Last week we visited the Oak Hills Flying Club at Stirling Airport (CPJ5) and their 2024 fall fly-in. We return to Stirling Airport to view more aircraft and get a bit more information about the area.

The second aircraft available for sale was a shiny Sonex, a low wing 2 seat, homebuilt aircraft from kits produced by Sonex Aircraft (sonexaircraft.com) based out of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Alternately, the aircraft can be built at home through the purchase of aircraft plans. The Sonex can be built with a Jabiru or VW engine as well as other "lightweight" engines. The aircraft qualifies as a light sport aircraft in the US. They can be built as either a tricycle or taildragger configuration and can be built with either dual control sticks or centre control stick arrangement. There are 9 variants of the Sonex, including an electric e-Flight Waiex which is powered by a DC brushless electric motor. The Sonex has an empty weight of 620lbs, a gross weight of 1150lbs and offers a cruise speed of up to 170mph (270kmh), stall speed of 40mph (64kmh), a range of 400 miles and a service ceiling of 23,000 feet. If you're interested in this aircraft contact the flying club.

The wind was almost straight down runway 09 offering pilots a nice approach over the valley. As the wind was relatively light, some pilots opted for a downwind take off out, over the valley from runway 27 rather than risking a take off on 09 and climbing up over the tall trees off the end. Regardless, nobody was dangerous and everyone enjoyed the day.

Though the day started out a bit cool, it is fall after all, aircraft came and people arrived by car or motorcycle, all to enjoy the day, the aircraft, the people and the food. The airport is nestled in the hills south of Stirling, north of Trenton. There are a few homes that line the short laneway into the airport, and a few homes near the airport and it's typically a pretty quiet area, even with the airport here. There's even one owner immediately adjacent to the airport who hangars his own aircraft at his home and has a short, crosswind runway that can be used by pilots should the wind be too strong for the main runway.

Stirling Airport has some great local areas of interest that, if you wanted to come for a weekend or a week, you can spend time visiting. The National Air Force Museum of Canada (airforcemuseum.ca) is located at CFB Trenton, just east of the city of Trenton, Ontario. There's the town of Brighton and their great fall apple festival. The town of Campbellford has Ferris Provincial Park and the Ranney Suspension bridge. A little further east is the city of Belleville, the city of Toronto is about 2 hours to the west and the capital of Canada, Ottawa, is about 2.5 hours away. If you like beaches and/or wineries, then a visit to Prince Edward County is a must with Sandbanks Provincial Park and Presqu'isle Provincial Park. Come for the fly-in and stay for everything else!

If you're a pilot then a fly-in is a great place to head to during spring, summer or autumn, and in winter if you're far south enough for decent weather. Occasionally, during the winter months, you may find a fly-in for aircraft on skis. It's an opportunity to hone your skills by flying into a different type of airport, maybe putting your current skills to the test by dealing with crosswind on a grass strip instead of an asphalt runway or side-slipping down over some tress into a shorter runway. Never get comfortable with your flying and your skills by not trying new airports and different weather conditions! Challenge yourself!

The Oak Hills Flying Club isn't an overly large group but volunteers came out in support of the fly-in and helped with setting up a tent, tables and chairs, assisted with either aircraft or vehicle parking, helped with clean up and generally all things that come with hosting an event. They also spent time chatting with visiting pilots and those who came by vehicle. If you're interested in flying or aviation in general, head to your local airport and flying club and get involved. You don't necessarily need to be a pilot to join. If you're not a pilot you might find yourself getting so involved that you'll make that decision to begin the process of obtaining your private pilot license (PPL) or your ultralight pilot permit (PPUL, Canada). If your local airport has a skydiving school, you might just decide to take the plunge, as it were.

During the winter do some research to find out what flying club and airport(s) near you will be hosting a fly-in during the year. Oak Hills Flying Club will be hosting a spring fly-in come the nice weather, either in late April or early May. Hopefully, Buckeye BBQ will be back with their big rib wagon offering up ribs, chicken, beef brisket and sausages along with their baked beans, coleslaw and cornbread. With any luck, we'll see more aircraft and more visitors and you'll find a great place to come for a great meal and lots of visiting aircraft.