Apparently not, according to an Advisory Circular released by Transport Canada – Civil Aviation (TCCA) recently.

The following is a quote directly from the document:

“Present Transport Canada (TC) management involved with pilot training and licensing and some of the foreign Civil Aviation Authorities are questioning the veracity and quality of flight training in Canada, revealed by the marginal competence of some Canadian flight training and licensing graduates when they perform flight duties upon their return to their native country. These foreign authorities are now contemplating alternative countries for the training of their airline cadets.”

TCCA attempts to assess new pilot skills as objectively as possible. They use a number-based evaluation method to assess the skill levels of pilot candidates. The scale is 1 to 4, with 2 indicating a major error or deviation.

However, as a consequence of the negative feedback from abroad, and after an analysis that revealed a high number of pilots earning their licence or rating despite having been awarded a large number of ‘2’s, TCCA has decided to change the evaluation policy by limiting the number of ‘1’s and ‘2’s accumulated during a Part IV flight test to a number lower than has been the practice in the past.

The full six-page Advisory Circular is appended below.

by Phil Lightstone

The uAvionix-manufactured tailBeacon ADS-B IN received TSO authorization from the FAA last week. Much like their skyBeacon, the tailBeacon contains multiple TSOs in one integrated package that takes less than an hour to install. In addition to the ADS-B OUT (978 MHz only) system, the tailBeacon includes an integrated WAAS GPS (the first TSO-C145e GPS in the world), a barometric altimeter and an LED rear position light. The tailBeacon joins uAvionix’s skyBeacon as cost-effective solutions by simplifying the installation process.

Neither the skyBeacon nor the tailBeacon will comply with what, all indications are, will be the TCCA/Nav Canada mandate of 1090 MHz ADS-B OUT with antenna diversity. However, for those Canadian aircraft owners who need or want to equip their aircraft in time for the U.S.’s January 1, 2020 deadline for ADS-B OUT compliance, this may be the simplest and most economical solution.

uAvionix still has the STC process to complete before the product can be shipped. The company does not anticipate any issues that would keep their customers from meeting the FAA’s 2020 deadline for ADS-B OUT equipage. They expect it will be much sooner than that, with more information to be released as things progress.

uAvionix is now accepting pre-orders at $1,999 USD, charged at the time of shipping. The product will also be available from one of their trusted resellers, or qualified installers in the U.S.

Airbus announced late last week that the RCAF’s new CC-295 Search and Rescue aircraft completed its first flight over Seville, Spain. The aircraft is the first of 16 ordered by the Canadian government as part of the Fixed Wing Search and Rescue Aircraft Replacement program. The Airbus product beat out the Leonardo C-27J Spartan of Italy and the Embraer KC-390 of Brazil.

The 16 CC-295s, powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127G engines, will be spread across the country at existing SAR bases: Comox, B.C.; Winnipeg, Man.; Trenton, Ont. and Greenwood, N.S. CFB Comox will be the site for a new training centre for the CC-295 crews and maintenance personnel. The state-of-the-art centre is being built by Montreal-based CAE, and will include training facilities for the RCAF’s CH-149 Cormorant SAR helicopters as well.

The July 4^th flight lasted one hour and 27 minutes, and was the first of a series of test flights for the CC-115 Buffalo replacement. Flight testing will continue over the summer with the first CC-295 to be handed over the RCAF by the end of 2019. RCAF flight crews will travel to Airbus’s Seville training centre in late summer to begin training.

A hangar fire at Lacombe airport (CEG3), located about 20 kilometres north of Red Deer, Alberta, claimed three aircraft and led to the destruction of the hangar. The total loss due to the Sunday evening (July 7) fire is estimated to be over $1 million.

“[My son] and a friend were in the hangar and they went outside and smelled smoke and saw it coming out of the hangar next door,” Lacombe Flying Club president Jon Fromm told the Lacombe Globe newspaper. “His friend called 9-1-1 and my son called me. It was a really long night.” The Lacombe Flying Club is also the airport operator.

The hangar owner had been in the hangar earlier that day when a thunderstorm passed, after which the owner left. An hour later, fire was raging through the hangar. There was no-one in that hangar at the time of the fire.

“He actually built that hangar back in 1980,” Fromm told the Red Deer Advocate. “He’s been a member of the club for 40 years.” Fromm would not identify the hangar owner, however.

“Yes three airplanes were lost, along with other objects, but nothing that can’t be replaced,” Fromm said. “On behalf the Lacombe Flying Club, I would like to thank the Lacombe and Blackfalds Fire Departments, Lacombe Police Service and EMS for their prompt response and diligent efforts.”