Transport committee  Hybrid Air was in the U.K. and came to the conclusion that there would be a lot of benefit from participating with an air operator that knows how to operate in remote environments, which is what we do. Half our company is based up in Yellowknife. These guys fly all over the Arcti

Transport committee  We would finalize the design over the next six months. We would start manufacturing by the end of this year. We would work in parallel with a regulatory body to complete the certification so that as this vehicle is getting built and approaching its ready-to-fly point, in parallel

Transport committee  I would say, yes. If we can't compete commercially, this thing won't fly.

Transport committee  There's been a variety of market studies dating back to the late-seventies, and the upper limit of the global demand for these things has been forecast as 1,400. We think that's—

Transport committee  We've had quotes ranging from $35 million to $57 million for a facility, depending on the construction methods.

Transport committee  I would say that there's still a high probability that we would have one of these air vehicles built and, hopefully, through the certification process, depending on how cumbersome that becomes.... It's a bit of an unknown at this stage. We may operate these in Canada if there are

Transport committee  If you could instantly produce 1,400 of these things, there are market studies saying there are customers who could use that capacity. So if you had a production capacity that could produce that much, you could find a market. We think that's a little on the high side. The average

Transport committee  At steady-state, it would take about 12 months.

Transport committee  Well, sure. You're assembling an air vehicle that's the size of Scotia Bank Place. It's going to take a lot of work.

Transport committee  But government invests in aerospace all the time. The funding for SADI is close to a billion dollars. They gave CAE $250 million last year for developing something. What was that for?

Transport committee  We're asking the Government of Canada to assist in the early-stage developments of this technology. We're not asking for handouts. In fact, any money that would flow into this program we would expect to repay through the commercialization of the technology. We have a lot of compa

Transport committee  There are a number of provinces that are quite interested. Manitoba, Alberta, and Quebec have shown the most interest, to the point where I believe Alberta is actually going to fund a facility.

Transport committee  Government makes choices every day, and through the application process someone will determine whether this is a worthwhile venture, balanced against other requests.

Transport committee  Because I believe that this is a worthwhile venture. I believe it is going to create a lot of benefits for Canada, not just in terms of what the technology will ultimately do so that this government can realize the vision it's communicated with its northern strategy, but also by

Transport committee  If we were going out and acquiring a 747 to put into service, I'm pretty sure we could get traditional financing for that because if the business case for it fell apart, the lender could seize the asset and there's a resale market for an aviation asset like a 747 or 737s or Q400s