Avinca Groundschools
Avinca: Ground Instruction for Pilots
Avinca provides solutions for flight schools wishing to provide high-quality ground instruction and for individual students unable to attend a regular classroom groundschool or needing special attention. Avinca's lessons are provided remotely using the latest remote teaching technology and are all interactive—not prerecorded.
Avinca's Services
Avinca works with flight schools and individual students to ensure that any student pilot studying for a Canadian pilot licence or rating can get high-quality groundschool instruction.
Avinca's instructors provide interactive lessons meeting the requirements of Transport Canada. These are delivered over the internet to students anywhere in the world.
Pilot training requires practical experience in an aircraft or simulator and theoretical education in a classroom or in one-to-one teaching. Flight schools often find it difficult to deliver good quality ground training economically. Students living at a distance from conventional groundschools find it difficult to obtain good quality instruction. Avinca solves these problems through its unique remote teaching technology.
Latest News
Is your IFR ticket up for renewal soon? Avinca
offers a short refresher course to help you prepare for the re-ride. For
details see our IFR page.
Various people thinking about registering for one
of the Avinca remote groundschools have asked whether
they could try out this form of learning. We have prepared
a 30 minute trial lesson and would be happy to present
it on request. To request such a trial lesson
send an email to
queries@avinca.ca.
What Does Avinca Offer?
Avinca provides complete ground-based instruction to prepare students for Transport Canada's Private Pilot Licence, Commercial Pilot Licence and Instrument Rating.
In addition, Avinca provides seminars on specific topics relating to aviation in Canada and courses of interest to simulator pilots.
As well as class instruction, Avinca provides personal (one-to-one) instruction for students encountering specific problems in their training. This may be provided interactively using the same technology as is used for class instruction or may be provided through email.
A complete list of services can be found on our services page.
How does Remotely-Taught Ground Instruction Work?
Lessons are delivered over the internet to students who may be anywhere in the world. Students hear and see the instructor and can ask questions or repond to questions from the instructor either verbally or by typing.
One advantage of the remote teaching is that a student doesn't need to miss a class if she's travelling on business or holiday. As one student, Jim Helferty of Ottawa, Ontario said in an email: "I just thought that I would let you know how versatile your lectures are. On Thursday the 14th I was in a parking lot, inside my camper van. I was on vacation in Ocean City Virginia."
Most students will already have the equipment needed to participate in the classes. The complete list of equipment can be found here.
But what about ...?
We know you will have many more questions. We have answered some of them on our frequently-asked questions page.
You should also feel free to email us at queries@avinca.ca.
Who is Avinca?
Avinca was formed by two pilots: Chris Hobbs and Jean René de Cotret.
Chris is a mathematician by training, a computer programmer by profession and a Lieder singer and pilot by inclination. He learned to fly in gliders in the Welsh mountains and has over 2000 hours of power flying, particularly enjoying IFR flight. He has written several books on flying (including the PPL Answer Guide and Flying Beyond, the Commercial Pilot Textbook) and has taught groundschools for over a decade. He was, for a while, a flight instructor and may return to that occupation someday.
Jean is an Electrical Engineer by training and worked for 25 years for Bell Canada developing interesting technologies and services before deciding that flying was what he really wanted to do. He started learning to fly in 2000, got his commercial licence in 2001, his IFR rating in 2002, his Instructor rating in 2003 and has been working as a Flight Instructor at Rockcliffe since 2004. Now a Class 1 instructor, with a Multi-IFR rating, he recently discovered the pleasures of Seaplane flying. Jean has also taught groundschools for PPL, CPL and IFR since 2002 and has organized numerous seminars on Aviation subjects for the Rockcliffe Flying Club over the years. Jean is bilingual in English and French.
Jean and Chris provide much of the Avinca training themselves but also employ instructors with specific knowledge or skills in particular areas.
