Interested in helping to introduce aviation to others?
Through COPA’s Discover Aviation program, pilots volunteer their time and talents, along with their personal aircraft providing free flight experiences to new friends and future pilots. This modernized program combines our two longstanding programs, COPA for Kids and DiscoverGA, into one single purpose of helping others explore the skies. 

Aircraft and pilots checklist  

  • COPA membership status or the COPA Flight corporate membership status 
  • Current Pilot License or Permit, with passenger carrying privilege, for the aircraft being flown 
  • Valid Medical Certificate 
  • Transport Canada recency requirements including minimum of five takeoffs and landings within previous six months in category and class of aircraft to be used 
  • Aircraft must be Canadian registered 
  • All documentation required by Transport Canada on board of aircraft, including proof of public liability insurance and property damage applicable aircraft to be used 
  • Passenger liability insurance minimum coverage for all seats as per CAR 606.02 
  • Aircraft must be authorized for carrying passengers in Canada 
  • Aerobatic maneuvers or other non-standard flying is prohibited 

 


Information for pilots

Who can be a volunteer pilot
Any licensed pilot can participate as volunteer pilot for COPA’s Discover Aviation events, subject to the following conditions. The pilot must: 

  • Be a current COPA member 
  • Have an appropriate and current Pilot License or Permit, with passenger carrying privilege, for the aircraft being flown 
  • Meet all Transport Canada recency requirements including a minimum of five takeoffs and landings within the previous six months in the category and class of aircraft to be used. Ref: CAR  401.05 Recency Requirements  

Note: No financial compensation is permitted for your time or aircraft operating expenses, and tax receipts will not be issued. Neither COPA nor the Discover Aviation program has a charitable status. 

What kind of aircraft can be used? Aircraft must:

  • Be Canadian registered, 
  • Carry on board all documentation required by Transport Canada, including proof of liability insurance coverage
  • Be authorized for carrying passengers in Canada. These aircraft types are:
    • Certified Aircraft, including aeroplanes, helicopters, gliders and balloons (Standard Certificate of Airworthiness) 
    • Amateur-built aircraft including aeroplanes, helicopters, gliders, gyroplanes and balloons (Special Certificate of Airworthiness – Amateur-built) 
    • Owner-maintenance aircraft (Special Certificate of Airworthiness – Owner-Maintenance) 
    • Limited Class aircraft, including warbirds and other limited class aircraft that are approved for passenger-carrying (Special Certificate of Airworthiness – Limited)  
    • Advanced ultralights  

 Additional stipulations for one-off flights occurring outside of a scheduled event day: 

  • Aircraft provisions as outlined above apply in their entirety 
  • Flights must occur at a registered aerodrome in Canada  

Basic Ultralights
Basic ultralights are not authorized for Discover Aviation flying due to their prohibition on carrying passengers. One exception is that they can be used if the pilot is an ultralight instructor, the instructor has notified TC that he or she is operating a flight school, as required by CAR 406.05, the Junior Aviator is 14 years of age or older and the flight is conducted as an ultralight introductory instructional flight. Insurance requirements including $100,000 passenger liability insurance must still be met in this circumstance. 

Other owners of basic ultralight aircraft are welcome to participate in Discover Aviation events, but their aircraft can only be used for static display and for ground familiarization. 

Volunteer background checks
As COPA’s Discover Aviation events welcome young people (18 and under) into the world of aviation, all volunteer pilots must complete a background check. The following background check options are accepted by COPA:

  • A background check conducted by a municipal, provincial or First Nations police service. These checks must be renewed every five years. Expenses are not covered by COPA.
  • A Government of Canada security clearance such as a reliability status, secret clearance, top secret clearance or a NEXUS/RAIC pass. These background checks must be active at the time of the Discover Aviation event. Expenses are not covered by COPA.
  • A background check conducted by a private business with authority to complete background screenings.
  • Completed online via Sterling Backcheck, COPA’s trusted background check partner. These background checks must be renewed every five years. COPA will cover the $25 fee for its members (we require first + last name and emails, this can be inputted in our event registration form). This new option was introduced in 2022 to save COPA members time and money, and should take less than 30 minutes to complete.

Information for event organizers

Insurance coverage
COPA Flights (regional chapters) regularly organize events to offer discovery flights to their community. Discover Aviation event insurance coverage (including event and top-up liability insurance) is provided by COPA through the Magnes Group. To date, nearly 30,000 Canadians have been introduced to the world of aviation through these community events. COPA Flights must register their event in the form below to receive a Certificate of Insurance.

Consent waivers
All participants in the Discover Aviation program must complete the following liability waivers. See below for a variety of waiver forms your COPA Flight can use. If your participants are using the online version, please ensure they are aware to either forward their confirmation email to your COPA Flight or are prepared to show your registration desk at your event.

Event briefing template
Click here for an event brief template for Discover Aviation event organizers to complete and share with your fellow COPA Flight members. An event brief serves as a map, of sorts, charting the course for you and your COPA Flight from point A (at the very beginning of your event planning journey) to point B (a successful event). By using an event brief, your COPA Flight will ensure all the moving pieces fall into place without any surprises.

Event materials
Upon completion of the form below, COPA may have event materials such as certificates, banners and other marketing items available for use for our local COPA Flights. Many of these are one-time gifts.

Register your event for insurance

Discover Aviation - COPA Flight Event Registration Form

By completing this form, you are registering your COPA Flight's Discover Aviation event for event insurance and top-up liability insurance. Your event will be published on the COPA event page.

  • Contact Information

  • COPA Flights are required to renew their COPA Flight chapter status December of each year. Event insurance is not available to inactive COPA Flights. To renew, visit the following link: https://copanational.org/controlpanel/.
  • Please note, this contact email will be BCC'd a copy of this form upon completion.
  • Please provide an address for any event materials to be shipped to. If the contact name is separate from the main contact, please indicate in address line 2.

  • Event Details

  • YYYY dash MM dash DD
    (Includes set-up)
  • :
  • YYYY dash MM dash DD
    (Includes teardown)
  • :
  • YYYY dash MM dash DD
    (Includes set-up and teardown)
  • Specify the time zone in UTC (eg -6, or +4.5). Put the +/- sign in front of the number.

  • Event Materials

    COPA and the Magnes Group's logo and brand guidelines will be shared with you.
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    This free tool can be used to manage your passengers, pilots and other volunteers. Training or access to training materials is also available.
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    COPA has created an activity booklet for youth ages 8-11 to learn about aviation. If you would like to make copies of our COPA for Kids Aviation Starter Kits available to your event participants, please indicate how many booklets you will require. Our program sponsor, Magnes, is providing these at no charge.
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    COPA is willing to lend its pull-up banner stand to our COPA Flights for their Discover Aviation events. If you plan an event year-over-year, you are welcome to keep your banner. Please indicate below if you need a banner:
  • COPA is willing to lend its table cloths with Discover Aviation branding to our COPA Flights for their events. If you plan events (fly-in's, Discover Aviation) year-over-year, you are welcome to keep your table cloth. Please indicate below if you need a table cloth, noting they are 8' and if too long, we recommend using clips or folding to size it down.
  • Please indicate how many program pamphlets you may need. These brochures highlight key features on our Discover Aviation program. You are invited to keep any extra copies after the event to be used for other activities or for future Discover Aviation events.
  • Please indicate how many certificates you may need for COPA to send to you. Our sponsor, Magnes, is providing these at no charge. These certificates can be used for both youth or adults.
  • Please indicate how many Discover Aviation stickers you wish to order for your event participants. These can be given out to any passenger, attendee or volunteer. Our sponsor, Magnes, is providing these at no charge.
  • Please indicate how many sticker sets you wish to order for young children. Our sponsor, Magnes, is providing these at no charge.
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    Through our generous sponsor, Magnes, COPA is offering free model planes, made with soft, light and (most notably) fragile balsa wood. Putting these airplanes together are fun and fast-and an excellent way to engage your Discover Aviation participants! Please indicate how many balsa wood planes you wish to order for your event.

  • Insurance and Background Screening

    There is no coverage for the following activities under COPA's Air Meet Policy: parachute jumps; hot air balloon's; military aerial display; display model aircraft, antiques, vehicles, etc.; fare paying airplane rides; children's games or rides; model aircraft flying; pyrotechnics, fireworks, bonfire or campfire; airshow/air demonstration; aerial competition, flour bombing or other. It is important COPA Flights obtain separate coverage and a Certificate of insurance from each participating performer, supplier and operator, and have COPA named as an Additional Insured including Waiver of Subrogation on their coverage.
  • List the person(s) or organization(s) which have requested to be named on the policy. Please indicate their relationship to the event (e.g., premises owner, co-organizer, volunteer, etc.), their legal name and their address. Please separate names with a new line. Certificate of Insurance from each participating performer, supplier & operator and have COPA named as an Additional Insured including Waiver of Subrogation on their coverage.
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    All volunteer pilots must complete a background screening. COPA will cover the expenses for COPA members who are volunteering their time through an online background screening tool. However, participants may wish to complete a Vulnerable Sector Check through their local police services--please note, expenses for background checks not done through COPA's online process are not covered by COPA. For receiving a free background check for COPA members, please provide the first and last name; email; phone number and COPA Membership ID of those requiring background screening below. They will receive an email from Sterling Backcheck to complete their screening within 3-5 business days. Please separate names with a new line. COPA will provide a status of background checks to the event organizer listed on this form as Sterling Backcheck does not send confirmation's for background checks to the individual being screened.
  • A checklist will be provided in the Discover Aviation Event Planning Guide.
  • This information helps us better understand the needs of our COPA Flights and keep track of the progress of this program. It is a requirement for all COPA Flights to complete this form within 45 days of their events.

  • Other

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
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