Great Lakes Helicopter, Conestoga College Launch Helicopter Diploma Program

Great Lakes Helicopter and Conestoga College in Kitchener, Ont. have partnered to offer Ontario’s first two-year diploma program for aspiring helicopter pilots.

The agreement was formalized April 6 at a signing that took place at the Great Lakes hangar at the Region of Waterloo International Airport. The agreement expands Conestoga College’s diploma-level program in Aviation – General Arts and Science by allowing students to achieve a commercial helicopter license as well as an Ontario College Diploma. (Previously, students in the Aviation – General Arts and Science program were limited to fixed-wing training with Waterloo-Wellington Flight Centre, a flight training school.)

The new two-year program will officially commence in September 2011; however, students can start in September 2010. According to Bob Carley, Conestoga Executive Dean of Academic Administration, the aviation program combines instruction in appropriate science, technical, mathematics, communications and business skills with flight and flight theory instruction. Classroom instruction will take place at Conestoga’s Doon campus in Kitchener and at Waterloo-Wellington Flight Centre at the Region of Waterloo airport. Great Lakes will provide helicopter-specific ground instruction and flight training on its fleet of helicopters, which includes the Robinson R22 and R44, and Bell 206B JetRanger.

“We are excited by the opportunities that come by partnering with such a highly accredited college,” said Great Lakes general manager Jo Anne Leyburne.  She said that the program will include 50 hours of flight instruction on the R22 during the first year, and 55 hours on the larger R44 during the second year. The program will also include a winter survival course and night rating. However, those students looking for a turbine endorsement will have to pay for additional time on the JetRanger.

It is anticipated that the new program will attract up to 10 students in the first year running, but closer to 20 students per year once the program is up and running. “Our two-year diploma program will enhance students’ training experiences, and provide them with a competitive advantage going into their careers as helicopter pilots,” said Leyburne.

For more information, contact Great Lakes Helicopter at 1-877-648-3732 or by email at info@greatlakeshelicopter.ca.