After a fire had burned down Vanderhoof Flying Service years ago, the area had little support for aviation.
Co-owners of Guardian Aerospace, Bryan Wallace and Eric Stier, who were with Vanderhoof Flying Service at the time, decided to try and revive the service.
Stier says Community Futures stepped in and helped with business planning and cash flow modelling.
“That resulted in a small loan to be able to repair an aircraft and get some basic tooling set up.”
“While we were doing that, we were also trying to get certification with Transport Canada to run a structural maintenance facility, a charter business, and a flight training school.”
Wallace added they got continued support from Community Futures, as they faced different challenges over the 20 years.
He says what organizations like that do for communities like Vanderhoof are farther reaching, and it would’ve been difficult to be where they are now without them.
Aviation has a lot of history in northern BC, with Fort St. James once being the largest float plane base in the world and a high percentage of citizens becoming pilots in Vanderhoof, making a flight training school important to have.
Stier says starting a business with Community Future may seem daunting, but is necessary, equating it to an exercise program.
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