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Canadian Coast Guard helicopter donations

In early 2018, the Canadian Coast Guard donated 10 helicopters to Transport Canada-approved training institutes offering aircraft maintenance engineer programs across Canada. These Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm BO105 helicopters were in service in the Canadian Coast Guard for more than 30 years. As part of the Coast Guard’s Fleet Renewal Plan, the Government of Canada purchased and deployed 22 new helicopters:

All 22 new helicopters have been deployed to Coast Guard bases across the country.

Canadian Coast Guard helicopters

Helicopter transportation services are a key part of the Canadian Coast Guard's readiness profile and response capability. Our helicopters assist with:

Use in training

We’re committed to supporting the development of well-trained, skilled personnel to serve the aerospace industry of the future. This support is crucial to the overall success and well-being of the Coast Guard, its employees and its partners.

These donations will give students the opportunities and tools they need to develop their skills with practical, hands-on experience. The helicopters are used during the students’ practical phase of training, mirroring the real-life tasks they’ll perform upon graduation. This helps to prepare them for exciting new careers in aircraft maintenance.

Training institutes

We donated BO105 helicopters to the following training institutes in:

Videos

Transcript

Nathan Charby: My name is Nathan Charby, I applied to this program because I really like doing mechanics of any sorts. I worked in an auto shop for a bit then I got older and started specializing my skills in the trades and I just realized I want my job to have a lot more meaning and weight, so I came to the aviation. I did a lot of looking around for colleges and stuff and this one piqued my interest, specifically with this helicopter here because it’s in such good condition and it’s one of the most advanced we have.

So with this two year program we learned about anything from propellers, to the fuel systems, to how a turbine engine works.

Serge Côté: So how’s the inspection coming along?

Nathan Charby: Good.

Serge Côté: Very appreciative of the Canadian Coast Guard for giving us this helicopter because that was instrumental for us to run the program.

Nathan Charby: If my school didn’t have a helicopter it would make it harder for me to get in the trade, so it’s a really good thing to put on a resume that I have experience with the BO105.
Transcript

My name is Louis Guimont, I’m a teacher here at the École nationale d’aérotechnique.

I used to be a pilot. I flew for a long time up in James Bay and other places. I’ve been with the school for 25 years. We celebrated that 2 days ago as a matter of fact and I was a coordinator here for a few years.

The École nationale d’aérotechnique is the only school in Quebec where we teach the technicians how to work on aircrafts. It’s the largest in North America.

We have 36 aircraft that we work on and 10 of those are helicopters, and with this new helicopter that we’re getting from the Coast Guard, it’s really exciting for our students and teachers.

The helicopter itself was the thing we were missing here. The helicopter is really interesting because it’s a twin engine helicopter and because the main rotor head is a new technology.

We have 3 main rotor heads that we’ve been talking about for the last 10 years, but there was one missing, and this is the one. It’s got a rigid rotor and the BO-105’s got that main rotor head.

As far as the equipment is concerned, we’re talking about the pop-out floats, the wire cutter kit, we didn’t have that here, so that was the technology that was missing for our classes.

We would like to thank the Coast Guard for everything they did for us, it was fantastic! Thanks again, it was really nice.

Gallery

A student from École nationale d’aérotechnique demonstrates how the newly-donated BO 105 helicopter improves their learning alongside teacher, Louis Guimont.
MP Sherry Romanado announces BO 105 helicopter donation to École nationale d’aérotechnique.
Algonquin College students pose with a donated BO 105 helicopter with instructor Serge Côté, MPs Anita Vandenbeld and Mona Fortier, and other esteemed guests.
Algonquin College’s newly donated BO 105 helicopter stands in preparation for announcement.

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