Avionics News January 2013 - 26

Built in 2002, the aviation campus at North Bay’s Jack Garland Airport houses aircraft maintenance, avionics maintenance, aircraft structural repair and helicopter flight training programs.

Aircraft maintenance students wrap up a hands-on class in the school’s 17,000-square-foot hangar.

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CANADORE COLLEGE

around the world, including the world’s most populous country, China. Partnering with Guangzhou Civil Aviation College, Canadore offers its aircraft and avionics maintenance programs to aviation trainees in China. Students complete the first year of training in their homeland in Guangzhou, located approximately 120 kilometers northwest of Hong Kong, and their second year in Canada. Upon completion, they receive a Canadore diploma. After their maintenance training, Guangzhou students can opt to continue at Canadore College to study aircraft structural repair. Adding New Equipment Contributions from businesses help extend and enhance Canadore College’s training opportunities. Last summer, Voyageur Airways donated a completely refurbished, retired laser-wire-marking machine to help students with fabricating wire harnesses. Recent aircraft donations include a ground-operable King Air A100 donated by Voyageur Airways in 2009, and a Navajo PA-31P by Guardian Helicopters, also in 2009. The aircraft maintenance and avionics maintenance programs recently added new test equipment, including digital oscilloscopes and DC power supplies, to 16 workstations in the aviation school’s first-year electrical and electronics lab. “An equal amount of capital expenditure was made to enhance ground handling and hangar equipment,” Kincaid said. “Additionally, the avionics maintenance program secured a donation of a Mode S transponder with the assistance of Kitchener Aero Avionics Ltd. Canadore followed
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up with the purchase of test equipment with ATC transponder Mode S capability.” The avionics maintenance program plans to include Mode S practical training in the 2013 winter semester. The faculty also hopes to compliment the Mode S practical training with training in ADS-B and TCAS. Finding Jobs Canadore’s aviation training is paying off; the aviation and avionics maintenance students are landing jobs when they graduate. A 2011-12 key performance indicators report showed that job placement rates are fairly high with 93 percent in aircraft maintenance, 83 percent in aircraft structural repair and 67 percent in avionics maintenance. “Even in a slow-moving economy, the school has consistently achieved a high placement rate for its graduates,” Kincaid said. To ensure students get all the help they need, Canadore launched its new career center in fall 2011. The center’s services include resume and cover letter writing, sharing job search strategies and preparing for interviews. Also in fall 2011, Canadore College switched to Desire2Learn, an eLearning program that gives students online access to lecture notes, course material and selected technical reference data. The move keeps pace with technology and helps give students an edge in learning. “In an era of instant information, the Internet, email and smartphones, the classroom is full of distractions for learners,” Kincaid said. “Our biggest challenge moving forward is unlocking the puzzle of embracing technology in a positive way for learners that is engaging and enhances the overall learning experience. Many gadgets and apps have a honeymoon cool factor that typically fades quickly, and that is the challenge.” q

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january

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Avionics News January 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News January 2013