In the early morning hours of December 31, Winnipeg Police Service’s Air1 helicopter pursued fleeing automobile drivers in not one but two incidents of stolen vehicles.

In the first incident, ground-based police noticed a passing vehicle that had been stolen the day before. They gave chase but backed off as the fleeing vehicle sped away at high speeds. At that point, Air1 joined the chase and tracked the vehicle along city streets at speeds of up to 140 km/h (in a 60 km/h zone).

The driver attempted to cross the median at one point but got stuck halfway. The male driver and a female passenger then fled the vehicle and headed into nearby bushes and an industrial subdivision. Using infrared thermal imaging cameras, the airborne police officers were able to direct ground-based units to a point where they were able to apprehend the suspects.

Roughly 30 minutes later, another stolen car was spotted. Its driver, too, decided to make a run for it, speeding away from police cruisers that were in pursuit. Again, Air1 was called in to assist as the police cruisers broke off the chase. Again, the airborne officers gave a turn-by-turn commentary of the vehicle’s path. Ground-based police were eventually able to box in the stolen car and arrest the 24-year-old female driver.

The Winnipeg Police Service has a policy of not entering into high-speed pursuits of fleeing vehicles as these pose too much danger to nearby traffic, the pursuing police officers and the occupants of the fleeing vehicles. With the help of Air1, they have a much safer alternative.

Air1 is an Airbus Helicopters EC120 Colibri single-engine turbo-shaft model. When flying at an altitude of 1,000 feet above ground level, it has a perceived noise level of 68 dB, which makes it difficult to detect on the ground, making it a good choice for police surveillance work. It is crewed by a pilot and Tactical Flight Officer who is responsible for determining the use of the helicopter and controls its hi-tech systems.

Both chases were recorded on video and can be viewed here.

Photo by Joe Bryksa / Winnipeg Free Press

Three Canadians who have made significant contributions to aviation and/or aeronautics in Canada have been recognized by their induction into the Order of Canada. Their names were released by the office of Governor General Julie Payette on December 28.

Michael Potter, founder of software developer Cognos Inc., is recognized for both his business achievements and his contribution to aviation heritage, forming Vintage Wings Canada (VWC). Located at Gatineau/Ottawa Executive Airport (CYND), VWC is a not-for-profit organization with charitable status that maintains vintage aircraft, some of which are in flying condition. The collection includes a Hawker Hurricane Mk IV, a de Havilland Tiger Moth and a Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX, among others.

Robert Dick Richmond, at 100 years of age, has a long history of involvement in Canada’s aviation history. In the 1940s he was head of aerodynamics at Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. After that company shut down, Richmond was hired on by Canadair Ltd., where he was lead designer on the Canadair CL-41 Tutor (of Snowbirds fame) among other aircraft. In the 1960s Richmond joined Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Canada as vice-president of operations where he stayed until he returned to P&WC in 1981, staying there until his retirement in 1988.

Brian Theodore (Tad) McGeer, an aeronautical engineer, is a Vancouver native but long-time resident of Washington (state). He made his mark by assisting in the development of unmanned aerial systems (aka drones), an area he has been involved in for decades. He initially entered the field to develop the technology for weather reporting and forecasting, but now is dedicated to military applications. A holder of multiple patents, his aerial systems are in use around the world.

All three become Members of the Order of Canada (C.M.).

The Royal Canadian Air Force accepted the first of 16 new CC-295 search-and-rescue (SAR) aircraft at the Airbus factory in Seville, Spain in mid-December. Presentation of the aircraft to the RCAF was delayed when the Department of National Defence (DND), the RCAF and Airbus disagreed over the contents of the aircraft manuals.

Although the aircraft was officially delivered, the DND continues to review the manuals to ensure that they meet the RCAF’s requirements.

Furthermore, it will remain in Spain until mid-year as RCAF crews familiarize, test and train on the turboprop. It is expected to be repositioned to CFB Comox on Vancouver Island this coming summer.

“The acceptance of the first aircraft is one of many steps in this complex program to replace the current fixed-wing search and rescue fleets,” DND spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier said in an email to CBC News. “We will continue to work with Airbus to ensure the acceptability of remaining work, including revision of technical manuals, completing training for the initial RCAF crews and conducting initial operational testing and evaluation in Spain in the first half of 2020.”

Sixteen CC-295 aircraft will replace all six existing Comox-based CC-115 de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo aircraft and some of the older CC-130H Lockheed Hercules aircraft that are used for SAR operations.

The project cost was announced in 2017 to be $2.4 billion, with an option to pay Airbus an additional $2.3 billion to support and maintain the aircraft for 15 years.

Top photo credit: Airbus

Officials with the federal government, after analyzing the various skills training programs on offer, have come to the conclusion that they do not sufficiently address the looming commercial pilot shortage in Canada.

According to an internal document at Employment and Social Development Canada, existing government programs “are not well suited” to the training of more pilots. They suggest looking at how other countries tackle similar problems, such as joint government-industry funding of pilot training.

According to the industry, an estimated 7,300 new commercial pilots will be needed in Canada by 2025 given air travel growth trends. At the current rate of pilot training, industry forecasts a shortage of 3,000 pilots. That figure does not take into account the increase in pilots that will be needed to offset new crew rest periods that come into effect in a year.

“For $5 million, the government could help train 600 people a year. We add 600 people a year, every year, and we’re going to largely solve the shortage in Canada,” according to John McKenna, president and CEO of the Air Transport Association of Canada (ATAC). McKenna’s scenario would depend on the government guaranteeing private student loans or covering the interest costs.

The programs that government officials identified as being unsuitable for pilot training include:

• Apprenticeship programs as pilots are not a designated trade;
• Canada Student Loans, as the cost of pilot training ($80,000+) vastly exceeds the maximum permissible loan amount;
• Youth employment programs, because aspiring pilots are not recognized as students under existing definitions.

One federal program that does work for the training of pilots is the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Strategy, which was set up to help train Indigenous pilots in northern communities so that they can fill local vacancies and spend much, if not all, of their career in the North, where local knowledge is vital.

This comes after a private members motion (M-177) was introduced in 2018 in the House of Commons by then-MP Stephen Fuhr (Kelowna—Lake Country, B.C.) and subsequently passed that called for the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities  to review the looming pilot shortage and to explore ways the federal government can alleviate the situation.

COPA president and CEO Bernard Gervais presented to this committee on the same topic later in 2018.

A spokesperson for Transport Canada minister Marc Garneau said officials are currently looking at other ways of redoing training programs for the pilot training sector.