Canadian cold-test facility to expand

April 21, 2009 By Thomas A. Horne

The Canadian government and the province of Manitoba have kicked in a total of $22.4 million to build the new Canadian Environmental Test Research and Education Center (CanETREC) in Thompson, Manitoba. The facility promises to be the most advanced cold weather testing and research establishment in the world, according to Vic Toews, president of the Canadian Treasury Board.

The test center will operate year-round, and will specialize in engine icing certification and research. CanETREC will be co-located in a new facility—the Global Aerospace Center for Icing and Environmental Research, Inc. (GLACIER)—being built by a joint venture between Rolls-Royce Canada Limited and Pratt & Whitney Canada. GLACIER will focus on the development of icing simulation technology for aircraft engines and wings, as well as ice detection equipment for aircraft, and atmospheric measurement of icing conditions.

Thomas A. Horne

Contributor

Tom Horne worked at AOPA from the early 1980s until he retired from his role as AOPA Pilot editor at large and Turbine Pilot editor in 2023. He began flying in 1975 and has an airline transport pilot and flight instructor certificates. He’s flown everything from ultralights to Gulfstreams and ferried numerous piston airplanes across the Atlantic.

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Canadian cold-test facility to expand

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