A new building at 19 Wing Comox will allow Cormorant helicopter pilots to train in Canada, rather than travelling to the U.K. for training, as they’ve done in the past.
DCC is supporting the $6.375-million CH‑149 Cormorant Flight Simulator Training Device Facility contract. It’s part of the CAF’s $1.24-billion Cormorant Mid-Life Upgrade project to upgrade its CH-149 Cormorant search-and-rescue helicopters to the latest models and increase the size of the fleet.
“The simulator bay adds a layer of complexity to what is otherwise a fairly standard building,” says Sarah Kinnon, Coordinator, Construction Services, who is leading DCC’s efforts. “The building has basic elements, such as storage room, boardroom and office space, but the simulator bay is a pre-engineered steel building, which will be slotted into a separate wood-frame structure.” That bay is designed to accommodate the large overhead crane that moves the simulator into place.
The flight simulator will be installed on a concrete slab, isolated from the rest of the building so that it can absorb vibrations. The bay must also meet precise specifications from the simulator manufacturer, such as the distance from the top of the slab to the bottom of the crane hook.
The Canadian Armed Forces broke ground for the project on November 21, 2024. Work is on schedule to meet the final project deadline of January 22, 2026. “That strict deadline is governed by the delivery date of the simulator,” Sarah explains. “When it arrives, we have to have somewhere to put it!”
