Since he was a young child, Ben Goodridge has dreamed about flying.
You could say it’s his dad’s fault.
His outgoing, often thrill-seeking, pilot father once arrived at Goodridge’s elementary school and told the teachers his son had a doctor’s appointment. Within minutes, the two were in his father’s small plane doing multiple barrel rolls high above the school.
“I had to promise my dad not to tell anyone it was us flying that day,” Goodridge recalls.
It’s a memory that still brings a smile to his face.
Taking his first flight with his dad was the spark that ignited a lifelong passion.
“It was the buzz and the open space,” says Goodridge, now 35, in a thick English accent. “Seeing the world by air as a kid, it always seemed so cool. I always felt at home, it seemed like the right place to be.”
For Goodridge, a Delta resident, the delight of flight is especially freeing.
As a two-year-old boy on holidays with his parents in the south of France, Goodridge somehow got away from the grown-ups and ran out onto a crowded street.
He was struck by a car – a tragic accident that left him a paraplegic.
Memories of life before losing the use of his legs have long since been forgotten.
“I really don’t remember life without my wheelchair, so I’ve always had to deal with it, make the best of it,” Goodridge says.
Growing up in England, he would often go flying recreationally with his father and brother, and being the younger of the two siblings, was always relegated to the back seat of the aircraft.
“I can remember always being envious of my older brother because he got to sit in the front seat of the plane,” says Goodridge.
He always knew he wanted to be a pilot, but finding a school that would certify a paraplegic proved difficult, since traditional flight requires the use of both hand and foot pedals.
However, after doing some research he found a school in California that would certify him using a hand-only controlled aircraft.
After completing the six-month course, Goodridge went back to England with a plan to help others with physical challenges experience the thrill of commanding their own plane.
But flying in Europe, and especially England, is viewed as a luxury due to the high costs of the hobby and few airstrips. Clients were difficult to find.
Since Goodridge holds both Canadian and British citizenship, he decided to give Canada a try, due to the country’s wide-open spaces and a more recreational and available flying community.
During a trip here last year, Goodridge visited some local flying schools and asked about starting a program specifically designed for disabled pilots. He found a receptive ear in Surrey's King George Aviation owner Arnold Klappe.
“From the beginning, Arnold has been great,” says Goodridge. “We really feel we can develop a niche market opportunity right here in Surrey that isn’t available anywhere else in Canada in terms of having a dedicated hand-controlled aircraft.”
King George Aviation, located just south of Colebrook Road off King George Highway, offers pilot training, plane rentals, and sightseeing or discovery flights.
The cost of getting a pilot’s licence for an ultralight aircraft is on average $3,500, substantially less than one for conventional aircraft, and ultralight credits are transferable towards a full pilot’s licence.
And younger pilots (age 16 and older) are eligible to gain elective credits toward high school graduation.
On average, earning an ultralight pilot’s licence requires 20 hours of ground school with 17 hours of flight time.
“For me it’s been a very emotional journey,” Goodridge says of earning his wings (the photo above shows him flying over Boundary Bay).
“I really want to share my dream with other paraplegics or with people who didn’t know this was possible. I really want to see the expression on people’s faces.
“It’s a hell of a buzz.”
For more information see www.kinggeorgeaviation.com