Royal Canadian Air Force, February 24, 2016 - The Royal Canadian Air Force’s 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron has 10 newly qualified airmen for its CH-147F Chinook medium- to heavy-lift helicopters.
On February 8, 2016, six pilots, two flight engineers and two loadmasters officially graduated from a course conducted by operational training flight 0, known as “the Field Trial”, in anticipation of their posts with the squadron at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, Ontario.
The six pilots are Captain Jeffrey Labrash, Captain Ryan Malvern, Captain Dylan Martin, Captain Jason Peters, Captain Christopher Ware and Captain Matthew Welsh. The flight engineers are Corporal Tyler Barrett and Corporal Gary Glasius, and the loadmasters are Corporal Reese Patton and Sergeant Ian Smith.
“I would like to congratulate the graduates before me, and recognize not only the effort you have put forward to reach this point, but the efforts made by every member of 450 Squadron that helped you get here,” said 450 Squadron commanding officer Lieutenant-Colonel Chris McKenna. “Although your success is an individual achievement, it is the work of a team, from the instructors to the technicians, the civilian contractors to the clerks, and your own course mates. All of them played a part in getting you where you are today.”
The 24-week course, comprising computer-based classroom and academic work, flight simulator training, and flying, is the first course aimed at training aircrew for the new Chinooks to be conducted exclusively in Canada. As such, it represents the next step in 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron’s move toward full operational capability – the squadron will now be providing operational training for all of its CH-147F Chinook aircrew.
“Your achievements have made this unit a stronger and more capable team,” Lieutenant-Colonel McKenna told the nine graduates attending the ceremony, “and I look forward to seeing you at work and in the field.” The tenth graduate had already been sent on a Mountain Operations course at the time of the ceremony. The flight engineers graduating the course also received their wings during the ceremony.
Until now, the closest place to train Canadian CH-147F aircrew was a facility in the United States, but crews have said the technology there is slightly different. And the course is a boon not only for Chinook aircrew but also for the base itself, which received the new training facility and its four simulators courtesy of Canadian Aviation Electronics (CAE).
In spring 2016, 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron crews will travel to Alberta to work with the Canadian Army.
Candidates on operational training flight 1 are now going through the ground school portion of the course and are ready to fly, having completed about 60 percent of the simulator training. They will graduate in late spring 2016.
On February 8, 2016, six pilots, two flight engineers and two loadmasters officially graduated from a course conducted by operational training flight 0, known as “the Field Trial”, in anticipation of their posts with the squadron at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, Ontario.
The six pilots are Captain Jeffrey Labrash, Captain Ryan Malvern, Captain Dylan Martin, Captain Jason Peters, Captain Christopher Ware and Captain Matthew Welsh. The flight engineers are Corporal Tyler Barrett and Corporal Gary Glasius, and the loadmasters are Corporal Reese Patton and Sergeant Ian Smith.
“I would like to congratulate the graduates before me, and recognize not only the effort you have put forward to reach this point, but the efforts made by every member of 450 Squadron that helped you get here,” said 450 Squadron commanding officer Lieutenant-Colonel Chris McKenna. “Although your success is an individual achievement, it is the work of a team, from the instructors to the technicians, the civilian contractors to the clerks, and your own course mates. All of them played a part in getting you where you are today.”
The 24-week course, comprising computer-based classroom and academic work, flight simulator training, and flying, is the first course aimed at training aircrew for the new Chinooks to be conducted exclusively in Canada. As such, it represents the next step in 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron’s move toward full operational capability – the squadron will now be providing operational training for all of its CH-147F Chinook aircrew.
“Your achievements have made this unit a stronger and more capable team,” Lieutenant-Colonel McKenna told the nine graduates attending the ceremony, “and I look forward to seeing you at work and in the field.” The tenth graduate had already been sent on a Mountain Operations course at the time of the ceremony. The flight engineers graduating the course also received their wings during the ceremony.
Until now, the closest place to train Canadian CH-147F aircrew was a facility in the United States, but crews have said the technology there is slightly different. And the course is a boon not only for Chinook aircrew but also for the base itself, which received the new training facility and its four simulators courtesy of Canadian Aviation Electronics (CAE).
In spring 2016, 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron crews will travel to Alberta to work with the Canadian Army.
Candidates on operational training flight 1 are now going through the ground school portion of the course and are ready to fly, having completed about 60 percent of the simulator training. They will graduate in late spring 2016.
See also |
CH-147F Chinook in Canadian Armed Forces
450 THS 450 Squadron Canadian Armed Forces
RCAF Graduates First Class of CH-147F Chinook Aircrews