Canada could become a centre for certification expertise if two distinctly different ventures are successful. In Quebec, private research and development firm Marinvent plans to establish its Flight Test Centre of Excellence, while in Alberta construction begins next month on the non-profit Canadian Centre for Aircraft Certification.
A 25-person Montreal-area company selling flight research and certification services, Marinvent operates a Piaggio Avanti with Honeywell Primus Epic flightdeck - an upgrade the company certificated - as well as a Piper Cheyenne and a flight simulator, all equipped for rapid prototyping of new displays. "We can programme a display on a PC, pump it to the cockpit and run it in the aircraft the same day," says president John Maris.
Revenues also come from intellectual-property sales - Marinvent developed the electronic chart software sold to Jeppesen as JeppView and is looking to license its airflow performance monitor, which provides stall warning in the presence of aerofoil contamination such as icing. Canada's National Research Centre is flight-testing Marinvent's dynamic non-linear display, an intuitive re-interpretation of traditional airspeed and altitude tapes.
Now Maris plans to establish a centre offering test and certification services as well as training, particularly for general aviation companies. "We will take people, train them and use the aircraft to show how it is done," he says. Maris expects to begin training by the fourth quarter. "We project C$10 million [$9 million]-plus a year from the training side within a couple of years."
Marinvent is building its case for federal and provincial government investment. "There are three ways to participate: as a paying customer buying equity in a holding company for a share of profits and preferential access or making in-kind donations, like a helicopter or a simulator."
CCAC, meanwhile, is the first operating division of the Canadian Centre for Aerospace Development (CCASD), a subsidiary of the Calgary Airport Authority. The business plan for a second initiative, the Canadian Centre for Unmanned Vehicle Systems, is due by the end of May, says CCASD president and chief executive Myrne Dubé. Both are intended to attract industry to western Canada.
Based at Springbank airport, and with support from the federal government, the not-for-profit CCAD will provide testing and evaluation services for carbonfibre-composite GA aircraft. "Transport Canada will approve the test plans, and we will do the tests," says Dubé.
Demand for materials and components testing is such that CCAD will start by sub-leasing a hangar at Springbank. "We have ordered a lot of equipment, and will have a wing-testing capability by mid-April/May," she says. Construction of the permanent facility will begin in May, aiming for completion by year-end.
Maris does not see a conflict between the two ventures. "They are west and we are east. Canada is big enough, and we are looking forward to working with them."
Source: Flight International
