Upright Aviation ACADEMY
ABOUT US
Upright Aviation Academy is a Transport Canada-certified flight school and pilot training facility operating out of Burlington Airport (CZBA) in Burlington, Ontario, Canada.
What started as an idea 10 years ago, came to life in 2019 with a simple mission to enhance pilot training and safety.
All training courses meet current Transport Canada guidelines, standards and protocols, and it is the only flight school in Ontario with dedicated aerobatic training.
The Academy has three areas of focus:
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Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT)
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Aerobatic flight training
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Thrill rides
Burlington Airport sits at the foot of the beautiful Niagara Escarpment in the western part of the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada.
If you require, Upright can come to your location. Call us to discuss.
Geoff Armstrong
Founder, Course Instructor and Pilot:
As the son and grandson of pilots, you could say aviation is in Geoff’s DNA and he was destined to fly. As he honed his skills growing up, he was motivated by his aviator parents, test pilot grandfather, and later in life he was further inspired after learning from and flying with Jerry Younger, 8-time Canadian Aerobatic Champion. Today, a very experienced and skilled pilot himself, Geoff has flown from the Arctic to the Caribbean, Mexico and all over the USA and Canada in charter, corporate, air ambulance and as a U.S. airlines pilot based out of Chicago O’Hare and San Diego. He has two jet ratings and was previously a Chief Pilot for more than 65 pilots and a fleet of 15 airplanes across Canada. He also has experience flying aerobatics in a Pitts and Extra aircraft.
Trevor Rafferty - Chief Instructor, Airshow/Competition Pilot:
Airshow/Competition Aerobatic Pilot/Chief Pilot Upright Aviation Academy. Grass fields, grass roots - Trevor is a guy who just loves to fly. An avid builder who most recently completed his airshow Pitts Model 12 biplane. Trevor eats, sleeps and breaths airplanes and is known across the industry for his amazing flying and flight instruction.
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Pictured: Geoff (left) & Trevor (right)
Liam Pearson - Class 1 Aerobatic Instructor, Airline Pilot:
Growing up in Hamilton, Ontario, Liam became interested in aviation at an early age with a visit to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. Completing his pilot’s license during high school, he then continued his training at Sault College, where he graduated from the Aviation Technology program. With a diverse background in flight training, Liam maintains a Class 1 Flight Instructor rating as well as A Class 1 Aerobatic Flight Instructor rating. He also flies a variety of vintage aircraft and warplanes in both display and training roles. Liam holds an Airline Transport Pilots License with endorsements on both turboprop and jet aircraft, and currently flys for a major Canadian airline.
Lyn Armstrong - Ground Instructor, Former Airline Capt/Chief Pilot, Current 737 Sim Instructor:
Lyn has 6 jet type ratings, and has been a Chief Pilot for an airline, as well as flown airliners all over the world and was based for 10 years in the middle east. He also instructs airline pilots for a large reputable simulator training company in the 787/767/737/CRJ platforms, and was a seasoned bush pilot flying floats on Beavers, Beech 18’s, DC-3, and numerous other aircraft.
Ian Paolin - ATPL, Class 2 Aerobatic Flight Instructor, Turboprop Captain:
Ian is an ATPL, Class II Aerobatic Instructor. He has extensive experience in the Extra 300 and Decathlon aircraft. His career has consisted of flying Charter, Fire Detection and Birddog Aircraft as well as 10 years flying medevac in Northern Ontario. Ian is a current Captain on a turbo prop aircraft for a division of the Canadian Government.
