Christine Whelan FEO, August 4, 2022, VOL. 3 ISSUE 25
After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic restrictions, the Discover Aviation Program is back in full swing.
The Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) Flight 149 group is hosting a Discover Aviation Day, planned for Saturday, August 20, 2022, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. The Discover Aviation program is to introduce the magic of flight to young people. It is completely free and open to anyone from 8 to 20 years old.
The flights are free of charge and are conducted by COPA Flight 149 pilots who are volunteering their time and aircraft. Each pilot is licensed by Transport Canada and all the aircraft utilized to meet the regulatory requirements to safely fly your loved ones.
It will take place at the Niagara Central Dorothy Rungeling Airport (NCDRA), aka the Welland Airport, located at 435 River Road in Fenwick.
As Doug Reilly, COPA Flight 149, Discover Aviation Coordinator explains, “This is an opportunity for young people to experience the joy of flight, up close and personal, in a small airplane.”
There are no perimeters geographically, “We’ve got kids already registered from Sarnia, Markham, all over.”
Doug, after moving from Oakville, has been living in Ridgeway for the last 11 years. He wants the Greater Fort Erie area families to feel welcome to share in the magic. This is an invitation to aviation.
Discovery Aviation Day
“It’s a national program, put on by COPA,” Reilly explained. “In Welland, the group that is organizing this event is Flight 149. There are other Flights around the country that are doing the same thing. The one in Quebec had 200 kids participate.”
The program is designed to inspire kids to think about aviation as a part of their future.
“We don’t just put the kids in a plane and take off. We give them a mini ground school and go over the airplane so that they are more comfortable and understand all the different components and how an airplane flies. There will be a small static display with a couple of planes so the kids can familiarize themselves before they go for their actual flight.
“Then we’ll take them up for about a 20-minute ride over the Welland Canal area, Port Colborne, along the Lake Erie shoreline and towns in the local vicinity. We give them a little snack after.
“We’ve got nine pilots volunteering. We can probably fly 20 kids an hour.
“Those in the group in Welland are all north of 50 years old. It would be good to get some younger people involved.” However, they’re not trying to get airline pilots out of it, Doug admits. “Our goal is to share the joys of aviation. Share the wonder and magic of it.”
Reilly expressed that he feels quite strongly about introducing young people to aviation. “I was 16 years old when I started taking ground school but I didn’t have any money for lessons. Thirty years later, I finally went and got my license.”
He shared a few stories of remembered moments in the past with the kids experiencing their first plane rides. “And when you take the kids up, and they’re looking, oo’ing and ah’ing, yelling, “That tree looks like broccoli!” That’s what it’s about.
“One of the kids asked me, can you go upside down in this? And I said, not intentionally,” with a laugh.
The Niagara Central Dorothy Rungeling Airport – “The Welland Airport”
Doug mentioned the importance these days, to make the community of the Niagara Region aware of the airport itself. “We want people to realize what a gem they have here.”
It was built in 1940 by the Royal Canadian Air Force. “In the Second World War, it was a part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Program, training pilots before sending them over to fight in the war.”
Then he raised the gem’s value. “The airbases they made during the war usually had the three runways in a triangle. So, no matter which way the wind was coming from, they’d be able to fly. In Welland, there were two runways that were kept in use. The third runway, which basically ran north and south, fell into disuse and was closed. The COPA group took it upon themselves to revitalize it as a grass strip.
“There are those in-flight training courses who come to Welland to practice using a grass strip as they don’t get that chance elsewhere.”
Wainfleet, Port Colborne, Welland and Pelham are the four communities that now support the NCDRA.
For more information on the DISCOVERY AVIATION DAY and to book your spot, please visit this website: https://www.centralairport.ca/copa-for-kids.html Or email Doug Reilly at DougatCOPA149@gmail.com
The rain date is the following day, August 21st.
Photo provided by Doug Reilly
