Work begins on expansion of Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre training centre | Globalnews.ca
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There will be new flight simulators installed to help train the next generation of pilots in Waterloo, Ont., and Wellington.
It will see a new cutting-edge Flight SIM Centre and Innovation Hub be built next to Hangar 7.
It will have three state-of-the-art flight simulators that will be dedicated to training pilots to fly Boeing 737, De Havilland Q-400, and Airbus 320 aircraft.
“This will help (students) with the transition into an airline environment,” said Bob Connors, general manager of the Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre.
“More and more of our students are going into airline jobs right out of school or shortly after school.”
Kitchener-Conestoga MP Tim Louis, Region of Waterloo Chair Karen Redman, and Suzanne Cairns of the University of Waterloo and founding director of Waterloo Institute of Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA) were on hand for the groundbreaking.
Louis said he and Minister responsible for FedDev Ontario Filomena Tassi announced $9.2 million towards the expansion of WISA.
“With this support, WISA is expanding its ability to support the Southern Ontario aerospace sector by mobilizing research in aviation and aerospace sustainability, foster the development of green technology, provide hands-on sustainable aviation training, and establish an innovation training hub,” said Louis.
WWFC is investing $1.5 million into the facility. They will also get another $250,000 from FedDev Ontario. The flight school has a partnership with the University of Waterloo and Conestoga College to offer accredited aviation programs.
“We take just over 100 (University of Waterloo) students per year in the aviation stream,” said Connors. “They work through three-and-a-half years for their basic pilot training. The simulator component will be the capstone of their flight training.”
Connors said the industry is going through a pilot shortage and trying to train new pilots as quickly as possible.
“It is a serious situation for all airlines. The traditional pathway for pilots is not sufficient in Canada to fill the current and foreseeable need.”
Construction on the expansion is expected to be completed by March 2024.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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