SUMMERSTOWN -
They’ve been in the aviation business 35 years, and that’s no small feat.
Actually, it is — this is a Small family operation at Cornwall Aviation (1979 Ltd.), the flight training and aircraft maintenance company that’s halfway through its fourth decade at the Cornwall Regional Airport near Summerstown.
“We like to share aviation with the world, and we’ve met so many great people,’’ said Kathy Small, office administrator and husband of Gordon Small, the company president.
Cornwall Aviation has grown to become one of Canada’s premier flight schools, specializing in Multi Engine and Instrument (IFR) training, as well as private and recreational flying.
Canadians from across the country come to the airport to complete their flight training, and the company is one of the largest in the country for advanced training, a renowned flight training school with graduates flying for airlines in Canada and across the world.
The Smalls kept it local for their celebration, though, a low-key luncheon for employees — there are 14 who are full-time — and current students.
“At any given time there are 15 to 18 students here,’’ said Dave Small, the son of Gordon and Kathy, and the student co-ordinator for the company.
It was Kathy’s dad, Steve Toczyski, who built the airport 40 years ago. Toczyski, who emigrated from Poland to Canada in 1951, was a Montreal engineering consultant and aviation buff who, according to a Standard-Freeholder article in Oct. of 1973, estimated he spent over $200,000 to develop a strip 2,960 feet long at what would originally be called the Cornwall Summerstown Airport.
(The Small family celebrated the airport’s 40th anniversary last year, fondly looking over letters and telegrams of congratulations, including from Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, who wrote that “its location in the centre of the St. Lawrence region, close to metropolitan centres and resort areas in both Canada and the United States, will be of great benefit to private aircraft.’’)
Times sure have changed — upgrades to the airport included a lengthened asphalt runway in 1984, allowing year-round access — and the Smalls over the years have met some pretty cool people flying into the place, including Bobby Orr, Prime Minister Paul Martin and the Quebec Nordiques.
But Cornwall Aviation is all about family, and Kathy and Gordon’s son Steve is Chief Pilot, one of two staff flight test examiners — and he recently took over the position of airport manager.
Four generations of the family have worked at the airport, with grandchildren Krystie, Lindsay and Thomas during summer holidays helping in the office and cutting grass.
And there are the people who feel like family, including Glenn French, the Chief Flight Instructor, who along with Steve Small performs over 300 flight tests a year.
“This is a very tough program,’’ said French, who retired as a captain from the Air Force in 1996 when he was at the time the highest-ranking First Nations officer.
The company includes Reg Orange, the senior simulated flight instructor who retired as a training captain on the Airbus.
“Cornwall is truly on the Canadian aviation map,’’ enthused Kathy, noting an irony in all of that — the resident company is better known across the nation and worldwide than it is locally.
With nine operating planes — Cornwall Aviation’s fleet is made up of Piper and Cessna aircraft — and three full-size hangars, the overall facility is surprisingly big.
But tucked away in a rural area, it can have the feel of an undiscovered jewel.
“What people don’t realize is the students who come to Cornwall Aviation to train (are spending) money in the area, outside of their training costs,’’ said Dave Small, noting the facility’s economic spinoff benefits for the region.
“We’re proud of what we have here. We’re helping people see their dreams come true.’’
When the strip was built four decades ago, Cornwall was the largest city in North America without a municipal airport, and Toczyski saw it as an aviation gateway to the community for both businesses and private individuals.
These days, Cornwall Aviation boasts having a rare position in Canada by operating three, twin-engine training aircraft dedicated solely to multi-engine and instrument training.
The company also owns and operates two Redbirds: full motion flight training devices, which look like the cockpit of an aircraft, simulating both single and multiengine planes.
The computer operated machines from Texas allow instructors to train students in all types of weather, daylight or dark, simulating flights into airports around Canada and the U.S.
Students who’ve trained on them have come from all over the world, including Bahrain, Belgium, Singapore, Thailand and Ireland.
“We’ll just continue to strive forward,’’ Kathy Small said. “Our international market is very big.’’
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