Our access to water secures flight training centre

Sault Ste. Marie was chosen to become the home of a new flight training centre only after careful consideration of several key criteria, Minister of Natural Resources Linda Jeffrey said today.

Sault Ste. Marie was chosen to become the home of a new flight training centre only after careful consideration of several key criteria, Minister of Natural Resources Linda Jeffrey said today.

One of the primary deciding factors, the minister said, was access to open water.

The water around Sault Ste. Marie stays open longer in the fall and opens earlier in the spring than most other Northern Ontario areas, Jeffrey said.

This means MNR pilots training on waterbombers have more time to log their training hours and can become fully licensed sooner, something she believes is vital as fire season seems to start early some years.

Sault MPP David Orazietti said construction on the $6.2 million project will begin this summer and it will be ready to start training pilots and ground crew for forest fighting by fire season in 2013.

Central to the training facility will be a state-of-the-art flight simulator that will help to reduce greenhouse gasses and wear on the bombers while pilots and ground crew access relevant and valuable training.

The full text of a news release from David Orazietti's office follows.

**************************** Orazietti announces $6.2 million flight training centre for Sault Ste. Marie

Province puts New state-of-the-art training facility in Sault Ste. Marie

SAULT STE. MARIE - The provincial government has selected Sault Ste. Marie as the location for a new $6.2 million state-of-the-art flight training centre that will require the construction of a 4,600 square foot building to house the high-tech aircraft flight simulator, which will provide training for pilots and maintenance engineers on Ontario’s CL-415 heavy water bombers, David Orazietti, MPP announced today.

“Our government is building another infrastructure project in Sault Ste. Marie which will create construction jobs in the short-term and in the long-term it will attract pilots and engineers from across Northern Ontario who will further develop their flight training and maintenance skills,” said Orazietti. “In addition to further strengthening the province’s fire fighting program, the new aircraft simulator will provide an additional economic boost to the Sault as pilots and engineers from other provinces stay in our community while training at the new flight centre.”

Until now, Ontario’s MNR pilots have had to train on flight simulators in Quebec but today’s announcement means that provincial pilots and engineers can carry out their winter training in Sault Ste. Marie.

The province's Aviation Services have been operating nine CL-415 water bombers since 1998.

They are an essential tool to manage and respond to threats from forest fires.

The flight training simulator accurately mimics the sights, sounds and motions of a CL-415 heavy water bomber plane.

It will allow pilots to practice flight in simulated severe weather and instrument failures.

Use of the flight simulator for training will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and wear and tear on the nine CL-415 aircraft in the government’s current forest firefighting fleet.

Construction of the new 4,600 square foot training facility is expected to begin this summer.

Tenders for the development and installation of the flight training device are being issued in February 2011 with the training facility expected to be operational for the 2013 forest fire season.

“By investing in this state-of-the-art training facility we are helping to enhance the province’s forest fire response system,” said Linda Jeffrey, minister of natural resources. “It means our ministry pilots will be even better prepared to protect Ontario’s families and communities from the dangers of forest fires.”

Sault Ste. Marie has also benefited from many other provincial infrastructure investments including:

- $408 million new Sault Area Hospital

- $80 million for construction of four new school projects

- $40 million for new long-term care home

- $25 million for municipal road improvements

- $16.5 million for Huron Central Rail line

- $15 million for Invasive Species Research Centre

- $8 million for academic building at Sault College

- $8 million for Biosciences Centre at Algoma University

- $7.8 million for Donald Doucet Youth Centre

- $7.3 million new Algoma Public Health building

- $6.4 million to improve social housing