Prairie Aviation Training Centre
330-5th Ave NE T0M 2N0 Three Hills, AB, Canada

We have a newcomer to the PATC family! Say hello to Pratt the cat (pictured on student Naomi's shoulder)! He recently started living in our hangar, and has become our new furry mascot!

Congratulations to our two newest Private Pilots, Ben and Brian! Pictured below are their instructors presenting them with their two stripe epaulettes. Students recieve their first stripe after soloing, and their third stripe upon earning their Commercial License. Way to go guys!

Here at PATC we endeavour to build up safe, proficient pilots, who serve God through aviation. As such, we take every opportunity to teach students skills that may help them in their career. Today, we had a visit from the Three Hills Fire Chief, who taught students and staff the basics of fire fighting. Students had the opportunity to practice using a fire extinguisher in a controlled environment to fight a gas fire.

Recently a 360 degree video was put together to showcase PATC in a slightly different, unique way. Please take the time to have a look at it. It can be viewed on your computer, but is more interesting when viewed on a smart phone or VR device. Have a look! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMRqOv1Rrrs&feature=youtu.be

Congratulations to our two newest Private Pilots, Ben and Brian! Pictured below are their instructors presenting them with their two stripe epaulettes. Students recieve their first stripe after soloing, and their third stripe upon earning their Commercial License. Way to go guys!

This morning (Oct 21) at 10:00, Nav Canada will be sharing a presentation to our students detailing the upcoming change of airspace from class "E" airspace to class "D" airspace in Red Deer (effective November 5th). This presentation will be live-streamed and if you are a former student, staff, or simply fly in Alberta and are interested in learning about the upcoming changes in Red Deer you can watch at https://youtu.be/S5gp9YcEWRM

Here at PATC we endeavour to build up safe, proficient pilots, who serve God through aviation. As such, we take every opportunity to teach students skills that may help them in their career. Today, we had a visit from the Three Hills Fire Chief, who taught students and staff the basics of fire fighting. Students had the opportunity to practice using a fire extinguisher in a controlled environment to fight a gas fire.

Commercial Pilot Student Slater Penna, practicing using an extinguisher during a visit from the Three Hills Fire Chief today!

Congratulations to Josh and Jonathon, who both completed their first solo flights on this chilly fall morning! Excellent work!

Congratulations to Nathan and Adyn who did their first solos on this beautiful fall morning! Excellent job! In accordance with tradition, all available students and staff gathered to give the new pilots a celebratory dousing of water!

Today was the aviation program assembly! We heard from our CFI, Richard Marples, who shared some of his experiences flying for @MAFCanada in Papua New Guinea! We are thankful to have experienced, passionate staff to help train students to serve God through aviation. #aviation #flighttraining #missions #missionaviaton... #iflyPATC #flying #Bushflying #pilot See more

At PATC we are often privileged to witness big events in many people's lives as they accomplish lifetime goals that they set out for themselves. Every once in a while something happens that feels a little bit special in a different way. Tonight was one of those times. James Braim made the choice to follow God's call into the area of aircraft maintenance. He and his family joined Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) and currently serve with MAF here at PATC, helping to keep our f...leet airworthy. Due to his commitment to excellence in maintenance, he has always put his goal of becoming a commercial pilot on the back burner. Tonight he finished the last requirements and completed his Commercial Pilots License. Congratulations James, well done! James is pictured on the left, after landing to complete his CPL.

Morning! Time for fuelling, pre-flight inspections, sanitizing, and coffee. It's the beginning of another great day for flight training!

It's always fun (and at times challenging) to do flight training as the crop dusters do their thing beneath us. Don't be fooled, these pilots are highly skilled and work hard to be able to do their jobs safely!

Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) has historically had a close relationship with PATC, which continues to this day. We join with the MAF community as we mourn the loss of Stuart King and celebrate his life and that he is now in the presence of his Savior.

It's night rating time! The darkness of night is finally long enough for us to be able to get in productive night flights with our students again after the short summer nights. In the 30C heat this week it's been nice to be able to fly in the slightly cooler night air. A special shout out to the farmers who live close to the airport. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we fly over your homes in the night, we do wish that there was a way to do these ratings more quietly. In this good weather we shouldn't be much longer than a couple more weeks before the night-time quiet returns. #iflypatc #iflyMAF #prairiecollege #weloveourneighbors

What is it that draws people to attend PATC rather than another flight school closer to home? Last week there was a social media post on an aviation group that asked pilots "What are some areas of training that you feel were missing from your initial training?" Many of the replies (over 60 of them) included items like;... - Off-airport landings (soft field landings) - More designated cross-wind practice - More avionics training (advanced use of radios) - Mountain Training - Unusual Attitudes - How to fuel up by yourself, or at other airports - Cross-border experience Additionally, there were many complaints about inexperienced instructors who have no real-world aviation experience, and who don't seem to care about their students. These are some of the exact reasons why people come to train at PATC from all over the world! We have experienced instructors who have flown thousands of hours in locations all over the world, who care about personal and professional growth in every one of our students! We have a curriculum that contains lessons on every one of the "missing items" in the list above and more, because we believe that those things are important too! Are you considering PATC for your flight training? Contact us today! #iflypatc #iflymaf #missionaviation #prairiecollege #flighttraining

It's that time of year, the big yellow Air Tractors are busy, busy, busy. Between the ag aircraft and PATC aircraft, CEN3 is a busy place these days!