Heather Latter
WO2 Nick Piotrowski of the 908 Rainy Lake Royal Canadian Air Cadets is now a licensed pilot after earning his wings this summer.
The 17-year-old took advantage of the Power Pilot scholarship through Air Cadets during a seven-week stint at the Discovery Aviation Academy in Sudbury.
“It’s fun to be up in the air and fly around,” the Grade 12 student enthused about why he decided to pursue getting his private pilot’s license (PPL).
“I really like it,” he added, although citing it wasn’t an easy process to get into the course.
“We applied back in January and once you apply, you have to write a narrative,” he explained. “They read your narrative, they look at your marks from school, they look at your cadet experience and the different camps you’ve went on, and your cadet file.”
From there, Piotrowski had to write an entrance exam and then partake in an interview in Thunder Bay.
“After the interview and exam and everything, they choose the cadets who get to go on the course,” he noted. “About 80 in the central region, which is Ontario, were chosen.”
And Piotrowski went with nine other cadets to train at the Discovery Aviation Academy in Sudbury.
He said he was excited for the experience having received his glider pilot licence last summer.
“You can get your glider license when you are 16,” he explained, citing you have to be 17 to receive your Power Pilot licence.
“The glider, they are planes that don’t have engines so another plane tows you up to a certain altitude or there is also a winch launch,” he noted. “Then you just fly around and land.
“You don’t have a lot of time in the air and you only have one shot at landing,” he indicated. “That’s the big difference . . .
“Glider is lots of fun too; a lot quieter,” he added.
But Piotrowski knew it would take a lot of work to learn how to fly a power plane.
“It’s a lot different because you have power and a bunch of other things to worry about,” he voiced. “And you are flying with the other hand, so that is hard to adjust to.”
During his seven-week course, Piotrowski spent a lot of time in the air—but only after receiving his PSTAR, a student pilot permit.
He indicated every day for the first four weeks, they spent half the day doing ground school and the other half flying.
“We’d fly one flight a day that was usually an hour or an hour-and-a-half long,” he said. “We pretty much flew every day.”
On the fourth week, the cadets wrapped up their ground school work and wrote their Transport Canada exam, which is part of the process to get the PPL.
“It’s three hours and 100 questions, but they are all multiple choice,” Piotrowski said. “Everybody passed on their first try, so it wasn’t too hard.”
Then the cadets kept working on their piloting skills.
“Once you had enough hours, you were confident enough, and your skill was good enough, you had to do a flight test, which is the next part to getting your PPL,” Piotrowski voiced, citing a Transport Canada flight instructor conducted the two-hour test.
“I did mine at the end of the sixth week. It went well,” he expressed. “I was nervous, though . . . but I was really excited when I finished the flight test.
“It was a lot of weight off my shoulders,” he added.
Although they had earned their licenses, they finished up some more flight training and celebrated earning their wings with a Wing Parade the final week.
“After Wings Parade everybody, expect for a couple cadets, took their parents or siblings for a flight,” Piotrowski noted, citing he took his brother and two sisters for a ride.
“It was the first time that I flew with passengers because I had only flown with an instructor by myself before,” he said. “So that was really fun.
“We flew over Sudbury,” he added.
“We tried to find the big Nickle, but we couldn’t find it.”
Now that he has returned home with his PPL, Piotrowski will have to keep up with the recency requirements in order to maintain his license.
He’s also looking into getting a United States FAA medical done and his license converted to U.S. so he could fly in both Canada and the states.
Since there are no airplane rentals in Fort Frances, it would allow him to rent a plane and fly out of International Falls.
Otherwise he has to travel to Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, or Steinbach to practice his flying skills.
Piotrowski stressed he’s very happy that he took advantage of this opportunity through the cadet program that he’s been a part of for nearly six years.
“My first year of cadets, I didn’t really think about [flying], but my second, third, fourth year and so on, I knew I wanted to do my glider and then my power [license],” he voiced.
“Without cadets, I don’t know if I would have been as interested in it because I wouldn’t have been exposed to it,” he said.
“But after being through cadets, had I not went this summer, I would have wanted to get my license sometime in the future,” he added.
However, Piotrowski has decided he doesn’t want a career as a pilot.
“I just want to do it as a hobby,” he explained. “When I get older I want to buy a plane and fly on the weekends, but not do it as a career.
“Plus I think it would be more fun to fly a small plane by yourself than to fly commercially—a lot of it is autopilot.”
He is contemplating studying optometry at the University of Waterloo.
But he still has one more year with the Air Cadet squadron here before he moves onto post-secondary education.
Piotrowski will be the squadron warrant officer this year, meaning he’s in charge of the cadets for parades, etc.
“WO2 Piotrowski is a hard working and dedicated cadet, he has grown a great deal this past year and his accomplishments speak for themselves,” expressed Commanding Officer Lt. Dawn Gray.
“I am very proud of all he has achieved and look forward to working with him for the upcoming training year.”
And with the excellence opportunities he’s had, Piotrowski encourages others to join.
The new season of Air Cadets begins tonight and runs each Wednesday from 6:30-9:30 p.m. upstairs in the Memorial Sports Centre.
Anyone ages 12-18 are able to join. There is no fee and uniforms are provided.
Regular training nights consist of classes, teaching leadership, citizenship, healthy living, aviation, and Canadian Forces, while they also have fun nights like rocket night and sports night.
“I am very excited for the upcoming training year,” Lt. Gray voiced.
“The cadet program is a great way for cadets and potential cadets to try something new and excel in a variety of activities.
“They participate in effective speaking, marksmanship, drill and aviation classes to name a few,” she added.
“The staff and volunteers we have working with the unit are dedicated and work with the cadets to see them achieve all they can.”
For more information, call 274-1365 or email 908aircadets@gmail.com
