k i am curently finishing up grade 12 and ivv been accepted into sault and confederation flight programs. Only problem is i dont know which one to pick. i know confederation has float rating and it prepares me to work in the bush as a float pilot but i am not sure if i will be able to switch from floats to regional eirlines easily. Also they dont give ifr rating which means ill have to do it by myself later on and since my first couple of jobs will be very low paying i dont think ill have enough money to cover the training=(
Sault on the other hand has ifr rating but then again i am not sure if ill be able to find a bush job after i complete college cause most first jobs in the bush are on floats
so from my point of view confederation will help me get a job faster because float pilots are in demand while sault college will help me in the long run with ifr. and if i am wrong please correct me
if you could please list as many positive things and negative things about these colleges and what i expect job wise after i leave college. Also whats communities are like in both Thunderbay and Sault Ste. Marie.
just remembered in sault college they use planes with joysticks and in confederation they use planes with yokes. Which ones are better to train on?
Sault or Confederation?
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saucer_driver
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Confed by far.
New facilities, 2 year program which gets you in the workforce faster and more relevant courses in my opinion (no need for crazy math and physics to be a pilot, honestly). I am biased having gone there BUT I"ve known people who have done Sault, Seneca and Confed and the Confed guys had more positive things to say.
Good luck and Congrats!!!!
New facilities, 2 year program which gets you in the workforce faster and more relevant courses in my opinion (no need for crazy math and physics to be a pilot, honestly). I am biased having gone there BUT I"ve known people who have done Sault, Seneca and Confed and the Confed guys had more positive things to say.
Good luck and Congrats!!!!
Definitely Confederation- hands down. Graduated from CC a few years ago (alas... in the old hangar 
) but you won't convince me of anything different. I was accepted into both and even went as far as writing their silly aptitude test in SSM - thankfully I chose correctly.
You'll get your float rating and 25 hrs or so which will help you in the bush, but yeah you will have to pay for your multi-IFR if you want to go that route in the future. Granted, go to Sault and you will have to pay for your float rating (and minimum 50 hrs) so switch to floats in the future. My personal opinion is that if you DID want to change in the future, it would be easier and less expensive to take your bush time and get into the IFR world than to take IFR experience and break into the bush world.
Sticks vs. yokes should be the least of your concern as either can be learned by any pilot pretty easy.
CC has some fancy new C172R's to complement the - ahem - experienced ones, a new, (awesome) hangar and facilities, good airport to train at, friendly controllers, instructors who care for your success and a fancy-shmancy Baron sim that rivals anything except full-flight-sims.
I know I sound like a brochure for CC but at least you know my opinion!
Congrats and good luck with whatever you choose to go!
) but you won't convince me of anything different. I was accepted into both and even went as far as writing their silly aptitude test in SSM - thankfully I chose correctly.You'll get your float rating and 25 hrs or so which will help you in the bush, but yeah you will have to pay for your multi-IFR if you want to go that route in the future. Granted, go to Sault and you will have to pay for your float rating (and minimum 50 hrs) so switch to floats in the future. My personal opinion is that if you DID want to change in the future, it would be easier and less expensive to take your bush time and get into the IFR world than to take IFR experience and break into the bush world.
Sticks vs. yokes should be the least of your concern as either can be learned by any pilot pretty easy.
CC has some fancy new C172R's to complement the - ahem - experienced ones, a new, (awesome) hangar and facilities, good airport to train at, friendly controllers, instructors who care for your success and a fancy-shmancy Baron sim that rivals anything except full-flight-sims.
I know I sound like a brochure for CC but at least you know my opinion!
Congrats and good luck with whatever you choose to go!
I agree! Confederation all the way!
Unless you are a real city slicker, Thunder Bay is a GREAT place to spend a couple of years. There are so many outdoor activities right in and around town.
The 2 yr versus 3 yr is a big one too, a lot can change in 1 year. It may mean another 800-1000 hours and a lot of seniority somewhere compared to your peers across the lake in the Soo.
Unless you are a real city slicker, Thunder Bay is a GREAT place to spend a couple of years. There are so many outdoor activities right in and around town.
The 2 yr versus 3 yr is a big one too, a lot can change in 1 year. It may mean another 800-1000 hours and a lot of seniority somewhere compared to your peers across the lake in the Soo.
its actually not that hard to get it. Since the program is not oversubscribed if you have a high school diploma+ grade 12 eng at 50% or higher+ grade 12 math at 50% or higher---YOUR IN
my marks were about 70% in eng and studiing calculus right now. I advise you to take university math because when you go to college it will be that much easier to learn everything, at least thats from my perspective.
also be happy the programs are regular tuition fee programs and all flight training is getting paid by government of CaNADA (unless your not from ontario) also osap covers all expenses for tuition and residence=) so money is not a factor.
my marks were about 70% in eng and studiing calculus right now. I advise you to take university math because when you go to college it will be that much easier to learn everything, at least thats from my perspective.
also be happy the programs are regular tuition fee programs and all flight training is getting paid by government of CaNADA (unless your not from ontario) also osap covers all expenses for tuition and residence=) so money is not a factor.
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Spruce Moose
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Last edited by Spruce Moose on Wed Jun 01, 2022 8:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
Both are a great choice and you can't go wrong with going to either. Grads from both schools are out there working/flying hard, and hopefully continuting to give the schools a good name.
I always find it interesting when pepople say "go to this or that school because you'll be done faster." It's been my experience that most people do little to nothing in their first year after graduation. So my advice.. don't. If it's a float rating you want after Sault.. get it done in a week or two
. You'll have a COM Multi IFR w/ float rating.. and get at'er!!! If it's a MIFR you want after Confed.. hit Perimeter and they'll get you done in two weeks (I hear there's a t-shirt in it as well). And for the price the MIFR cost you, well, by the time you factor in living and tuition for a 3rd yr, it'll work out to the same thing.
You'll make great lifelong friends with fellow classmates and instructors, and those are the people that will help you find the first or second job!
Good luck at either school! Sault was the choice for me. A few years after grad...no regrets, only thanks!
I always find it interesting when pepople say "go to this or that school because you'll be done faster." It's been my experience that most people do little to nothing in their first year after graduation. So my advice.. don't. If it's a float rating you want after Sault.. get it done in a week or two
. You'll have a COM Multi IFR w/ float rating.. and get at'er!!! If it's a MIFR you want after Confed.. hit Perimeter and they'll get you done in two weeks (I hear there's a t-shirt in it as well). And for the price the MIFR cost you, well, by the time you factor in living and tuition for a 3rd yr, it'll work out to the same thing. You'll make great lifelong friends with fellow classmates and instructors, and those are the people that will help you find the first or second job!
Good luck at either school! Sault was the choice for me. A few years after grad...no regrets, only thanks!
Last edited by Brize on Mon Mar 05, 2007 11:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
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JohnnyHotRocks
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mellow_pilot
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In favour of the Sault:
-The professors know their shit. I mean really know it. You probly won't appreciate it at the time, but trust me, it's important. When the guy teaching you engines leaves class to go work on the plane you'll fly tomorrow, you start to realise just how lucky you are to be hearing it form someone who didn't just read about it in a book.
-The instructors/proffs will kick your ass. Again, you won't appreciate it, but later you'll understand.
-Equipment is amazing. Relatively new (by comparison to other schools) and the maint. is second to none.
-Great airspace. You can fly 10 min and you're in the middle of nowhere with no one to bother you. Lots of traffic at the airport so you cna get used to handling circuits with faster stuff. Controlled, uncontrolled, everything you could want.
-Academics. Again, no appreciation at the time, but later on when someone asks how a transponder works, and the guy next to you says, "you turn the switch to ALT", you can laugh to yourself knowing full well that it's a little more complicated than that, and you understand the underlying electronics. (alot of people will tell you that you don't need to know all that stuff to be a good pilot, which is partly true, but it sure doesn't hurt. I don't think you'll find a float operator that doesn't appreciate a pilot who truly understands how an engine works. It also helps outside of aviation, never scoff at knowlege, it's good to have.)
-Town. While it's true that the Soo is a hole, it's also surrounded by awesome wilderness. Good ski hill, awesome camping, beaches, etc etc. There's tonnes of great and weird bars to explore (not that you'll drink, cause we all know pilots are naturally averse to alcohol). Lots of dirty locals to feel gross about the next day... you get the idea. While it might not be the big city that T-Bay is, it's not altogether horrible. Just don't get stuck in the rut of not doing anything "cause there's nothing to do". There's always something to do.
-Location. Sault is one day closer to the rest of the world than T-Bay. (sorry to everyone from Thunder, but you're in the middle of nowhere. Oh, and I didn't mean Toronto.)
-Awesome, and cheap burgers close to the airport. (sorry, I do love those burgers)
-Cost of living. Relatively cheap. You can certainly get by easily on a student budget. Oh, and for the record, OSAP just isn't enough no matter where you go, save up and find a part time job you can enjoy while you're up there. (don't work fast food, you'll go nuts, there's much better jobs up there)
Against Soo:
-Politics. Yeah politics suck, but what are you gonna do? And you find that everywhere, so it's not like you can escape it by going somewhere else.
-The "northern complex". You'll find there are a few (not a lot, but enough to notice) people who believe that they are indeed in 'northern Ontario' and that the south is out to get them. They also think that the GTA encompases everything further than Sudbury.
-Weather. You'll lose about 30-40% of flying days to shitty wx for about 3-4 months. Then the lake freezes (well the part close to shore) and it's all good again. But you will sit at the airport doing nothing, alot. (that weather thing doesn't mean it's shitty weather and you won't want to go outside, I'm thinking more along the lines of icing, poor vis, squalls around the shorline etc, bad flying weather, not necessarily bad living weather.
-The steel/paper plants. Industry smells from time to time. (but not that often, and not so much that I'd base a decision on it, I was really just looking for another con, that's what I came up with).
In short, most of the bad stuff is the kinda things that you'll find no matter where you go. If I had it to do over, I'd go to the Sault again. I've never been to Confed, so I'm not going to say don't go there. I've heard nothing but good things. T-Bay is a great place, I know people who went to Uni there and loved every second of it. But they aren't getting a degree anytime soon. From what I hear, you'll be able to get a business degree from Algoma U in conjunction with Sault College Aviation soon. If you think you might want a degree in the future, it's something to consider.
-The professors know their shit. I mean really know it. You probly won't appreciate it at the time, but trust me, it's important. When the guy teaching you engines leaves class to go work on the plane you'll fly tomorrow, you start to realise just how lucky you are to be hearing it form someone who didn't just read about it in a book.
-The instructors/proffs will kick your ass. Again, you won't appreciate it, but later you'll understand.
-Equipment is amazing. Relatively new (by comparison to other schools) and the maint. is second to none.
-Great airspace. You can fly 10 min and you're in the middle of nowhere with no one to bother you. Lots of traffic at the airport so you cna get used to handling circuits with faster stuff. Controlled, uncontrolled, everything you could want.
-Academics. Again, no appreciation at the time, but later on when someone asks how a transponder works, and the guy next to you says, "you turn the switch to ALT", you can laugh to yourself knowing full well that it's a little more complicated than that, and you understand the underlying electronics. (alot of people will tell you that you don't need to know all that stuff to be a good pilot, which is partly true, but it sure doesn't hurt. I don't think you'll find a float operator that doesn't appreciate a pilot who truly understands how an engine works. It also helps outside of aviation, never scoff at knowlege, it's good to have.)
-Town. While it's true that the Soo is a hole, it's also surrounded by awesome wilderness. Good ski hill, awesome camping, beaches, etc etc. There's tonnes of great and weird bars to explore (not that you'll drink, cause we all know pilots are naturally averse to alcohol). Lots of dirty locals to feel gross about the next day... you get the idea. While it might not be the big city that T-Bay is, it's not altogether horrible. Just don't get stuck in the rut of not doing anything "cause there's nothing to do". There's always something to do.
-Location. Sault is one day closer to the rest of the world than T-Bay. (sorry to everyone from Thunder, but you're in the middle of nowhere. Oh, and I didn't mean Toronto.)
-Awesome, and cheap burgers close to the airport. (sorry, I do love those burgers)
-Cost of living. Relatively cheap. You can certainly get by easily on a student budget. Oh, and for the record, OSAP just isn't enough no matter where you go, save up and find a part time job you can enjoy while you're up there. (don't work fast food, you'll go nuts, there's much better jobs up there)
Against Soo:
-Politics. Yeah politics suck, but what are you gonna do? And you find that everywhere, so it's not like you can escape it by going somewhere else.
-The "northern complex". You'll find there are a few (not a lot, but enough to notice) people who believe that they are indeed in 'northern Ontario' and that the south is out to get them. They also think that the GTA encompases everything further than Sudbury.
-Weather. You'll lose about 30-40% of flying days to shitty wx for about 3-4 months. Then the lake freezes (well the part close to shore) and it's all good again. But you will sit at the airport doing nothing, alot. (that weather thing doesn't mean it's shitty weather and you won't want to go outside, I'm thinking more along the lines of icing, poor vis, squalls around the shorline etc, bad flying weather, not necessarily bad living weather.
-The steel/paper plants. Industry smells from time to time. (but not that often, and not so much that I'd base a decision on it, I was really just looking for another con, that's what I came up with).
In short, most of the bad stuff is the kinda things that you'll find no matter where you go. If I had it to do over, I'd go to the Sault again. I've never been to Confed, so I'm not going to say don't go there. I've heard nothing but good things. T-Bay is a great place, I know people who went to Uni there and loved every second of it. But they aren't getting a degree anytime soon. From what I hear, you'll be able to get a business degree from Algoma U in conjunction with Sault College Aviation soon. If you think you might want a degree in the future, it's something to consider.
Dyslexics of the world... UNTIE!
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mellow_pilot
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I can't speak for everyone that I graduated with, but within 2 years, about a third of them were flying atleast right seat on a twin. Some are moving on to Captain. One of my buddies has been all over the world, ferried company planes across the Atlantic a few times. A lot went straight for an instructor rating after the graduated (in fact, I think there were about 4 that got a class 4 on the summer break of second year.) Then there are some who don't have a flying job at all. I think what you'll find is that there are as many ways to get jobs as there are people who look for them. You have to understand that it's not just about the fastest way to the left seat fo a Bus. You will never last at a job you hate. You might findout that you hate IFR, perhaps you'll want to go floats. You might also find that you love nothing more than breaking out of cloud at 200' and seeing the runway there waiting for you. You'll probably change the way you go about finding a job acordingly.
Dyslexics of the world... UNTIE!
I was accepted to both, and made my decision: Nah! so I stayed and did it all privately at a little school up here, and finished off at Pacific Professionnal Flight Centre in Boundary Bay, but I was going to pick Confed out of the two 
FY
FY
Flying is the second greatest thrill in life... landing is the first.
Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand. I dont care, Im still free. You cant take the Sky from me
Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand. I dont care, Im still free. You cant take the Sky from me
I was going to go through with applying to Confred, Sault, Seneca etc. But the more I talked to everyone, the more I realised that you don't need to waste your time taking 2-4yrs to get a CPL. Doesn't matter where you come from. If on the top of the page an employer reads you don't meet TT , then you're trashed anyways.FlyYukon wrote:I was accepted to both, and made my decision: Nah! so I stayed and did it all privately at a little school up here, and finished off at Pacific Professionnal Flight Centre in Boundary Bay, but I was going to pick Confed out of the two
FY
I stayed home and did it at a "private college". Huron Flight College in Sarnia. Went from solo to CPL in 7 months, and I've got a job lined up for spring.
--Air to Ground Chemical Transfer Technician turned 4 Bar Switch Flicker and Flap Operator--
Another good thing to consider for sure from a career standpoint I believe. Quicker the better.I stayed home and did it at a "private college". Huron Flight College in Sarnia. Went from solo to CPL in 7 months, and I've got a job lined up for spring.
But when your 17/18/19/20 ish:
Is also very true I think. College is a great experience, whatever you choose, enjoy it and have fun there. Its all about the friends you make and the fun times you had together..you only live once!You'll make great lifelong friends with fellow classmates and instructors, and those are the people that will help you find the first or second job!
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mellow_pilot
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Mellow_pilot wrote:
Mellow_pilot wrote:
Mellow_pilot wrote: -
I have seen both courses up close and personal and I would recommend Confederation.
I would hope you are not actually trying to tell us the Zlin is relatively new compared other schools. Haven't they already gone beyond their allowable life expectancy and the hours been increased to allow them to continue to fly. Obviously you know nothing about what the other schools are operating.-Equipment is amazing. Relatively new (by comparison to other schools) and the maint. is second to none.
Mellow_pilot wrote:
That pretty mcuh describes any town/city in the north including Thunder Bay.-Great airspace. You can fly 10 min and you're in the middle of nowhere with no one to bother you. Lots of traffic at the airport so you cna get used to handling circuits with faster stuff. Controlled, uncontrolled, everything you could want.
Mellow_pilot wrote: -
Well where did you mean because from my atlas Thunder Bay is one day closer to Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Yellowknife or do they not count as the rest of the world.Location. Sault is one day closer to the rest of the world than T-Bay. (sorry to everyone from Thunder, but you're in the middle of nowhere. Oh, and I didn't mean Toronto.)
I have seen both courses up close and personal and I would recommend Confederation.
You Can Love An Airplane All You Want, But Remember, It Will Never Love You Back!
http://www.saultc.on.ca/Academics/Aviat ... allery.asp
Found this.
Whoa, that just brought back some great memories.
Found this.
Whoa, that just brought back some great memories.
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. ._
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No shit, eh?BRiZE wrote:http://www.saultc.on.ca/Academics/Aviat ... allery.asp
Found this.
Whoa, that just brought back some great memories.
I miss the people, the Zlins, and nothing else.
-istp
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JohnnyHotRocks
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I will admit right off that I am totally biased towards Confederation since I graduated from that course (back when Frank was in charge!!) and grew up in YQT. We graduated 18 guys and I believe 14 of them, including myself, had jobs right out of college. In fact the Flight Management grads rarely attend the actual graduation ceromonies because they are already out working!! The course has a very good reputation in the industry with at least one employer taking one or two grads every year. You will have absolutely no problems transitioning from flying floats to multi-IFR flying so don't worry about that at all. (at the last reunion I was sandwiched between an A-340 Capt and a 747 Capt while in the bar line up and guess what, they weren't talking about big iron, they were reminising about flying floats!) The instructors at Con are second to none and the new building is incredible. Thunder Bay has great VFR weather most of the time, some great bars and more than enough hot women to go around. (by-product of having a college AND university in town) Its a great course that will prepare you for the REAL world of aviation. I could go on for a long time but I won't waste valuable bandwidth rambling along. Sufficed to say I would pick CC over Sault every time!!! 
