Construction has begun on an $8.5-million flight training centre in Sault Ste. Marie and is expected to be complete by 2013.
The 6,700-square-foot, state-of-the-art building is to be constructed by Sault-area firms McLeod Bros. Mechanical Inc., Phase 4 Electrical Contractor Ltd. and Avery Construction Ltd. Fourteen jobs will be created through the project.
The facility will incorporate a flight training simulator that will allow Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources firefighting pilots to train in their home province. The pilots formerly trained on flight simulators in Quebec.
Sault Ste. Marie MPP David Orazietti said the project will create short-term construction jobs and attract pilots and engineers over the long term.
“This additional infrastructure project, which is the first of its kind in Ontario, will further strengthen the province's firefighting program and provide an additional economic boost to the Sault, as pilots and engineers from abroad stay in our community to further develop their flight training and maintenance skills,” he said in a news release.
A flight training simulator at the new facility will be installed for testing later this year. It will accurately mimics the sights, sounds and motions of a CL-415 heavy water bomber plane, and will allow pilots to practice flight in simulated severe weather and instrument failures, according to the release.
The provincial fire service has operated CL-145 water bombers since 1998 and last year managed more than 1,334 forest fires.
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