Local aviator tradition alive and well with Southwest Flying Club

Swift Current has a great history and tradition of aviation and the Southwest Flying Club and Swift Current Airport combined to honour that tradition on July 10th.

Long after the British Commonwealth Air Training program shut down, Swift Current still continues to be a centre for flight training and education.

For almost 20 years, the Southwest Flying Club has taken on that mantle of raising and training the next generation of pilots, although these days they thankfully do more crop dusting than dog fighting.

“The flying club has certainly been successful in that we enjoy getting together at our monthly meetings and talking about aviation and aviation experiences,” said Ed Wiens, one of the club’s founding members. “Since that time we’ve had a lot of improvement at the airport.”

Making changes and improvements to the airport has long been one of the club’s stated goals. Wiens said nine new hangers have been built since they started, while some of the older less stable buildings were torn down. He credits the city for being proactive, and the airport staff for working hard to maintain high standards.

“The city has made some great strides in bringing some fabulous management in that is really looking at improving the airport surroundings.”

He also hopes it will bump up the number of pilots in the area.

“It’s about generating enthusiasm in airport development, airport improvement and possibly getting flight instructions so we can get more young people back into the business of aviation.”

The club has been fairly successful in attracting younger members. Their current president, Scott Carefoot, is one of a new generation of flyers coming up through the club ranks, and he said more events like the July 10th show can only help.

“It’s been good. We’re a fairly loosely based club, but we find events like this are really good at getting people out,” he said. “It’s really good exposure.”

The airshow itself was highlighted by an appearance by John Lovelace and the Century Flying Club, as well as two performances from stunt pilot “Super Dave” Mathieson in his MX2. However, there was a local flair to the show as well, as several local pilots had their own homebuilt planes on display.

“It seemed like a big enough challenge to keep me occupied for a while,” pilot Dan Baumann said of his own homebuilt aircraft. “It took seven years to build this, so it did keep me occupied.”

It wasn’t an easy task, but he ended up enjoying it so much he plans on doing it again.

“There’s nothing really difficult about building a plane,” he said. “Anyone can do it. The tough part is to have the perseverance to carry on with a seven-year project.”

Strangely enough, Baumann wasn’t a pilot when he started building his plane. Once he did learn, he liked it so much he started working as a crop duster.

He’s not the only member who mixes flying and farming either. Longtime member Lorne Carefoot enjoyed flying so much he stopped checking crops with his farm truck and tried it with his plane instead.

“To do it by truck would take from six in the morning until eight at night and with the plane I can do it in a few hours,” he explained.

“With the view you get from the plane, you can see if there are thin spots, which you might miss if you’re driv- ing around in the truck.”

However, Lorne said flying isn’t just about practicality. It’s also about enjoyment. He enjoys what he does, and wants to see the club give a helping hand to those who want to give flying a try.

In that respect, the airshow was a success. A few youngsters had the chance to take to the skies as passengers that morning, and some seemed to discover a love they never knew they had.

“The first kid that came up, he was pretty nervous right until the moment we took off,” Scott Carefoot remembered. “Then he just kept looking out the window and pointing everything out. He was just loving it.”