Alouettes and Ti- Pics at CHUMEX in Florida

When the cold weather arrives in January, you will find the Alouettes of 425 Squadron usually flying south for warmer weather. This year, one hundred and twenty- five soldiers from Bagotville left for Florida on January 13th as part of Exercise Alouette Mobile. Squadron 433 Ti- Pics are setting up in Homestead, Florida as we speak for Exercise Tipic Savage. Alouette Mobile and Tipic Savage, are both part of a large- scale exercise called CHUMEX which is organ- ized by our American allies. In addition to the many technicians and pilots deployed to CHUMEX, twelve Canadian CF- 18 Hornets also flew to Florida. Bagotville's difficult climatic conditions from January to March tends to slow pilot training by limiting the number of flight hours. By participating in training in Florida, Bagotville's two squadrons of fighter aircraft can thus complete the qualifications of their flight crews and technicians in order to be prepared for possible deployments. CHUMEX also represents a challenge for technicians who have to adapt to a new environment. The implementation of computer systems, local area networks and encrypted equipment has a major impact on operations. Technicians responsible for the condition of the aircrafts are also under pressure to perform as they have to prepare the fighter jets for up to 16 flights per day.