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Story and photos – Pat Hampson

At 16:30 (4:30 pm) Wednesday, Captain Craig Ralph with 20 members of 232 Big Horn Squadron arrived at the Transwest Helicopter repair facility located at Oliver Airport.

Ernst-Ulrich Maas, owner of the company accompanied by his wife Alison, welcomed the group and started a tour designed to introduce the Cadets to career opportunities in the Aerospace industry. Mr. Maas gave a brief overview of his military career in the post-war Luftwaffe and how he became involved in the repair and maintenance of helicopters; which requires considerable study and training.

This is not a career for those who are not prepared to take 18 months of Trade School study as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer followed by an 18 month Apprenticeship and judging by the questions asked, some of our cadets may just take up that challenge. A fully trained Aircraft Engineer can earn up to $500 per day; sounds like a lot but when you are flying a few thousand feet in the air, you hope your mechanic is the best available and that skill set costs money!