Air Force Transformation

"New Generation" aircraft technicians coming on line with Canada's Air Force

By Colonel David Millar

Top student of the new AVN Tech course, Corporal Brian Edmond (right) gets a few pointers from instructor Master Corporal Brendan Tanney inside the cockpit of a CT-114 Tutor aircraft. Photo: MCpl Guy Lavoie

Earlier this summer, the Air Force’s newest Aviation Systems Technicians (AVN Tech) graduated from the Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering (CFSATE) at 16 Wing Borden, Ontario.

These are the latest technicians who will be dedicated to supporting the increasingly sophisticated aircraft being introduced into the inventory and employed in both domestic and international expeditionary operations. The graduates have spent the previous 17 months preparing for their future missions in the modernized Air Force. Specifically, they have learned to handle, repair, service and maintain aircraft systems such as propulsion, airframe, electrical, weapons systems and their components, as well as aircraft life support equipment.

This particular graduation is especially noteworthy because the 12 newly minted technicians are the first graduates from the Aircraft Technician Transformation program. These technicians represent the foundation for improving how aircraft technicians will be trained, qualified and authorized, in a more effective and efficient manner, to meet the future demands of a modernized, transformed and expeditionary Air Force.

The Aircraft Technician Transformation initiative is a multi-pronged program to streamline the training, development and progression of aircraft technicians. The need for the transformation was driven by: low experience levels; an aging technician population with higher-than-expected attrition; the revolution in aircraft technology and maintenance concepts; and, the shift towards a greater expeditionary concept of operations, across the Air Force.

The program spans the entire continuum of a technician’s career and takes a holistic approach to meeting the needs of the Service, while providing a fulfilling and rewarding career to the technician.

At the outset of a technician’s career, the program focuses on combining both theory and practical training using modern and state-of-the-art technology to provide realistic and hands-on training at CFSATE in Borden. CF-18 and Labrador helicopter aircraft have recently been introduced into the inventory of training aids, along with a high fidelity marshalling simulator. These complement recent acquisitions of computer based electronics, hydraulics, and pneumatics trainers as well as other state-of-the-art training devices. Bench testers and advance modeling and simulation will complement a network of synthetic and programmable hands-on trainers to round out the current capabilities at the schoolhouse. To meet the demand for technicians, the schoolhouse has increased its capacity and its instructor cadre through innovative approaches, such as contracted instructional personnel to augment the core military staff.

The new 17 month training program is very intense compared to what used to be given in 7 months. However, as a result of the increased time spent in the dedicated CFSATE school environment, the overall time to obtain an apprenticeship qualification has been reduced by approximately 45%. In addition to technical skills and knowledge, the new technicians have also clearly demonstrated the maturity, confidence and experience to work on operational aircraft.

The technicians will be posted to one of the fleets of CF-18s, Auroras, Hercules, Sea Kings or Griffons where they will begin their next stage towards becoming a fully qualified and authorized technician. After a short period of exposure to flight line operations, they will perform servicing and elementary tasks along with acquiring additional airworthiness training. They will then proceed to their operational training school where they will acquire the specific knowledge to maintain the fleet to which they have been assigned. After a 3 to 6 month course, depending on the aircraft type, they will graduate, ready to conduct and sign for the maintenance performed on and off the aircraft. These technicians will achieve this milestone one to two years sooner than was previously possible. Again, this is being achieved by focusing technician training and practical experience in a concentrated, centralized approach using modern training aids and simulation, not formerly available. The priority and funding provided by the Chief of the Air Staff has made it possible to transform technician training for the demands of the 21st century.

The transformation initiatives go well beyond initial training and actually span the entire career of the technician. A new framework to manage a technician’s career has been instituted, known as the Aircraft Technician Career Development Plan. The plan focuses a technician’s career on a single fleet so that they can broaden and enrich their expertise across the various disciplines and employment opportunities within that fleet. Each technician’s career will be mentored, projecting a plan over 10 to 15 years. Career development will be at the supervisory level, at the squadron, where the needs of the Air Force and the needs of the technician will be combined to produce a more effective approach. Succession planning has also been instituted to select the future chief warrant officers - the highest of the technician ranks, and guide them along a path providing the skills and attributes necessary to become leaders of the Canadian Forces.

The 12 technicians who graduated this summer represent a new beginning and will follow a path that will transform aircraft maintenance within the coming years in order to meet the new challenges and vision of the Air Force.

Colonel David Millar is an Aerospace Engineering Officer with the Canadian Forces, presently serving as the Senior Maintenance Advisor for 1 Canadian Air Division Headquarters in Winnipeg, Manitoba.