The ORT Italy School of Aviation was one of the major ORT undertakings in the course of its work with DPs in Italy. The school, located in the Rome area, was set up  in 1948 order to train pilots whose qualifications would meet the required standards of commercial aviation companies. The first intake of students was divided into two groups.  The first included seven young members of a gliders’ club who already had some flying experience. The training of these students comprised of thirty-seven hours of flying practice. The second, comprising of seventeen students, had no previous flying experience and needed a considerably longer period of training. Their training comprised of eighty to eighty-five flights per student. According to an ORT report: 'The experts who tested the pupils' knowledge considered the results excellent.'[1] Both groups successfully finished their training in October 1948 and received pilots’ certificates.