Ground School is one of the pillars of training required from every potential pilot. 

A significant change in the GPTC/PPTC selection process this year surrounding ground school and the entrance exam has just been announced. 

Candidates will now be required to complete a 45-hour, self-paced, nationally-delivered, online ground school course prior to taking the exam in January (also online). This new course will allow all Air Cadets across Canada to access quality ground school training and even the playing field for candidate selections

Please see the link below for more detailed information along with attached quick FAQ guide for reference.

Those that are eligible and for the GPTC or PPTC must notify the Admin O - OCdt Wu, K via email or SLACK message to enroll in the program NLT 1 October.

As a reminder participating in virtual ground school program is a requirement attend the GPTC or PPTC. Locally we will run review sessions closer to the exam date.

Questions to the Admin O

CANCDTGEN 015/21 - Canada.ca

See the attached letter from the Commanding Officer of the Regional Cadet Support Unit Pacific regarding a change to a COVID restriction for our upcoming training year.

Questions to the Commanding Officer 525
Capt Khan, Zakir
[email protected]

Good afternoon,

My name is Capt Khan, Zakir the Commanding Officer of 525 Pathfinder squadron. Attached to this message is a letter for the CO of the Regional Cadet Support Unit Pacific that outlines the public health restrictions that will be enforced at the local cadet level and how it will affect our return to training for this 2021-2022 year.
 
Please take a moment to read his letter to all parents, staff, and cadets before continuing.
 
As you have read, the cadet program is going to take a proactive stance in preventing this excellent youth program becoming a vector for COVID-19 transmission. For example, we will continue using prevention methods such as mask wearing, social distancing along with the added need to confirm vaccine status for our members for any in-door activity.
 
To provide an inclusive program not segregated by a cadets’ vaccine status whilst prioritizing an attempt to normalize our training evenings the decision has been made to move our training program 100% outdoors at our normal LHQ located in West Vancouver. Cadets will be required to dress for the weather, social distance between members and always wear a mask. This benefit of this approach will be that the squadron can once again parade as a single unit and patriciate in our practical and theoretical education that the cadet program stives to deliver.
 
Being completely outdoors on our regular training evenings is a new concept for 525 Pathfinder, the adult staff will closely monitor the effectiveness of the outdoor training and the prevailing weather conditions and will update our training delivery methods as required.
 
As stated in my last communication out to the squadron no matter the situation our local program will strive to deliver an excellent opportunity to develop in youth the attributes of good citizenship, an interest in aviation and the development of the cadet leadership abilities. The health and safety of the future leaders of cadet and their extended families are our utmost concerns, and we hope you understand and embrace and requirements / changes that are required to continue this program in West Vancouver.
 
First, I would like to welcome all of you to our virtual Welcome Back evening on Oct 4th. Zoom virtual links will be distributed through SLACK so please pay attention to the announcement. I will provide an update to the program, be able to answer any questions followed by break out sessions with your training levels. Our first in-person training night back pending the required regional approvals will be October 18th.
 
The resilience of our cadets locally and my adult staff to navigate this pandemic whilst still delivering a very successful program is still one of my greatest moments of my CO tenure here in West Vancouver. I have no doubt that with our walk before we run approach to returning to training will allow us to work on our foundations and bring our squadron back from this footnote in our history better then ever.
 
Thank You

Capt Khan, Z
​[email protected]

Good Afternoon,

My name is Zakir Khan, and I am the Commanding Officer of 525 Pathfinder squadron located in West Vancouver.

I hope all our adult staff and cadets had a safe and fun summer break and are excited for the upcoming training year. In this regard I wanted to provide a quick update.

Provincial the decision on if we will be meeting in-person for our weekly training or continuing virtual has not been made and won’t be made till closer to mid-October. Due to this we will be starting our training year in a virtual setting. I know this plan of action will be disheartening to some but provincially the decision to ensure the safety of our cadets and their families is the upmost necessity while we navigate through what is hopefully the later end of this pandemic.

The adult staff, senior cadets and I will strive to be agile and respond quickly to any loosing of restrictions and or resumption of in-person activities. We will also strive to deliver a robust training program for our cadets that is worthy of the youth in West Vancouver.

More information regarding our virtual start is to come out over next week, in the meantime please ensure you begin monitoring our social media, website and SLACK communication channels. There will be a few messages and announcements referencing our year start activities.

I am excited to see what the next training year holds for us as an organization, and I can’t wait to virtually “see” you all on October 4th our first virtual training night.

​Don’t hesitate to reach out to any of the adult staff or myself if you have any questions or concerns.
 
Thank You
 
Capt Khan, Zakir
[email protected]