SAIT’s Art Smith Aero Centre celebrates 20 years with a bright future on the horizon

Art Smith Aero Centre for Training and Technology keeps Alberta primed to emerge as a hub for global aviation training

As one of SAIT’s original disciplines, aviation training is both part of our foundational fabric and an area for significant growth and development. From the first course offered in 1928 to celebrating the 20^th anniversary of the Art Smith Aero Centre, there’s plenty to reflect on as we take stock of our past and look towards the bright future.

Located on land connected to the Calgary International Airport, the centre occupies 13 acres and includes state-of-the-art classrooms and labs and a 21,000 square foot hangar. Designed to operate at industry and SAIT standards, the facility provides exceptional classroom learning and hands-on training.

Along with impressive labs that support the mechanical, electrical and structural components of aircrafts, the space also has corporate facilities and shared classroom space, creating opportunities for industry to conduct its own training or participate in joint training.

What's in a name
SAIT’s aviation training wouldn’t look as it does today without the vision and commitment of the aero centre’s namesake Art Smith — native Calgarian and prominent figure in Canadian aviation history. He served overseas in World War II as a Royal Air Force bomber command squadron leader, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and concluded his military career as a Royal Canadian Air Force test pilot. After the war, he was a publisher, business executive and entrepreneur, and served as a city councillor, an Alberta MLA, a member of Parliament and a delegate to the United Nations. Smith’s many honours included the Order of Canada, the Alberta Order of Excellence and an honorary degree from SAIT.

Blue skies ahead

Calgary Economic Development has identified aerospace as an area for significant growth in Alberta, with one of the country’s busiest airports and headquarters for two of Canada’s major airlines in Calgary. Alberta’s aerospace and defense sector currently generates $3.25 billion to provincial GDP and the growing aerospace and defence sector was projected to spend $54 million on digital transformation by 2024.

“The need for aviation professionals has tripled in the last 20 years and I don’t see a slowdown any time soon,” says Lynda Holden (AMT '93), Dean, School of Transportation, SAIT. “I used to see workforce demand ebb and flow and I don’t see that anymore. Instead, I’m seeing a continual increase in demand for aviation and aerospace talent.”

The centre saw the creation of new lab spaces and equipment through the Government of Alberta's targeted enrolment expansion program, which allowed SAIT to increase the available seats for aviation programming in 2023. This recent expansion, in combination with these generous gifts, will help attract the talent needed to elevate Alberta’s aviation sector.

Last year, SAIT also received two generous gifts to support aviation programming — a 1975 Bell 206 MSN 1682 Helicopter from Eagle Copters Ltd. and a Jetstream 41 aircraft flight compartment from Marty Abbott, donor and former Royal Canadian Air Force pilot. Both pieces of equipment enhance hands-on learning for SAIT students and support innovative, future-focused aviation training.

SAIT has adapted to meet the needs of industry to ensure future aviation professionals are highly skilled and job-ready when they enter the workforce.

“Global demand for commercial transportation and the aerospace and defence sector is on the rise. Underdeveloped and emerging markets are seeing growth in the middle class, which results in a higher standard of living and a desire to travel by air.

“We have a world-class facility with an extremely capable and experienced faculty. The more the world talks about aviation, the more we realize the demand for a skilled workforce,” says Holden. “Those emerging markets may not have the infrastructure to provide high quality training, and we want them to look to SAIT as the standard. We want to work with partners around the globe to help other countries grow their aviation workforce.”

A remotely piloted future

As SAIT continues to lead the way in workforce development, Art Smith Aero Centre works closely with SAIT’s Centre for Innovation and Research in Unmanned Systems (CIRUS) on training, certification, research and development for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) heavy-lift and beyond-visual-line-of-sight application.

The Professional Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems certificate was launched in 2023 to fill the demand for heavy-lift drone pilots and technicians. Initially available with one intake, the program quickly moved to two and continues to be full with a waitlist at every intake. Looking forward, a partnership with ZHAW University in Zurich, Switzerland, is in the development to offer an international exchange opportunity to RPAS students.

“These skills are in high demand and SAIT is ready to provide a talent pool of qualified operators and technicians,” says Dr. David Ross, President and CEO, SAIT. “Driven by industry, companies are finding new ways to impact how Canadians conduct research and implement new applications for drone technology in diverse environments.”