VES Grade 5 Airport Tour

The Vermilion River Flying Club hosted three Grade 5 classes from Vermilion Elementary School on June 18, 2026.

The students walked the few blocks from the school on a cold dreary day with strong winds and a severe thunderstorm watch posted by Environment Canada.

The Flying Club has been doing this for a number of years.
Students were divided randomly into 4 groups and rotated through 4 stations for approximately 10 minutes each, including hands-on demos of two small aircraft.

Darcy Balaneski talked about weather conditions affecting flight.
Then he led each group on a short tour of the outside of the airport, pointing out features like the lights, wind sock and pavement markings.

Erwin Warkentin gave each group a brief talk about the mechnics of take-off and landing.

Matt Jaremco gave a tour around his Cessna 150, including demonstrating how the moving parts guided the aircraft in flight.
Everybody took a turn to sit in the pilot’s seat and see the effect of moving the controls.
Jim Mead flew in his 1946 Aeronca Champion for the occasion, a tiny two-seater, with the passenger sitting behind the pilot.
He, too, gave a tour around his plane, explaining how all the parts worked.
Everybody took a turn in the pilots seat to see how the controls worked.
Jim demonstrated how he starts his non-electric Champ.

There were shivering students and cold instructors, but the weather held.

The wind blew hard, cold and damp, but it didn’t rain.

Before returning to school, the classes presented thank-you cards signed by all the students.
Much appreciated by the Flying Club!