Last Friday was Landowner Appreciation Day at Southport.

It happens every year, as local farmers are recognized for offering the use of their land for flight training purposes, with helicopter rides.

CFTS Site Manager Peter Fedak and Lt.-Col Marc-Antoine Fecteau3 CFFTS Commandant Lieutenant-Colonel Marc-Antoine Fecteau says they couldn't do their jobs without the landowners' support.

"It becomes really busy at the airport," he says, "And the helicopters need to get away from that to do their training, which is close to the ground, like hovering, and hovering turns, and taxiing. Without the right to land on some of these landowners' land, we wouldn't be able to the training that we're doing here in Southport. So we're really happy to say thank you, to give them a chance to see what we do on a daily basis."

Landowner Edward Moon understands without the landowners' help, flight training would be difficult.

Edward Moon and Samuel Dauphinais prior to their flight

"I guess not," he says, "If everybody wouldn't let them fly around over their cows and their horses and stuff, it might cause problems, I suppose."

Meeting with the landowners before they're airborne