About Us 
| About Us |
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Back in 2003 Mikhail Gavrikov, an experienced trike pilot and recent Russian immigrant could not rest at ease in his Burnaby apartment only because his beloved Poisk trike was collecting dust eleven time zones away in Moscow. So he decided to act. It was tough to import an aircraft to Canada with his minimal English at the time, but he'd done it nevertheless. An attempt to contact local trikers with the purpose of socializing has quickly resulted in the unexpected – Mikhail was the only trike pilot in Vancouver area. Since all the roads in Vancouver lead an ultralight pilot to King George Airpark, it is to nobody's surprise that Mikhail's trike was soon buzzing over the farmlands of the South Surrey. After quenching his initial thirst, Mikhail started introducing his friends to the magic of open-cockpit flying. Everyone liked it, many loved it but one person was instantly bitten by the "flying bug". It was Mikhail's fellow countryman, software engineer and outdoorsman Victor Okunev who lived in Vancouver since 1996. The two have spent many hours at the airfield and in Starbucks talking about the trikes and wondering why the outdoors-bound and adventure-loving population of British Columbia has not been blessed with its share of the trike flying rush as the rest of the North America. Thus in attempt to give British Columbians a helping hand was born Open Skies Aviation Ltd. – a first trike flight school in British Columbia, in partnership with King George Aviation Ltd . With his decade of trike flying experience, it didn't take long for Mikhail to become a Transport Canada-certified flight instructor and in the spring of 2006, the school has officially opened its first flight training season. While Victor is busy accumulating flight hours towards his ultralight instructor rating, he looks after the school's Public Relations and the Web design.  Mikhail (left) and Victor after an early morning flight. Today we can clearly see that our efforts contribute to the steady growth of the trikes' popularity in the province, which has helped many Canadians to realize their dream of flying. For contacts and directions please visiit our Contacts page. Our MissionBeing pioneers in BC trike industry is very exciting. Many people still live with the stereotype that aviation is the privilege of a few. Our goal is to prove otherwise by educating the public about the ultralight aviation by means of ultralight trikes and demonstrate the new possibilities these aircrafts open for everyone. We achieve it by offering a variety of services at affordable prices that include discovery flights, trike rental and complete pilot training course. If you like what we're doing, please take a moment to spread the word about Open Skies Aviation. You may also show your appreciation by simply submitting a testimonial. We welcome media attention and support. Please contact us to arrange a tour to our hangar! |