What does freedom really mean?

For many people, freedom means being yourself without fearing what others think about you. Freedom is about controlling your destiny and pushing yourself beyond your limits.

In a unique way, Freedom's Wings helps its pilots experience just that.

Established in 2003 by Charles Petersen, Freedom's Wings lets people with disabilities earn glider pilot licenses to fly sailplanes. With a modified, accessible control system, sailplanes give people like Michael Clarke, a paraplegic, the chance to conquer the skies. Clarke was Freedom's Wings' first student.

"A glider is in some ways a very simple aircraft to fly," says Clarke, who is now a licensed sailplane instructor. "Its controls are very straightforward, and the only modifications needed for someone such as myself to control the aircraft are hand controls for the rudder."

While other aircraft use engines to fly, gliders are towed by another plane and use rising air and gravity to propel them forward. Imagine experiencing Ontario's breathtaking landscape from thousands of feet in the air, gliding gently towards the ground.

Clarke knows this feeling firsthand. He describes one flight over Arthur, Ontario where he encountered an unexpected partner: "I was at about 4,000 feet above the ground when I saw a hawk circling a short way off and I turned the aircraft to join the bird. The ability to share the sky with something as perfect as a hawk gave me one of my greatest thrills."

Collaboration has been the foundation of Freedom's Wings, providing many people with disabilities the opportunity for thrilling experiences like Clarke's. The charity evolved from the Youth Flight Canada Education Fund, whose original vision was to support Canada's most motivated young pilots. An Ontario Trillium Foundation grant allowed them to purchase a $75,000 sailplane, which allowed Charles Petersen's vision to become a reality.

In that same spirit of collaboration, part of Youth Flight Canada's program lets young pilots volunteer their skills and instruct people with disabilities free of charge through its "Inspiration Flights" program. "I sort of fell backwards into the job by being one of the charity's scholarship recipients," says Peter Musters, Executive Director and pilot at Youth Flight Canada. "I got increasingly involved in Freedom's Wings as a flying volunteer and really enjoyed it."

With organizations like Freedom's Wings leading the way, Ontarians with disabilities face one less barrier to realize their dreams. Isn't that what freedom is really all about?