Paul Armstrong

Toronto, ON

I am a candidate for one of the three COPA Board positions for Southern Ontario for the upcoming term.

I gained my interest in flying through my father, who was an R.C.A.F. fighter pilot who learned to fly in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. I joined COPA before I started flight training in 1975. I have a Commercial license and currently fly 250 to 300 hours per year, with most of my flying done on floats or amphibious floats conducting initial or re-currency training, insurance checkouts and aircraft ferrying. I am a Transport Canada Authorized person.

I was a partner for many years in a 703 Air Taxi operation that primarily did seaplane training under contract to a community college. I currently do not own an aircraft, having access to a number of float and amphibious aircraft as I require.

In addition to my flying background, I have considerable experience in the insurance field, at both the company and broker sides of the business.

I am a member of the Ontario Seaplane Association, and reside in Toronto.

My main interest in becoming a Director is to give back to aviation some of the skills and use the relationships I have developed in my varied tenure in aviation. Aviation in Canada has become increasing costly and complex, and governments at all levels have become increasingly aviation adverse at best, with it being viewed as a tax generation opportunity at both the federal and even more provincially, in Ontario.

The biggest skill I can offer the Board is my persistence, whether it is through motivating for a more engaged membership that will encourage COPA to be more than a $200 hamburger club, or through helping an engaged Board and Executive to become a more active lobbying force.