Author: Shaylene Abrey-Webster

Hey everyone, I hope you’re all doing well! I am here to give you another update since it has been a while since you heard from me last. I moved to Toronto, Ontario about 2 months ago and I am loving it here so far. I started school at the beginning of September at Toronto Metropolitan University and my classes are going well. I am continuing my degree in Aerospace Engineering and I am taking Calculus, Chemistry, Introduction to Engineering, Communications in Engineering, and my elective, Viva Las Vegas. I was hoping to do a music elective this semester but unfortunately it didn’t work out with my schedule. I have been really busy the last couple of weeks with research projects, essays, and midterm exams. I am the first-year representative for a student group called CASI – the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute TMU Chapter. We hosted our first event a couple of weeks ago. It was a hiring event where aerospace engineers from the top aerospace companies in Toronto such as Bombardier and MDA spoke about the most effective ways to enter the aerospace industry, followed by a Q&A session and a time for students to network with the professional engineers. I am really glad I am getting involved in school clubs as it is great to meet new people with similar interests. I have joined a Facebook page for musicians at TMU but there haven’t been any posts this year, so I am going to look for other options to get involved in the music community here.

I wasn’t able to do any flight lessons this summer due to the lack of time again. There is a flight school nearby on the Toronto Islands at the Billy Bishop airport, and I am looking to start flight lessons there. I haven’t booked any lessons yet but I will post again when I do. Final exams are coming in about a month and winter comes soon after with lots of snow, so I am not sure I will be able to fly before the spring.

I have included some pictures of my university campus. Our campus is right in downtown Toronto, so unlike a traditional campus, the buildings are spread out around the downtown area. The feature photo on this post is the view from my dorm room on campus!

Hey everyone. I wanted to let you all know that I am booked for flying next Wednesday! I will be flying with the Cargair flight school at the Mirabel airport (CYMX) with instructor Étienne. I will be continuing my training in a Cessna 172 and I’m really excited to finally get flying again. It’s been nearly a year since I flew because of poor conditions last summer and I was busy with school but I’m hoping that nothing will get in my way of completing my solo flight this summer.

Work has been going well, I’ve been keeping busy and I can’t believe I’m halfway through my internship. I will be done work at the end of August and soon after I will be moving to Toronto as I am transferring to Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly known as Ryerson University). I will continue my degree in aerospace engineering. I haven’t been able to play music lately, but I am still enjoying it while taking in the world class International Jazz Festival here in Montreal. I am looking for possible music elective classes in the fall.

I added a photo of the display helicopter (Bell 430 aircraft) at my work and one of Montreal for your enjoyment, I will update you after my first flight!

Hello everyone, it’s been a while since you heard from me, so I’d like to update you on my life. I just finished my first year of aerospace engineering at Concordia University in Montreal and it went well. It was a big adjustment moving across the country on my own into an entirely new environment but the year was very successful. I ended the year with a 3.53 GPA!

I started working as an intern at Bell Flight in Mirabel, Quebec last week and I will be there until the end of August. My job is to help engineers with the certification process of helicopters for Transport Canada, stress testing the main metals used in the aircraft and organizing the certification documents accordingly. Bell Flight has two central locations: one in Mirabel and one in Fort Worth, Texas. The location here produces helicopters from the ground up and it is really impressive to see the entire process in action.

I haven’t been able to fly during the school year but I will be working near an airport this summer so I’m hoping to be able to continue flight training during the summer months. The majority of people speak French in this area, so I hope to find a flight instructor who can teach me in English. I will reach out to the flight school sometime in the next couple of weeks once I’m settled into my new job.

I would just like to say a big thank you for all the support I have received these last couple days!  Huge shoutout to my fellow finalists, I hope to be able to meet up at a fly-in event once restrictions ease on international travel.  Keep up your flight and music passions!

A little about me, I am graduating from Hunting Hills High School in Red Deer, Alberta in June.   I began music lessons at the age of 3, moving to piano lessons at the age of 5 and I have played guitar since the age of 10.  I joined Concert Band and Jazz Band in middle school playing clarinet and keyboard.  In high school, I joined our school’s Rock Band for 2 years as a keyboardist and I played alto saxophone for Jazz.  I joined Steel Drums in grade 11 and I love it.  It is very different from any other instrument I have played before and it’s a lot of fun!

I started flight lessons at the age of 8 and I was the youngest to take lessons at my local airport.  Although I couldn’t reach the rudder pedals at the time, I learned the basics of flight and I completed a portion of ground school.  Unfortunately I was unable to continue flying due to funding, but I am so thankful for this opportunity presented by the FMA community.  I will be pursuing my passion for aviation further by beginning by bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering at Concordia University in Montreal in the fall.

I’m very excited to start this new chapter of my life and to share it with all of you!