COPA Flight 65 Vernon's Discover Aviation Day: Good things come to those who wait

^{Written by: Rob McDicken, Discover Aviation Vernon, Event Coordinator
Photos courtesy of COPA Flight 65 - Vernon}

Wow, what a return for COPA Flight 65 - Vernon!

After 2 disappointing cancelations due to wildfire smoke the previous year, June 22nd 2024 brought great flying conditions for the Vernon Flying Club and COPA Flight #65s Discover Aviation Day.  The day produced calm winds, great visibility, favourable temperatures and a high thin overcast to shield our eyes from the sun. We had been given a chance to make up for 2023, and did we ever take advantage of that chance!  In the space of about 4 ½ hours, 160 excited and eager guests were smoothly and efficiently moved through the process of registration, briefing, ground school, boarding lounge and finally to the aircraft and pilot that was to take them on their aerial adventure.  Then on return pictures were taken, certificates presented, and refreshments had while at the same time our future Junior Aviators took a “flight of the imagination” around the airport in the barrel plane formation (future Snowflakes pilots, perhaps?).  It took the dedication, tenacity and shear love of flying by the 54 volunteers and 12 planes who assembled that day to pull it off while at the same time making our guests feel informed, safe and welcome.  It is no surprise that to have an event such as Discover Aviation run smooth and efficiently relies heavily on those on the ground to assist those in the air. I am amazed at how well our team worked together and the almost Zen like atmosphere at Discover Aviation Vernon.  What an amazing group of volunteers!  This year the usual team consisting of members and friends of the Vernon Flying Club/COPA Flight #65 were back in force along with a few members of the Kelowna Flying Club who provided a Cessna 172, pilot and loadmaster, accounting for a significant number of those flown that day!  We also added a few new members to our volunteer roster in both air and ground ops. 

A special thanks as well to our non-flying club members who came to help, or anyone new joining us for the first time!  I must inform you however, that you have unfortunate received a high enough dose of whatever it is that’s ”in the air” at Discover Aviation.  Symptoms that you have caught something will start in a few months from now when things are again starting to get warm, and you will have an inexplicable urge to find out if “that flying thing is happening again”.  I guess we should have warned you. LOL.   

A huge “Thank you!” to all involved as it could not have been done without all your collective efforts.

And if you are reading this and have never volunteered for a Discover Aviation day, I whole heartedly encourage you to do so!  If you don’t live in the Okanagan you can seek out a flying club in your area, see if they are hosting such an event and offer your help. I am confident you will find the experience very personally rewarding! 

Cancelling twice in 2023 created some thoughts I wanted to share that have been rattling around in my brain ever since then.  It’s true that 2023 was a bit of a disappointment for COPA Flight 65, and in all honesty after all the replanning followed by a second cancellation my personal bag of motivation was seriously depleted.  As ridiculous as it might seem, I was beginning to wonder how I would handle it if we had to cancel in 2024.  This seemed a little silly to me as I can’t even count the number of times I personally have had to cancel or change flying plans due to weather.  Some of the conditions were hazardous enough that had I NOT cancelled, diverted to an alternate or otherwise changed my plans I might not be here!  Just like that I would have been a statistic.  Remembering back (before I had accumulated any real experience of my own) I would talk to and seek the advice of these individual who had already accumulated decades of experience. In my eyes, true gurus in all thing’s aviation.   They would attempt to pass along any and all knowledge they thought was useful.  I listened eagerly to it all. However, one common “lesson” was consistently “taught” by all and the best version of this lessons I heard while working on my private license.  It was at that point in most pilots’ development stages where I began to think that I could have taught Chuck Yeager a thing or two about flying.  Cresting the first peak of a true Dunning-Kruger arch, I was so inexperienced that I didn’t know how inexperienced I was, but this particular weather lesson stayed with me. I can’t recall who gave the advice but all they said was, “One of the most important things you can learn as a pilot can be summed up into three words ‘DON’T PUSH WEATHER!’”  Brilliant in its simplicity, for whatever reason that statement stuck.  I can not tell you how many times those particular three words seemed to surface in my mind when the weather was taking a turn, and my own inner dialogue was starting to say things like “are you sure?” and “this might not be all that smart.” 

Recalling these things, I began to realize that although 2023 handed us lemons we had all the ingredients to make some really good lemonade in the form of laying the groundwork for some good aviation decision making.  I also realized that the wonderful thing about all this is we have already been doing this by demonstrating good safety practices at our events and sticking to procedures and policies that are designed to enhance safety.  One of the main reasons for Discover Aviation is to try to “ignite a spark” of interest for flying things within our Junior Aviators that may turn into a lifelong love of aviation.  However, it occurred to me that it was equally important for us to try to pass along what we could that might one day help a fledgling pilot choose a path that would avoid dire and unfortunate consequences. In 2023 we were able show our charges that sometimes one of the hardest things to say in flying is “no”.  That even after months of planning and anticipation with many people involved, the safest choice is to cancel, even if its right at the very last minute.  And that is a valuable lesson indeed.

Those of us who aviate know that out of all the variables present when taking a flying machine skyward, the one thing we have no control over is weather and the myriad of flight conditions it can present.  We can plan routes, altitudes, fuel stops and passenger and cargo loads, along with many other things that we have almost complete control over. When flying we manipulate and balance all these variables to ensure our flight between points A and B is as safe and efficient as it can be, however with weather we must constantly adapt and react to its ever-changing conditions. It is exceptionally important as pilots we learn early on that weather is to be respected as is the one thing we cannot manipulate or control.  Weather will always have the final say.  Weather will cause us to change routes, altitudes, carry extra fuel to fly around weather, divert to alternate airport and, if the conditions (in the case of 2023, the visibility.) are bad enough, cancel flights altogether because the safest decision is not to fly at all.  Pilots must also consider the risk presented by weather and the necessity of the mission itself.  Being that the intent is to give a good and positive flight experience to our guests the threshold for cancelation for a Discover Aviation event must be very low. 

Admittedly, what can be accomplished at a Discover Aviation event in the way of helping our junior aviators make good flying decisions in the future is very limited.  However, I feel that the way we gain safety knowledge is a little like painting something using a paint gun with a very fine spray.  The first coat is barely noticeable, as are the second and event the third.  But, over time, the layers of paint begin to thicken, and the item slowly changes colour. I’d like to think that, maybe just maybe, by taking part in Discover Aviation any future pilots in the group might acquire their first light dusting of “safety paint”, or at least something that could be considered the start of a primer coat.  A little “pie in the sky” thinking?  Perhaps.  But then again, I know from personal experience that sometimes it can be something as trivial as three little words that can leave a lasting impression.

Because of 2023 we were able to pass along to our attendees the idea of “Don’t push weather!” There are other age-old aviation anecdotes that come to mind as well such as “It’s better to be on the ground wishing you were flying than to be flying wishing you were on the ground” and, “Every pilot starts with a full bag of luck and an empty bag of experience.  The trick is to fill the bag of experience before the luck runs out.”  These cautionary statements, and many like them, have been around and quoted since humans learned to fly.  Passed down from senior to junior pilots over the years, these cautionary statements will undoubtedly continue to be passed along for quite some time to come.  However, due to the success of Discover Aviation Vernon 2024 we can pass along one more.

“Good things come to those who wait!”