THAT FATAL NIGHT 60 YEARS AGO
The legacy of Goderich's Hopkinson, Canada's father of homebuilt aircraft
Late Thursday, March 26, 1964, an outstanding pioneer of aviation, Keith (Hoppy) Hopkinson lost his life while on final approach to Sky Harbour Airport.
Flying home from the United States in a heavy snowstorm, son John was guiding his dad to the airport, since renamed Goderich Regional, by radio when contact was lost shortly after 8 p.m. The twin Beech crashed in a farm field east of runway 10-28. Hoppy had radioed earlier that he could see the lights of Goderich. The funeral at Hopkinson's own Sky Harbour hangar was the biggest Goderich had ever seen. More than 1,000 people attended, with almost 100 aircraft parked at the airport.
Hoppy was considered the father of the Canadian homebuilt movement.
He was a dreamer, but because of his patience, foresight and maturity, he could make his dreams happen. He was never too busy to talk to any individual wanting advice — any excuse to sit and hangar talk with visitors in the pilot's lounge was good enough for him.
Hopkinson operated the Sky Harbour Air Service from his airport hangar. His air business activities ranged from delivering goods and ferrying surplus aircraft to flight school operations, chartering passenger services and operating an air ambulance. He was the chief flight school instructor at Sky Harbour. Summer students who worked for him were given free flying lessons on weekends. Many of them went on to enjoy careers in aviation.
It would be an issue of Mechanix Illustrated monthly that would propel Hoppy into Canada's history of aviation. The magazine featured plans for a do-it-yourself homebuilt aircraft based on the popular Stits Playboy design. Working with Paul Poberezny of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Hopkinson convinced the Canadian government to allow him to build a plane from these plans.
Hoppy's wife, Isabelle, remembers Dr. Wallace's wife, Dorothy, stitching the wing covers. More than 1,200 hours later, the finished aircraft rolled out to Sky Harbour ready for its first flight. Receiving DOT flight permit 001, Hoppy flew the maiden flight on Oct. 1, 1955. Hopkinson's small airplane was nicknamed L'il Hokey after oldest daughter Anne. It was the first registered homebuilt in Canada's history. Boasting a wingspan of less than 23 feet, the 850-pound aircraft flew at 125 miles per hour with a range of 500 miles.
It was an affordable dream for the average family. Burning just five gallons of fuel hourly, it was as cost efficient as a car. It may not have been the sleekest, fastest or biggest aircraft, but it did represent the aspirations of those who dreamed of a day when the freedom of the open skies would be known to all.
With his best friend Robert (Gus) Chisholm in a Baby Ace, another Mechanix Illustrated homebuilt design, the two travelled to air shows all over North America. Hoppy received many accolades and awards. Some airports would pay for lunch and fuel if they allowed people to view these homebuilt wonders
Air travel had interested the general public, and homebuilts only bolstered that dream. Inexpensive air travel had landed and private aircraft owners had taken wing. Today, homebuilding is a vibrant part of aviation that owes its work and popularity to Keith Hopkinson, a true trailblazer whose organizational skills, enthusiasm, leadership and hands-on approach represents an unparalleled legacy to Canadian aviation.
In 1952, the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association was formed and Hopkinson became a founding director. COPA would honour him as “a person who contributed the most in the achievement of private flying in Canada.”
Unfortunately for one who spent so much of his aviation career promoting safety, Hopkinson was killed while on that final approach to his home airport in a snowstorm. L'il Hokey now sits in Ottawa's Aviation and Space Museum. Hoppy was inducted into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame on Sept. 14 in Calgary for “his contribution to civil, military and commercial aviation, most notably for his development of homebuilding of aircraft and for his development and leadership establishing and supporting organizations and associations.”
He was the finest Canadian ambassador for general aviation and homebuilt aircraft that ever lived.
With research material from the archives of the late Robert (Gus) Chisholm. Marilyn Bruinsma is a navigator and administrative secretary with the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association, a 13,000-member organization whose mission is to “advance, promote and preserve the Canadian freedom to fly.”