About Wetaskiwin Aerial Applicators Ltd.
Our story begins in 1981 with owners Brent Lange and Larry McDonald. In 2000 Larry left the business to pursue other interests. After 5 years of being a manager at Wetaskiwin Aerial, Corey has become the owner, along with his partner Hope in February 2019.
Corey has been aerial spraying for 17 years. Corey is a commercial fixed and rotary wing pilot with an M1/M2 Aircraft Maintenance Engineer license. He has spent time flying in BC and Yukon mountains and has flown across Canada in helicopters and airplanes. Corey is also a certified spray analyst. Hope has a diploma in Occupational Health and Safety and spent time working North of Fort McMurray with Bird Construction. Since 2016, Hope has been working at Wetaskiwin Aerial in the office, as well as mixing and loading. With Corey's passion for flying and Hope's enjoyment for office work, we are definitely one another's better half and make up for others weaknesses accordingly. We both bring a different, yet crucial, skillset to the operation.
We now have two small children (Genevieve and Jack) so Hope has taken a back seat for the time being! She will continue bookkeeping, but will not be in the office on a daily basis.
Fixed Wing Crew:
Bruce Gair has been piloting with us for over 30 years! Bruce has since retired in 2019. Andrew Brown has been spraying for well over a decade. He also has a passion for training and teaching. Harry Evans has been flying with us since 2021. You can find him in Thailand over the winter flying skydivers around! Jim Trail is originally from Australia, but has since put down roots in Canada. Jim has been spraying for 5 years. James Keating is also from down under, we has been spraying with us since 2024. Randy Liebel experienced his first year as ground crew, and enjoyed it enough to continue! He has goals to become an aerial applicator.
Helicopter Crew:
Colemen Garnick is a helicopter pilot and has been with us since 2021. Owen Dodson is a helicopter pilot from New Zealand. Owen ran his own spray business for many years and recently decided to come to Canada. He brings a lot of knowledge and passion to our crew! Brian has been with us since 2023 as a mixer/loader. He is a commercial helicopter pilot with goals of becoming an aerial applicator in the near future.
Maintenance Crew:
Steven Wood started with us in 2019 and can be found wrenching on airplanes in the winter, and mixing/loading in the summer. He also helps in the office dispatching. Mike Murchie's aircraft maintenance knowledge is unmatched! He has been on our team since 2023. Eric Nelson has been helping us with maintenance through the winters for a few years now, and as of 2024 is full time.
Office Crew:
Sophie Green has gone back to New Zealand, so we now have a new face in the office! Haleigh Wood has joined our team in 2024.
We have expanded our operation and therefore many new additions to our team came in recent years. We are truly blessed to have such an amazing and talented team of people at Wetaskiwin Aerial. Every single person on our team is a valued member, and crucial to our operations success. Not only do we enjoy working together; we have also created lifelong friends in the process!
Who we are
From Left to Right: Owen Dodson, Colemen Garnick, Mike Murchie, Brian Koenraadt, Steven Wood, Haleigh Wood, Harry Evans, Ryan Gallant, Eric Nelson, Flynn Scheetz, James Keating, Randy Liebel, Jim Trail, Megan Kaisner, Sophie Green, Andrew Brown, Hope Cosens (Jack Lange), Corey Lange (Genevieve Lange)