Moncton Flight College - History

History

The official organizational date of the Moncton Flying Club coincides with the date of the first Air Pageant, held July 1, 1929, to raise money for the airport. A group of citizens had decided that Moncton should be an air center of the Maritimes. The site for the first airport in Moncton was chosen, and work was started in April 1929. However, hard times followed shortly after the airport was complete with the onset of the Great Depression, and all flight activity virtually ceased. It was not until the late 1930s that flight training began again at the Moncton Flying Club. By the end of 1939, the Flying Club was officially incorporated and had a fleet of two privately owned planes.

Canada declared war on Germany on September 10, 1939, and the Moncton Flying Club was given the opportunity to run the "Elementary Flying Training School, Royal Canadian Air Force," (#21 E.F.T.S., R.C.A.F.) newly opened in Chatham, New Brunswick. Training got started at the school in early July 1941, immediately after the first intake of airmen. The Fleet Finch biplane used by the school was a hardy machine with a five-cylinder engine and fabric-covered wings and fuselage. By 1945, Moncton Flying Club was operating three Elementary Flying Training Schools across Canada.

By the 1950s, the Moncton Flying Club had acquired a considerable fleet of aircraft, including four or five Tiger Moths, two Fairchild Cornells, three Aeroncas, and a Cessna T50. Despite tough economic times, membership numbers increased and the Club's notoriety grew. When an allocation of Air Cadets arrived for training, a dormitory and canteen were set up on the premises. In 1949, night flying was added to the curriculum, despite the lack of radar equipment. The Club even put together an air show, the first of many to come, with Harvards and Sea Furies competing and a stunt pilot from Quebec City participating.

The school grew quickly in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and in 1961 the Flying Club was awarded its first Yorath Trophy, symbolic of Canada's top Flying Club. In 1962 the Club took over operation of Atlantic Central Airlines, which consisted of a twin Apache and amphibious Cessna 180. These additions complimented the Club's single engine charter service and enabled it to conduct twin engine training.

June 12, 1965 marked a black day in the Club's history, the historic hangar was destroyed in a devastating fire. However, those involved with the Club were determined to rebuild the premises, and on October 8, 1966 the new hangar and dormitory was officially opened.

By the mid 1970s, students were joining from almost every country in Europe and Asia. An Eight bay "T" hangar was built during 1974–75, and were used by private owners and the club's aircraft.

In the 1980s, MFC changed its marketing name to "Moncton Flight Centre". For a time a fleet of Piper Navajo aircraft were operated for charters and light parcel express, initially under the name "Hummingbirds" and eventually "Eastwind Flights". In the fall of 1989, the Board of Directors chose to focus on flight training and the assets of Eastwind were sold.

In more recent times the college had been growing quicker than ever, becoming the largest in Canada. In 2006 the school was awarded the largest pilot training contract ever in Canada, to train 800 Chinese pilots. The college announced in 2007 it would soon open a new campus in Fredericton to handle the quickly increasing student population. MFC had also recently signed an agreement with Mount Allison University to offer a Bachelor's degree in Aviation.

As of December 2011 all Chinese students have been moved to the Fredericton Campus (CYFC)do to an on going debate over rental of a building (Dorm rooms) where the students were housed.