Marcel Bister is a Trinity Western University student with a twist. Instead of taking lecture notes, he is 2,000 feet in the air soaring through the sky. Bister, a third-year aviation and physics major, successfully passed his Commercial Pilot’s flight test on Sept. 27, 2008.

Bister received his Private Pilot’s License (PPL) at Boundary Bay Airport in July 2007, but took his flight lessons with Coastal Pacific Aviation at the Abbotsford International Airport. Coastal Pacific Aviation is an environment for both professional pilots and learners. Getting one’s PPL is a pre-requisite for acceptance into the two-year Coastal Pacific Aviation program that partners with the University of the Fraser Valley.
Wayne Cave, director of flight operations at Coastal Pacific Aviation says about the program, “We have a two-year diploma program, and in order to [even] join the program you need to have [your] Private Pilot’s License.” The PP licensure is offered in the summer.

Once declaring aviation as a major, students are expected to get their Commercial License. But while most students only need to hit the books to pass their exams, Bister had other concerns. He needed 150 flight hours of practice, three simulated flight tests with instructors, and several nights of studying charts, emergency procedures and his Pilot Operating Handbook to pass his commercial flight test. For his commercial license Bister needs only 30 more flying hours to complete the 200 hours required.
Bister’s route is not one that many TWU students take. He is one of only two aviation students currently studying at the university, and wants others to understand the commitment involved in undertaking this major. “Scheduling is a nightmare and you have school on Saturdays and Sundays,” he said. “It’s expensive, [and] it’s going to be more than your average degree.”

“I get an average of four to five hours of sleep a night. If I studied more I’d be a hermit. I like to socialize and I’m also a Collegium Assistant,” said Bister.

Bister does not plan on stopping with a Commercial Pilot’s License. “I want to travel the world. I can see myself flying for missions in a couple of years. I want to visit New Zealand, the Bahamas, Australia and perhaps Dubai,” said Bister.

Flying can be fun, but alertness is number one in Bister’s books. “One time my instructor, myself and another student were flying at 11 p.m. and we landed on a flat tire. We most likely went over a sharp rock on a previous landing. The plane went to the left and almost off the runway,” said Bister.
Bister will be working on his multi-engine and instrument rating from now until his fourth year. Both ratings will allow him to fly in low-visibility weather in large dual-engine aircraft.

Despite the difficulty in getting through the program, Bister said, “Aviation…allows you to go to places you usually couldn’t go to.”