For the first time in 30 years Merrittonians can learn to fly.
The Merritt Flying Club is about to launch a new flight school and is looking for people interested in obtaining their private pilot license said Herb Graham, the club’s secretary-treasurer.
“You’re never too old or to young to learn to fly – if you can drive a car, you can fly a plane,” said Graham adding the flight school will not only be open to new pilots. “Someone who has had a pilot license for a while and might be looking for a refresher is welcome to come.”
Plans are underway for Pacific Rim Aviation, which is based in Pitt Meadows, to operate a satellite flight school out of the Merritt airport in the terminal building. Ground school will likely take place during the week in the evenings and flying lessons will take place on the weekend.
“We’re attempting to make private flying another viable sport for local people,” said Graham explaining that the purpose of the Merritt Flying Club is to promote and advance the use of private aircraft flying and aviation in general.
Graham said that it has been over 30 years since Merritt had a flight school, which was also co-ordinated by the Merritt Flying Club. At that time, there were about 25 pilots who went through the system, said Graham.
“Hopefully this new flight school will bring pilots out of the woodwork,” he said.
To make flight more accessible, the club plans to purchase a club aircraft for people to fly – probably a four-seater Cessna 152 or 172.
“This will make it cheaper to fly and aircraft availability is really important,” said Graham.
On a personal level, Graham can see the benefit of having a flight school in Merritt. When he got his private pilot license, he had to arrange for a private instructor to come to Merritt to teach him. It was worth it though – Graham said he had wanted to fly all of his life, though he was almost 60 before it happened.
Since then, he has flown from the bottom of British Columbia to the top, four different times.
“I’ve had all kinds of different hobbies, but flying is about the most exciting thing I’ve ever done,” said Graham. “It relieves all the pressures of life.”
“If you have a plate full of problems, that becomes empty as soon as you get in the aircraft.”
Anyone interested in attending an information meeting about the flight school can contact Herb Graham at 250-378-7075 or email [email protected].
