After several years of pursuing separate, but similar, air boss credentialing programs, the Air Boss Association of Canada (ABAC) and the International Council of Air Shows have agreed to begin the process of combining the two heretofore separate programs.
As ICAS has been working toward the development of an air boss credentialing program focused on the training and evaluation of U.S.-based air bosses, the ABAC has been working to develop a Canadian program to train and produce air bosses for Canadian air shows. As the program has matured and as differences between the two programs have been eliminated, the two organizations have agreed that the administrative functions of the two programs can be combined, with the Canadian-based program continuing to provide trained and certified air bosses to meet the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) requirement for credentialed air bosses at shows that include RCAF assets.
ABAC and ICAS expect to conclude the merge during the third quarter of 2019. ICAS members involved with ABAC and members of the Air Boss Recognition Program Review Committee (ABRPRC) will be working with ICAS staff and rank-and-file members of ICAS during the next several months to work out details.
As part of the transition and effective immediately, the ABAC will become the Canadian Subcommittee of the ABRPRC. As the merger of the two organizations continues, the former ABAC board will function as the membership of the Canadian Subcommittee of the ABRPRC and will continue the work it has been doing in training, mentoring, and interfacing with Canadian military and regulatory representatives, as well as providing further refinements to the credentialing program for Canadian air bosses. When the merger is complete, the Canadian Subcommittee of ABRPRC will have sole responsibility for administering the Canadian air boss credentialing program under the umbrella of the ABRPRC and ICAS.
