Canadian North's Official In-Flight Magazine

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Up Here - July/August 2006

Up Here: Explore Canada's Far North is a magazine about the people, the land and the stories of the North. To learn more, visit www.uphere.ca.

Scroll down or click on the links below to read the articles in the latest issue of Canadian North's official in-flight magazine, now online.

Your Safety; Our Commitment
Folk on the Rocks 2006
Champions for Children
Canadian North Pilots: Staying Qualified
Upcoming Events

Your Safety; Our Commitment

At Canadian North, your safety is of the utmost importance to us. From each facet of our operation, you can be assured your safety onboard is our primary concern.

Canadian North flight attendants undergo extensive training in emergency and safety procedures. Candidates who meet our strict requirements for this position are selected to participate in our Initial Flight Attendant Training Program. This program, which is approximately 3 weeks in duration, instructs potential Flight Attendants in all aspects of safety onboard the aircraft. Extensive testing on knowledge and application of emergency procedures, emergency evacuations, aviation emergency first aid, dangerous goods and numerous other requirements are conducted prior to a new flight attendant beginning their career with Canadian North. In addition to the initial training program, flight attendants attend mandatory annual training, and are also subject to onboard line evaluations.

Every flight attendant for Canadian North is a professional who understands this primary concern for your safety, and is committed to this philosophy.

Welcome onboard Canadian North. We hope you enjoy the flight.

Folk on the Rocks 2006

With the dust barely settled after a successful 25th anniversary in 2005, we have been kicking up our heels and stirring up the winds of change. We’ve decided that it is about time the festival start taking some responsibility for the environment. We live in one of the few relatively untouched regions of the world and the only way to keep it that way is to make sure we consider the environment in every decision. This new attitude is reflected in our 2006 theme: Earth, Rock & Soul in which we bring to you a surprisingly earthier, richer and grittier line-up that digs deep into the roots of music from around the world. In addition, some of our feature artists manage to combine a globally conscious message with infectious rhythms and grooves.

Held on the pristine sandy shores of Long Lake in Yellowknife, NWT, Folk on the Rocks is a 2-day weekend event that has evolved into one of Canada’s top summertime music and cultural festivals, drawing musicians from around the NWT and Nunavut and across the globe. It is refuge for many as it is an opportunity to not only experience new music and cultural experiences but to celebrate our majestic Northern landscape all in one. It is our intention to keep it this way for another 25 years plus for the future enjoyment of others so stay tuned and watch out for new initiatives from the Festival to keep things green.

We thank Canadian North for bringing performers from far and wide to Folk on the Rocks every year so our audience can enjoy a wide range of high caliber performance experiences. Make Folk on the Rocks your unique and unforgettable travel destination this year: July 14-16, 2006

Visit www.folkontherocks.com for more information.

Champions for Children

The “Champions for Children” Dinner is a major fundraiser for KidSport™ NWT and the NWT’s High Performance Athlete Program. This exciting event will feature five to eight professional and/or Olympic athletes; as well as emcee Dennis Hull, former Chicago Blackhawk and 1972 Team Canada alumni. The evening’s keynote speaker is the renowned Ron MacLean of Hockey Night in Canada and anchor of CBC’s Olympic broadcasts.

The evening will be held in an enchanted setting with live entertainment, a silent and live auction, and a spectacular dinner served up by one of the North’s premier Chefs. Don’t miss this opportunity to catch up with old friends, meet some new ones and mingle with celebrities. Canadian North is proud to sponsor this event and invites you to make this gala evening a huge success with the proceeds going to KidSport™ NWT and our future Olympic prospects.

For more information, call 669-8326 or (toll free) 1-800-661-0797.

Canadian North Pilots: Staying Qualified

By Laval St. Germain, Chief Pilot Canadian North

The two professionals sitting in the ‘pointy end’ of your aircraft are subject to training and testing on a nearly continuous basis, unique to most professions.

The vast majority of professionals are not subject to ongoing training, testing and qualifying throughout their careers. Doctors, lawyers, accountants and dentists are not normally re-tested after they qualify or graduate. This is a fact of life for airline pilots.

Here is how we do it:

All Canadian North pilots start with our airline fully qualified. This means that they arrive with the medical requirements and required licences along with thousands of hours of flying experience with other airlines or from the military.

These ‘new’ Pilots are then subjected to many hours of training and testing specific to our airline.

Here is what we do on initial training:

Company Medical Test – complete physical conducted by a Transport Canada approved physician.
Company Indoctrination Course – 1 day course all about how we operate as an airline; where we fly, company organization etc.
Technical Ground-school Course – 10 day very detailed course covering all the various systems on the aircraft, limitations, performance, emergency procedures, gravel runway operations, satellite navigation, Arctic operations and standard operating procedures etc. Includes written exams.
CRM (Crew Resource Management) Course – 2 day course on effective communicating between pilots, flight attendants and maintenance, security training, human factors and error management, studying airline incidents and accidents and identifying areas of risk etc.
Initial Flight Simulator Training – 7 day course conducted in computerized flight simulators with full motion, visuals and flight characteristics exactly like the ‘real’ aircraft. Each day involves 4 hours of ‘flying’ and 2 hours of pre-flight briefing and post flight critique focusing on normal procedures and non-normal and emergency procedures.
Simulator Flight Test or PPC Test (Pilot Proficiency Check) – 1 day intensive 4 hour flight test conducted in the simulator by a Transport Canada Inspector or Company Check Pilot representing Transport Canada.
Airborne PPC – 3 takeoffs and landings in the actual aircraft with a Company Check Pilot.
Line Indoctrination – 50 hours of flying Canadian North routes with a Company Training Pilot.
Line Check – 1 day, conducted by a Company Check Pilot or Transport Canada Inspector, a test of ‘line flying’ (flying of Canadian North routes) qualifications, technical ability, communications with passengers and Flight Attendants etc.

Now that the ‘new’ pilot is qualified he/she gets to do a large portion of the training and testing all over again in 6 months.

Here is what we do every 6 months:

Recurrent Simulator Training – 2 days consisting of two 4 hour simulator sessions, one session is training and one session is a flight test with a Transport Canada Inspector or Company Check Pilot.
Transport Canada Medical Exam – every 6 months if over 40 years of age or every 12 months if under 40 years of age. Here is what we do every 12 months: • Recurrent Technical Ground-school - a trimmed down version of the initial course focusing on the same topics. Includes written exams.
Recurrent Simulator Training – two 4 hour simulator sessions, one session may be training and one session is LOFT [Line Oriented Flight Training] or a flight test with a Transport Canada Inspector or Company Check Pilot.
Line Check – conducted by a Company Check Pilot or Transport Canada Inspector, a test of ‘line flying’ [flying of Canadian North routes] qualifications, technical ability, communications with passengers and Flight Attendants etc.
CRM (Crew Resource Management) Course – 1 day and very similar to the initial.

The lists above do not cover all of the specific training and testing, but gives you a good idea of what it takes to be an airline pilot. As you can see, airline pilots maintain a high level of proficiency and must get over any examphobia early in their careers so that you can get over any aviophobia (fear of flying) you may have!