A Young Eagle takes the control of an aircraft piloted by Jared Chursinoff. (Jared Chursinoff/Facebook)

By Derek Craddock

YOUNG EAGLES

Candle Lake kids soar like eagles thanks to local pilot

Apr 11, 2023 | 12:00 PM

Some young, aspiring flyers from the Candle Lake area got a chance to go up into the skies, thanks to a local pilot.

Jared Chursinoff has worked in the aviation field for years, mostly in the private sector but has since moved to commercial. He is currently a contract pilot with Northwestern Air Lease, based out of Fort Smith N.W.T.

He does call Candle Lake home and in the past year, he shared his passion for flight with youth from the community. He said it all started in 2006 when he was a substitute teacher in La Ronge.

“I wanted to share my passion for flying and I knew about the program Young Eagles by the EAA. This allows us to take kids from the ages of seven to 17 on an introductory aviation flight around their local community,” he said.

The Young Eagles program has been around for over 30 years and according to its website has provided flights for over two million kids worldwide.

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During his time in La Ronge, Chursinoff said he had close to 30 kids in his aircraft.

“When I moved into Candle Lake in 2017, I thought I should start this program again,” he said. “But I was busy with work and stuff. I started last year with, and we’ve done it about two or three times now.”

The most recent excursion came on Easter Sunday when 14 local kids took their first flights.

“It’s absolutely amazing,” Chursinoff said. “The kids that are usually more interested in the controls of the airplane, we’ll put them up in the front and we’ll even let them take control of the airplane and do some basic maneuvers. Usually, at the end of the day, most of them are in complete and total awe.”

He hopes to continue the Young Eagles program in the future and bring more kids up in the plane. He said with the pilot shortage continuing to hit the industry, he’s encouraged by the number of youth that participate in the program.

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @princealbertnow