Sponsored flying colleges in Canada

[Speedbird eh!]

I have recently applied to Confederation College for their flight program in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The program is heavily subsidised by the government. The only two colleges in Canada that I am aware of that are subsidised are 'Confederation College' and 'Sioux College'. The programs are 2 and 3 years respectively. Seneca College in Toronto used to have a subsidy from the government, but that plug has now been pulled and they offer a 4 year program which you pay about 20,000 CDN dollars a year. If anyone is aware of any other subsidised colleges or any information they would like to share about Confederation College, then please feel free to make a comment.

Thanks a million.

[c150driver]

I'm not sure if Confed has changed, but it used to be more of a bush course without multi-IFR rating. Sault (not Sioux) college in Sault Ste. Marie offers CPL multi IFR on very nice aerobatic aircraft. Don't think that there are any other subsidized courses in Ontario.

Hope this helps

[bcflyer]

I graduated from Con College a few years ago (91 to be exact, guess thats more than a few...:rolleyes: ) Really good course, really good instructors, really good airplanes, really good contacts in the industry. My graduating class had 18 in it and all but 3 of us got flying jobs staight out of school. They built a brand new hanger recently and things seem to be going well for the course. There are graduates all over the world now flying just about everything you can think off. I would highly recommend it. Thunder Bay is a nice city to spend a bit of time, lots of places to have a few barley pops, and a TON of good looking women. All and all it was a good 2 1/2 years. If you have any other questions feel free to PM me.

BC

[Fingersmac]

i will be attending confed this fall. after all my research it was the best choice. according to the tuition information in the next step booklet they sent me it will cost just under $8K for CPL with float endorsement and 200+ hours.

sault program (not sioux) is a three year program and the cost is very similar to confed. the only thing is you pay for a third year. all the flying is subsidized by the government though. you recieve CPL w/ MIFR and most likely 200+ hours.

seneca college has decided to make their flight program an associated degree. not quite a college diploma, not quite a university degree. it costs around $3K per semester for ten semesters. so yes it is rather expensive it is still a better deal then your average flight school simply because you get an applied science degree out of it. whether that makes you more marketable as a pilot is questionable... especially for your first few years in the business. i believe you get a CPL w/ MIFR and most likely 200+ hours too.

i think seneca still gets subsidies from the government for the flying portion of your training (i could be wrong).


i chose confed for several different reasons... the most important of which was the tuition fees and number of years in the program. another reason is that they start the flight training in the first semester... in fact it is required of you to solo by the end of the first semester. i also like that the program is geared towards bush flying. for most that don't take the instructor route bush flying is usually where you end up.

as for MIFR they do teach you all the ground schooling for the endorsement. they just don't have the aircraft to complete the flying portion. again for most you will most likely not need it for several years anyway... at which point the IFR would have expired.


btw.. when did you apply?

i applied back in january and i thought my grades were pretty good.. especially sinice i already had a college diploma. i was put on the waiting list for three weeks before they sent me an offer of admissions.

it's a tough program to get into because there are a limited number of spaces (around 65). i was told that only half that number actually make it through the first semester let alone complete the course and graduate.


good luck... and hope to see you there this fall.

[jacquesm]

If you're from Quebec, the Chicoutimi College as a 3 year college program in French. It is a fully funded gov. school (CEGEP) but only 40 students per year are taken on the program. Three training options are available; multi-IFR, floatplane and helicopter.