Brantford’s local airplane owners and pilots association, COPA 148, hosted its annual Discover Aviation Day at the Brantford Municipal Airport on Saturday, September 21, 2024.
During the event, around 75 registered participants, ages 12 to 70, had the chance to learn more about the world of aviation with a free introductory flight over the region.
“The event is set up to really introduce people to general aviation and the love of flight,” said Ed Johnston, Board President for the Brantford Flying Club and an involved member of COPA 148. “To do that, we have seven volunteer pilots here today who are donating their time, aircraft and fuel, and we’ll be bringing everyone up in the sky for a sightseeing tour.”
Upon arrival, participants were taken in small groups into the flight centre’s ground school room for an overview of what to expect during their flights and an essential safety briefing.
Once completed, attendees began heading upstairs to get airside and wait for their turn to explore the skies.
Although many participants had some experience as a passenger on larger commercial airliners, there were others who had never been on any type of plane, let alone a small general aviation aircraft.
Brothers, Grayden Bradish, 12-years-old, and Keaton Bradish, 13-years-old, shared similar sentiments about taking off for their first-ever flights.
“I feel a little bit nervous but I’m pretty excited,” said Keaton.
The boys’ parents, Karen and Brad, had surprised the boys with the experience and were also taking part in the big event.
“I’m also feeling a bit nervous and excited but I’m sure we’re going to have nice views so I know it’ll be worth it once we’re up there,” said Karen.
After another safety briefing once aboard the plane, the local pilots and their passengers soon began ascending into the sky for the 15 to 20 minute flight.
“We’ve picked a standard triangular route so we can all follow each other and know where we are while keeping ourselves spaced apart,” said Johnston. “Once we take off, we’ll go down to Springvale and then from there, we’ll head over to Delhi before making our way back home to Brantford. It’s a great little flight because you can see Lake Erie in the distance and there’s lots of beautiful farmland, rivers and creeks and some other really interesting stuff that you can see along the way.”
While the Bradish brothers may have been nervous before their flights, the boys were all smiles once back on the ground.
“It was absolutely stunning,” exclaimed Grayden. “It was really really good,” added Keaton.
When asked what their favourite part of the tour was, Keaton said that it was seeing someone diving in a pond, perhaps for gold or other treasures, while Grayden said it was seeing Fescue’s Edge Golf Club from above.
Overall, all four family members said that they couldn’t believe how much ground they were able to cover in a short amount of time and that they would be happy to do it again.
“It was great we could see all the way to Lake Erie so that was pretty cool because I didn’t think we would see that far,” said Karen. “I still can’t believe how far we went so easily, it was awesome and we would definitely do it again.”
Before heading back home for the day, all participants received a bag of souvenirs, a first flight certificate, a pass to free online ground school training (for those looking to take up flying), and the chance to learn more about COPA scholarship opportunities.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
