Flight Training

The Ottawa Flying Club, in partnership with the Museum of Aviation, can now offer simulator based instruction on a full motion Redbird simulator located at the museum. The Redbird provides a unique training experience for students and can be used for IFR re-rides.

The Redbird FMX is a high-quality, feature-rich motion simulator. It includes wrap-around visuals, a fully enclosed cockpit, reconfigurable construction, and of course a motion platform.

We have just made the arrangements to access this simulator and it is now available for training. There will likely be some bugs at the beginning as we sort out the administration so bear with us.

Eventually, the simulator will be available on our Flight Sheets and can be booked in the normal manner. We will have to coordinate the instructor's travel to the Museum so ensure you communicate with the instructor.

Until we get the administrative bugs worked out, please call Dispatch and request a session in the simulator. We will make arrangements and call you back to fix a schedule date.

The cost of the simulator will be $90 per hour plus the instructor fees and taxes. Basic flight training will cost $142 per hour plus tax and advanced training will cost $154 per hour.

Contact Dispatch today to make your booking. 613-523-2142.

Second Career is a provincial government program under the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities that provides laid-off workers with

• skills training to help them find jobs in high-demand occupations in Ontario
• financial support

Pilot training is an acceptable second career and you can receive partial funding to help defray the costs of the flight training. Second Career is a cost-sharing grant provided on the basis of need, so you may be asked to contribute what you can to your training or education.

Second Career provides up to $28,000 for

• tuition - including flight training fees
• books
• other instruction costs such as manuals or workbooks
• transportation
• a basic living allowance

There are caps on the funding for flight training (a maximum of $14 per hour) but every bit helps.

For more information, see the Ontario Government's Second Career web site.

If you will be applying from outside of Canada, there are a couple of things that you need before you can study at the Ottawa Flying Club. In order to be accepted to our school, you must arrange for the following:

1. You require a student visa to study in Canada if you don’t have a Canadian citizenship. To start this process, see the Canadian Embassy (High Commission) in your country. They will require some information from you and also a letter of acceptance from the Ottawa Flying Club. Visit the Canadian immigration web site for more information at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/index.html#study

2. We can send you a letter of acceptance once you have a Transport Canada Category 1 Medical Certificate and once you have forwarded our membership and tuition fees. See the Consulate for a doctor in your country that is authorized to perform the Transport Canada Category 1 Medical Exam. They usually keep a list of doctors that can do this. This should be the first step. If the medical cannot be passed, you will not be able to undertake Commercial Pilot Licence training in Canada. The web site http://www.tc.gc.ca/aviation/cam/CamSearch.asp may list doctors able to do this medical in your country.

3. In order to fly in Canada, a pilot must be able to understand and speak English or French within Quebec and the National Capital Regions, and English within the remainder of Canada. It is advised that students unsure of their language skills contact a language school and complete an evaluation. The Ottawa Flying Club requires its students to meet the Berlitz level 8 of language proficiency. Language levels can be determined by taking the Test of English International Communications (TOEIC) available at various language schools. See the web site www.berlitz.com

4. To ensure your acceptance at the Ottawa Flying Club, and so we can send you a letter of acceptance for your student visa, we will require that you forward a $3650.00 deposit, of which $3500.00 is refundable if training is not started.

If you require information about housing or lodging, see the Embassy about this also. There is no lodging available at the Flying Club. Because the Embassy handles many other international students, they will know where to get the best value for your money. They may also be able to reserve accommodations for you before you arrive. For a listing of many places to stay in Ottawa, try the web site http://www.ottawa.com, which lists most hotels and hostels in the region.

If you plan to seek employment while in Canada, you will need to inquire at your Canadian embassy for the correct permits and documentation. The correct work permits must be acquired prior to entry into Canada.

If you require any more information you can also search this web site or you can email us individual questions at info@ofc.ca and we will answer as quickly as possible.

PROGRAM OF STUDY

The Professional Pilot Program is designed to graduate highly skilled pilots who are ready for the real world of commercial flight operations.

The graduates of a professional program can be confident that they have the skills and the knowledge that industry requires. They can also claim to have demonstrated an ability to acquire those skills and knowledge at a comparatively rapid rate in a rigorous program. This is an ability needed by commercial air services in an industry that is a continuous learning environment.

Admission

Qualified applicants are accepted on a firstcome firstserved basis. An application form must be submitted in writing to the Professional Pilot Program Manager. The Ottawa Flying Club reserves the right to accept or decline any application to the Professional Pilot Program.

To be eligible for admission, applicants must:

1. Hold a Transport Canada Category 1 Medical Certificate
2. Be at least 17 years of age
3. Have a Canadian grade 12 diploma or equivalent (Candidates not holding a grade 12 diploma can be considered as a mature applicant provided they are at least 19 years of age and have been out of school for at least one year.)
4. Be proficient in both written and spoken English to the Berlitz language school level 8 or equivalent. (See Appendix A for more information.)
5. Have financial means to complete both the ground and flight instruction.

Foreign students

Applicants who are not of Canadian citizenship, a permanent resident of Canada or a dependent of a diplomat accredited to Canada must get a student authorization. Contact your nearest Canadian embassy for details. For more information, see our Foreign Students page.

Advanced Standing

Applicants who already hold a Transport Canada Pilot’s License may apply for advanced standing. Such applicants will be considered on an individual basis.

STUDY TERMS

The Professional Pilot Program is a one-year full-time program (Monday to Friday) leading to the issue of a Commercial Pilot License. Additional courses will be offered for the Multi, Multi Instrument rating, Float endorsement and Instructor Rating. Class sizes are small which allows for a more personal teaching experience.

First Term

The first term of study consists of 12 weeks of classroom study and in-flight training towards the Private Pilot License (PPL).

Classroom topics include:

1) Theory of Flight
2) Airlaw & Airspace
3) Airframes and Engines
4) Flight Instruments
5) Meteorology
6) Flight Operations
7) Navigation & Radio Aids
8) Human Factors

Upon the recommendation of an instructor, at the end of this session, the student will be required to pass both a written exam and flight test administered by Transport Canada. Successful completion of these tests will qualify the candidate to be issued a Private Pilot Licence - Aeroplane.

Second Term

The second term of study consists of approximately 15 weeks of classroom study and in-flight training towards the Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL).

In addition to all the above subjects the following additional topics will be covered:

1) Standards and Procedures for Air Carriers using Small Aeroplanes
2) Principles of Turbine Engines
3) Crew Resource Management
4) Standard Operating Procedures
5) Pilot Decision Making
6) Resumes, Interviews and Networking for your Aviation Career

Upon the recommendation of an instructor, at the end of this session, the candidate will be required to pass both a written exam and flight test administered by Transport Canada. Successful completion of these tests will qualify the candidate to be issued a Commercial Pilot Licence - Aeroplane.

Third term

The third term of study consists of 22 weeks of classroom study towards the Multi-Engine endorsement and Multi-Instrument endorsement (M-IFR). In flight training is optional but the classroom portion will be covered.

Classroom topics include:

1) Night Flying
2) Aircraft & Runway Icing Considerations
3) Aircraft Systems
4) Aircraft Type Ratings
5) Multi Engine Flying
6) Radio Aids
7) Air Law & IFR Flight Procedures
8) IFR Flight Operations and Planning
9) Advanced Meteorology

Upon the recommendation of an instructor, at the end of this session, the candidate will be required to pass a written exam administered by Transport Canada. If the candidate has chosen to do the flight training portion for the Multi, Multi IFR a flight test will also be administered.

GRADUATION

Each May at the annual Wings Dinner, certificates are issued to each candidate who successfully completes a level of study, and a diploma is issued to each candidate who completes the entire Professional Pilot Program. Also the Chief Flying Instructor’s award is presented to the candidate with the highest academic performance for their written and flight skills.

FEES
Fees for the Professional Pilot Program can be found on the Fees page. Actual expenses can vary greatly with each student and be affected by individual abilities, efforts and the choice of endorsements pursued.

If you wanted to add an instructor rating to your Commercial License, increase the costs by approximately $5500 and add about 2 months to your training.

OFC is focused on providing you with good value for your dollar. While we try to keep costs as low as we can, we are also keeping our quality and safety at a very high standard. Try as we might, it is hard to avoid the increasing costs of operating a flight school. One thing is certain, we make a poor bank.

Over the last year we have been lenient in letting members and students maintain a small balance owing with us but we can no longer do so. In the last month you may have noticed Dispatch asking you to pay the outstanding amounts before you fly and we appreciate that you have.

In the next week, we will be instituting a more rigorous dunning process. (Dunning refers to the process of collect money owed to us.) You will notice the following:

• As currently happens, Dispatch will be asking for payment of outstanding amounts before they provide you with the key to the aircraft for your next flight. After the flight they will also be collecting payment.
• If this is not possible, Dispatch will try to collect the payment using the credit card information kept on your file later that night. Where the credit card on file is not able to make the payment, an e-mail will be sent to you asking you to fix the situation and make the payment
• After seven days, another e-mail reminder will be sent and again after 30 days.
• If the account is still outstanding after 60 days, we will sell the amounts outstanding to a collection agency.

I realize the last point sounds a bit severe in a friendly club. However, experience shows that if we don't receive payment within 60 days, the chance of ever receiving payment is pretty low. We have a number of accounts outstanding that are approaching two years and I don't want the number to grow.

The vast majority of members and students keep their account at zero or even maintain a positive balance on their account. We really appreciate this as it helps us run the business effectively while we provide you with value for your money.

If you have any concerns on this policy, please contact me through the contact form.

Mike McKay
CEO

(From the CBC)

The aviation industry may face a shortage of pilots, Boeing executives say.

Over the next two decades, the U.S. maker of commercial jetliners is projecting that there will be an estimated 30,000 more planes in the sky worldwide and that 466,650 pilots will be needed to fly them.

Capt. Domenic Di Iorio steers in a Boeing simulator. More simulators are being built to help airlines train pilots. (CBC)
In Canada and the United States alone — where baby boomer pilots are getting ready to retire — 97,350 new pilots will be required, the Chicago-based company said.

"If we wait to the last minute as an industry we will indeed face that shortage," said Roei Ganzarski, the chief customer officer for Boeing Training and Flight Services.

The shortage is already happening in some countries. Scroll down any airline job board and there are dozens of pilot positions advertised in Asia, including China, Korea and Vietnam, and in the Middle East.

The United Arab Emirates isn't waiting for pilots to apply. It came to Canada recently to recruit pilots from domestic airlines, offering big salaries and benefits. But the airline didn't allow CBC cameras inside to hear its pitch.

"What we don't want is for organizations to feel the need to fill that demand — to fill that shortage — by putting in maybe less competent, less proficient pilots," Ganzarski said.

Boeing is building more than a dozen flight simulators, with the majority of them heading overseas to China and the Middle East. All of them will help airlines train more pilots.

Industry officials said the simulator is an effective teaching tool, which helps fast-track new pilots without taking short cuts on safety.

"I think training programs are there to make sure we elevate and bring whatever skill level pilot that we encounter to that high benchmark or that high standard," said Jeff Roberts, group president of civil simulation products, training and services at CAE Inc.

But it has been difficult to recruit young people to become pilots. It takes up to five years to acquire the skills to fly commercially and many years after that before pilots can fly in the big leagues .

"It is difficult for the common person off the street to show up at a school and say 'I want to be a pilot for a career,'" said Capt. Domenic Di Iorio, CAE's instructor who tests pilots in Montreal. "It's very expensive."

Video Clip:

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/TV_Shows/The_National/1233408557/ID=17051...

Students and Members can now take advantage of our new agreement with Central Airways/Esso Avitat at Kingston Airport (CYGK).

Any C-150 or C-172 rented on the standard wet rate at the OFC can now fill up at Kingston Airport’s Central Airways/Esso Avitat at no charge to Students and Members.

After filling up, just let them know that you are from the OFC and to send the bill to us- we’ll take care of the rest*.

*This applies to CYGK ONLY.

Dispatch

Want to do some flying, but the weather's not favouring your flight plan? Why not make use of a bad weather day to brush up on your instrument and other flying skills?

Students and Members can now take advantage of solo/rental use of the new Simulator

In order for you to use the Simulator on your own, we ask that you complete a quick 'checkout', as you would for any of the fleet aircraft with one of our Instructors, where they will show you the ins and outs of the Sim's multiple features. After this they will sign off your logbook as "OK for Solo Sim Use". Then you're free to use the sim at your convenience.

The Sim will be treated as the rest of the OFC fleet, so before getting the keys you will have to be 'signed out' by Dispatch to get the keys to the Sim room, then signed back in when you are done. The Solo rate for the Sim is $35.00/hr.

The Ottawa Flying Club is a not-for-profit organization operated solely for the benefit of its members. Anyone can join our club and become a member. If you already have your licence, you can join as a Flying Member. If you are a student, we offer a Student Membership at half the regular rate and we will waive that if you sign up for one of our ground school programs.

Not interested in flying but still want to enjoy the club atmosphere and help out, then become an Associate Member.

Membership has its benefits. Once you join, flying members and students will have access to the OFC fleet of aircraft and our instructors for training and rental use as well as our online booking system where you can reserve instructors and aircraft.

In addition, OFC is pleased to offer the following benefits to Flying Members who renew their membership by the Annual General Meeting in February of each year:

• Membership in COPA (e-version)
• AOPA Canadian package (magazine, access to website with safety articles, etc., access to flt planning features)
• One hour free with an instructor
• One hour free in the OFC simulator (solo or with the free instructor hour)

It is very simple to join. Fill out the membership form and send it to us be fax (613 523-2187) or mail. If you are going to fly, we'll also need you to sign a list of Club operational policies, outlining what you may and may not do with club aircraft.

Membership fees effective December 2011:

Annual Membership: $150
Student Membership: $75 (included in private ground school fee)
Associate Members: $35

HST tax will be applied to the membership fees. Rates subject to change without notice.

Contact The Ottawa Flying Club today for more information. Call 613-523-2142 or email info@ofc.ca.

If you want to learn how to fly or to upgrade your skills, you've come to the right place. Whether you want to fly for fun or are interested in a professional career, the Ottawa Flying Club can give you the training you require.

Located at Ottawa MacDonald Cartier International Airport, the Ottawa flying club offers a unique flight training experience. The control zone of Ottawa teaches students to work in an environment with airline traffic and our training area is close by, just minutes to the north. There are also a number of uncontrolled airports in the area that provide additional learning opportunities.

For advanced flight training, the active IFR control zone provides great facilities for learning IFR procedures. Flight training at the Ottawa Flying Club provides the confidence to fly in all types of airspace, enabling you to take your skills across Canada with confidence.

Foreign Students are welcome.

Do you want to try flying an airplane to see what it is like? We offer introductory flights to anyone wanting to see what it's like to fly! Check out the link and call today to book! 613-523-2142