Enticing youth to aviation a priority at airshow
Thousands of people, from plane experts to young tots getting their first up-close view of a glider, visited Villeneuve Airport for the Edmonton Airshow, held Saturday and Sunday.
The show featured the famous Canadian Forces Snowbirds, who stopped in Edmonton for the first time in more than 15 years as part of Canada 150 celebrations.
A comedy routine by Kent Pietsch highlighting aviation safety focused on things going wrong in flight, including wings and tires falling off in the sky.
A major emphasis of the event is on youth, said executive producer Dean Heuman, because organizers are trying to encourage the next generation to think about aviation as a potential career.
“This is an industry that already is feeling old,” he said.
“In 10 years there will not be enough pilots, mechanics and people who service planes to carry the number of flights we have now.”
To educate youth, the show invites the Royal Canadian Air Cadets as well as flight schools to show what they do and provide recruitment information, as well as provide opportunities for youth to meet airshow pilots after their daring rides in the sky.
Members of the Alberta air cadet program let children see a glider plane up close and even take a seat in one to touch the controls and learn what they do.
The program hopes to expose youth between the ages of 12 to 19 to the world of aviation, Capt. Andrew McLellan said.
Isabelle Weller, 5, and Olivia Weller, 3, were instantly drawn to the big yellow two-seater plane and jumped at the chance to take a seat inside.
Visiting from British Columbia, their father Tony Weller said he works in the aviation industry, which is the main reason they decided to go to the airshow.
He said although it is a little too early to tell if aviation is a career choice for them, his daughters always talk about how cool it is and point out planes and helicopters in the sky.
In the last couple of years, Heuman said recruitment and interest as a result of the show has gone up, with the air cadets recruiting 160 new members last year alone. They usually get about 75 new members each year.
“It’s working. People are seeing that there’s an opportunity and they’re getting excited about aviation. Who can ask for more than that?” he said.