In the hills north of Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Trenton, Ontario is a lovely country airport known as Stirling Airport (CPJ5) and Oak Hills Flying Club. Set in the Trent Hills area with an elevation of 625'/191m above sea level, this airport sports a combined tarmac (1000') and grass (1350') main runway (2350'), 09/27, with a very even transition. There's also a shorter grass, cross runway that can be used in an emergency or high wind situation but it is privately owned & maintained. Approach at one end is over the trees and the other end is over a valley but with a clear, straight in approach.

Every year the Oak Hills Flying Club hosts two fly-in events, one in spring and one in the fall. Typically, the spring fly-in happens the first weekend in May, as it did this year. The fall fly-in is, typically, around the end of September. Both of their fly-ins are well supported by flying club members and by Buckeye Ribs, a local, award winning BBQ business that offers a choice of full, half or quarter rack of ribs, a quarter or half chicken, beef brisket or sausage as well as cornbread muffin, delicious baked beans and coleslaw. Prices are very reasonable and the food is great. The fly-in doesn't just attract pilots but locals come for miles to see aeroplanes and enjoy a delicious meal. This year, one added feature, for those NOT flying, was a local craft brewer called Fogorig Brewing from the Trent Hills.

The first aircraft to fly-in was a Cessna 172 from WM Aero (W. M. Aeroflight Inc), coming in from Peterborough Airport to promote the event and offer sightseeing flights for locals interested in seeing their area from the air. The pilot, Taylor Jefferson, was an extremely personable chap with young and old, ensuring everyone was strapped in, comfortable, were given a pre-flight briefing ensuring all were comfortable before their flight. Every flight Taylor made ended with a 'greased' landing, providing passengers with a smooth and enjoyable trip over the Trent Hills. (wmaeroflight.ca)

Unfortunately, the morning weather was not conducive to a successful fly-in with low ceilings and light rain until about 11:00am. Though the weather improved, the day continued with very cloudy skies and, despite a higher ceiling, it seemed to have put many potential visiting pilots off making the flight to Stirling as only about a half dozen aircraft made the trip.

The next aircraft to fly in for the event was a pretty Aeronca "Super" Chief. The Aeronca 11CC Super Chief has a similar look to the popular Aeronca Champ however, the Chief sports a side-by-side cockpit verses the Champ's tandem seating. It's a relatively light aircraft but it's well loved by its owners and pilots. Designed by the Aeronca Aircraft Corporation, the Chief entered production in the US in 1945 with more than 2300 of the type having been built between 1946 - 1950. Considered a step up over its predecessor, the Chief was regarded to be a relatively easy aircraft to fly and was designed for use as a flight training aircraft. It had yoke flight controls verses the Champ's joystick. Both the Chief and the Champ shared almost 80% of their aircraft parts, making production faster and more affordable. The Chief can be operated on wheels, skis or floats.

Two resident aircraft were taxied out for folks to see but also in the hope of finding an interested party looking for their own aircraft. A Murphy Renegade Spirit biplane and a Sonex, both call OHFC home, are up for sale by their owners. These two sporty little aircraft are looking for a new home so if you're interested in either aircraft, call the OHFC for more information. This Spirit sports a tandem seating cockpit with a Rotax 582 hung on the nose. It's a fun, little open cockpit biplane that would be an enjoyable little aeroplane for doing some hops around the patch and local flying. The Sonex is a two place, side-by-side seating aircraft but is somewhat faster than is the Spirit. You can certainly go places in both aircraft but the Sonex will get you there a little faster (depending on engine, 170mph).

There are close to 20 assorted hangars on the field with a variety of aircraft from small ultralight aircraft to an assortment of single engine aircraft to a couple of twins. Some hangars are the old T-hangars, some are open and others are fully enclosed. As with many airports, when a hangar does come available, they are snapped up pretty quickly. Some hangars, once owned by the flying club, were sold off several years ago with renovations and upgrades having been done. There are also several tiedowns currently available at $50/month should you visit the area or if you're looking for an airport at which to keep your aircraft. Fuel available at the airport is 100LL the airport has runway lighting available (ARCAL on 122.8, Type J). Winter service includes snow plowing for wheel & ski operations. Check your VFR supplement for more airport information.

Two amphibious aircraft flew in for the day, a rare Thurston/Schweizer TSC-1A2 Teal and a Colonial C-1 Skimmer. The Teal was originally designed by David Thurston in the late 1960s with aircraft certification obtained in August of 1969. It's an all aluminum amphibious aircraft with a high wing with wingtip floats. It sports a tractor engine which is horizontally opposed and is supported above and behind the cockpit by means of strut supported pylon. The main gear rotates up and back against the fuselage for water landings with the tailwheel that also swings up against the bottomside of the rudder allowing the water rudder to be efficiently utilised. The Colonial C-1 Skimmer was also designed by David Thurston and was built by Colonial Aircraft Corporation. It is an all metal amphibious aircraft with a cantilever monoplane and single step hull. It has tricycle landing gear that is fully retractable with stabilising floats under each wing. The engine is in pusher position on a pylon above and behind the cockpit. It has side-by-side seating with room for an additional passenger behind. The prototype aircraft first flew in July of 1948, Though not overly fast it will cruise between 112mph-123mph with a stall speed of 50mph and a range of over 500 miles.

The Stirling Airport is located in Quinte West in the Trent Hills, not far from the quaint town of Stirling, Ontario and is north and north west of Brighton & Trenton, respectively, the towns of Campbellford, Warkworth, Madoc and Frankford not far away. The area has a lot to offer from Brighton's Apple Days, several beaches on Prince Edward County along the north shore of Lake Ontario, a large island that is accessible via several bridges as well as a car ferry and the town of Cobourg, also with a lovely beach area on Lake Ontario, is about an hour to the east. There are cheese factories, local craft brewers, numerous apple orchards, the RCAF Museum at CFB Trenton, lots of local shopping, accommodations and many attractions including the Trent-Severn Waterway, the giant $2 (Toonie) coin in Campbellford, the Campbellford/Seymour Heritage Centre, the Warkworth Lilac Festival, Trent Hills Mystery Tours, Chrome on the Canal, a large, well attended motorcycle and classic car gathering on the banks of the Trent River, in Campbellford and so much more.

It's unfortunate that the weather didn't cooperate for the Oak Hills Flying Club spring fly-in, especially with all the hard work put in by the members, but the hope is the fall weather will be an improvement over the spring weather and that the number of aircraft and visitors to the fly-in goes up to where they see dozens of aircraft as they have in the past. Make plans to attend their fall fly-in. Fuel is available on the field, there's lighting available, tiedowns, the flying club has a washroom, small kitchen, a BBQ, a 'boardroom,' computer, phone and internet. It's a beautiful location with extremely friendly and helpful club members. Come for the fly-in. Come for the food. Stay for a visit to the area!