Page 7 - Southport - Reaching New Heights - Summer 2017

GETTING OFF THE GROUND

The journey of a pilot-in-training at 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School

The story of almost every Royal Canadian their flight suit, regardless of the weather.
Air Force (RCAF) pilot’s training begins in the Most students then go to 15 Wing to complete
centre of Canada, at Southport, Manitoba. This Phase II on the Harvard II aircraft, but some
is where 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training complete this phase at 3CFFTS on the Grob
School (3CFFTS) is located. 120A. It is at the end of Phase II training that
The program has a fairly unique situation, due selection for specific air-frame training happens.
to the way the services are provided to the flight Some go on to train on multi-engine airplanes,
training program. In 2005, Allied Wings (now KF while others learn to fly helicopters or jets.
Aerospace) signed a contract to provide flight Moose Jaw conducts Phase III jet pilot training
training services to the Department of National while both helicopter and multi-engine airplane
Grob G120A Defence until 2027. KF Aerospace leases the pilot training take place at 3 CFFTS. Phase III
airport, buildings and infrastructure from South- training for a helicopter pilot is first conducted
port in order provide these services. on the B206 Jet Ranger, and then on the Bell
3CFFTS is a military unit which reports to 412. Helicopter pilot training takes approxi-
15 Wing in Moosejaw, Saskatchewan. A mil- mately seven to eight months. Phase III for
itary student pilot can take several paths to training on multi-engine airplane uses the C90
3CFFTS. Some arrive straight from their mil- King Air and takes approximately four months.
itary college graduation, some transfer from After Phase III is completed, students are pre-
other careers in the military and others may sented their wings at a graduation ceremo-
have even trained at a civilian private pilot’s ny. Approximately 75 students graduate from
school. Regardless of their origin, all military 3CFFTS each year.
pilot candidates have to pass rigorous screen- At the graduation ceremony, outstanding stu-
ing and testing once they have enrolled. The dents receive awards, such as the Gos Gould-
candidate must undergo medical, cognitive ing Award, which commemorates Group Cap-
Beechcraft C90 King Air and psychological tests before being accepted tain Gos Goulding’s outstanding service to
into the pilot trade and beginning their journey Canada in two World Wars and is presented
to becoming an RCAF pilot. At all levels, flight to the best overall helicopter student. The top
training involves a combination of classroom, multi-engine student receives the Hal Wishart
simulator and, of course, actual in-flight in- Award in honour of Squadron Leader Hal Wis-
struction. hart’s leadership in the face of peril during a
The four aircraft flown at 3CFFTS are the WWII crash landing. The last award is the City
Grob 120A (Primary Trainer), B206 Jet Ranger of Portage la Prairie Award, which acknowledg-
(Single Engine Helicopter), Bell 412 (Multi-En- es the strong ties between the community and
gine Helicopter) and Beechcraft C90 King Air the military personnel of Southport. It is given
(Multi-Engine Trainer). Full motion simulators to the student displaying the highest degree of
replicate flying the C90 King Air and Bell 412, professionalism and officer-like qualities in the
complemented by a stationary simulator for graduation class.
the Bell 412 and a cockpit trainer. A partial mo- The graduation ceremony is followed by a for-
B206 Jet Ranger tion simulator for the B206 Jet Ranger will be mal dinner at the Mess Hall. At the dinner, a
added to the repertoire soon. Both civilian and Top Hat Award is awarded to a helicopter stu-
military instructors teach at 3CFFTS, and both dent voted by their peers as having a great per-
are required to go through an extensive flight sonality and good leadership skills.
instructor course to maximize their abilities and
develop their instructor skills. The graduation and dinner celebrate the
achievements of the new pilots and also mark
The path to a military pilot earning their wings the beginning of their career as a RCAF pilot.
entails three phases. Phase I is conducted
almost exclusively at 3 CFFTS for the entire
RCAF. This primary training uses the Grob
120A and takes approximately 10 weeks. Fol-
lowing a decades-long tradition, once a stu-
dent completes their first solo flight, they are
dumped by their classmates into a freezing cold
Bell 412 bathtub outside the hangar while still wearing Graduation ceremonies take place in Hangar 1 at Southport.

Southport: Reaching New Heights | 7