15 Wing Celebrates 20K Hours

A Canadian Forces flying instructor at 15 Wing has surpassed 1,000 flying hours on the CT-155 Hawk jet, making him the first pilot in Canada to do so. Captain Dave Boudreau (standing right) of Dalhousie, N.B., completed his thousandth-hour flight Nov. 17 during an annual proficiency check at 15 Wing.

A small ceremony was held Dec. 5 to mark the occasion and Wing Commander Colonel Alain Boyer took the opportunity to present Capt. Boudreau with a 1,000-hour patch for him to wear on his flying suit.

The ceremony also marked a milestone for the fleet of 18 Hawks that are flown at both 15 Wing Moose Jaw and 4 Wing Cold Lake in Alberta as part of the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) pilot-training program. Recently the fleet reached 20,000 hours of flying, a major accomplishment given that Canada has only been flying the Hawk for just over three years.

“I am very proud of the men and women of 15 Wing – our military pilots and Bombardier technicians – who have worked so diligently to achieve these milestones,” said Col. Boyer. “They have demonstrated exceptional teamwork and have helped to establish NFTC as the international benchmark for military pilot training.”

The Government of Canada has a 20-year contract with Bombardier Aerospace Defence Services to provide support to NFTC. Canadian and allied military flying instructors provide the flying training, military air traffic controllers coordinate air operations, and the industry team provides the aircraft, aircraft maintenance, ground school instruction and other airfield support services.

Under the NFTC program, jet-pilot training takes place at two locations – at 15 Wing Moose Jaw and 4 Wing in Cold Lake, Alberta. At present, Canada’s Air Force, the Royal Danish Air Force, the Royal Air Force (United Kingdom), the Republic of Singapore Air Force, the Italian Air Force and the Hungarian Air Force are participants in NFTC. The CT-155 Hawk is the aircraft used by the Canadian Forces for the training of fighter pilots and pilot instructors.

FMI:  www.airforce.dnd.ca