Testimonials

50 Hour Bush Course

 Just wanted to drop you a line thanking you for the time spent at Air-Hart in Kelowna, BC. I have very fond memories of my time there.

I started flying in August, 2004 and finished my commercial license including a float rating from Brampton Flying Club in August 2005. My goal since starting to fly was to work on a float plane in the Maldives.

A friend of mine suggested I try Air-Hart in Kelowna. I looked them up and before long, I found myself booking tickets to go to Kelowna for a 50 hour professional float course. This was in November 2005. I learned from great instructors with real world experience and knowledge and not afraid to share it.

I was put into some pretty tough situations and asked to resolve them. I even experienced my first dunk in the water during an off-site docking that I did on my own when the water was 8 Celcius… Brr (I know Trevor will be chuckling about that story).

In early December I came back to Toronto with my new float hours and commercial license. I could have waited to the spring and try and find something to do, but instead decided to get an instructor rating.. .what could it hurt. I started instructing at Brampton and when the spring rolled around, I found myself instructing on their 172 Amphib because of my float time and did that along with normal instructing for a year.

Armed and ready to go it was time to venture out. After a short job on a taildragger in northern Ontario I had the opportunity I was hoping for. A job instructing at Air-Hart in Kelowna doing Tours and Charters and training for people looking for PPL or CPL licenses on floats, as well as float ratings. Within a few weeks I was working at Air-Hart !

It was an awesome summer !.. I got to fly over the Rocky Mountains to go and be in a movie in Alberta, met lots of great passengers, flew for couple who got married in the plane and even took my wife for a swim in a remote mountain lake by floatplane. Like I said, I have fond memories of Air-Hart and always will.

The summer came to an end and I had decided it was time to give it a go to get to the Maldives. I packed my bags and traveled to Perimeter Aviation in Winnipeg where I finished my Multi-IFR and immediately applied to work at Kenn Borek Air in Calgary to fly in the Maldives.

As luck would have it, that all worked out and here I am, working as a First Officer for Maldivian Air Taxi flying a Twin Otter on Floats ! There are even a few FO’s here that I gave float ratings to ! I have lots of time now from the combination of instructing and float hours and hope to Captain here within 6-7 months. I owe Air-Hart a huge thanks for the training, experience and memories.

I hope you keep doing the same job for many years to come. :->

Mike Caspar, ATPL
First Officer, Twin Otter on Floats, Maldivian Air Taxi

Air-Hart's Seaplane Rating

 I am currently a captain on the Metro II and soon to be captain on the Metro III at Perimeter Airlines in Winnipeg, MB.

Earlier in my career, I trained at Air-Hart and really enjoyed the experience. The instructor was relaxed and made the training enjoyable. I learned the basics about float flying from getting the plane on the step, docking it, using the bilge pumps to the dangers of glassy water landings.

I found that learning to fly floats was more fun than learning to fly on land just because it is a bit less structured. It prepared me for future employment by making me more knowledgable. Starting out as a flight instructor, I often had students who were interested in getting thier float ratings after training with me. Having this experience, I could tell them my experience firsthand.

I would recommend Air-Hart because it is a beautiful location and if someone has never flown in valleys or close to mountains they would also gain that experience at the same time.

Heather Rozmus, Winnipeg, MB
Captain, Perimeter Air



50 Hour Bush Course

I was a commercial pilot student with 150 hours. I wanted to go the bush route for my first flying job and not the instructor route. I asked around and found out that most float companies require 50 hours of float time for an entry-level position. I heard about Air-Hart Aviation's 50 Hour Bush Pilot Course and thought that it would be perfect for my situation. Being able to do float training in the winter would allow me to be ready for the start of the float season in the spring. The fifty hours would give me the total time requirement for my commercial licence and an edge when applying for that first job. I also needed to put in dual time; I thought I would learn more by completing my dual while flying a floatplane in the mountains instead of flying a C-172 in a practice area.I was able to complete fifty hours of float flying and my commercial flight test within one month, putting me in a good position for employment in the summer. I was employed at Courtesy Air for the summer starting the middle of May 2001. I started working on the dock and within one month I was flying there C-185 on floats. I flew 100 hours in the C-185 and a couple in a Beaver before I had to go back to school to finish my Commercial Pilot Diploma at the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology.If I had another chance to do it again I wouldn’t change a thing. Airhart Aviation's 50 hour course helped me in attaining that all-important first job; the staff was always very courteous and willing to help and I had a great time flying in the Rocky Mountains.

Steven McBain, White Fox, SK