CFTS

In March of 2005, the Allied Wings Consortium was selected by the Government of Canada to operate the new Canadian Forces Contracted Flying Training and Support (CFTS) services program at Southport, near Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. The formal contract was approved and in place as of October 28th, 2005. Led by Kelowna Flightcraft Ltd., Allied Wings will provide flying training and support services to the Canadian Forces over a 22 year period. The CFTS contract is valued at over $1.77 billion and is in support of No.3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School in Southport and 17 Wing flying operations in Winnipeg.

Under the contract, Allied Wings is required to provide ground training, flight training and support services for primary selection flying training, as well as, ground training and support services for advanced flying training for helicopters and multi-engine aircraft. This requires the provision of instructors and instructional material, aircraft (including the responsibility for their servicing, maintenance and air worthiness) and all aircraft fuel, oil and lubricants. It will also require the provision of airfield services (including air traffic control, weather, Aircraft Rescue & Fire Fighting, flight planning and snow and ice removal services), as well as, facilities services to support ground and flight training (including accommodations and feeding, physical training, medical services and some administrative and personnel support).

Allied Wings is a pan-Canadian partnership, assembled in 2002 to bid the CFTS project. The team members and areas of responsibility are as follows:

• Kelowna Flightcraft Ltd. (KFL) – prime contractor and responsible for fixed-wing aircraft provision and O&M
• Canadian Helicopter Corp. (CHC) – responsible for rotary-wing (helicopter) provision and O&M
• Atlantis Systems International (ASI) – responsible for courseware plus simulation systems provision and O&M
• Coastal Pacific Aviation (CPA) – working with KFL, will assist in the provision and operation of all ab initio flying and ground training.
• Canadian Base Operators (CBO) – responsible for airfield services including: Air Traffic Control, Aircraft Rescue & Fire Fighting, Meteorological Services, Snow Removal, etc. and facilities services (see above)
• Black & McDonald Limited – responsible for construction of new facilities and renovation to existing leased facilities. The scope and value of the project represents significant growth for Black & McDonald’s Manitoba / Saskatchewan region.

Allied Wings Facts:

• Combined, the Allied Wings team has over 3000 full time employees, in over 35 locations in Canada from coast-to-coast, with annual revenues in excess of $600 million.
• The Allied Wings team trains more than 500 fixed-wing and helicopter pilots per year in Canada.
• The Allied Wings team operates a combined fleet of over 200 fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft in Canada.
• The Allied Wings team currently operates three advanced ground training schools with state-of-the-art equipment covering initial and advanced fixed- and rotary-wing applications.
• The Allied Wings team currently operates major Canadian and U.S. military bases on a ‘performance incentive fee’ basis, earning high marks for customer satisfaction.
• Allied Wings has extensive hands-on experience operating and maintaining the aircraft types that will be used under the new CFTS contract.

For more information, please visit www.alliedwings.ca.