Vol No.1, Issue No.3, October 2009

VOL NO.1, ISSUE NO.3, October 2009

The

MFC Fredericton Flyer

INDEX 1

Message from the CEO

2

Preparing for Takeoff

2

Chinese Aviation Remains Clear For Takeoff

3

Day Camp Tour & Taste

3

“You did good, November Delta Charlie”

4

Carter’s Corner

4

Top 10 Frequent Flyers

Hi Everyone, It was great to see some decent flying weather in the months of August and September. Thanks to your strong efforts, we exceeded our flight hour targets for both months and achieved 98% of target for the quarter. We’ve come a long way in two years and all programs are producing super results now. The Multi/IFR department has significantly added to its staffing and equipment and the King Air is very productive. Congratulations to all those promoted in recent months.

Kris Bourque, Oliver Long and Sam Hall at our Fredericton hangar.

During the summer I had an opportunity to conduct reviews with many of our team members. The review is a platform for two way dialog and I’m grateful for the feedback and questions received. A common question concerned the length of customer contracts and how long we’ll be busy at the Fredericton airport. I’d like to share the answer in this newsletter so we are all on the same page. The quick answer is that it’s up to all of us. If we execute our jobs and meet (better yet, exceed) our customer’s expectations, there will be work from China for many years to come. If we falter and don’t meet expectations, we’ll be challenged to keep as busy as we are today. Moncton Flight College is currently ranked “B” on the Civil Aviation Authority of China website for flight hour performance which is respectable. The global downturn has slowed pilot demand somewhat but MFC is well positioned and well networked in China. We feel optimistic about the future demand from both current clients and new prospects. According to Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), China's domestic air traffic is expected to expand an annual growth rate of 8.2% over the next 20 years. AVIC said China will need 3,798 new aircraft over the next two decades, including 2,922 jumbo jets and 874 regional jets. All of these new aircraft need pilots! I wish you a productive and safe fall season. Cheers,

October 2009

P1

Preparing for Takeoff

Looking back on two years of growth at MFC Fredericton Wendi Lunney

It was a sunny Sunday morning July 31, 2007, when Oliver Long and I were on a bus heading to Saint John (YSJ) to pick up our first group of 21 students from Air China. While we knew that the plan was to build MFC Fredericton to 200 students, we had no idea what that would actually look like. Now, two years later, we know! In that first year, we seemed to double in size every few months with the arrival of China Eastern in September, then students from Shenzhen 1 and Air China Cargo 1 arrived in January 2008, followed by Air China Cargo 2 in March. In June, 2008, we needed to add another block to our residence as students from Shenzhen 2 and Xiamen 2 arrived, followed for BUAA 10 and BUAA 11. BUAA 12 and 15 arrived in 2009. Our current Cadet enrollment is 191! Our staff has more than quadrupled in two years. We started small, with seven people. Our faculty now consists of more than 50. Our fleet has also grown. We started with three aircraft in 2008. We moved to a larger hangar to house our growing fleet, which now consists of 21 aircraft. We have since added a SIM building to our campus. It has been an incredible experience to be part of such growth!

MFC welcomed its first class in 2007 - 21 students from Air China.

China’s aviation industry responded quickly to the economic downturn and is showing no signs of slowing its rapid growth.

Chinese Aviation Remains Clear for Takeoff This year marks China’s 60th year of civil aviation. Over the past six decades, the industry has undergone an impressive transformation from a highly regulated operation controlled by the Air Force to a market-oriented modern air transport system. The world’s third largest economy is flying fast in terms of capacity for air transportation, new airports, air navigation services and air traffic management infrastructure. While the global downturn has slowed this rapid growth, China’s airlines have responded quickly by cutting capacity and removing unprofitable routes. To boost domestic demand, the central Government announced a RMB four trillion (586$ Billion US) stimulus package, 45% of which will support infrastructure projects, including new airports across the county. Thanks to these measures, the domestic air travel market has shown signs of improvement. For the first four months of 2009, passengers carried by Chinese carriers on domestic flights reached $66.7 million, a 17.3% year on year increase. For the first half of 2009, Air China has reported a net profit of $137 Million, China Southern $32.4 million and China Eastern $1.7 Million. With profitability rising, and new infrastructures being built at a rapid rate, it is clear that China will weather the economic storm and come out a leader in the world’s aviation industry.

One year later, MFC Fredericton grew its enrollment to over 100 Cadets.

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October 2009

Day Camp Tour & Taste! Lower Lincoln Elementary School Suzanne Barry

Seventeen students from the Summer Day Camp program at Lower Lincoln Elementary School were treated to a close up look at some airplanes and their pilots as part of the Camp’s Aviation Week activities. The students were led on a tour of the Moncton Flight College Fredericton Campus and then treated to a chopsticks lesson by MFC students. The students filled up on delicious rice and noodles compliments of the college chefs. The tour began in the hangar where students had the chance to sit in the airplanes and have photos taken of their adventure. Students took turns sitting in the cockpit, while Dorothy Turner and MFC students supervised and gave students some background information about the planes. Students were extremely excited; it was clear that this was a dream come true for some of the kids. The day ended with a lively game of soccer when day camp and MCF Fredericton worked off some of the good food and a lot of energy. Many enthusiastic thanks were extended by the day camp students and supervisors for a day to remember!

Liu Wenjiang (James) stands proudly with Safety Officer, Martin Tubbesing, and

Flight Instructor, Anna Luo, following a very successful solo flight.

“You did good, November Delta Charlie” Celebrating our Student’s Success Martin Tubbesing

It is easy for someone in my position to get carried away with the possibility of bad things happening and focusing on what not to do in the air. However, great things happen for our students as a result of our training and our attention to detail. I would like to share with you some encouraging feedback I recently received. On a beautiful sunny day, flight service specialist Peter Hub, knew before his shift began that it would be a busy day on the radio. It was also a perfect day for student Liu Wenjiang (James) to practice his take-offs and landings during one solo circuits lesson. This was the second time he was flying alone in the airplane. He prepared himself for this flight during previous dual flights with Flight Instructor Anna Luo, and perfected his radio procedures in the simulator.

Lower Lincoln day campers get a lesson on proper chopstick technique from our Cadets.

It was busy. Large and small aircraft where arriving at and departing from the airport. Someone was always talking on the radio. Paying close attention to these calls, James would know where to look for the airplanes, and when to expect them, before he could actually see them. James was busy not only flying the airplane, but planning ahead, foreseeing potential conflict, and modifying his circuit and communicating clearly on the radio. When James cleared the runway he was told “you did good, NDC.” His modest response was “Copy that.” Peter said later, “The student used great judgement, communicated clearly, knew what to do before being asked and displayed great airmanship.“ What encouraging feedback. Way to go James, Anna and all Flight Instructors who played a part in his success!

A Day Camper from Lower Lincoln Elementary School enjoys a tour of the cockpit.

October 2009

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TOP 10 Frequent Flyers

Congratulations to our Top 10 Frequent Flyers!

GARETT OVERMARS

883

YEE LUT TSE

840

MATT BEYEA

700

ROB BAXTER

683

OLIVER LONG

657

KYLE CAMPBELL

626

PAT JENNINGS

617

GINGER FARRAH

586

DAN THRIFT

Paul Hawkins, one of our new additions to the Maintenance Team.

535

DAN GILLETT

528 Flying Hours

200

400

As of October 1st, 2009. 600

800

1000

Carter’s Corner

Carter Grasse - Director of Maintenance Summer, as brief as it was and soon to end, brought with it another staff member to our Maintenance Department and two major operational changes. 

Congratulations Wendi Lunney! Wendi was recently awarded the Business Award for Fire Awareness from the Oromocto Fire Department. Wendi’s outstanding efforts to prevent fires include coordinating Fire Prevention Seminars with our Cadets and faculty, updating Cadet’s adapters to fit our outlets and enforcing fire prevention rules at our residence. Wendi also gets our Cadets involved by asking them to keep a close eye on our residence exits, ensuring that they are never blocked. We are grateful for Wendi’s efforts to create a safe environment for our many Cadets.

Flight Instructor Franky Tse poses proudly with our Chief Flight Instructor, Amanda Welsh. As the first Flight Instructor to log 500 hours of flying time with our students, Franky was awarded a flat screen TV, compliments of our Frequent Flyer Program. Way to go Franky!

Paul Hawkins started with MFC Fredericton on June 1st. Paul has a long and varied career in aviation that began in 1981 after graduating from Confederation College in Ontario. Paul is our second staff member from Prince Edward Air, where he worked for the past 14 years, with his last 5 years as their Quality Assurance Manager. Paul has been a great addition to the team. When Paul is not at MFC Fredericton, you can find him at his home in Sussex, or assisting his wife at their restaurant.  The first operational change is our carrying out scheduled inspections on the King Air. Our first inspection was completed on July 9th, and with the strong utilization of the King Air, our second was just four weeks later on August 7th. This monthly trend continues. The second operational change is to our Diamond Inspection Program. To give credit where credit is due, MFC's Director of Maintenance, Mr. Jacques Richard, and MFC's QA Manager, Mr. Ian Albert, spent many hours reviewing and amending the Diamond Inspection Program. The result is a shift from a 50 hour to a 75 hour interval program. This switch is due our many hours of operation of the DA 20's and their proven reliability. This will prove to be a big bonus to our operation through lower maintenance hour requirements for each Diamond aircraft.   Until next time, keep the props turning.

Matt Dion, Kyle Campbell, Justin Pauley, Rob Baxter, Matt Knight and Dan Gillett at our staff summer BBQ. While the less than stellar weather kept us from enjoying a poolside reception and an outdoor BBQ, the evening was great just the same.

P4

October 2009