MOOSE JAW — Denean Tomlin has been working with a national aerospace conglomerate for under a year and is responsible for ensuring a new military pilot training program generates $10 billion during its 25-year lifespan.
Tomlin, the head of offsets with SkyAlyne Canada Limited Partnership, spoke about how the company will support the Royal Canadian Air Force’s (RCAF) Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) program during a luncheon on Dec. 11 at the Events Centre.
Formed in 2018, SkyAlyne is comprised of Montreal-based CAE Inc. — which focuses on training simulators for civilian and military pilots — and Kelowna, British Columbia-based KF Aerospace, Canada’s largest commercial maintenance, repair and overhaul provider, she explained.
Both companies are the RCAF’s incumbent training partners and are delivering all contracted pilot training and support in Canada.
CAE handles training at 15 Wing Air Base and will oversee the transition to the FAcT program, which will combine all existing operations as part of an $11.2-billion, 25-year contract, Tomlin said.
“One school, one rule” is the philosophy SkyAlyne has with this new training approach, she continued. 15 Wing will handle basic and advanced flight training, while Southport and Winnipeg, Man., will handle multi-engine and helicopter training.
“I refer to SkyAlyne as Canada’s largest startup or the smallest defence company,” said Tomlin. “Our vision is to lead the world in aircrew training excellence and contribute to re-affirming Canada as the global ‘Aerodrome of Democracy.’”
SkyAlyne will partner with 10 major subcontractors to build new infrastructure at the three air bases while it plans to hire many smaller contractors and service providers from those communities, she continued.
The “essence” of the FAcT team is collaboration and ensuring everyone is working together equally while attempting to fulfill the contract, Tomlin added.
The five planes FAcT will use include the Grob 120-TP, with 23 based in Moose Jaw; the Pilatus PC-21, with 19 based in Moose Jaw; the Airbus H135 helicopter, with 19 in Southport; the Beechcraft King Air 260, with seven based in Southport; and the De Havilland Dash 8-400, with three based in Winnipeg.
Meanwhile, the new ground-based training system will provide simulators for the pilots, with 51 devices attached to the machines, such as full-motion cockpits, VR headsets, full-size fuselages and other desktop devices.
“It’s really building on the opportunity to include innovation and also get people familiar with their day-to-day operations before they’re in the cockpit, so we’re reducing stress on planes and fuel used,” said Tomlin.
SkyAlyne will begin developing and validating the FAcT program between 2025 and 2026, while from 2026 to 2032, construction will occur, with the programming beginning in 2032, said Tomlin, who noted that she was SkyAlyne’s seventh employee when she began in January.
National construction company EllisDon will lead the infrastructure upgrades at the three air bases, which will include new hangars, dining rooms, classrooms, schools, accommodations and more, she continued.
“There is an awful lot of opportunity for companies to get involved and work alongside those 10 subcontractors,” Tomlin added.
Sofiene Dridi, EllisDon’s FAcT project manager, spoke about the construction, saying, “I can assure you that Moose Jaw is the biggest project of the three (base upgrades) … . It will be huge; it will be big.”
At 15 Wing, EllisDon plans to build a training and simulator venue, a hangar, accommodations and a mess kitchen with a combined floor size of roughly 45,000 square feet, he continued. Construction procurement will begin in 2025, while it will take 48 months to finish all upgrades.
Dridi encouraged Moose Jaw businesses to register online to support these infrastructure projects.
Meanwhile, Ottawa says SkyAlyne must generate $10 billion in economic benefits across the country during that 25-year contract, Tomlin said. Therefore, her role is to ensure the program produces that amount of money “in Canadian content value” for the economy, including for small- and medium-sized businesses.
Added Tomlin, “I’m always looking for opportunities to take the FAcT story and the indirect opportunities across Canada and find good partners to invest in.”
Visit www.skyalyne.ca for more information about the FAcT program.
