Flight Training vs Discovery Flights (Covid 19)

[Civic]

I've been looking through various websites of some of the flight schools ranging from Ontario to the West and I have been seeing that some of these schools not all of them have cancelled Discovery and sightseeing flights due to the Covid 19 virus. But they are continuing with regular career oriented flight training, what is the difference, aren't we sitting in the same cockpit? I don't know, can some of the staff at these schools shed some light on why dual training is allowed and not a discovery flight?

Maybe there are good reasons, I don't know .

Keep safe and fly safe

[RedAndWhiteBaron]

The big difference between a discovery flight and flight training is that most people who take discovery flights do not continue to go on to flight training.

Most flight instructors are limiting themselves to a rather finite number of students, to reduce their social interactions and therefore the risk of Covid infection. So for example, one flight instructor may limit himself/herself to five students; once they have those five students, they will not train anyone else, and that includes discovery flights.

Beyond that - if you're in a locked down area, discovery flights are verboten. All non-essential businesses have been ordered to close to everything but curbside pickup, and discovery flights are a nonessential business. However, career training falls under the umbrella of "school", more or less.

Hope that clears a few things up. I'm sure there's an instructor or two here who have more insight.

[Civic]

The big difference between a discovery flight and flight training is that most people who take discovery flights do not continue to go on to flight training.

Most flight instructors are limiting themselves to a rather finite number of students, to reduce their social interactions and therefore the risk of Covid infection. So for example, one flight instructor may limit himself/herself to five students; once they have those five students, they will not train anyone else, and that includes discovery flights.

Beyond that - if you're in a locked down area, discovery flights are verboten. All non-essential businesses have been ordered to close to everything but curbside pickup, and discovery flights are a nonessential business. However, career training falls under the umbrella of "school", more or less.

Hope that clears a few things up. I'm sure there's an instructor or two here who have more insight.

You make some great comments, what if the school is not in the grey lock down zone and can still do the discovery flights? Also I understand when the instructor limits themselves to a few students to keep the spread of the virus from getting worse but you don't know where those steady students have been as well. The instructor might have only 3 students and limit themselves to that but one of those three students could go out and not social distance and be involved in a large group. In any case, you make alot of sense and right now it's just sucks to not be able to enjoy all the services of a flight school like some of them have already shut down half of their offerings.

[photofly]

I’ve read the Ontario regulations - all of them - very carefully - and I don’t see anything that says specifically that discovery flights aren’t permitted.

All business have to close except those listed. With a few exceptions, if your business is open, it can open for all services. One of the exceptions is for post secondary learning institutions, including private career colleges, which can open for vocational training only. In Ontario, only registered private career colleges can lawfully offer commercial pilot training. Ipso facto, if your Ontario institution is authorized to conduct commercial pilot training, and it’s in the grey zone, it can conduct only commercial pilot training.

But if you’re not a post secondary institution (the meaning of which is very carefully defined in the legislation) - and if you fit into one of the other categories of essential business - then there’s no restriction I can see on what activities you can carry out.

This causes some strife, because, for instance, in the grey zone Costco can sell clothes in its store, because it’s a food retailer, but a clothing store can’t open. But that’s the way the regulations are written.

Businesses that can open are of course welcome to take extra precautions, or voluntarily not offer some services, at their discretion.