By Ian Holmes

Nanaimo Air Cadets searching for new home for gliding program

Jun 7, 2018 | 5:35 PM

NANAIMO — While business is taking off at Nanaimo Airport, the Air Cadets’ longtime gliding program is being grounded.

Retired Left. Col. Doug Slowski of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets in Nanaimo said local cadets won’t return to train at Nanaimo Airport in the fall due to safety concerns. He said airport officials are helping to find a new site, noting the program is by no means dead in the region.

“With this type of program you can fly out of pretty well any airport, the only issue would be transportation to get a bus or van load of Cadets into a site.”

Slowski said the gliding program is a critical gateway for youth into the aviation industry, which is starving for talent in a range of positions.

“It’s a valuable tool to gain all kinds of skills and knowledge of flying,” Slowski said. “It’s giving them life skills that they don’t appear to be getting anywhere else.”

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He said upwards of 60 Air Cadets glide during spring and summer weekends at Nanaimo Airport by using six tow planes and 13 gliders to hover over Cassidy in 15-to-20 minute flights.

Mike Hooper, Nanaimo Airport president and CEO, said larger planes using their facility present safety issues since they compete for the same air space as gliders operated by far less experienced pilots.

“It does become a bit of a challenge having 50-kilomtere-an-hour gliders in an environment where we have corporate jets operating at 600-to-800-kilometers-an-hour.”

Hooper said they are working closely with the Air Cadets program to find an alternate site, pointing to Port Alberni or Comox Airports as possible options.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes