Aeronautical students across Canada are benefiting from donations made by the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG). In a recent press release issued by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), the agency announced that surplus helicopters are being donated to 10 Transport Canada-approved training institutions from British Columbia to Newfoundland that offer aircraft maintenance engineer programs.

Gander’s College of the North Atlantic (CNA) landed one of the Bo 105s. Says campus aviation director Bob Dwyer, “Having access to aircrafts like the Airbus Bo 105 helps equip students at CNA with practical work experience on real-world aircraft, making them acquainted with the industry standards.” Click to see an interview with Dwyer.

St. Hubert, Quebec’s École nationale d’aérotechnique also received one of the 10 Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Bo105 helicopters. Sylvain Lambert, ÉNA’s director, said, “École nationale d’aérotechnique (ÉNA) is among the 10 educational training institutions in Canada having received a Bo 105 as a donation. By adding to the 37 aircrafts owned by ÉNA, it allows us to increase the educational value of laboratories and hands-on activities in the hangars on a new type of helicopter. We are very grateful to the Canadian Coast Guard for this donation that allows our students to acquire a training even more tailored to the needs of the industry, while at the same time renewing our aircraft fleet.”

Other training institutions that received a Bo 105 include the Nova Scotia Community College, whose president Don Bureaux said, “The helicopter will be utilized for teaching and learning on an expeditious basis, with the goal of ensuring maximum benefit to our students.”

The other training institutions to received donated helicopters are:

• Algonquin College, Ottawa, Ont.
• Centennial College of Applied Arts and Technology, Scarborough, Ont.
• Canadore College of Applied Arts and Technology, North Bay, Ont.
• Red River College, Winnipeg, Man.
• Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Calgary, Alta.
• British Columbia Institute of Technology, Richmond, B.C.
• Northern Lights College, Dawson Creek, B.C.

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard added, “I am proud that these Coast Guard helicopters will help develop students across the country, allowing them to have practical and hands-on experience. These assets have a lot of history and are part of the Coast Guard’s heritage. I am glad that they will benefit the generations to come in building high-level aircraft maintenance expertise.”

Initially certified in Germany by Bölkow in 1970, production ceased in 2009, with the last Bo 105, an EMS (air ambulance) version, being delivered to Castlegar, B.C.’s Dam Helicopters. Many Bo 105s were built at the manufacturer’s plant in Fort Erie, Ont.

The 10 light-lift Bo 105s were replaced with 15 Bell Epi 429s as part of the Coast Guard’s Fleet Renewal Plan.

These helicopters are based in Quebec City, Que. (4), Victoria, B.C. (3), St. John’s, N.L. (2), Shearwater, N.S. (2), Stephenville, N.L (1), Parry Sound, Ont. (1), Charlottetown, P.E.I (1) and Saint John, N.B. (1).