Seneca Shuffle

Avatar for Lisa GordonBy Lisa Gordon | April 15, 2013

Estimated reading time 8 minutes, 46 seconds.

After the 2010 announcement that Buttonville Airport in Markham, Ont., would close within five years, Seneca College’s aviation and flight technology program got busy looking for another home. 

The school began a comprehensive evaluation of southern Ontario airports to determine which would best suit the program’s future needs. Last year, it announced that Peterborough Municipal Airport (CYPQ) had been chosen as its new home base. Preparations are now underway for the relocation, with the college expecting to open its new doors in January 2014. 
We take the move so seriously, said Lynne McMullen, chair of the school of aviation and flight technology. There are so many stakeholders in this, and our students are the most important. We have to maintain the integrity of the program, academically and on the flight line. 
The school’s 45-year-old aviation program offers Canada’s only Aviation Accreditation Board International (AABI) accredited degree in aviation and flight technology, with close to 500 applicants vying for the 90 seats that are available each year.
Currently, new aviation students complete their entire first year at the college’s Newnham campus in Toronto. During second, third and fourth years, students move between academic courses at the Markham campus and flight line instruction at Buttonville Airport. 
That’s all set to change with the relocation to Peterborough. The college assumed an existing hangar west of the main terminal and is adding on to create a 45,274 square foot facility, which will house all aspects of the aviation and flight technology program: state-of-the-art classroom space and student meeting rooms; bays for the program’s 10 flight training devices; hangar space for its fleet of 19 aircraft [12 Cessna 172s, four Beechcraft Bonanzas and three Beechcraft Barons]; an in-house maintenance program; and administrative and faculty offices. 
One of the really exciting things for us is that we will be able to co-locate academic and flight line activities, said McMullen. It will be more convenient for the students to have it all in one place, and will promote closer communication between staff and students.
Approximately 150 students will be onsite at Seneca’s new Peterborough aviation campus. They will be joined by about 45 staff members, including full-time flight line instructors, seasonal instructional staff, full-time academic professors, aircraft maintenance staff, and administrative support workers.  
The city of Peterborough is welcoming them all with open arms. 
It feels like a very positive place for our program and our students, said McMullen. Peterborough offers us so much opportunity for a state-of-the-art building, at an airport where they want to embrace aviation education. The $28 million infrastructure renewal recently funded by all levels of government really demonstrates their commitment to the airport.
An extensive airport expansion project was completed in 2011. Improvements included the construction of a new terminal building, an extension of the runway to 7,000 feet with increased taxiway space, and groundside commercial development. CYPQ now boasts the longest runway between Toronto and Ottawa. 
The investment in the facility is indicative of the city’s commitment to the aviation and aerospace industry. In its 2009 master plan for the Peterborough Municipal Airport, the city identified the airport as a strong regional economic driver, and recognized that its future role, among others, would involve supporting flight training activities. 
When they talk about the business plan for the future of Peterborough Airport, there is a clear place for aviation education, McMullen told Canadian Skies.  That makes us feel like we’re well supported by the city.
In fact, Seneca won’t be the first college with ties to CYPQ. In 2009, the local Fleming College partnered with the largest operator at the airport, Flying Colours, to create an Aircraft Interior Fundamentals course. The four-month program is designed to familiarize students with the skills needed to step into jobs at Flying Colours, a specialized global aviation services company that performs green aircraft completions and conversion projects, as well as the refurbishment of used business jets, maintenance, and exterior paint work. The program was created to grow a skilled local workforce for Flying Colours, which has seen rapid expansion in recent years. 
Student Benefits
McMullen said the move to Peterborough is being carefully planned, with student, staff and faculty input influencing many of the decisions. 
She believes students will be the clear winners once Seneca is up and running at CYPQ. 
They won’t have to travel between campuses for academic and flight line training. They’ll be in a new facility, with easier access to all their professors; and they’ll have more space, explained McMullen. And, as soon as you take off, you’ll be in a practice area. We won’t be limited by Pearson airspace any more, so operations will be more efficient.
Peterborough Municipal Airport is an uncontrolled facility, which will be a change for students who are used to communicating with an air traffic control tower. But McMullen said student pilots are trained to fly into all types of airports; and, in some ways, an uncontrolled home base may improve their skills in preparation for that first northern flying job.
Students should also benefit financially due to cheaper housing costs. Although Seneca hasn’t finalized formal accommodation arrangements, McMullen said students may want to rent houses near the airport, as they currently do in Markham. In that case, student rentals are sure to be less expensive in Peterborough. 
She added that students and staff who move to Peterborough will also bring significant economic benefits to the city. 
Although there are many positives to relocating the program, there’s no doubt that it will be a sad day when the last training flight lands in Buttonville. The program’s first students began training there in 1968, and Seneca College has graduated many pilots who have gone on to become pillars of the Canadian aviation community. 
McMullen recognizes the program’s proud history at Buttonville, but she is confident about setting up shop in Peterborough. 
This move is an emotional decision, but it’s also a business decision, she said. This is a program that has so much tradition and involvement in the industry, and we could not have asked for better partners in this move than Peterborough Municipal Airport and the city of Peterborough.

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