Flight school lands at Charlottetown airport

He came for the lavender but long-time flight instructor Paul Tymstra is now living his aviation dream here on Prince Edward Island.

Tymstra and his wife were visiting lavender farms in Quebecwhen they decided to make the trip across the Confederation Bridge, andwere immediately smitten.

"My wife and I looked at the beautiful red soil and the rocks and we said, 'It's stunning here'," explained Tymstra. "My wife said 'I really want to move there.'"

Tymstra was working out west and could commute to the east coast.Six months later, he and his wife were living on P.E.I.

When Tymstra was laid off in April, he was contacted by members of the P.E.I. Flying Association. Hewas also in contact with his former boss at the Huron Flight Centre in Sarnia,Ontario, where he had been an instructor for years.

After a well-attended information session in August, Tymstra launched Huron Flight Centre Atlantic.The Sarnia operation sent Tymstra a plane and they applied to Transport Canada for the satellite base.

He currently has 18 students in hisfall session, with another five already signed up for next spring.

The centre offers training for a recreational pilot permit, private pilot licence and commercial pilot licence.

Barry Martin, past president of the P.E.I. Flying Association, saidthere have been several Islandflight schoolsover the years, but none currently until Huron openedthis fall.Islanders who wanted to train locallyas pilots had to travel to either the Moncton Flight College or the Debert Flight Centre, near Truro.

"There were people leaving here to get training therebut to get an hour of flight it takes you a day to do it," said Martin.

Jeff Newson is in his sixth week of ground training at the Huron Flight Centre, with threehours flying so far, and said he'sthrilled to have a local flight school again on P.E.I.

"It basically means I can actually attain a dream of becoming a pilot or not because of the time, the money, the expense of travel to New Brunswick or Nova Scotia," said Newson. "It means either doing it or not being able to do it."

Tymstra saidhe never expected when he and his wife moved to P.E.I.that he would be running his own flight school.

"It was unexpected," said Tymstra. "So for this to actually unfold, I mean it's a dream come true."