Strana 37
CANADA 2002
(NATO Flying Training in Canada) was from
Great Britain, but we also met pilots from Italy
and Singapore. Likewise, the instructor team
includes Britons, Italians, Germans and Danes,
each with more than 4,000 hours of flight time.
This program began in 2000 and had already
trained hundreds of pilots in its courses.
Intensive training is carried out at the Moose
Jaw and Cold Lake bases, basic, advanced and
combat, on CT-115 Hawk and CT-156 Harvard II
aircraft. Individual phases last between three
and five months, depending on the weather.
Cold Lake was home to the 419th Tactical
Training Squadron, which at the time operated
eight CT-155 Hawk aircraft under the civilian
company Bombardier. It ran about seven
courses per year, each with eight cadets
who were destined to eventually fly fourth
generation aircraft, at the time leading edge
stuff.
Canada has enormous experience in training,
hundreds of pilots having passed through its
facilities already during the Second World War.
Its biggest advantage is its area and thus the
almost unlimited possibilities of training space.
These are located only twenty-five kilometers
north of the base. CLAWR (Cold Lake Air
Weapons Range) is unparalleled with its area
of 7,200 square kilometers and a vast number
of firing ranges. You can fly here without any
restrictions and there are dozens of stationary
targets on the ground. Want to practice hitting
an airfield? There are a few faithful simulations
of entire such facilities, including runways and
taxiways, planes on the ground, hardened
shelters and various buildings. There is good
reason why Cold Lake hosts one of the largest
exercises, Maple Flag, similar to the American
Red Flag counterpart. In the final phase of
training, it is also possible to use functional
mobile radars, mounted on Hummer off-road
vehicles, imitating enemy air defense systems.
I arrived at Cold Lake on a weekend, so
I finally had some time just for myself and the
promise of some rest. The three weeks were
so packed with programs that there was no
time to rest, let alone absorb the individual
experiences. Every day I was invited to
someone‘s family or to the pub for a chat. And
some beer...and then something a little harder.
Tasting for the first time dishes like mussels,
lobsters, smoked salmon, buffalo steaks, etc.
The entrance to the base was amazing, it really
is a city with everything that belongs in one. The
huge area of the base was completely fenced
in. We passed a gas station, a golf course,
soldiers‘ family homes, nicely allocated in size
and location according to rank and function.
Countless shops, restaurants, two ice rinks,
one swimming pool and lots of buildings -
dormitories, capable of accommodating
hundreds of people for the needs of military
exercises, courses, etc. Some rest would only
benefit me. This wish came about two hours
after I checked into one of the many hostels on
this base. I set off alone to explore my ‘territory’
and on the way to the restaurant I encountered
the history of the Canadian Air Force in the
form of monuments and aircraft. F-101 Voodoo,
F-104 Starfighter, Dakota Pinocchio, so called
because this specimen had the radar from an
F-104 grafted onto its nose, supposedly for
crew training. Behind the fence of the second,
inner sector, home to hangars and runways,
I spotted a yellow civilian Sabre with the
inscription AIR SPRAY.
I met a group of British cadets in a restaurant,
sat down and we started talking. They were
raw cadets, so when I introduced myself
and listed the types I‘ve flown, the L-29, 39,
MiG-21 and Su-22, I was suddenly somewhat
exotic and they ordered me a drink. I myself
ordered a beer for everyone and to my surprise,
the waitress brings over a pitcher with a liter
of beer (or at least something that was yellow).
I ask for a pint and she brought ten shot
glasses. Well, when in Rome.... I understood
that the pitcher was for all of us The group set
off but told me to wait in front of the hostel at
1800h, that we would go to an aviation themed
costume party. Right on time, a long limousine
pulls up and glaring at me from the windows
were people in wigs and painted shirts.
I understood that it was them and we were going
in to the city. At the ball, I met instructors from
all over Europe, had some great conversation
and all in a ll, just a blast of a time.
Shooting at Practice Targets
INFO Eduard
37
September 2026
The good old Dakota with a radar mount on the nose from an F-104 Starfighter, nicknamed “Pinocchio
An Air Spray civilian Sabre C
–
BGUI at CFB Cold Lake. Air Spray operated here as a contractor
for live-fire exercises using a towed target.