A new Abbotsford school district program that provides hands-on pilot training recently celebrated its first graduation at the Abbotsford Airport with an awards dinner and flying lessons for the guests.
Following the dinner at the Baron Restaurant, the 12 students in the AV 100 Aviation Program gave their parents a tour of the hangar, dispatch centre and a flying lesson in the simulators.
The aviation program is part of the district’s career programs.
“This course offers our students exposure to a variety of career paths and opportunities in the Aviation field that they may not have had otherwise,” Abbotsford Board of Education Chair Rhonda Pauls said.
During their year, students in the AV 100 program met the Transport Canada ground instruction requirements towards their private pilot license.
They also learned to how to plan a cross country trip by air then ‘fly’ the actual route using a flight simulator at Coastal Pacific Aviation; viewed the inside workings of an aircraft engine at COPAC’s Aircraft Maintenance facility; learned about air traffic control by visiting the Abbotsford International control tower; learned how to repair damaged aircraft skin at the University of the Fraser Valley’s Aircraft Structures Technician training facility; toured Chinook Helicopters; learned about fighting fires from the air by visiting Conair and took a behind-the-scenes tour of Abbotsford International Airport operations.
Eight of this year’s 12 graduating students have applied to the University of the Fraser Valley’s Bachelor of Business Administration in Aviation degree program.
Starting in September, students in the program will be able to gain 120 hours of work experience in addition to the ground school training.
The program is sponsored by Cascade Aerospace, Conair Aerial Firefighting, WestJet, Chinook Helicopters, Coastal Pacific Aviation, Marshall Aerospace, the Abbotsford International Airshow and Abbotsford International Airport Operations.