Student Experiences

As a young aspiring pilot it was my dream to get trained at a school with high standards ,good facilities and of course a friendly environment. I was just 19 years old and it was a very difficult choice to make as there were a wide variety of schools and each school had it’s own advantages and disadvantages in terms of cost, aircraft they had, facilities they offered and even countries they were situated in when it came to obtaining student visas.

Harv’s air was suggested to me by a friend of mine who had a friend working as an instructor there at the time .
I then visited their website and initially it seemed like any other school with a fleet of a few Cessna 152’s and 172’s and 2 twin engine airplanes. I then corresponded with Adam Penner, the manager of Harv’s air who was very friendly with me and very prompt in replying on time and I finally had an acceptance letter from Harv’s air within a few weeks.I then applied for a student visa which I was granted and I landed in Canada in June 2002 .At first, I really did not know what to expect as it was the first time my parents had sent me to a foreign country for flight training .

The next morning after my arrival at Harv’s, I got a chance to meet the staff and of course Harv Penner the founder of Harv’s air who had over 28000 hrs of flying experience and the rest of the Penner family that included Betty (Harv’s wife) and sons Greg and Luke Penner and what impressed me the most was the exceptionally friendly atmosphere at Harv’s air. I was then introduced to Adam Penner ,Harv’s eldest son who I had been corresponding with ,who showed me around the school which included the ground classes, aircraft mantainence hangar, fixed based simulator and debriefing rooms. All the facilities impressed me and it was at that point I knew I had made a good choice for my flight training.

As the months progressed, I went on to getting my private pilots license, commercial pilots license , multi engine rating ,instrument and finally a class 4 instructors rating. Throughout my training , I noticed that the instructors were supportive and professional, the aircrafts were really well maintained and there was never a day where there was a non availability of aircrafts or instructors. Added to this, Canada was by itself an amazing place for flight training as it had a vast expanse of airspace with very few restricted areas .It also had extreme variations in climatic conditions from hot summers to cold winters all of which helped me to gain exposure as a pilot.Harv’s air even had an added advantage as they were one of few schools with their own airstrip making it a lot more convenient in terms of cost and time as opposed to having to operate from a general aviation or international airport.

The combination of well maintained aircrafts, professional and supportive instructors, excellent ground training facilities and high training standards of Harv’s air indeed enabled me to become professional as a pilot which helped me with my type rating on the Airbus 320 when I got hired as a co pilot in 2005 for a company called Air Deccan which was India’s first low cost airline.

I am currently a captain on the Airbus 320 for a company called Indigo which as of today is the leading low cost airline in India and one of the fastest growing airlines in Asia with an order for over 150 Airbuses .I now have over 5100 hours of total time including 2000 hours of jet command experience on the Airbus 320.

Looking back 10 years from the day I started my flight training, I could only say that it was one decision of choosing a good school with high standard’s and excellent quality of training that enabled me to get to to this level and the credit goes to Harv’s air .

When I last visited Harv’s in 2011 , I learned that they had grown to more than double their fleet of 32 airplanes from 12 in 2002 , they had 2 bases and a lot more students many of whom had gone on to getting hired by the worlds airlines and it’s only a school that has a good reputation and an excellent quality of training has a potential to grow like Harv’s air.

I would again like to thank Harv’s Air and I wish them all the very best in the future

Captain Sandeep Cariappa
Airbus 320 captain -Indigo Airlines

I joined Harvs Air in 2004 to do my ME-IFR and Instructor rating, before that I had trained in Quebec and visited dozens of schools all across Canada. The main reason I joined was the cost: if you consider the training cost, taxes that vary from one province to the other plus all the “hidden” fees, a full CPL-ME-IFR was almost 10,000 $ cheaper at Harv’s than training offered on the west coast or in Toronto and Montreal.

The good weather in the prairies combined with the school’s tolerant weather restriction (that makes a huge difference in training cost at the end of the day) I finished my training very quickly and landed a flight instructor job the day I finished the rating. 

The real benefit of training and working here occurred to me in 2009 when I was able to get a dream job for a national carrier in the middle-east thanks to one of the overseas student I had met at the school 5 years before: meeting that guy was like winning the lottery!

So, the real benefit was not saving a few bucks here and there but rather built a powerful network of people that will work all over the world going straight from a C-152 to a B-737 (something that doesn’t happen in Canada).

The whole training is the easy and fun part in your aviation career, the real challenge is to find a job, this takes massive efforts in networking and meeting people from day one at your flying school.

On a more emotional level, flying the taildragger into freshly cut hay fields for a pic-nic with a student or visit some remote farmer’s field for a nice chat are some of the highlights of my career in aviation…

My daily routine now is to program a highly computerized aircraft were my biggest challenge, as soon as we are airborne, is: “will I go for the chicken, the beef or the lobster today?”

Bastien Kynast

Becoming a professional pilot was a lifelong dream for me.
A few words about me:

My name is Damianos Papadopoulos and I am from Athens, Greece. I hold FAA, Transport Canada, national Greek and Russian ATP licenses .

At this period of my life I am a First Officer on the Boeing 747-400 ERF and soon will be typed on the new Boeing 747-8 F in the largest cargo company in Russia and 5 th in the world. Before that I have been flying the legendary Boeing 737-300/400/500 CL as well as the workhorse of all times Boeing 737-700/800 NG all over Europe, Asia, middle East, Africa.

But before I started flying jets , I had one of the greatest adventures and experiences in my life …… being a flight instructor at Harv’s Air. When I first came to Harv’s Air , I already possessed a FAA commercial pilot license with ME IFR ratings , but was rusty as hell because had a big flying gap of almost 3 years, due to late Mr.Bin Laden and the downfall on the aviation industry in general.

It was very hard to find an aviation job, but had to pay the loan, so did other jobs to survive.
The guys at Harv’s Air not only gave me a chance job wise , but also provided a huge platform for me experience wise. First I became a ground instructor there,  helping students academically , then I had the privilege to do my instructor rating there.

Being an instructor was challenging for me, but in my opinion gave me the experience and the confidence to fly any plane. When you instruct, your multi tasking qualities are getting enhanced : You are flying the plane, you are maintaining situational awareness , you are teaching the student to fly and you are becoming more and more experienced in not repeating the same mistakes your students do. Plus if you want to fly at Harv’s Air you will always will (just need to have good reputation among students ), I actually flew more hours in winter than in summer , it is cold but it’s screaming VFR!!!

If Harv or Adam sees that you are serious about your job and you have a pretty good flying record, they will let you fly and let you have as much students as you can handle!!! – the hour building is extremely fast!!!

It is a really great job experience wise , you become an expert in judging peoples character and personality , which will definitely help you in your future multi pilot jobs !!!
When you come to the airlines for the interview and say that you have flight instruction experience , they look at you with respect and you have more chances of being hired!!!

The airplane is an airplane , all planes fly the same way. The Boeing 747-400 flies just like a Cessna 172 if you think about it, just has more engines and more systems. Being an instructor at Harv’s really boosted up my flying abilities and was a mile stone in my aviation career. In my opinion it is a must for every pilot to have instructional experience, it definitely makes you a better pilot.

A lot of thanks to Harv, Adam,Bettie, Sandra, Aaron.
I am recommending Harv’s Air for training to all of you guys , who really want to fly!!!

With respect Damianos

I left Saskatoon at 6:00am with a goal in mind.  I was driving 9 hours to Steinbach, Manitoba, and I had an aerobatic flight booked for 3:00 pm.  Even though it was pouring rain, I didn’t want to miss the chance to start flying upside down that day if the weather happened to clear.

Steinbach Mb. is home to Harv’s Air, Canada’s only aerobatic flight school, and I was thrilled for the chance to fly their Pitts Special S2B Biplane.  The Pitts is a legendary airplane that dominated aerobatic competitions in the 70s and 80s and still remains the highest performance certified biplane in the world.  It is highly revered among competition and airshow pilots but at the same time, highly criticized as being extremely difficult to land.  The tricky landings are caused by a combination of poor forward visibility caused by the low, rearward sitting position, fast landing speeds, and a stiff, narrow landing gear that make the plane unforgiving in the touchdown. 

It had been my dream to fly a Pitts and even though some may consider me young and inexperienced at 24 year old with 190 hours flight time, I felt more than ready for the challenge of getting type checked on this plane.  

After 9 hours of driving, I finally arrived at Harv’s Air. Upon arrival I met all of the instructors including Luke Penner, who would be my tutor for the next 6 days.  Luke looked young, but was an experienced instructor who had logged 5000 hours of flight instruction and over 1000 hours flying the Pitts.  After a quick rest and preflight briefing, it was time to go flying, but the first flight was in the backseat of a Citabria ECA instead of the Pitts.  I previously had a handful of hours in the front seat of a Citabria so I felt comfortable flying the plane, but the reduced visibility from the back seat was causing my landings to be far from satisfactory.  Luke’s voice came over the intercom and informed me that the Pitts had about half the visibility of the Citabria.  What had I gotten myself into! 

The next morning we took the Citabria for an aerobatic flight over southern Manitoba and spent the hour doing loops and rolling though the sky.  We started with an aileron role and then progressed to loops and hammerheads.  I had taken some previous aerobatic instruction, but the review of these basic maneuvers was very valuable.  Luke critiqued my rudder coordination as well as my airspeed and energy management.  The Citabria ECA was not equipped with an inverted fuel and oil system, so we weren’t able to do prolonged inverted flight. I wasn’t disappointed, though, because our next flight was to be in the Pitts! 

After lunch, we pushed the Pitts out of the dark hanger and into the sunlight.  The plane looked somewhat pretty and innocent with its bright blue and white paint and short 20-foot wingspan. However, under the stubby cowling hid a Lycoming AEIO 540ci 6-cylinder engine.   As I strapped on my emergency parachute, Luke explained the procedure for jettisoning the canopy and jumping out in case of an in-flight emergency.  We then securely strapped ourselves into the plane using the 5-point ratcheting harnesses.  Luke yelled “clear” and the engine came to life, shaking the whole plane.  I could barely contain my excitement because I knew I was in for something spectacular!  There was absolutely no forward visibility while taxiing and it was necessary to do frequent “S” turns to see where I was going.  After a few last checks, we lined up on R18 and Luke hit the throttle.  I was immediately glued to the back of my seat and mere seconds later our wheels left the ground at 70 mph.  What a machine!

The controls of the Pitts felt crisp, light and perfectly balanced.  The climb rate was 2700 FPM so it didn’t take long to reach our desired altitude of 5000 ft.  I started by rolling inverted, making Luke and myself hang upside down by our harnesses.  I was in the front seat, already trying to hide the huge grin on my face.  I rolled upright using only about half of the Pitts’ 240 degrees per second roll rate and I heard Luke over the intercom, recommending more rudder in the roll.  I continued onto a loop, did a shark’s tooth, and then did a 6G pull and pointed the plane straight up for a hammerhead.  Luke told me when to kick the rudder, which made the plane pivot 180 degrees and point straight down.  I stopped the pivot with a bit of a wiggle and corrected my heading as I pulled out of the dive.   Luke took control to demonstrate proper rudder control, and did a razor sharp point roll, a double hammerhead, and a torque roll ending with a 5 second tail slide.  I was impressed, but then came the hardest part: the landing.

We flew a standard circuit, but instead of lining up with the runway for final approach, we flew the whole approach leg at a 40-degree angle to allow us to see the runway beside the engine cowling.  Luke guided me through the alignment turn, which was made at 10 feet high directly over the threshold.  I rolled level while pressing my head against the side of the canopy and struggled to see the runway.  I could only see the runway markers and a small patch of the runway edge along the side of the cowling.  Luke helped me with the flare and moved the plane to the middle of the 25-foot wide runway.   After touchdown, I struggled to keep the plane straight while watching the runway markers whiz by at 60mph. I could feel Luke helping me with the rudder, but only enough to keep us safe. 

The next several hours of flight training were mostly spent in the circuit.  I had always considered circuits to be somewhat boring, but there is no time to relax with the Pitts.  The acceleration and torque on takeoff was still catching me off guard and Luke would jokingly come over the intercom and say something like “more right rudder” or “where’s your right rudder captain”.   On the ground roll I was still too slow with the rudder corrections and directional control, but was gradually getting better after every flight.  Luke informed me that I was still one step behind the airplane and that I “needed to quicken my feet”.  It was a great feeling the first time Luke came over the intercom and said, “that one was all you. I never touched the controls.”  I was gradually getting better with every flight, but I still wasn’t nailing even half the landings.  Many times I would fly a good approach but lose sight of the runway after the alignment turn and have to power up and go around.   Even though I was starting to get a bit more comfortable with the plane, I was still getting a rush from all of the power and control.  The acceleration was unbelievable and after take off I remarked over the intercom, “Wow; that just doesn’t get old!”

One aspect of the training that I found very helpful was the headset-mounted video camera that Luke provided me with.  It captured video of everything I saw during the flight and I spent my off time between flights reviewing the footage.  I was able to fly from both the front and back seat of the Pitts, and also do circuits at the two different airports in Steinbach.  Even though the training was intense and focused, both Luke and I were able to have fun and joke around during the flights.  The staff at Harv’s Air was polite, helpful and even provided me with an inexpensive place to stay for the week. 

After my 9th hour in the Pitts, Luke and I were taking off the emergency parachutes and I made the remark, “what do you think?” He replied by saying, “I think you can fly the plane”.Stefan Trischuk

Hello all and greetings from the flight levels!  My name is John and I thought I would take a moment and share some thoughts and my experiences with any and all who are interested in aviation and training at Harv’s Air and where it has led me professionally!  Where has it led me?  Well in brief I’ve accumulated nearly 6000 hours in a variety of aircraft ranging from the fine training aircraft at Harv’s Air, Pilatus PC12, B1900D, to my latest types including the amazing and beautiful Hawker Siddeley 748, ATR42, and ATR72.  I’ve traveled all over and seen parts of the world some can only imagine.  It all started with a dream…

My training started with Harv’s Air back in 2001.  Like all of you who continue to strive towards excellence as aviators, my days as a pilot started with catching the “bug.”  You know, that little tingle inside when you took to the sky during your first flight?  That big smile on your face as you left terra firma and soared above?  That’s the “bug!”  Once you catch it you can’t get rid of it!  If that most certainly describes you then CONGRATULATIONS and welcome to the skies!   If you haven’t taken that first step, then I encourage you to do so.   Soaring through the sky whether in a 152, or an A380 is simply an amazing experience, and one which many do not have the chance to do! 

I discovered Harv’s Air by way of a 100% positive recommendation from the President and owner of Bearskin Airlines, Harvey Friesen.  If you’re a local to Canada you’ve most certainly heard of this airline and chances are you’ve heard his name too.  It’s quite something else when you think of it, for an airline operator to “highly recommend” a flight school.  At the time I worked an office away from Mr. Friesen as one of Bearskin Airlines “Northern Area Coordinators.”  I spent my days in an office above the Bearskin hangar looking at Metros, Beech 99s, as well as Pilatus PC12s.  I couldn’t stand it anymore!  I had to follow my heart and my childhood dream!  I had to take the step forward and I’ve never regretted it. 

Mr. Friesen recommended I check out the online ground school that Harv’s Air provided.  To his surprise (and I always like to think to his slight disappointment in seeing me go) I took things one step further.  I quit my job at Bearskin and put my home town of Sioux Lookout, ON in the rear view mirror and arrived in a small town that would eventually become my new home, Steinbach MB.

One of my first instructors if my memory serves me right (don’t have my logbook in front of me) was a gentleman by the name of Al Auton.  I remember that flight, and will never forget it.  Not only did we go for a flight, he flew us out to one of the training areas (Zhoda) and introduced me to a familiar exercise for any pilot who has done training in Canada.  SPINS!!!  I think I nearly put my hand through the floor of the 152 we took up in absolute terror!!  However, the demonstration was a vital one and forever sticks in my mind along with all of the other important skills required to achieve my goal of obtaining my Private pilot licence.  The licence “to learn” as Harv Penner would tell me.  The demonstration also sent a clear message.  Flying is fun, BUT it requires your full understanding, and commitment to forever honing and fine tuning your skills.  I was so very much in awe of Al and instantly I wanted to be that “gentleman” one day.  The entire experience was inspiring.

From that point on I had the pleasure of working with some of the fine instructors Harv’s Air has.  Each had great confidence, patience, and a professionalism about them that is second to none.  I’ll never forget those people and their lessons.  Those are essential skills to bring to the task of training someone to fly safely.  That brings to me a thought that I must share, but one more quick memory first.  It’s a memory of Harv Penner signing me off on my PPL.  I don’t remember the exact words but I remember these:  “Here’s your licence… TO LEARN.”      

You, the students of Harv’s Air, are training or commencing with training shortly I hope,  at what is in my opinion, and that of many other professionals in the industry, one of the very best flight schools available.  You have the privilege and honor to be trained by folks that put great emphasis on your safety and success.  You have a world of options open to you.  From the fine folks at CKK7 to those at CYAV you have so many tools available to you.   Use them all!

You must ensure you bring your best at all times.  Flying to a “standard” isn’t really the hard part or even the end goal of great pilots.  Great pilots are created within.  Great pilots strive to raise the bar for themselves every day they fly.  They strive to be their very best even when not in the sky.  They eat, they sleep, they dream everything that is aviation.  The most important thing to understand though, is a great pilot is humble.  He/she knows that there are always new things to learn.   Not one person who has success at anything in life thinks that they know-it-all.  Great pilots never claim to be “great!” There is no rest for the mind when flying.  You must be fully engaged and switched “on.”  As soon as you think you have it all figured out, aviation in general will remind you quickly, that you don’t.

There is a point in all of this that your instructor will not be there.  There is a point when only your skills and knowledge will be your companion, and most certainly there is a point when you will have the lives of many people in your hands.  These people rely on your absolute commitment to their safety.  That requires your absolute commitment to your craft.

To your success!

Hi Adam,

I recently finished my commercial license and want to thank you and the staff at Harv’s.  During the past few years which have gone by so fast everyone has been very pleasant, helpful and professional. The aircraft were always clean well maintained and available when booked. The online ground school was very convenient and effective.

My Instructor (summer 2012) Matt Gyselman was very knowledgeable and more importantly calm and patient consistently taking the time and putting in the effort to ensure I was flying the best I could and that I would be more than ready for the test.

Best regards and thanks again,
Kevin Dromereski

700 Miles closer to THE NORTH POLE

It all started with a little funny remark. Leonard said to me and Sachin, “Hey, you know what? We should go to Churchill and see the whales, the bears and the Hudson Bay”. I replied “Yeah right, I wish I could go on a trip like that”. Sachin was already all excited about the plan because he had never been anywhere else in canada apart from Steinbach and Winnipeg. Just like that, within 5 minutes, it was decided that that we would do a trip to Churchill. Little did we know that it was going to be a trip of a lifetime, not only for us, but for a lot of people around school as we found out after our return. Now, I did not have any time building to do but Sachin and Leonard had plenty of hours to build. So, I was like the dummy on this trip. I guess I could call myself as the photographer, since we ended up taking more than 3000 pictures.

Sachin and Leonard were the perfect guys to go on a trip like this because Sachin was a very fun, outgoing guy who loved to have fun. And Leonard to top both of us, acted like a fun-crazed teenager through the whole trip. The last thing you’d notice about him is that he’s a father of two. Anyway, we had talked to Adam, and the mechanics, and got the perfect Super-long range tanked 172 we wanted (C-GPTO. Our trip was a GO! We left Steinbach by car, had to drive to St.Andrew’s and take the plane from there.

We took off St.Andrew’s on the 22^nd of August, 2012 at 0900. Our route was to pretty much head Straight North along the shores of Lake Winnipeg, stop by Berens River and Norway house and then make a complete stop at Thompson. We had reached Thompson around 1300. We then took a little break, gave our lovely little plane the fuel she needed, and then journeyed on, into the unknown (for us, but apparently not for our horse, the plane had flown that route before). We finally reached Churchill around 1700, looking at awe at the Hudson Bay right in front of us. It was the blue-est thing I’d ever seen in my life.

We spent the next few days, roaming around Churchill, meeting every single person including the mayor of the town. We got to do some snorkeling with the Beluga whales, play with them, walk along the shores where the British once fought the French, in Princes Wales Fort. We also saw two polar bears, and risked enough to get about a 100 feet away. And trust me, it was totally worth the risk. What we did not expect to see was the Prime Minster of the country, doing a northern-tour of Canada. What are the odds eh? We got to take a picture with him, he’s a very nice guy. We got to meet so many wonderful people in that town. Churchill is a must see for anyone who likes adventure, and wants to push adventure to its limits. It was a very extreme town for most parts of the year. But definitely, definitely worth spending money for.

Our trip was supposed to last only for three days, but we got weathered in. So, we got to stay there two extra days, and saw another polar bear by accident. The trip just got better and better.

We finally left on the 27^th of August, saying our last goodbyes to the lovely people of Churchill and the majestic Hudson Bay. We reached St.Andrew’s with no problems at all by 1600.

Even though I did not log any hours, I am really grateful to Sachin and Leonard to even offer me such a trip. I would like to thank those two before I end this article.

This trip to Churchill was the best trip I’d ever made in a long time, and I am certain that it would one of the best ones in my life. People reading this article, especially pilots, I encourage you to fly out to Churchill (you’d probably want to go around mid August-mid October, because that’s when the bears are around) and enjoy the vastness and the richness of this beautiful country we live in, and get to know more about our history. There’s a lot to learn from people Up North.

Known is a drop, unknown is the Hudson Bay and more…

Wishing all of you lots of happy and safe landings,

Rishabh Gopal