Comando Aéreo de Combate 7 at Cali, Colombia

• Escuadrón Preparatorio 111 (S10VT/SZD-54/T-41D)
• Escuadrón Basico 712 (T-90)
• Escuadrón de Combate Táctico 713 (B212/C208/C212/AC-47T/UH-60L)

The school was initially established in Flanders in Tolima and operated by a French military mission with the first course staring in 1921.  Major Felix Castillo was the first officer to make their first solo flight in Colombia.  Unfortunately, the school soon closed due to financial difficulties but made a later restart at Madrid in 1925 using Wild WT-3s from Switzerland.  Further expansion took place in 1932 after hostilities with Peru.  Ten Curtiss Hawk II aircraft were acquired from USA and the school moved to its current location in Cali.

The school was supported by missions from Switzerland, Germany, Cuba and America as well as France.  Between 1935 and 1955, the School adopted the name of the commercial pilot Ernesto Samper and from 1936 all the preparation and operation of military aviation was in the hands of the Colombian military.

During the Second World War the USA provided Vultee BT-15A and Stearman PT-17s under the Lend Lease Programme.  Beechcraft T-34A Mentor trainers arrived in 1954 (the survivors underwent complete reconstruction and modernisation work in 1992).   In 1968 Cessna T-41 Mescalero were acquired as the primary trainer along with Cessna T-37Bs for advanced training, and in 1983 the first two gliders were acquired.  The flight training program was reinforced in 1992 with the arrival of the Embraer T-27 Tucano turboprop.

In 2010, the CIAC T-90 Calima was built and began entering service.  This was a home produced variant of the Lancair Legacy FG single engine training aircraft featuring a composite material construction.  Most aircraft were upgraded to T-90C which featured reinforced landing gear and an advanced avionics suite.  The T-90 replaced the T-34A and has partially replaced the T-41D.

All Air Force officers pass through EMAVI.  There are approximately 460 cadets on site and the course lasts four years.  100 – 120 officers graduate each year.  Four courses are offered:

• Mechanical Engineering
• Computer Engineering
• Aeronautical Administration
• Military Aeronautical Sciences (which includes flying)

ICFES (a Colombian institute that manages and evaluates educational institutes) has certified EMAVI as a Higher Education Institution.  In 2006 EMAVI received ISO 9000 certification.  In 2018, the 94^th year of intake started.

The training is long and arduous and the highest standards are expected of the students.  Around 100-150 cadets enter the School each year and are selected from over 2,000 applicants.  The cadets are divided into squads of 5 to 10 cadets depending on the course.  The squads parent to an Element which consists of about 5 to 7 squads and these are then parented to Squadrons with around 3 Elements per Squadron.  Delta Squad is year one, Charlie year 2 and Bravo year 3.  Year 4 is Alpha but these are not assigned to any Squadrons nor do they have command directly over any other Squads.  However, they have complete authority over junior cadets.