Avionics Programs Train Students in Electronic Systems

Airlines/operators, manufactures, the military, aviation training companies, aviation repair and overhaul and aviation equipment/avionics companies are just some of the organizations that hire graduates of Canada’s Avionics Programs. Once such program is offered at Centennial College as a two-year offering called Aviation Technician – Avionics Maintenance. This particular program trains students in skills from basic electronics to sophisticated avionic systems used in modern aircraft.

If you are interested in applying for Centennial College’s avionics program, you must have completed at minimum an Ontario Secondary School Diploma or General Education Development or equivalent or be 19 years of age or older. You must also have completed the compulsory English 12C or U or skills assessment or equivalent and Math 11M or U or 12C or U or skills assessment or equivalent.

Once you are accepted, you partake in a program that is both approved by Transit Canada and certified by the Canadian Aviation Maintenance Council. The emphasis in Avionics Maintenance is on the aircraft’s various electronic systems: electrical power distribution and control, navigation, flight instrumentation, communication and radar. Aviation maintenance servicing practices and procedures, as well as aviation regulation requirements are also included. Students are given equal time in theory and lab training, which allows them to gain both theoretical and practical knowledge. Specific courses within the avionics program include: Avionics Fundamentals (principles, concepts, operations and indications relating to avionics instrument and navigation equipment/system; aircraft directional and measuring equipment/ systems are studied); Digital Avionics Practices (student learn about digital logic and devices including numbering systems, Boolean algebra, logic gates, integrated circuit types and operational amplifiers); Pulse Navigation Systems (pulse navigation systems are studied, including air traffic control transponders, distance measuring equipment, radar and collision avoidance systems); and more.

Shop work on various aircraft is also included. It is carried out of Centennial College’s Ashtonbee Campus, which is the largest transportation training centre in the province and includes an airplane hangar. All instructors within the Aviation Technician Schools have years of experience and extensive technical expertise as aviation technicians. In addition to seasoned teachers, there are also guest speakers and panelists who come in to share personal stories and lecture about industry-related topics.

Students in the aviation technician school must achieve a minimum C grade in all courses to graduate. Please note that Transport Canada accreditation requires both a minimum B grade in every course and an absentee rate of less than five per cent of the total program hours. Graduates who meet attendance requirements, project completion requirements, and attain 70 per cent in each course, are granted up to 18 months credit towards their Aircraft Maintenance Engineer’s licence (E rating).

Upon avionics program graduation, students go on to work as technicians whose jobs include: maintaining engine operations, flight patterns, navigation systems, radio communications and weather radar systems. In addition, they inspect, test and double-check electrical power distribution and control as well as flight instrumentation.