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Stirling Ultralights
operated by 2267965 Ontario Ltd.
Stirling Ultralights has been in business since 2007.
Stirling Ultralights is the Canadian Dealership for Just Aircraft, which has two models available: Escapade and Highlander.
Couple shares common bond in the sky
By Richard Turtle
Christine Kilgore learned early on in her relationship that
the only way to keep up with her new partner was to get her pilot’s
licence.
Kilgore met her husband, Jim Halls, in 2005, and although they were both in their early 50s at the time, it was clear she’d have to take to the skies. Halls, a consulting engineer
for the manufacturing industry, has been a pilot since his teens but with the launch of the couple’s company, Stirling Ultralights, they hope to spend even more time in the air.
The company offers flight training, sales, service and fabrication of ultralight aircraft but it wasn’t something Kilgore had even considered before meeting Halls. In fact, living close to an airport never held much appeal but after moving to just a stone’s throw from the Stirling runway weeks ago,
 Kilgore is now in her element.“She doesn’t like being left behind,” Halls says with a chuckle. And there was little hesitation when the prospect of earning her pilot’s licence
was imminent, he says.“It’s one of those things you don’t think is possible,” Kilgore explains.“But I said, ‘Yes, I’m going to do it,’ and in less than a year I had my licence.”
While Kilgore and Halls are both licensed to fly conventional aircraft they have found common ground in their love of ultralights.
After building the Challenger that Kilgore now flies, the couple began to build the first Highlander ever assembled and test flown in Canada. The plane, available through Just AirCraft, was first flown in Belleville on September 19 of last year and has since made numerous flights from Stirling.
And it is indeed a rarity, Halls says, for a husband and wife to both
assemble and pilot their own aircraft. So while both ultralights have
seating for two, they now fly together in separate aircraft.
The Highlander, with its propeller at the front, looks more like a
conventional plane than the rear-prop Challenger now fitted with skis
and Halls admits they are “different beasts.” But while they differ
significantly in appearance, the planes are comparable in performance
and the couple can often be seen flying in formation.
And while Kilgore continues to work as a technician in Belleville
at Procter and Gamble, she now finds time for her new skyward interests
when she’s away from the office.“It’s just great,” Kilgore says of the freedom of flight. “I’d recommend
it to anybody.”
Halls, who works as a consultant between Oshawa to Kingston,
also takes time from that work schedule to build aircraft, currently
coaching another Highlander builder in Peterborough.“Several people
are looking at
them,” he says of
the Highlander,
and he is hopeful
the aircraft
will grow in popularity
north of
the border. While
there are many
in the air in the
United States, he
says, there are at
the moment very
few in Canada.
And the design
of ultralights has
changed significantly
since their
introduction in
the 1970s and
Halls says they
now have a better
safety record than conventional aircraft. As well, with a sticker
price of about $85,000, the Highlander costs about a third the price
of a comparably sized plane.
And with pilot’s licences available to those as young as 14, the
smaller, lighter and cheaper aircraft may appeal to many younger
fliers for a variety of reasons, the couple says.
Further information about Stirling Ultralights is available on the
Internet at www.stirlingultralights.com or by contacting Halls or Kilgore at 613-395-1714.
Check out the EAA cover story on the Highlander in the link section of this site!
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