Lights around Christmastime look great from the ground, but from the sky they are magical.
That’s what Lacombe Flying Club president Jon Fromm said heading into the third year of Twinkle Tours in Lacombe.
Every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday until Dec. 22 three people will step into a small plane and fly over Central Alberta where they’ll see the lights just as Santa Claus sees them - hundreds of feet in the air.
“You can see lights for 30 to 40 miles. Most people haven’t seen Central Alberta in that perspective. It’s generally new to people, it’s fun and all the funds go to a good cause,” said Fromm.
All money raised ($50 per passenger) goes to the Lacombe Community Food Bank. The flying club raised $2,400 in 2015 and $12,750 in 2016.
The club’s goal is to raise $5,000 this year, which was last year’s goal as well.
Fromm said he loves seeing how much people enjoy the tour.
“Nobody has not liked the tour yet,” said Fromm. “Usually they’re talking a mile-a-minute about how great it was. They can’t believe how much they can see.”
The club covers the cost of gas and pilots donate their time and aircrafts. Only one plane will be in the air each night to avoid pilot burnout, Fromm said.
“We want to keep this going so the last thing we want to do is burn out our pilots,” he said.
Fromm grew up in Estavan, Sask. The flying club there used to do its own Twinkle Tour in the 1980s and ’90s, he said.
“I’d like to take credit for coming up with the Twinkle Tours, but all I can take credit for is taking the idea,” said Fromm.
For more information or to book a seat on a Twinkle Tour you can contact Fromm at 403-896-7175.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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