SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) has been taking kids up in planes to get them interested in aviation for years, but last Saturday the initiative came to Yellowknife for the first time.

A stream of kids aged seven to 17 went to the Old Town Float Base - which Plummer's Lodges made available for free - to take advantage of the offer to be taken up by a pilot for a 35-minute float plane experience.

One of the volunteer pilots, Charles Dent, said the event gave kids the chance to experience flying in its purest form.

"If you get on a jet it's like being on a bus, whereas with these planes you get a feel for what flying is all about," he said.

Organizer and pilot Hal Logsdon said the kids' enthusiasm was apparent.

"I haven't seen anyone that wasn't wide-eyed at the end of their flights today," he said.

He added the 29 spaces available were snapped up within 10 hours of an advertisement appearing in Yellowknifer.

COPA for Kids is a national program run by the organization to get youth interested in aviation. The kids are initially introduced to the science and general mechanics of the plane by the volunteer pilot followed by a flight in the co-pilot's seat. Logsdon said Yellowknife's version of COPA for Kids was relatively unique.

"Most of the other COPA for Kids events are held at airports and most of the airplanes involved are wheeled airplanes. This is one of the few that is all float planes," he said.

Seven pilots volunteered their time and planes for the day, and Logsdon said there is a possibility they will do it again this summer.

Alex McIsaac, 14, said he didn't want to take up flying, but he said he was impressed with the superior views of the smaller planes compared to the large passenger planes he's flown on before.