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PEI Festival of Flight 2025

The 2025 Festival of Flight will be held on PEI on the Labour Day long weekend, (Friday, August 29th, to Monday, September 1st).

We are hoping to arrange an instructor to come from out west and put on a Paragliding training course for the 3 weeks following the Festival. Updated details can be found here https://www.facebook.com/HPAAC as the updates come.

Some details of the PEI Festival of Flight include:

  • The Festival Home Base is in the back yard of one of the pilots located at 522 Brackley Point Road, Rte 15.
  • Our 3 primary flying sites are located around Point Prim/Orwell area (25 minutes from Charlottetown – between where the NS Ferry in Caribou lands on PEI at Wood Islands and Charlottetown).  These sites take a variety of wind directions (NW, N, and W).
  • Possibility of tow launching at Cable Head Flight Park on the middle eastern end of the island.  This is based on the availability of the tow operator and the operator’s winch.
  • Other launch sites include, Cousins Shore (N-NE wind), Basin Head (S-SE), Argyle Shore (SW), among several small cliff sites with SW to SE winds (the mentioned small cliffs are typically quite small sections of cliffs, beach landings are possible at low tide)
  • A wide variety of accommodations are available, ie. Campgrounds, Cottages, B&B’s hotels, motels.
  • There is a motel directly across the street from the Festival base. It is the Fair Isle Motel, reasonable rates but booking early is essential as they book up during the summer months. https://fairislepei.com/
  • Pilots and guests are welcome to camp in the backyard at the festival home base. (Sorry, no hook ups available)
  • Tons of restaurants with a wide variety of food and price point.  Great grocery shopping available.
  • We have active PG pilots here, even some ultralight pilots and PPG pilots too.
  • PPG Pilots are welcomed and we make arrangements with the Charlottetown Airport Authority to fly PPG right out of our back yard.
  • If the wind is too strong/too weak for flying, there is no shortage of things to do:
  • there is a good chance of kiteboarding (south shore, north shore sites) if winds are too strong for flying.
  • Golfing
  • Beaches
  • Hikes and biking mountain biking trails, or the tamer rails to trails system (from tip to tip)
  • Restaurants, Pubs
  • Museums and Heritage, Parks

More to come as we finalize the details ! Keep an eye on https://www.facebook.com/HPAAC for future updates.

Safety message from HPAC

March 19, 2020

Fellow Pilots:

We find ourselves in a dynamic situation that is evolving daily. While the pandemic is not expected to have a significant direct impact on association operations, it will undoubtedly affect individual members, instructors, schools and tandem operations in many ways.

Aside from the obvious recommendation to follow local guidelines about travel and avoiding groups of people, I feel it is important to ensure members consider some less obvious effects of the pandemic when making decisions about flying.

  • Landowners may not be happy to have visitors under these circumstances, please check with the site organizer or landowner before heading out.
  • Your fellow pilots may wish you to keep your distance, please respect their space.
  • First responders and emergency services are likely to be increasingly overloaded. If you have a bad ending to your flight, you may wait a very long time for rescue if they are able to respond at all. If you need emergency care you will be using resources that someone else may need more than you.

With respect, I ask you to weigh the relative importance of your desire to fly against the needs of your community to limit the spread of the virus. It is your decision where and how you fly. Please make your decision wisely.

Best Regards,

Nick Jones
President, HPAC/ACVL

25th Annual Festival of Free Flight : May 17-20, 2019

The event marks the start of the flying season for many people and is the largest gathering of Maritime pilots during the year.  With over nine different potential flying sites and friendly competitions, it is a social highlight for many pilots.


2019 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

Flying (Friday – Monday) locations depend upon wind and weather conditions.
Location updates will be posted on whiteboard on Mainstreet (Loctation TBD) , Twitter @HPAAC and on the HPAAC Facebook page– and see site map above.

Friday May 17

  • Pilots breakfast 8:30 am @ Harbour View Restaurant
  • 6:00 pm – Lobster Boil – members only

Saturday May 18

  • Paramotor demo at the Pier 0730 – 0800
  • Pilots breakfast 8:30 am @ Harbour View Restaurant
  • Flying – Check the whiteboard for locations (dependent on wind conditions)

Sunday May 19

  • Paramotor demo at the Pier 07:30 – 08:00
  • Pilots breakfast 8:30 am @ Harbour View Restaurant
  • Flying – Check the whiteboard for locations (dependent on wind conditions)
  • 18:30 – Dinner and AGM – Harbour View Restaurant

Monday May 20

  • Paramotor demo at the Pier 07:30 – 08:00
  • Pilots breakfast 8:30 am @ Harbour View Restaurant
  • Flying -Check the white board for locations (dependent on wind conditions)
  • Pilots leave throughout the day
  • Often the best flying of the Festival to be had by those who stick it out.

Reminder that Fox River and Chignecto sites are closed to all flying.

This incident report is a good read to learn from. Many lessons can be learned from it.

https://hpac.ca/pub/?pid=478#collision

Pilots from across Canada looking to visit the East should consider making the journey to Nova Scotia for this premier event.  With several days of potential flying and a lobster boil on the beach overlooking the scenic Bay of Fundy, this is a very special event.