A. Dennis Cooper

Dennis Cooper has been active in Canadian aviation for more than fity years and is the recipient of numerous awards for his contributions to the industry. He was Chairman of the Air Transport Association of Canada’s Flight Training Committee for more than a decade and is an honourary life member of the Air Transport Association of Canada.

Cooper has experienced the aviation industry from many perspectives. He has piloted more than fifty types of aircraft, led flying clubs, presided over air shows, and collaborated on regulatory and policy issues at provincial and national levels. A focus on pilot training has been a constant throughout his career.

He co-owns and operates Sky Wings Aviation—one of the oldest independently owned flight schools in Canada—with his wife and fellow Class 1 instructor, Sherry Cooper. The school has graduated more than 6,000 licensed pilots and contracted with Red Deer University (then College) to create a pilot program.

In the 1970s, Cooper worked for Bruce Pultz—a talented teacher who inspired a whole generation of Canadian pilots and developed several instructional manuals and guidebooks. Cooper collaborated on the development of the publications and, after Pultz retired, Cooper acquired the rights to all the Pultz publications. Since the 1990s Cooper and his team of pilots and flight instructors at Sky Wings Aviation have continuously maintained, updated, and tested the publications.