COPA for Kids Day – where kids can take flight

It’s that time of year again when kids have the chance to take flight at the 3rd Annual COPA for Kids Aviation Day from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on July 7th at the Port Elgin Airport.

COPA  (Canadian Owners and Pilots Association), sponsors the free-of-charge event, organized by COPA Flight 172, to give kids between the ages of eight and 17 the experience of flying.

Each participant is given a short ‘ground school’ tour of a static aircraft, the duties of the pilot and the operation of the craft, and then it’s time to really fly.

For approximately 25 minutes, they will have a bird’s eye view of the area and Lake Huron and the chance to find out what it’s like to be ‘in the cockpit’.  Each participant also receives a logbook as a record of the flight.

Local pilots from Port Elgin and the surrounding area from Wiarton to Hanover and Kincardine donate their time to encourage kids to possibly have an interest in learning to fly.

COPA is a Canadian non-profit association that represents some 18,000 pilots, aircraft owners and aviation enthusiasts of every age, including many airline and commercial pilots, engineers and business people.

Last year’s event saw some 70 young people take to the air from what many pilots agree is one of the finest grass-runway airports found anywhere.

This year, National COPA has enhanced the program by allowing 14 to 17-year-olds free access to an on-line instructional program that satisfies the study requirement for a private pilot’s licence to prepare them for subsequent flight training on their own.

The program is free to participants and is supported by local pilots.