Providence aviation students are currently flying back to Steinbach after taking off from San Diego, CA. Six students and two instructors are participating in this year’s flight, which will take their three Cessna 172s and one Piper Warrior more than 4,000 nautical miles from Manitoba through western Canada and the northwestern United States, California, Arizona, Nevada and Texas.
A requirement in order to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Aviation from Providence, the long-haul trip is unique among Canadian flight schools.
“The Providence trip is a benchmark of its aviation program,” explains Bardia Salimkhani, a previous aviation graduate from Providence, which partners with Steinbach-based Harv’s Air to provide both comprehensive flight training and a holistic, Christ-centred university education. “Other schools may travel just across the border for a day or two, to get the customs clearing experience, but no other school flies such a long trip.”
The flight, which takes places over two weeks each winter, is designed to familiarize students with American airspace.
“Even though we are neighbouring countries there are some noticeable differences between the aviation regulations and practices of Canada and the United States,” Salimkhani explains, adding that the trip also provides students with the opportunity to experience the flying conditions of the prairies in winter, of warmer-temperature environments such as the Grand Canyon, and of mountains.
“Students also gain a new understanding of aviation as they have to plan stops for fuelling and accommodations,” says Salimkhani. “No other flight school in Canada provides such a trip. It is absolutely worthwhile—the trip of a lifetime!”
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