École St Patrick High School students gathered on Friday to celebrate their classmates’ progress in a new Yellowknife Catholic Schools aviation program.
Grade 11 students Andrew dun Figueroa, Corbi Roy, Holly Murray and Nicholas Graham, and Grade 12 students Nolan Dusome, Marcus Vandermeer, Deacon Lantz and Joseph Depew are the first participants in the program.
On Friday, they received a flight jacket and headset.
“I’ve been waiting for a program like this for a while because I’ve always wanted to be a pilot,” said Depew.
“It was really just a dream of mine ever since my grandparents were talking about their experiences flying,” said Murray.
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The program was developed from Super T Aviation’s high school program in Medicine Hat, Alberta. YCS worked with Summit Air to adapt the curriculum to meet the GNWT’s education standards.
Cindy Kimove, assistant principal at St Pat’s, said it took about two years to get the program ready.
“It’s really exciting to see it finally come to fruition and have our first cohort of kids getting up to this point where they’re about to fly,” said Kimove.
The program is intended to be completed in two years with students starting in Grade 11. Because this was the first year, Kimove said some Grade 12 students are trying to complete it in one year.
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Chuck Depew, director of flight operations at Summit Air, is proud of how the students are progressing.
“I think they’re working very hard. I think they’re studying very hard. They’re putting in the time and the effort that they have to put in to ensure they’re successful,” he said.
In their first year, students complete ground school and cover material like meteorology, wilderness first aid, survival, aviation physics and engine repair. In the second year, students complete 70 flight hours and take a Transport Canada private pilot’s licence exam.
The cost of the program is $26,000 over two years. Students pay a deposit of $3,000 in August, then pay $1,000 monthly. Kimove said while that may sound like a lot of money, it is highly subsidized compared to southern aviation programs.
“What students are paying for is the flight time,” said Kimove. She said YCS pays for the books, headset and jacket.
Some students in the course are also in the Schools North Apprenticeship Program. Outside of school hours, students work at Summit Air “to help load planes, unload plans, sit in the cockpit and go as loadmasters, so they can actually see and learn and understand what aviation is all about, from the ramp to the maintenance to the flights,” said Chuck Depew.
All of the participants with whom Cabin Radio spoke want to continue in the aviation industry after they graduate, whether that is in the North with the likes of Summit Air or joining the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Kimove said before the YCS aviation program was created, students would often go south and get “poached by larger corporations.”
“There’s a high demand for pilots right now in the industry and given the amount of aviation that’s based even here in Yellowknife,” said Chuck Depew. “I think the job opportunities are pretty fantastic right now.”
Kimove said applications are open for next year’s cohort. Interested students can apply on the Kimberlite Career and Technology Centre’s website.
