For the last 20 years, a small, family owned air service and a rural, interdenominational Christian college have teamed together to teach students to fly so that they can make a difference in the world.

The small, family owned air service is Harv's Air, located just south of Steinbach, Manitoba. They offer accelerated but very comprehensive courses for all licences and permits from the new Recreational Permit through to the Multi-IFR (Multi Engine Airplanes and Instrument Flight Reference).

The College is called Providence College and Seminary and is located just west of Steinbach in Otterburne, Manitoba. They are an accredited, interdenominational, multi-cultural, Christian institution that offers university level degrees in Biblical and Theological Studies, General Arts, Social Sciences, Performing Arts, and Aviation, just to name a few.

The partnership between these institutions started over 20 years ago when the then Vice President of Academics for Providence College, Al Hiebert, paid a visit to Harv Penner, owner of Harv's Air. Penner says he recalls both of them almost simultaneously saying, "You know it would be a good thing for Winnipeg Bible College (as Providence was called then) and Harv's Air to get together to discuss the possibilities of offering an aviation College program."

That first conversation evolved to become an entire Aviation program consisting of either a four year Bachelor of Arts Aviation Major, a two year Diploma in Aviation or a one year certificate in Aviation. The program started out in the early 80s with four or five aircraft and now Harv's Air operates 17 aircraft, logging over 11,000 flight hours a year. Enrollment has also increased, from ten students in the first year to 28 in 2003. Students now come from all over the world. Adam Penner, Harv's son says that 40% of their students are Manitobans, 30% are from elsewhere in Canada and 30% are international students from places like France, Germany, India, Sri Lanka and Japan.

Harv's Air has been training pilots for over 30 years, though their association with Providence is only 20 years old. They own and operate their own airport, ensuring no landing fees, terminal fees or headaches with any delays in flight training. They also own and operate a mixed fleet of airplanes consisting of Cessna 152's, Cessna 172's, a Piper Cherokee, a Pitts S2B, a Citabria, a Beach Travelair and a Piper Navajo. In addition to having one of the youngest fleets in the flight training industry, Adam Penner says that all of the aircraft are maintained to the highest standard by their on-staff Aircraft Engineers.

The staff themselves have over 40,000 combined hours of flight training experience and have all been trained by Harv's Air. They also have Designated Flight Test Examiners (DFTE) on staff to conduct tests for Recreation, Private, Commercial and Multi licensing.

Providence College's Aviation program has a unique focus. Students are able to choose between a business and a missions track in the four year Bachelor of Arts program. The business track is an integrated program in which students will obtain their commercial license, multi-engine IFR rating, and flight instructor rating. There are over 230 hours of flight training and 450 hours of ground school. The aim is to produce students who are high quality, job ready commercial pilots.

The missions track trains students to use the airplane as a tool to help mission organizations get to the places they need to be. The program includes many of the components of the business track, but with a missions emphasis. Providence College is one of only a few Christian colleges to provide comprehensive flight training tailored to the needs of the mission field.

After 20 years, Harv's Air and Providence College have seen many students graduate with their certificates, diplomas and BA's in Aviation. These students now work for organizations like Air Canada, WestJet, Jestgo, the Missionary Aviation Fellowship, New Tribes Missions, Air Transat, and numerous air taxi and commuter airlines. If the previous two decades have been any indication, the sky's the limit for this unique education and aviation partnership. [ANN Thanks Krista Folkers for her assistance in this article)

FMI: www.harvsair.com