- KF Aerospace has obtained the exclusive rights to market Grob Aircraft products and pilot training services in North America. The Kelowna, British Columbia-based company already operates the German basic trainer in Southport, Manitoba as part of its Contracted Flying Training and Support contract with the Department of Defence that it has managed since 2005. “Our extensive experience with the Grob 120A uniquely positions us to support and expand the presence of these exceptional products and services in Canada and the U.S.,” said KF Aerospace CEO Tracy Medve in a press release.
- Hope Air, the national charity that assists people who are experiencing financial challenges and who need to travel to distant locations for medical treatment with travel arrangements, announced this week that demand has soared in both British Columbia and Northern Ontario. In 2023, demand for travel arrangements in Northern Ontario rose by 165 percent over the previous year. In B.C., demand grew by 145 percent. “Where you live should not determine if you live,” said Mark Rubinstein, Hope Air’s CEO. Hope Air organizes air transportation on scheduled airlines and with volunteer pilots using privately owned aircraft.
- Twelve percent of all new pilot licences issued by Transport Canada were issued to women, according to a press release from the not-for-profit organization Institute for Women of Aviation Worldwide, an increase of 58 percent from 2010 numbers. In 2023, Canadian women qualified for 13 percent of newly issued recreational-type pilot licences, 12.3 percent of newly issued commercial pilot licences, and 8.1 percent of newly issued airline transport pilot licences.
- The government of Canada has announced an agreement with the government of the Netherlands for advanced training of Royal Netherlands Air Force pilots by London, Ontario-based International Test Pilots School (ITPS). The 12-month program, which includes training on experimental flight test techniques on 15 aircraft types, began last month (January). ITPS is the world’s biggest independent school of experimental flight testing. (See this week’s featured video.)