Canadore spreads its wings: North Bay college poised to reach new heights with aviation tech campus expansion.

AuthorRoss, Ian
PositionNorth Bay

The sky's the limit for Canadore College aviation students with the September grand opening of the Advanced Composites Fabrication, Repair and Test Centre (ART-TC) in North Bay.

Some leading-edge technology is being introduced to allow students to make composite material for aircraft inside a brand new 5,000-square-foot addition at the college's aviation campus at Jack Garland Airport.

Built for $4.5 million, the one-story addition to the aviation building is comprised of three labs, with two "clean" and "dirty" rooms for making advanced composites, along with a coveted nondestructive testing (NDT) space.

"The demand now is for students who really understand this craft and can actually get into making parts with it," said Martin Galvin, Canadore's dean of aviation, business and liberal studies. "It's really intricate and we're excited to be getting into that field of composites for production."

NDT is used for quality assurance and inspection of materials and equipment in a wide variety of industries such as the oil and gas, transportation, construction, metals, foundry, welding and fabrication, and aviation sectors.

The lab will offer students both theoretical and practical skills with four different inspection methods in magnetic particle, liquid penetrant, ultrasound, and Eddy current inspection techniques; the same equipment as used as much larger aviation operations.

The technology and expanded space should be a powerful draw to lure companies onto the campus to use the facility on their own or collaborate with the college.

Galvin said it will also enhance their existing programming, specifically aircraft structural repair which the college wants to extend to a two-year program with a composite manufacturing component.

Up until now, students received only basic training in composites and non-destructive testing methods in working with fibreglass, Kevlar and carbon fibre material. Students would make and smash small pieces of composite material to perform repairs.

Designed by Larocque Elder Architects and built by Kenalex Construction, the new facilities will allow them to manufacture large aircraft components, like a wing section, and perform modern quality control inspections.

Canadore is working with Air bus Helicopters Canada to help develop some new curriculum.

Instructors had a September trip planned to the company's main production facility in Fort Erie where composite parts are made for various helicopter models.

"We want to...

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