Air Transport Association of Canada (ATAC) members Ottawa Aviation Services (OAS) and National Helicopters Inc. have announced they have entered into an exciting and innovative partnership to offer helicopter training to groups of Chinese students.
The companies expect to host hundreds of Chinese helicopter students over the next three years.
“National Helicopters and Ottawa Aviation Services won this contract against other cheaper international bids despite regulatory and economic headwinds,” said Cedric Paillard, CEO of OAS. “At the end, quality of flight training was the deciding factor.”
OAS will be managing the entire project, including offering aviation English and ground schools as required. National Helicopters will provide the flight training component. The first intake of 20 Chinese students has already arrived and has started commercial ground school. National Helicopters will be offering the training out of the airport in Cornwall, Ont.
What makes this project even more exciting is that OAS has also entered into an agreement with the Nav Centre in Cornwall to host this group of students and other domestic and international students in OAS’s integrated and other training programs.
The Nav Centre is the largest facility of its kind in Eastern Ontario, offering world-class education facilities and technology, air traffic control simulation capabilities, accommodation and recreational facilities. At this location OAS expects to offer domestic and international students an exceptional flight training and life experience in Cornwall and in Canada.
“We are very pleased to have entered into this agreement with Nav Canada and National Helicopters,” said Paillard. “We are working together to establish a campus in Cornwall that will support the training of hundreds of domestic and international students. We look forward to working with Nav Canada, the Nav Centre, the City of Cornwall and surrounding communities to place the Cornwall area on the map of professional pilot training destinations.”
“National Helicopters Inc. is very excited to partner with our ATAC associate, Ottawa Aviation Services,” added Dan Munro, president, National Helicopters Inc. “This is a strategic partnership with the Cornwall Nav Centre, which brings two of eastern Canada’s foremost flight training schools together. The quality of flight training at our respective schools has been recognized on the world flight training stage.”
“We are excited about this opportunity with OAS to establish world-class pilot training programs at the Nav Centre,” said Kim Coe-Turner, general manager, Nav Centre. “It is a perfect fit for Nav Centre and augments what Nav Canada offers internationally.”
