About Us

If you can learn to fly here, you can fly anywhere in the world

Who We Are

“Craig started his flying career at the early age of 15 and only wanted more from there. At 17 he got his Private Aeroplane Licence following that with his Commercial Helicopter Licence at age 18. He started working with a spraying company and completed his Commercial Aeroplane Licence while gaining experience in the industry. In 1989 he started working with a helicopter company, was given an Approved Mountain Course and gained over 10,000 hours of Mountain flying, Longlining, management, and many more types of industry experience.

In 2000 Craig decided to pass on the helicopter torch by gaining his Flight Instructor Rating and started teaching in the winters and continued to fly in the industry in the summers. After gaining over 12,500 hours of training experience, and 11,500 hours of industry experience, he bought a helicopter and started his own school. JoinAir was born.

Over the years JoinAir has expanded its operations to the Aeroplane world and now offers training for both fixed wing and rotary aircraft making future pilots’ dreams come true. Your journey starts here.”

Meet The Team

Craig Joiner

CHIEF FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR –
HELI & OWNER

EXPERIENCE

36 years
(1987-2023)

TOTAL TIME

23,500 Hours

11,000 Industry Flight Hours
12,500 Flight Training Hours

SKILLS

Class 1 Instructor
PE-Pilot Examiner
ACP – Approved Check Pilot
ROC-A Accredited Examiner
Mountain Training Specialist

“Craig is a proud father of five, four children and one flight school! With a passion for flying like none other, he’s been flying for 36 years and is still loving it. When he’s got a break from work, you’ll find him kayaking the lakes, or hiking the forests of British Columbia! He’s the founder of JoinAir Helicopters, an amazing Flight Instructor, and he’s pretty fun too!”

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Walter Pluge

CHIEF FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR –
AERO

EXPERIENCE

31 years
(1992-2023)

TOTAL TIME

17,000 Hours

SKILLS

Training Captain
Class 2 Flight Instructor
Type Rating Instructor
Aeronautical Engineer
English Instructor

“Walter, also known as “The Captain” at JoinAir, is an extremely knowledgeable and successful Airline Pilot and Flight Instructor. He’s got three passions in his life: flying, his family, and building his own airplane in his garage! As a trained Aeronautical Engineer and Meteorologist, you’ll always be in good hands. Walter is a super friendly and approachable guy and will make your training experience educational and fun!”

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Esther Schutte

FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR –
AERO

EXPERIENCE

5 years
(2018-2023)

TOTAL TIME

680 Hours
120 hours taildragger time

SKILLS

Class 3 Instructor

“Meet the newest member of our team here at JoinAir! Esther got into flying thanks to her grandfather who encouraged her to follow her dreams 5 years ago. Since then she has gained her class 3 instructor rating, and when she is not teaching she loves to fly for fun with her fiancé on their private aircraft. Come book an intro flight with Esther!”

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Tricia Nash

FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR –
AERO

EXPERIENCE

25 years
(1998-2023)

TOTAL TIME

4000+ Hours

SKILLS

Class 4 Instructor
ATPL
COMMERCIAL HELICOPTER
FLOAT

“Tricia flew commercially for 10 years and took an 8 year break to sail around the world. She returned to aviation and decided to become a flight instructor. Tricia lives to travel and loves to share her passion for flying with her students. She is looking forward to flying with you! ”

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Leena Campbell

OFFICE MANAGER

“Leena’s passion for her work, positive attitude, and welcoming presence makes her an asset here at JoinAir. She is responsible for all of our administrative duties and is looking forward to welcoming you to your new training program!”

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Our Training Location

CHILLIWACK, BC, CANADA

“Here at JoinAir we pride ourselves by having access to some of the best training grounds in the world.

Here you learn to fly in the mountainous regions of Western Canada only an hour outside Vancouver.

The Chilliwack area has lakes, rivers, 4 seasons of challenging weather, airports, and major air traffic routes that makes learning here challenging but rewarding.

With all this only a few minutes from Chilliwack Airport, training with JoinAir gives you real life experience.”

Cessna 172 Schweizer300CBICessna 152Robinson R44 Raven II

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Our History

2018

Season 13

JoinAir Helicopters started in 2018 with Craig Joiner opening his very own helicopter flight school with an R44 helicopter!

2019

Season 13

With Helicopter training in full swing, JoinAir thrived in 2019!

2020

Season 12

In 2020 JoinAir Flight Training expanded into the fixed wing world with aeroplane training on the Cessna 152. 2020 was also the year that JoinAir started offering a second helicopter training option with the Schweizer 300 CBI!

2021

Season 11

And in 2021, the Cessna 172 was added as aircraft number four for JoinAir’s fleet.

Future

Let’s see what the future holds!

Want to become a Pilot?

We are here to help.

Talk with our experts.

+1 (604)-792-1333

GET IN TOUCH

Reviews

Miguel Parra

2022-01-28

Paul

2021-12-07

Finished my fixed wing flight training at this Flight Training Unit after several years of hiatus. The instructors and staff are consummate professionals, and brought me back up to speed for my written and flight exams with ease. I've also done about an hour of rotary wing instruction with Craig Joiner, who was extremely skilled in both flying and instruction. Now with nearly 100 hours of flight under my belt, I cannot recommend JoinAir highly enough!

Shannon Netzel

2021-11-21

Kelsey F

2021-09-15

I have always wanted to get my PPL and when Craig decided to expand his company to fixed wing training as well as helicopters, I jumped at the chance to get my Private Pilot License. Everyone was amazing to deal with, supportive, and flexible so I could get it completed around my schedule. I wouldn't hesitate to (and already do) recommend this company to anyone in the Fraser Valley who is looking to get their private pilot license in a fun and cost effective way!

Khaif Sha

2021-03-31

Committed

Dan Robertson

2019-11-14

Best training facility in Canada. Craig is extremely knowledgeable and a excellent training pilot. If you're thinking about getting your helicopter licence, you wont find a better place.

Luc Melanson

2019-11-04

Great place to get a pilots licence, or advanced training!

Daryl Todd

2019-08-30

I recently completed my flight training at Joinair. It was an excellent experience, Craig is one of the best in the business, with way more real world flying experience than other guys I looked at training with. Super flexible as well which worked well for my ever changing schedule. And the location of the school is a major bonus, within minutes you're on the river or in the mountains

Danny W

2019-05-17

I just recently finished my commercial helicopter pilots license at Joinair and I am grateful for the amount of knowledge and expertise from my instructor Craig Joiner. He came highly recommended as one of the top helicopter instructors in Canada and I can definitely see why. When it was time to take my final written exam and flight test I was fully prepared and skilled to do well! I highly recommend Joinair to anyone looking into getting their pilots license. Give the Joinair family a call and you will never look back!

Brad K

2018-11-15

Awesome training. Craig Joiner is second to none with his expertise, teaching and actual helicopter industry experience.

About Us

Who We Are

Meet The Team

Craig Joiner

EXPERIENCE

TOTAL TIME

SKILLS

Walter Pluge

EXPERIENCE

TOTAL TIME

SKILLS

Esther Schutte

EXPERIENCE

TOTAL TIME

SKILLS

Tricia Nash

EXPERIENCE

TOTAL TIME

SKILLS

Leena Campbell

Our Training Location

CHILLIWACK, BC, CANADA

Our History

Want to become a Pilot?

We are here to help.

Talk with our experts.

Reviews

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