An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they are involved in operating the aircraft's navigation and engine systems. Other aircrew members, such as drone operators, flight attendants, mechanics and ground crew, are not classified as aviators.
Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills.
Instrument rating refers to the qualifications that a pilot must have in order to fly under instrument flight rules (IFR). It requires specific training and instruction beyond what is required for a private pilot certificate or commercial pilot certificate, including rules and procedures specific to instrument flying, additional instruction in meteorology, and more intensive training in flight solely by reference to instruments.
A private pilot licence (PPL) or private pilot certificate is a type of pilot licence that allows the holder to act as pilot in command of an aircraft privately. The basic licence requirements are determined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), but implementation varies from country to country. According to ICAO, an applicant must be at least 17 years old, demonstrate appropriate knowledge and skill, and hold at least a Class 3 medical certificate. Different PPLs are available for different categories of aircraft, such as aeroplane, helicopter, airship, etc., and are not interchangeable, although experience from a PPL in one category may be credited towards the issue of another.
A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristics and a simplified cockpit arrangement—allows pilots-in-training to safely advance their skills in a more forgiving aircraft.
Pilot licensing or certification refers to permits for operating aircraft. Flight crew licences are issued by the civil aviation authority of each country, which must establish that the holder has met minimum knowledge and experience before issuing licences. The licence, along with the required class or type rating, allows a pilot to fly aircraft registered in the licence issuing state.
Pilot certification in the United States is typically required for an individual to act as a pilot-in-command of an aircraft. It is regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). A pilot may be certified under 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 61 or 14 CFR Part 141. Pilots may also be certified under 14 CFR Part 107 for commercial drone operations.
Pilot licensing in Canada is administered by Transport Canada under the Aeronautics Act and the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs).
Pilot licensing in the United Kingdom is regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Calgary/Springbank Airport or Springbank Airport is an airport located in the Rocky View County community of Springbank, Alberta, an area to the west of Calgary in Alberta, Canada.
A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to operate aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate the knowledge and skill level of an aviator in pursuit of a higher pilot's license, certificate or rating.
Alkan Air Ltd. is an airline headquartered in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. The company operates seven-day-a-week charter and air ambulance (medevac) services. The Whitehorse and Mayo (seasonal) bases generally focus on wheel and floatplane charter and medevac services in northern and western Canada and Alaska. The Nanaimo, BC base provides charter and medevac services, focused primarily in western Canada, the western United States and Mexico. From 2016 to 2018, Alkan also operated scheduled flights between Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport and Watson Lake Airport.
The Moncton Flight College (MFC) is a pilot training school based at the Greater Moncton International Airport (CYQM) in Dieppe, New Brunswick, Canada. They have a second location at the Fredericton International Airport (YFC) in Lincoln, NB. In a year, MFC has the capacity to train 450 students between the Moncton and Fredericton Campus. Currently the Moncton Campus offers domestic and international programs with a 260-student capacity and a staff of 55. The Fredericton campus is primarily for Chinese student training with some modular based flight training and has a capacity of 190 students and employs 70 people. Both of the campuses have on-site kitchens and residences. MFC is the largest private flight school in Canada. It is also one of six, out of 150 schools in Canada, to be given integrated status. The college has trained over 20,000 pilots from approximately 70 countries since 1929. MFC has an approved FTU, ATO and AMO from Transport Canada and also has CAAC (China) approval.
North Shore Aerodrome, also called North Shore Airport and Dairy Flat Airfield, is a small, uncontrolled aerodrome located 2 nmi (3.7 km) south southwest of Silverdale, near Auckland in New Zealand's North Island.
Carlyle Clare Agar AFC was a pioneering Canadian aviator.
Helen Marcelle Harrison Bristol was a pioneering Canadian female civil aviation instructor and the first Canadian Air Transport Auxiliary ferry pilot during World War II.
ATP Flight School is the largest flight training company in the United States. The curriculum focuses on airline-oriented pilot programs at locations across the country. ATP is the leading supplier of professionally trained pilots to the nation's regional airlines.
Air Spray (1967) Ltd. trading as Air Spray Ltd. of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and Air Spray USA Inc of Chico, California is a private company specializing in aerial wildfire suppression using air tanker or water bomber aircraft. Air Spray was owned and operated by Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame inductee, Donald T. Hamilton until his death in 2011. The company continued to be owned and operated by his daughter, Lynn Hamilton, of Foothills, Alberta.
Moretta Fenton Beall "Molly" Reilly became the first female Canadian pilot to reach the rank of captain, the first female Canadian corporate pilot, and the first woman to fly to the Arctic professionally. Her modifications to the Beechcraft Duke were used to improve the aircraft. Over the course of her career, Reilly logged over 10,000 flight hours as a pilot-in-command — without a single accident. She is a member of the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame.
Vera Elsie Strodl Dowling was a Danish pilot who gained fame in the Second World War as the only Scandinavian woman to fly for the RAF's Air Transport Auxiliary. Later, based in Alberta, Canada, she instructed pilots under the Commonwealth Training Programme. In May 2000, she was honoured with membership of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame.
