Summer and Tyler started flight training together in 2015 after experiencing a flight in a small plane with a local pilot. Their son, Oliver, was the first one in the family to get into flying when he started flight training at age 12 – three years before Summer and Tyler did! Summer and Tyler soon came up with the idea of starting a business that would allow them to fly often and to share their love of flying with others. While still training toward earning their pilot licences, Summer began the lengthy process of applying for an Air Operator Certificate from Transport Canada, which is required to operate an aviation business. In 2017 Papple Aviation received Transport Canada certification and began operation. Summer and Tyler both fly for the business in their Cessna 172 C-FPAP (pictured above) and their Cessna 182 C-GPRX, (PRX was purchased in 2020). Both planes are hangered at their farm strip, 4 miles south of Seaforth.
During the winter, when not flying for Papple Aviation, Summer and Tyler like to explore new areas by plane. In Feb. 2020 they flew C-FPAP south to the Gulf of Mexico and along the shores of Mississippi and Alabama, before returning home. In Nov. 2021 they flew C-GPRX west to Bozeman, Montana. Since most of their flying for Papple Aviation is within southern Ontario, these personal trips help them build their experience of landing at different airports, dealing with US air traffic controllers, and navigation and weather planning across large distances. Both trips were multi-day flying events, the recent trip to Montana took 14 hours of flying, over 3 days, to get there and 11 hrs to get home (due to strong westerly winds). While their commercial flying for Papple Aviation is limited to Canada, Summer and Tyler enjoy the challenge and the new landscape that their personal flights bring.
Summer Papple – Chief Pilot
Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) – Aeroplane
Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) – Helicopter
Summer’s aviation experience includes flying Medevac in a King Air 200 in Manitoba and Nunavut. She holds a multi-engine instrument rating. One of the highlights of her aviation journey was the opportunity to train and earn a tailwheel endorsement with Airshow legend, Debby Rihn-Harvey near Houston, Texas, thanks to receiving a “Ladies Love Taildraggers” scholarship in 2018.
In 2020 she had the opportunity to learn to fly helicopters and earn her helicopter Commercial Pilot Licence, as a result of receiving scholarships from The 99s, The Whirly-Girls, and F.A.S.T. (Female Aviators Sticking Together).
Summer devotes much of her free time to volunteering and mentoring. She is an active volunteer with The 99s International Organization of Women Pilots and her local branch of COPA (based in Exeter). She has also been a volunteer pilot with Hope Air and Canadian Wings of Rescue (formerly “Pilots and Paws Canada”) and has volunteered with CASARA (Civil Aviation Search and Rescue Association)
Tyler Papple – Pilot
Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) – Aeroplane
Tyler’s flight experience includes a flight as far south as the Gulf of Mexico in our Cessna 172, C-FPAP. Tyler’s passion for agriculture and aviation combined with his knowledge of the local area, interest in geology, and experience in farming means he has a lot to share with passengers. He regularly scouts the family’s farm fields to get a quick overall impression of crop health and weed issues.
Tyler is a volunteer with his local branch of Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA), based in Exeter. He is a past volunteer with CASARA (Civil Air Search and Rescue Association). He has been involved with a volunteer Hope Air flight to fly a man from Sault St. Marie to London for a medical appointment. Tyler has also been part of a volunteer flight to transport orphaned boreal owls from Cochrane to the Owl Foundation in St. Catherines and then back to Cochrane months later for release into their natural habitat.
Bart Postma – Pilot
Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) – Aeroplane
Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) – Helicopter
Bart grew up on a farm between Clinton and Seaforth and developed a passion for aviation at a early age. After periodically witnessing his neighbor, Harvey Dale, flying over low to land at his nearby grass strip and, after going for a sightseeing flight out of Goderich in a Cessna 172, Bart decided there was nothing he wanted to do more than to become a pilot. By the time he was attending high school in Clinton, Bart was working two part-time jobs and was able to attain a Private Pilot’s license through Western Air Services at Goderich airport. Before attending college, Bart spent as much time as he could taking friends and family for sightseeing flights around Goderich, Clinton and Bayfield in a rented Cessna 172.
After graduating from high school, Bart attended Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He began his aviation career as a mechanic, completing the Aircraft Maintenance program and apprenticing at Bearskin Airlines. Although he very much enjoyed delving into the inner workings of aircraft and getting his hands dirty keeping them flying, his heart was always pulled skyward. He continued flying, periodically renting Cessna 172s from the Thunder Bay Flying Club and was accepted into the Aviation Flight Management program the following school year. There, he attained a commercial pilot’s license and a float rating. A divine opportunity presented itself during his second year when the military opened up seven positions for graduates from flight colleges across the country. By the grace of God, Bart was accepted directly into the military and after a year of basic training and second language school, Bart began military flight training on the CT-114 Tutor.
After basic jet training in Moose Jaw, SK, Bart had the opportunity to take on the unique experience of flying helicopters. He completed basic helicopter training flying the Bell 206 Jet Ranger and went on to fly the CH124 Sea King at 431 Squadron in Victoria, BC. Flying operationally from the West Coast and off the flight deck of Navy frigates, the area of operations included the entire Pacific Ocean and beyond to the Persian Gulf. This provided opportunities for visits to many countries along the way including periodic stays in Hawaii and other tropical destinations. After an operational tour, Bart was posted to 406 Squadron in Halifax, NS where he instructed newly winged pilots at the Sea King Operational Training Unit. This provided an opportunity to return to 2 Canadian Forces Flight Training School to instruct brand new air force pilots on the CT156 Harvard II and Bart returned to Moose Jaw, SK in 2010. After three years as an instructor, Bart was selected for a tryout at 431 Air Demonstration Squadron and was overjoyed to make the team as Snowbird 3 for the 2014 and 2015 airshow seasons. Bart even had the surreal experience of flying in the Goderich airshow in 2015. After completing his tour with the Snowbirds, Bart remained in Moose Jaw as an instructor and retired in 2021 after 24 years of service.
Bart’s crowning achievement in life was attained when he met his wife Lisa in Regina, SK. Bart and Lisa were married at their home near the Goderich airport in 2014 where they now live with their three children. Bart feels extremely blessed by his aviation experiences and believes things have come divinely full circle as he’s now able to spend time at home in Goderich with his family and, will again get to re-experience the joy of taking people for scenic flights around Ontario’s beautiful west coast. It’s his pleasure to be your pilot for your flight into the wild blue yonder!
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