armed forces participated in its expansion. Pilots, radio operators, navigators and mechanics came from the military to the airlines, and ENAC sought to convert military aircrews. On 9 June 1951, a memorandum specifying the school's responsibilities in the training of military pilots for civil aviation was signed. The university was the general contractor of operations, and provided theoretical training. In accordance with a of 31 March 1951 decree, the Service de l'aviation légère et sportive (SALS) provided free flight training for pilot candidates coming from the army. 50 ans d'Énac, p. 33
From 1949 to 1959, the number of courses increased from six to 64 and the number of students from 49 to 800. 50 ans d'Énac, p. 34 ENAC benefited from the postwar development of aviation, and a number of students came from foreign countries or (in particular) overseas territories which later became independent. 50 ans d'Énac, p. 35 During the early 1960s, the university began to accept its first students from foreign civil-aviation authorities. 50 ans d'Énac, p. 36 Along with enrollment growth, courses were created to keep pace with new ratings. The navigation-instructor rating was introduced in 1956, and corresponding training began. Courses were sometimes introduced to meet a need, such as a speaking-technique course for instructors that year. The first civilian engineering students were also admitted in 1956. In 1958, the airline-pilot theoretical training course began. Students took an annual trip from ENAC Orly, and were received (in full uniform) by local authorities on their arrival.Book 50 ans d'Énac p.45
Transition The university underwent significant changes between 1960 and 1975. It moved to Toulouse in 1968, where the main campus is still located. In 1970, the status of the university was changed from a department of the DGAC to a public institution. 50 ans d'Énac, p. 55
The school was originally located on the outskirts of Paris-Orly Airport, France's largest. Its location offered easy access to planes for navigation flights, promotional trips and other activities; leaders of nearby airlines, aircraft manufacturers and other aviation-related businesses could come to the university for lectures and conferences.
However, the rapid growth of traffic at Paris-Orly before the construction of Charles de Gaulle Airport brought new challenges. Requirements for ENAC's aircraft became more stringent, and Aéroports de Paris became increasingly reluctant to renew the university's lease. During the early 1960s, the future of the Orly facilities was uncertain. 50 ans d'Énac, p. 56
Earlier, in the mid-1950s, the possibility of moving ENAC to a new location was considered. Potential locations were cities near Paris airports; between 1954 and 1957, Thiais, Rungis, Issy-les-Moulineaux, Les Mureaux and Le Bourget were considered. 50 ans d'Énac, p. 57 Regional decentralization became a priority, even before the publication of Jean-François Gravier's Paris et le désert français (Paris and the French Desert). Plans to keep ENAC near Paris seemed increasingly doubtful, and more-distant locations began to be considered. Within a radius of the capital, cities under consideration included Melun, Pontoise, Coulommiers, Étampes, Reims, Évreux, Chartres and Orléans. A 20 May 1959 report listed the disadvantages of a location too distant from Paris, however, such as the difficulty of transporting personnel, the possible extension of courses, and increased operating costs. 50 ans d'Énac, p. 58
René Lemaire proposed moving the school to Toulouse in a 14 June 1960 report. 50 ans d'Énac, p. 59 The city's aeronautical infrastructure and long history as a university town made it an attractive location: the (University of Toulouse, founded in 1229, is one of France's oldest universities. École nationale supérieure d'ingénieurs de constructions aéronautiques (ENSICA) settled in Toulouse in 1961, and École nationale supérieure de l'aéronautique et de l'espace (SUPAERO) 50 ans d'Énac, p. 61 was going to move from Paris to the city. ENAC's transfer to Toulouse was approved by Prime Minister Michel Debré on 15 June 1961 50 ans d'Énac, p. 62 and confirmed by his successor, Georges Pompidou, in a 23 July 1963 letter. 50 ans d'Énac, p. 63
Building construction on the Rangueil campus began in April 1966, 50 ans d'Énac, p. 79 and was completed on 19 August 1968. The academic year began on 16 September of that year. Five hundred students were expected, including 325 who were beginning their training. The new students consisted of 15 air-navigation engineering students drawn largely from École Polytechnique, 70 engineering students in air navigation from classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles, 60 airline-pilot students, 100 air-traffic controller students, 40 electronics students, 20 commercial-pilot students and 20 flight dispatcher students. 50 ans d'Énac, p. 81
Public administrative institution