PHOTOS: Okanagan students get first-hand look at Canadian military aircraft

PHOTOS: Okanagan students get first-hand look at Canadian military aircraft

Published 4:56 pm Wednesday, September 16, 2026

An F-18 fighter and one of the Royal Canadian Air Force’s (RCAF) newest operational aircraft, the CC-295 Kingfisher, touched down in Kelowna for a select few to tour.

Both aircraft were on display for Okanagan College students as part of a recruiting campaign by the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) for its Non-Commissioned Member Subsidized Education Training Plan (NCMSTEP) program.

According to the CAF, the NCMSTEP program “offers full-time paid training or education at Canadian colleges, universities and other postsecondary establishments for authorized courses of study related to military occupations.”

Graduates from the paid education programs are “guaranteed a job in your field with the CAF.”

Master Cpl. Trisha Chipman, aviation systems technician, was one of a few CAF members who went to the KF Centre for Excellence on Sept. 16 to recruit for the program.

“We’re here today at the Centre of Excellence to visit students at Okanagan College to explain the different career path opportunities they can have in the RCS,” Chipman said, adding that the CAF has seen a positive reaction to recruiting.

“Our numbers are doing really well. We’ve noticed an increase for sure, and it’s wonderful because we do have a lot of new aircraft coming in, and we need more hands working on them.”

Chipman said the CAF showed the aircraft to the students to inspire them to join.

“We’re probably not flying to this area too often, so it makes it more exciting for the students to see. It also gives them an idea of the different types of aircraft that they can work on, and sometimes that’s appealing to a student. They might love the F-18 today, and it triggers them wanting to join,” she said.

The students were able to get an up-close look at the fighter jet and its components, which has been used in the RCAF since the 1980s.

While the students were able to view almost everything but the cockpit of the F-18, they were able to get an even more in-depth look at the CC-295 Kingfisher, a fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft which entered operational service in May, 2025.

Master Cpl. Antonio Malferrari, avionics technician with the Canadian Forces who works on the CC-295 Kingfisher, explained that the plane is equipped with a camera pod on the front of the aircraft to locate people or objects. Search and Rescue technicians are also able to parachute out of the aircraft.

Since the aircraft was put into service, Malferrari said it has seen plenty of airtime.

“In the summertime, that’s when it gets busy, like almost every day there’s a call out. That’s when people go boating, go hiking, and accidents happen when they go boating,” he said.

Malferrari’s colleague, aviation systems technician Master Cpl. Matt Perkins, said action varies during the winter season.

“In the winter, maybe once a week (that there’s a call out), it could be once a month, it could be seven times a week, or multiple times a day, depending on if we get called in,” Perkins said.