New, million dollar plane ready for use by Sault College aviation students (5 photos)

Sault College VIPs gathered at the school’s aviation program hangar and apron Tuesday for an official showing of a new, four seat Piper Seminole twin-engined aircraft to be used in training the college’s aviation program students.

The Seminole, a $1.25 million aircraft, purchased brand new from a U.S. factory and delivered to the college’s aviation site at the Sault Ste. Marie Airport last week, was on display with two other Zlin single-engined planes which were purchased and delivered to the program in the fall of 2020.

“They’re our three recent acquisitions...this new twin aircraft (the Seminole) is particularly important to our program. It’ll allow us to increase our multi-engined training we’re doing with our students after they have their commercial, private, instrument rating and multi-engined rating (making aviation program students more marketable when they graduate),” said Ron Common, Sault College president and himself an aviator, speaking to SooToday.

The three planes shown at the airport Tuesday will replace older aviation program planes.

“These are in fantastic condition with very few hours on them at all,” said Common of the two Zlin planes, manufactured in the Czech Republic.

With the new planes, the college currently has 15 aircraft (12 Zlins and three twin-engined planes) in its aviation program fleet.

As reported earlier, despite ongoing challenges to the Sault Ste. Marie Airport due to COVID-19, and despite recent woes suffered by aviation program students (again, due to COVID and other, pre-COVID problems), the college’s aviation program has an optimistic feel to it, ready to take in first year students in September for the 2021-22 academic year after first year admissions to the program were put on hold for the current academic year. 

“I’m very happy that we got a third Seminole to increase our capabilities with the students, in being able to complete their training in a more timely manner,” said Brandon Rodenhurst, Sault College aviation program chief flight instructor.

“We lost a lot of flying time due to COVID. We still have 20 students finishing up because of the delays due to COVID so having an increased fleet is really allowing us to finish them up and allow them to graduate and get into the real world, where their dreams are.”

Technology at the college, Rodenhurst said, will familiarize students with that which they would see in Boeing and Airbus commercial airliners.

“The addition of the new aircraft, for us, is significant,” said Hannah Dey, a third year aviation program student.

“It’s really going to impact our flight training in a positive way. Hopefully the new aircraft will enable us to get more flight hours done, utilize this good weather and hopefully graduate in the next few months,” said Dey, who is aiming to graduate from the program this summer.

“The state of the industry is not the best right now but I’m hoping to do something small, something local, and then hopefully get to the big airlines some day,” Dey said, smiling through her mask.