Jet training plans to be unveiled Mario Toneguzzi Calgary Herald Friday, March 21, 2003 The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology is unveiling plans today for a $22-million heavy aircraft training facility, the only one of its kind in Canada. The new centre, to be built at Calgary International Airport, will enhance the school's reputation as a centre for aviation training, officials say. "This will put SAIT in a unique situation as being the only post-secondary institution in the country to offer training on heavy airplanes such as 737s," said school spokesman Larry Lalonde. "This will bring students closer to the industry and the industry closer to students," he said. Those expected to attend the announcement include Alberta Premier Ralph Klein; Stephen Owen, Secretary of State for Western Economic Diversification and Indian Affairs and Northern Development; Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier; and other officials from the airport, SAIT and provincial and municipal governments. The institution has received $3 million in federal funds for the project, $12 million from the Alberta government and $2 million from the Calgary Airport Authority. SAIT will develop further business partnerships with companies in the aviation industry to raise the rest of the money for the facility. SAIT has an aviation centre at the Colonel James Walker Building, at the west end of the campus on 14th Avenue near 14th Street N.W., but it is not big enough to handle airplanes the size of a Boeing 737. Bryce Paton of the airport authority said the new facility will address industry training requirements for the students at the airport and the students will have an opportunity to see and experience the industry in practice. Last September, federal Industry Minister Allan Rock announced $3 million in funding for the training facility. The money was from Western Economic Diversification Canada. At the time, a SAIT official said federal funding was critical for the project to move ahead. "When our development work is completed, this will be a very important, internationally recognized training facility for the aviation sector," said Randal Guy, associate vice-president, business development. "We will be building on our 70 years of aviation maintenance training and the centre will be at the forefront of innovation, providing skilled workers prepared to take on technological change." In February 2002, the Herald reported the proposed new state-of-the-art aeronautical training centre would be a 100,000- to 150,000-square-foot facility, sitting on 4.4 hectares of land north of McKnight Boulevard and west of Barlow Trail N.E. in the McCall Park South Trade Park. It will have its own taxiway for access to the airport's runways. Officials said the centre would boost Calgary's transportation industry, generate $14.6 million in taxes in the next five years, be a "state-of-the-art" facility to train SAIT aviation students on bigger and more technologically-advanced craft and upgrade those in the industry. The centre would provide hands-on classroom and hangar space for the college's 250 aircraft maintenance engineers technology, avionics technology and aircraft structures technician students -- the students who learn mechanics, navigation systems and body repairs for aircraft. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.thehummingbirdonline.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************