Transportation - Art Smith Aero Centre - About Us

Our Aviation History

In October, 1916, SAIT, then known as the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art, started a long and glorious tradition by training 11 students in temporary quarters in downtown Calgary. Within six years, in 1922, the institute moved to what is currently known as Heritage Hall which to this day, forms part of the SAIT infrastructure.

Aviation started in earnest in 1930 with eight students in a full-time program called Aeronautics. Public training at SAIT was put on hold for the WWII years when the facility was taken over by the Royal Canadian Air Force and became the No. 2 Wireless School under the British Commonwealth Training Plan.

Following the victory in Europe and Japan, classes resumed at the campus on North Hill and the aviation program became a three year Aeronautical Engineering program. Eleven years later in 1957, the modern era of aviation took hold with the addition of a Aircraft Maintenance Technology program which is known today as the Aircraft Maintenance Engineers Technology program.

It wasn't until 1960 that the Institution's name changed to the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) which is its name today.

As aviation grew as an industry in Canada, SAIT had to add more programs to meet industry demand. In 1975 the Avionics Technology program began and continues today. As the Aviation department grew, it needed new facilities and while new facilities were being developed at the main SAIT campus, the aviation programs were moved to temporary facilities at the Calgary International Airport. In 1986, the aviation programs returned to the main campus to take up residence in the Colonel James Walker building.

In 1996 and in response to a need defined by the Department of National Defence, another aviation program was added: Aircraft Structures Technician. The addition of this program completed the evolution to the programs offered by SAIT today; however, newer and bigger challenges were still to come.

Leading up to the year 2000, the aviation industry began to realize that a significant percentage of their skilled maintenance work force were due to retire as the "baby-boomers" approached retirement age. That realization spurred the Canadian Aviation Maintenance Council (CAMC) and the Human Resources Department of Canada (HRDC) to team up and investigate the problem.

After 2 years of study, the conclusion was reached that the aviation industry was on the brink of a significant shortage of skilled workers and that trend was going to continue for at least 20 years. Armed with that revelation, SAIT took the lead in responding to industry demand for more aviation maintenance graduates and sought assistance to develop a new aviation campus at the Calgary International Airport. After years of planning and with the collaborative support of the Alberta Provincial Government, the Government of Canada, the City of Calgary, the Calgary International Airport Authority and industry partners, a new facility, the Art Smith Aero Centre for Training and Technology was built.

Today this state-of-the-art facility stands on 17 acres of Calgary Airport Authority land connected to Taxiway "N", a celebrated jewel in SAIT’s crown.

The future for the Aero Centre is bright. Industry is recovering from a temporary set-back, new programs are being developed to respond to industry needs and partnerships with local industry are being forged. After 80 years of leading aviation training in Canada, SAIT continues to take the lead in post-secondary aviation training with this innovative facility, the Art Smith Centre for Training and Technology.