(VIDEO) Flying over the Elora Gorge

When I visited Canada in 2013 I did a search for microlight airfields/schools in southern Ontario and in particular near Stratford with the hopes of visiting one. The closest I found was near Elora, about 75 km NE of Stratford which also has a natural attraction where the Grand River has carved a gorge through a short portion of its course. We visited the Elora Gorge in 2013 but didn't get to visit the flight school as they requested being contacted before hand to visit as the field is on a private farm.

On returning for a holiday this year I made contact with the school owner and arranged a visit.

My nephews drove me to Elora where we met instructor Roger Gibson at his home strip for a flight in his Airborne trike. He had been doing some training with a student before we arrived who knowing I was from South Africa greeted me in Afrikaans, and we had a short chat. This was Attie or Arthur.

Roger got me seated and buckled up in the trike and we took off up hill in the trike powered by a 912 4-stroke Rotax.

During the climb out we encountered quite a few bumps but soon got into smooth, "hands off" air above. Roger allowed me to fly from the back seat, following the Grand River past the Elora Gorge and half way back.

When we returned half an hour later we did a low fast final approach onto the runway to avoided the cross wind coming over the hill next to the farm. What an enjoyable flight and to be able to see Ontario from the air that way. Unfortunately I wasn't able to shoot any video footage from the air as I didn't have a suitable camera mount, but the ground crew shot the take off and landing.