Youth in Airdrie got a small taste of aviation Sept. 14 at the annual COPA For Kids event at the Airdrie Air Park.
Hosted by the Airdrie Flying Club, the initiative is put on by the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA). Other similar events take place around the country.
I’m at the COPA for Kids event at the Airdrie AirPark this morning. The yearly initiative gets kids up in small planes for a quick loop to Crossfield and back to give them a taste of aviation. I’ll be getting up in one of these planes in the next hour! pic.twitter.com/CVMgpoQ8EV
— Scott Strasser (@scottstrasser19) September 14, 2019
The event at the Airdrie Air Park offered participants the opportunity to join an experienced pilot in their small aircraft on a 20-minute loop from the air park to Crossfield and back.
According to Kevin Psutka, the former president of COPA and a current member, the initiative aims to stoke an interest in aviation among young people, while giving them a chance to see what a pilot's work looks like close up.
"They get an introduction to it and see what it's all about," he said. "Instead of watching them fly overhead, they can actually get into one and see what happens."
Psutka, who has been flying for 50 years, said some children enjoy the COPA For Kids experience so much, they consider aviation as a potential career path after the flight.
"It's good fun – you never lose the bug," he said. "Once you get it, you've got it for life."
— Scott Strasser (@scottstrasser19) September 14, 2019
One participant at the Airdrie event was 12-year-old Jacob Rogers, a student at Windsong Heights School.
"I think it was very fun," he said. "We heard form my mom's friend and we decided to come out and do it.
"One thing I noticed was that the seats are quite low, and they don't go as high [as commercial flights]."
Those who participate in COPA For Kids between the ages of 14 and 17 can also enrol in a free online ground school, which is subsidized by event sponsors.
