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Search pilots have own plane
SARAH ELIZABETH BROWN
03/05/2008

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The civilian pilots who donate their time doing air searches for missing hikers or downed aircraft have their very own plane.
The Northwestern Ontario Air Search and Rescue Association, a group of civilian pilots and spotters sent out on searches by the military when people or aircraft are overdue, has until now relied on members‘ privately-owned aircraft, association president Jason Hughes said Tuesday.
With a $75,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation received in December, the group was able to buy its own four-seater Cessna 172N from a private owner in Stratford, Ont.
The Cessna will also be available for licensed pilots to rent through a new non-profit flying group open to the public, the Nor‘Western Flying Club.
About half of the flying club‘s members are also in the air search and rescue group, which will lease the Cessna to the club.
It‘s hoped renting out the aircraft to pilots without their own planes will help cover the maintenance and insurance costs, which could come to $12,000 each year.
However, the aircraft will primarily be used for search and rescue in the region, said Hughes.
“We‘re going to be more effective,” said Hughes. “We‘re going to be able to launch a search quicker.”
Because the aircraft is stored in a heated hangar, extra time isn‘t needed to warm it up, as is required for aircraft stored outside.
“Preparation time will be cut in half, and we‘ll be ready to go in an hour-and-a-half,” he said.
The Cessna‘s range before needing refuelling will mean three hours of search time.
Previously, NOASARA members used their own planes, which generally means only the owners could fly them. If the pilot was unavailable, their aircraft couldn‘t be sent up in a search.
The NOASARA-owned aircraft can be flown by any pilot on the group‘s list of trained aviators.
It doesn‘t happen often, but there have been times the group wasn‘t able to help out in a search because no aircraft were available, said Hughes.
“It happens enough where you kick yourself in the butt and you think, ‘OK, there‘s got to be a better way to do this.‘”
In those cases, the military steps in and conducts the search, but the civilian volunteers often would have been able to start earlier – and they have the local knowledge of the search area, said Hughes.
NOASARA is the local branch of a national association of trained pilots and spotters called upon when the military or police need extra eyes.
Licensed pilots wanting to rent the aircraft, as well as those interested in joining NOASARA or the new flying club, can contact the group at 577-4329.
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