Jessica Klinkenberg
Northern News Services
Published Friday, September 21, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - Two enlisted men were saluted for graduating from a Canadian Forces flight engineer program earlier this month.

Cpl. Mike Sauve and Cpl. Pres Lavier received their wings from 440 Squadron, also known as the Vampires.

Cpl. Pres Lavier, left, and Cpl. Mike Sauve stand in front of a Joint Task Force North Twin Otter during their graduation ceremony from a flight engineer course. - Jessica Klinkenberg/NNSL photo

"It's to further my career," Sauve said of his accomplishment.

"It's a great opportunity to be graduating," Lavier agreed.

The pair, originally from Ontario, came north and enrolled in the flight engineer program over the summer.

"(Lavier) really wanted to come up here, for me it was how the cookies crumbled," said Sauve, of how he came to be in the North.

The role of the flight engineer is to make sure that everything is running smoothly on board a plane during flight, from pre-takeoff to landing.

Lavier said he's excited to fly in one of Joint Task Force North's Twin Otters.

"The Twin Otter is a great airplane, but even more than that, it's the places we get to see."

Joint Task Force North is the only military unit in Canada that still flies Twin Otters for northern patrols.

In order to become flight engineers the pair had to complete six years of aviation maintenance training.

"It's a long process to get your wings," Sauve said.

Warrant Officer Dan Goodwin is the senior flight engineer with the Vampires.

He said the people who apply are people that want to fly.

"We get a lot of flight techs that want to go on an actual mission," he said. "It's a little extra challenge."

He said that becoming a flight engineer is just a start.

"This is a stepping stone for them. Now that they've got their wings the opportunities are almost limitless."