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Sechelt native earns his wings

Sechelt native, Captain Scott MacDonald earned his military pilot wings Aug. 19 at a graduation ceremony held at 15 Wing in Moose Jaw, Sask.

Sechelt native, Captain Scott MacDonald earned his military pilot wings Aug. 19 at a graduation ceremony held at 15 Wing in Moose Jaw, Sask.

MacDonald, son of Ted and Gayle, has completed both the basic and the advanced phases of the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) program at 15 Wing.

Pilot wings signify the culmination of nearly two years of intensive flying training and identifies the recipient as a qualified military pilot.

After graduating from secondary school, MacDonald attended the Royal Military College of Canada, completing a degree in electrical engineering. Following his commission in the Canadian Forces in 1994, he worked as a combat systems engineer for the Canadian Navy. He was accepted into the pilot training program in 2001.

In the months to come, he will learn to become an instructor on the CT-156 Harvard II.

The fleet of 24 CT-156 Harvard II aircraft is used by the Air Force for the first stage of pilot training at Moose Jaw. It has been in operation at 15 Wing since the inception of the NATO Flying Training Program in Canada (NFTC) in 2000.

Students fly about 96 hours on the Harvard II before proceeding to the advanced training phase on fighter, multi-engine or helicopter training aircraft.