Taking a long, slow look around the room, Scott Boyd calls it nostalgic.
“It’s like nothing has really changed,” he says of the Pilot Lounge at the Courtenay Airpark, located at the north end of the runway.
The Canadian Forces captain and Snowbird pilot who flies Snowbird 4 with the team this year recently returned to the location where he received his private pilot’s licence 12 years ago.
“Because the runway is so short here, if you learn to fly here, you can really fly anywhere,” he explained. “It was challenging, and at the time, especially when Fields Sawmill was up.”
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Originally from Burnaby, Boyd learned to fly gliders at 19 Wing with the air cadets 13 years ago and then received his private licence one year later.
At one point, more than 200 air cadets earned their fixed wing licence through the Courtenay Air Centre at the airpark, and Boyd said many in his cohort are now professional pilots.
“I think we were are so motivated by aviation.”
As the airpark is an uncontrolled airspace, Boyd said he was a bit apprehensive the first time he rented out a plane and had to talk over the radio to an air traffic control tower.
“It’s a bit like driving with a police car following behind you,” he added with a laugh.
Boyd attended Royal Military College and graduated in 2012. He was posted to Moose Jaw where he completed Phase II and Phase III training on the CT-156 Harvard II and earned his wings in Dec. 2013.
After completing Phase IV on the CT-155 Hawk, he stayed in Moose Jaw to instruct on the CT-156 Harvard II, and taught from 2015 until he joined 431(AD) Squadron last summer.
His grandfather, whom he said was “always driven,” was in the air force, and he was inspired by him to join the forces.
Following his time with the Snowbirds team, Boyd noted he would like to transition to flying the Buffalo for Search and Rescue, or teach with an international exchange.
The military aerobatics team is set to train in the Valley until May 7.
erin.haluschak@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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