16 March 2010
Montreal's flight simulator and training giant CAE Inc. (TSX:CAE) is using the Moncton Flight College to test what the Dieppe school is calling the new way to train pilots.
Together the firms are announcing the details of CAE's new multi-crew pilot licence beta program today at the Dieppe campus, with executives from both companies and government officials in attendance.
Mel Benson, director of advanced education for the Moncton Flight College, said there are currently 12 cadets from Malaysia who arrived last month to start the program.
"It will be a new way to train pilots," Benson said in an interview.
"This streamlines the process, using a lot more simulation," he said, explaining that currently pilots in the industry go through a fragmented training process.
After their time in Dieppe, the Malaysian students will then transition to CAE SimuFlite in Dallas for Phase 3 intermediate-level instruction and then to CAE's aviation training centre in Toronto for the fourth phase of the 56-week program, which will lead to them becoming A320 first officers for AirAsia.
Premier Shawn Graham will be at the announcement to help Moncton Flight College CEO and principal Mike Doiron and CAE vice-president of civil aviation services Claude Lauzon reveal more details.
"If this goes according to plan, they'll go into a full production mode," Benson said, declining to offer any more specifics of the beta program, which had been in the works for the Dieppe company for just over a year before the deal was inked.
CAE announced last month it had signed a contract with AirAsia to train student cadets for the Malaysian airline in a program designed to International Civil Aviation Organization standards for the multi-crew pilot licence.
The companies say the CAE program is the first application of a multi-crew pilot licence program that will adhere to new performance-based Approved Training Organization certification requirements developed by Transport Canada.
The CAE initiative is meant to provide airlines with pilots who can operate a modern multi-crew, multi-engine, turbine-powered commercial transport aircraft.
CAE is a leading civil and military aerospace simulator and training company that employs more than 6,500 people at 90 sites and training locations in 20 countries. The firm has annual sales that top $1.6 billion.
by REBECCA PENTY
nbbusinessjournal.canadaeast.com
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