On April 16, 2009, a major funding announcement was made in the City of Thompson that speaks to the winter/cold weather testing opportunities here.

This new state-of-the-art $60M facility will provide the aerospace industry with specialized operational conditions and capability to meet the growing requirements for new jet engine icing certification and other adverse cold weather conditions. It will also be used for a variety of performance, endurance and specialty testing on a year-round basis outside of the icing season.

Through strategic partnerships with industry and post-secondary institutions, this facility through the CanETREC project will attract top international students and researchers and help create a skilled Northern workforce in Thompson in a non-traditional resource based industry. This leading edge technology and research will give the Canadian aerospace industry the capability to advance the next generation of aircraft and position them at the forefront of future technology developments. CanETREC will include broad based technology, infrastructure and test systems capable of handling current and future gas turbine engines.

CanETREC will be co-located with industry in the new jet engine facility being built by the Global Aerospace Centre for Icing and Environmental Research Inc. (GLACIER).   GLACIER will utilize this facility as part of a new joint venture between Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney.   A prime purpose of this facility will be for icing certification and research of aviation gas turbine engines manufactured by Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney; two of the largest gas turbine manufacturers in the world. The testing technology used will also be applicable to other industry sectors, such as the bus and automotive manufacturing industries.

In recognition of its world-class reputation in gas turbine engine research, the National Research Council Canada (NRC) will play a key role within the centre. From the research side, NRC’s involvement in this facility will enable it to expand its knowledge of the effects of ice crystal ingestion on the operation of large aircraft engines.  The design, construction and operation of CanETREC will be managed by MDS Aero Support Corporation.

To view the federal government’s media release, click here.

To visit MDS Aero’s website, click here.