Participation in the Discover Aviation Program will help young people understand that a pilot is simply an ordinary individual with special skills developed through training and practice. The participants will learn the technology and science of flight and be shown the advantages of the hard work required to achieve a pilot’s license. Being in the cockpit of a working aircraft in flight will help to de-mystify the art and science of aviation. Many people remember this experience for the rest of their lives. This demonstration flight, as well as the day itself, is completely free.

Participants will experience:

• A chance to examine a working aircraft close up on the ground (static display).
• A short ground school session (about 20 minutes) conducted by a pilot who will explain what the various parts of an aircraft are, what they do and will answer questions about aviation and flying.
• A walk around, preferably conducted on a static display aircraft, to show them how pilots prepare for each flight and to brief them on the safety aspects of their flight.
• A flight in an aircraft where they will be able to observe all the facets of flight including start up, take off, cruising, landing, and shut down.  The flight will take approximately 20 minutes, and be in the vicinity of Westlock, AB
• Total experience: 1.5 to 2.5 hours, including ground time, registration, and wait time for aircraft and pilots.

The event is scheduled to start at 9:00 am on Saturday, April 26, 2025, and is expected to wrap up around 2:00 pm, or whenever all the kids who attend have had a chance to experience everything.  Note that flying depends on the weather though - if it's a rainy or overly window day, or if the clouds are too low, we may have to reschedule everything for the following day.  If that happens, we'll contact everyone who registers with us to let them know.

Discover Aviation is intended for kids aged 8 and up, in the area around Westlock, Alberta (including communities in the vicinity of north Edmonton).  If you live in a different area, you may want to check out local flying clubs in your community to see if they are planning on hosting such an event.

We are now accepting registrations for Westlock's Discover Aviation 2025!  Due to limited availability, registrations are required!

If you would like to register your child, simply send an email to dan@syz.com and include the following:

• Parent/Guardian's Full Name
• Cell phone number
• Name, age (on April 26th), and gender of children aged 8 and up who wish to participate
• What town or community are you from?
• Where did you hear about this event?

Please note that we can only accept registrations via email from the child's parent or guardian.  Contacting us via other methods (FaceBook, phone, having a friend contact us on your behalf, etc.) will not register your child.  Of course, if you have any comments or questions, please feel free to ask!

To participate in our Discover Aviation event, the parent or guardian will have to print out and sign the COPA waiver.  There are a couple of things to note:

• This waiver should not be sent by email.  It should be brought with you on the day of the event, preferably filled out ahead of time to make things go as quickly and smoothly as possible.
• You will need to fill out a separate waiver for each child who wants to participate
• You should enter "139" as the "COPA Flight Number" that the form asks for.
• The form asks for your initials to consent to both the release of liability, as well as to take and possibly publish photos of you and your family.  If you wish to participate in our event, both of these consents are not optional.  They are required, as in addition to the release of liability, throughout the day we take a lot of photos during the event, and there is no way we can guarantee that you or your children might not appear in some of them.

You can download the COPA waiver here.