Content
Policy of Non-affiliation—Equal treatment of All International Students
Summary of Coastal Pacific Aviation Flight Training Capacity
Safe and Sound Arrivals Program
Time Required for Pilot Training
Accelerated Pilot Training Program—13 Months
Integrated Airline Transport Pilot Program—13 Months
Business Administration (Aviation) Diploma and Degree—24 Months and 4 Years
Resident Options for International Students
How to Apply for Admission to Coastal Pacific Aviation as an International Student
Coastal Pacific Aviation International Students' Contact Form
Thank you for your interest in Coastal Pacific Aviation. This page is designed to provide need-to-know information to international students seeking to start the process for gaining admission with the CPA, and simultaneously complete the process for international students required by our regulators—primary the requirements of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. We will make all effort to get you here as quickly as possible so that we can one day soon welcome you as one of our student pilots! It is our great pleasure to teach students to fly, but it is especially our pleasure to coach students from all over the world!
Canada has been a world leader in international flight training, owing to the reputation achieved by Canadian licence holders actively engaged in commercial flight operations in all corners of the world. The standards established by both Transport Canada and major Canadian air carriers ensure solid pilot skills, a thorough yet practical pilot-knowledge base, anchored in exceptional standards of safe and effective pilot decision-making. Did you that that Canada is the only country in the world that requires Commercial Pilots during their flight test to demonstrate the ability to entry and recovery an aircraft from full-autorotation spins? The history of international flight training in Canada goes back to the 1940s with the Commonwealth Air Training Plan, and it is with pride and conviction that we—like many other flight schools located throughout Canada—are able to continue in the tradition of providing effective and proven pilot training programs for international students.
Policy of Non-affiliation—Equal treatment of All International Students
CPA is committed to the fair and equitable treatment of all of its International Student and does not maintain affiliation with any business/recruiting agents or special interest groups in other countries that could lead to unfair recruitment fees levied against students or preferential access to flight training resources. All International Students are treated fairly and equally, and CPA seeks to minimize the cost of training in all cases. International Students are fully integrated with CPA 's domestic students.
English Language Proficiency
In accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organization, all pilots must demonstrate speaking and listening comprehension in English. In Canada, Transport Canada requires that all international students complete the Formal Aviation Language Proficiency Demonstration prior to their first solo flight. The demonstration must be conducted by a Transport Canada Language Assessor over the telephone after the candidate's identity has been verified in person by a representative of the Chief Flight Instructor. It is the student responsibility to ensure they can achieve either a expert or operational rating in English pronunciation, structure, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension and interaction, as described in Appendix C - Rating Scale Explanation of the Guide to a Formal Aviation Language Proficiency Demonstration. Student requiring additional English training are eligible for registration in our daily ELS training course.
Mandatory Medical Insurance
All student must enter Canada with private medical insurance in place and actively providing full coverage for medical services—failure to do so could result in tremendous financial hardship should intensive medical assistance be required. After a three-month residency, student can receive the same health insurance that Canadian Citizen in British Columbia receive, provided they apply in a timely fashion after entering Canada.
Safe-and-Sound Arrivals Program
For a nominal fee covering transportation, CPA staff will meet all students registered in the Safe-and-Sound Arrivals Program at the Vancouver International Airport, and provide transportation to the Student Dormitory adjacent to our training facilities where they can recover from travel jet-leg. We also commit to assisting students in the first few days of residence, transporting them to financial facilities and grocery suppliers, etc. Assistance is also provided to students seeking to set up their private residence in the Abbotsford and surrounding area. All International Student are provided with a 27/7 emergency contact where staff will render necessary emergency transportation services as required. Registration in the Safe and Sound Arrivals Programs is simply activated by written request during initial contact with our International Students advisers.
Time Required for Pilot Training
Modular Programs—Private Pilot, Commercial Pilot, Instrument Rating, Multi-engine Class Rating, and Instructor Rating
For times required to complete the Modular Pilot Training programs varies owing to the hours of air and ground training required to complete the licence or rating, but the times also vary with students. The fact is that students learn at different rates—some are fast at the start, and others pick-up speed and their comfort with the cockpit environment grows. For this reason, we can only estimate the number of weeks or months, but here is our best estimate for average completions:
The Private Pilot Licence—pursued on a full-time basis—can be technically completed in as little as six weeks, but it normally requires between three and six months, depending on student performance during the early stages of training. For Private Pilot students, most variation in training time occurs in the “pre-solo” phase of the Private Pilot Licence—the average time required before students' first solo flight is somewhere around 15 hours, but in fact commonly varies between 10 and 30 hours, depending on performance skills. You should now that this has no refection on the quality of the final product—there is no correlation between time to solo and the quality of performance on the Private Pilot Flight Test. Moreover, once the first solo flight is completed, students progress at the same rate. The training times of Commercial Pilot Program students are surprising similar—between three to six months—and the Multi-engine Class Rating and the Instrument Ratings require only about two months. The primary reason for these variations is frequency of training flights—i.e., how many training flights a student can complete in a week.
Accelerated Pilot Training Program—13 Months
For International Students registering in the Accelerated Pilot Training Program, plan for 13 Months to go from first-flight to final-flight, qualified with your Commercial Pilot Licence endorsed with a Group 1 (Multi-engine) Instrument Rating—with this you will hold the qualifications required for many pilot jobs.
It’s important to know that to complete these licences along these time-lines, International Students will have to fly daily, five days per week. The same programs will take a year or more if the training pace is less than full-time. Students unable to maintain the pace of the Accelerated Program roll back automatically to the modular training programs, which permit the student pilot to control the pace of training.
Students unable to maintain the pace of the Accelerated Program roll back automatically to the modular training programs.
Integrated Airline Transport Pilot Program—13 Months
The Integrated Airline Transport Pilot Program compresses into the 13 months, which includes the Multi-crew and Airline Transport Pilot Training not found in the Accelerated Program. Like the Accelerated Program, on-time completion of this course requires a full-time commitment. Also like the Accelerated program, students unable to maintain the pace of the Integrated ATPL program roll back into the modular programs.
Business Administration (Aviation) Diploma and Degree—24 Months and 4 Years
Students seeking to join CPA’s Aviation Diploma or Degree Programs enroll with our partners at the University of the Fraser Valley’s School of Business with starting semesters beginning in September of each year. Completions in these programs are more predictable that the accelerated or integrated programs, but the pace of study packed with a combination of business and pilot training.
Near-by Commercial Facilities
University of the Fraser Valley Student Residence—Baker House
Shared Private Housing—Student Co-op Apartments or Home-stay with Canadian Families
How to Apply for Admission to Coastal Pacific Aviation as an International Student
Try to obtain as much information as possible from our website. If you still have additional questions, communicate with CPA through the the following website: info@coastalpacific.com.
If you are ready to apply for admission, the process will generally follow the following sequence:
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Complete the request for International Students Contact Form below.
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Once you have provided us with the necessary information, we will email you a draft Letter of Acceptance.
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Review the draft Letter of Acceptance and ensure all the information is correct.
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Send us the administration fee (see link below).
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We will courier the original Letter of Acceptance to you.
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Make contact with a with Citizen and Immigration Canada and begin the process obtaining a Study Permit (additional information on Study Permits is summarized on the follow page: How to Obtain a Study Permit.