Cape Breton Flight Institute

CBFI Partnership with Chinese Takes Flight
 

The Cape Breton Flight Institute (CBFI) is preparing for take-off. The institute is looking forward to welcoming its first group of students from China.

Situated on the grounds of the Sydney airport, CBFI recently signed a contract with a private Chinese flight school to provide their students with commercial pilot licence training. Upon completion of training at CBFI students return home for the additional instruction needed to receive a Chinese aviation pilot licence.

Having persevered through some turbulent times, this contract is an important step forward for CBFI. The intent of the institute, registered in 2006, is to train students recruited by airline companies in China. In orderto do this, CBFI required approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China. However, CBFI CEO and president Grace Chum says difficulties experienced by international flight schools during the economic downturn led the Chinese government to put a hold on accepting applications from new foreign flight schools.

Chum, a banker in Hong Kong for more than 25 years before coming to Canada, has maintained close connections in China. She brings cultural understanding, business management expertise, problem-solving skills and a fierce determination to her work.

Bill Gardiner, CFBI’s chair, originated the idea for CBFI and appreciates Chum’s resourcefulness. “You can get hit with an unexpected challenge and you just have to deal with it,” he says. “I think one of Grace’s biggest strengths is being able to look calmly at a complex situation and say, ‘Okay, what are we going to do to address this? How do we resolve this?’ She then works with the team to develop a solution.”

CBFI hopes the Chinese government’s hold will soon be lifted for other prospective students because the demand for flight training in the Chinese market is growing. “The economic conditions in China are still booming and in the last 15 years they’ve opened up to international trade, so they need a lot of transportation,” Chum says. “They need pilots to operate the aircraft for not only international flights but domestic flights in order to cope with the expansion of economic development inside China.”

Chum believes Nova Scotia has a lot to offer to Chinese students pursuing a career in aviation. “China is so densely populated,” she says. “Here we have space, good clean air, and the environment to allow students to learn the language and also understand the culture in North America. If they are flying international flights in the future this experience enables them to be more internationally-minded.”

All students attending CBFI must first undergo language and aptitude testing in China before they begin the visa application process. The first group of students from the private training school is expected to arrive in Cape Breton in the first quarter of 2010. The numbers will be small at first with the intent to expand. Chum says, depending on the students’ background, the training program will range from seven months to a year.

For some instructors, the opportunity to work with CBFI will signify a return to the province. The institute’s chief flight instructor is originally from Nova Scotia but currently lives in Saskatchewan. “This allows skilled people who were born and raised in Nova Scotia who now live elsewhere, the opportunity to come home. There aren’t a lot of flying jobs in Nova Scotia,” says Gardiner.

Chum says in addition to the immediate economic benefits brought about by students training in Nova Scotia and their families visiting them, there are opportunities to promote Nova Scotia and to explore other business possibilities.

“Training of pilots is our main focus, but we also think there is an opportunity and the market to provide services related to aviation, including consulting work for companies in China,” Chum says.

These other business opportunities would be explored through the holding company Flying Phoenix Flight College Inc., also led by Chum and Gardiner. Flying Phoenix has two bases under its banner – CBFI at the Sydney airport and a base at Waterville, Nova Scotia, through shareholder Central Valley Aircraft Incorporated.

For Gardiner, who lives in Fall River, Nova Scotia, being based in the province has its advantages. He notes the support and guidance provided by Nova Scotia Business Inc., which referred Chum to CFBI in the early days of the institute. Gardiner says, “There’s incredible infrastructure here in terms of airport facilities and universities that are open to building partnerships. Education, especially education for foreign students, is a high priority with the government, as well as aeorospace, training and high-tech. CBFI offers a combination of all of these.”