MANITOULIN—Manitoulin Island has two new homegrown pilots, Ian Whittington of Mindemoya and Duncan Sinclair of Gore Bay.
On April 20, both Island residents took their flight tests at Gore Bay-Manitoulin Airport and passed. The examiner had flown in from Sudbury to do the testing.
Mr. Sinclair and Mr. Whittington, both members of the Gore Bay Flying Club, took their ground school and their flying lessons with the club’s instructor, Wade Cook. They are the third and fourth new pilots to earn their licences under Mr. Cook’s instruction since he began giving flying lessons at the airport in summer of last year. He also taught two pilots regaining their currency.
Mr. Sinclair flies the club’s Piper Cherokee 140 and Mr. Whittington flies a Piper Cherokee he owns with two partners.
“It has been a lifelong dream of mine to learn how to fly, from the first air show my father took me to when I was four years old at CFB Trenton until now fulfilling that dream,” commented Mr. Sinclair. “It was seven year ago to the day that my father passed away and today I passed my flight exam. A very mixed emotion kind of day. I know my father and my mother would be very proud.”
