2005 october

Victoria Flying Club

October 2005

Inside

A C172 takes off from Runway 27 and climbs into the autumn sunset.

Photo by Bill Stewart.

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Short Final

Letters to Pilots are Flying in the Editor Happy People the Orient

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14

Squawk Ident

Tsuniah Lake Flyout

Wing Ride

Pages

Eleanor’s

The

Patrician

S hort F inal

Newsletter of the Victoria Flying Club

OCTOBER 2005 Editor:

Eleanor Eastick PatricianEditor@shaw.ca Advertising inquiries: Bob Mace (250) 361-6996 or bmace@shaw.ca Publisher: Seaside Designs seasidedesigns@shaw.ca (250) 383-7777 Published monthly.

Unsolicited articles welcome.

The deadline for submissions is Thursday, October 20, 2005.

Board of Directors President Vice President Treasurer Secretary Directors

Sean Steele Bob Mace Eleanor Eastick Steve Ray Doug Marin Colin Dormuth Don Goodeve Lloyd Toope

General Manager Chief Flying Instructor

Gerry Mants Graham Palmer

1852 Canso Road Victoria, BC V8L 5V5

Phone: Fax: Email: Web:

(250) 656-4321 (250) 656-2833 (250) 655-0910 info@flyvfc.com www.flyvfc.com

Opinions expressed are those of the authors alone. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced in any format without the written authorization from the publisher or author.

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Indian Summer is here! What beautiful clear days and starry nights! Perfect flying weather!

We are now officially into autumn and the nights are growing longer; darkness seems to descend as suddenly as a curtain dropping over the bright window of day. Whew! Now is the time to refresh your night-flying skills or to start work on a night rating if you don’t have one. Get going now while we have clear skies and gentle breezes; don’t wait until we have all that nasty rain and wind with which to contend.

Kudos from the Club Once again, VFC has produced a Webster winner – Yorgo Roumanis, and a BC Aviation Council Scholarship winner – Adam Fras.

The Club’s Tracy Biddle won the Webster in ’93 and CFI Graham Palmer was First Runner-Up in ’95.

(Tracy now flies a jet for Jazz – check the photo!) Back in the early ‘80s, VFC Life Member Roy Millar twice represented BC in the Webster Finals: 1982 in Moncton and 1984 in Kitchener Waterloo.

The John C. Webster Memorial Trophy Competition was established in 1932 by the late Dr. J.C. Webster of Shediac, New Brunswick in memory of his son, John, who was killed at St. Hubert, Quebec in an aircraft accident while practising to represent Canada in an aerobatic flying contest. The competition strives to encourage excellence in amateur piloting skills and gives finalists national exposure to senior officials and other dignitaries within the aviation industry. Many of

Canada’s potential aircrew employers watch the annual Webster Competition with interest. Some former Webster Trophy winners and other finalists have been offered flying positions within the Canadian aviation industry and elsewhere in the world simply because they accepted the challenge to compete in a friendly contest with their peers.

On Approach On Approach is the newsletter of the Victoria Airport Authority, a semi-annual publication edited and largely written by Phil Jensen.

The June 2005 issue featured VIH’s 50th anniversary and the fall edition will have a story about VFC

as the Club prepares to celebrate its 60th anniversary next year, 2006. Be sure to look for On Approach in mid-to-late October.

It’s to be found here and there around the airport and the Club is sure to have a good supply.

High Altitude Mark Mark Esterhuizen of Cathay Pacific owns the F1 Rocket (see photo) which was featured on page 14 in the May ‘05 Patrician. (More information can be seen at www.teamrocketaircraft.com). The other day he flew it to 25,350’ ASL and cont’d p.4

Letters to the Editor lent me some seemingly size 22 pants and another lent me his girlfriend’s old pilot shirt that I couldn't get the buttons done up on. After a lot of talking with our mechanics, I was allowed to go home and had the misfortune of getting caught in a roadblock just outside of Fort Vermilion. Word travels fast in a small town.

Aaron Cawsey is now back in Fort Vermilion after a short stay in Victoria to see family and friends. Here he recounts more of his exciting life as a bush pilot. Read on! It's worth it!

Ed Ever since I left Victoria in August I have been busy studying.

Almost 28 days straight in addition to the flying that I normally do. The result is that I am now flying the King Air (big plane) on medevacs instead of flying thousands of pounds of pop, chips and drunk passengers in the 206 (small plane). Dragging myself out of bed at 2 in the morning and flying within 20 minutes is much more common now than it was before. Even still, I'll happily take what I'm doing now instead of having a kid wipe his boogers on my pants. Sounds bad? Trust me, worse has happened. Let me explain.

August 24: I have a lot of good days here but this one stands out as one of the exceptionally bad. After putting in almost 10 hours of flying since 8am that morning, I was on my last flight of the day to fly a passenger out of High Level and back into one of the reserves. I loaded up and went to start the engine and nothing happened. To make a long story short, my starter motor had fried and was not going to get my plane working again that night. If I had known that, I might not have been in such a rush to get to a phone to call our maintenance department before darkness. I took the shortest route from the airplane to our hangar at the airport in High Level. This happened to take me through an area I didn't normally walk through. As it was getting dark and I was in a rush, I was running at full tilt through this grassy area only to find that the local refueling guys had decided to dump their sewage holding tanks that day in the very same place I was now running through. Poo makes things very slippery and within a couple of seconds I was on my ass up to my waist in the stuff. To make things worse, a regional airliner was taxiing right for the area I was at and so they had their landing light shining right on me. Also I was at least an hour's drive from my clothes in Fort Vermilion. A couple of pilots lent me some old clothes of theirs that I was able to wear temporarily but not before they got their pictures in. One guy

The King Air is a great plane to fly and my training went very well. Most of my flights in the last couple of weeks have been at night with a Captain who no longer works here due to his unsafe attitude and who has actually sworn at me while I've been flying with him. The flying is a lot more challenging now that I am flying to the reserves at night. Our runway lighting is nothing more than orange construction site flashing lamps. The kind that when you see them, you have a sudden urge to pop your trunk and throw one in. I hope we don't ever have a secretly epileptic pilot come and fly for us. I only have half a dozen flights in the KA so far but as new adventures happen, I'll let you know. It is definitely a lot of fun.

Besides that, I just returned from Edmonton yesterday. I was down there to write even more exams. So far, my exam count in the last 3 weeks stands at 12. That is it for now. The leaves are already falling from trees. We've had our first batch of snow.

Hi Eleanor I really enjoyed the Sept. edition of 'The Patrician". I am pleased that you were able to use some of my photos and I like the way that you blended them with Larry Dibnah's article.

Thanks for all your wonderful airshow photos, Bill. It was too hard to choose just a few, so I let Larry Dibnah do the selecting!

Ed We ran off a hard copy and mailed it to Anne's father in Vermont. He was a corporate pilot and logged over 32,000 hours before he hung up his headphones. He really enjoyed reading all the articles.

Bill Stewart

October Mystery of the Month Okay, everyone; here’s an easy one.

What plane is NOT being flown by Eleanor in this photo?

(Hint: look out the cockpit windows.)

Send your educated guess(es) to PatricianEditor@shaw.ca.

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Short Final cont’d from p 2 was still getting 350 ft/minute climb but felt his oxygen supply was insufficient to continue to climb higher. It took him 37 minutes to reach that altitude and he burned 12.2 gallons for the entire trip up and down.

Mark has volunteered to give an evening talk to aspiring career pilots about the ins and outs of getting hired by Cathay Pacific (or any other major airline). This informative session will take place on Thursday, October 13 at 7:00 PM in the VFC Lounge.

Don’t miss it if you plan a career with the airlines!

September Mystery of the Month A little closer to home, this aircraft was photographed behind the Club in 2002.

The plane in the picture is a 1975 Piper Pawnee D model used for photo flying as you can so clearly see from the camera pod hanging under the belly:-) Bjorn Olsen The mystery photo is of a Piper Pawnee, built as a crop sprayer, loved as a glider tug… regards John Saunders Hong Kong That’s right! The aircraft in the photo, a Piper Pawnee, parked at VFC for a few days while the pilot was taking extensive aerial photos of our beautiful island. Thanks also to Al Whalley and Rob McLeod who identified the mystery plane as a crop sprayer.

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Pilots are Happy People e recently attended a flyin / picnic at a private airstrip on a farm near Mabel Lake. Apart from several area pilots, neighbors from the entire valley are invited and everyone brings food. It’s an annual event hosted by the owner of the little farm, Leroy Proctor. He and his neighbors welcome pilots with gracious, friendly hospitality. The pilots mingled freely with the area residents, exchanging greetings and information in the warm August sunshine. We met some interesting, fine folks on that glorious day, and it’s one event we’d like to plan for again next year.

W

With plenty of spare time on my hands, even without sitting on a remote mountain top, I sometimes find my mind wanders and wonders about things that normal people probably don’t think about too much. Consider the question, “are pilots really happier than nonpilots, or is it my imagination?”

Certainly there are many specific factors which make someone happy, and there is actually a lot of scientific research on it. Money usually comes to mind when the topic is discussed, which doesn’t make sense because if you’re a pilot (general aviation, private pilot) you likely don’t have money. But it’s been shown that it’s not the money that makes you happy, it’s the status the money buys that does it. Understanding that illustrates more clearly why a

pilot is generally a happy person, because agree or disagree, pilots enjoy a certain high status in our society. And that’s not because we’re any better than the next person, it’s just a fact of life.

Whatever we do to earn it is rooted in our own feelings prior to our flying careers. We all held airmen in high esteem back then, and the rest of the people still do it to us today.

We were reminded of that and humbled by all the attention from the people at the picnic.

More scientific surveys show there is a genetic connection which determines how happy we are too.

Apparently, some of us are actually born happy, while others are not.

Consider all the factors that make us happy, and genetics is the strongest. It rates up there even above flying! Go figure.

BEAR’S AIR

by Barry

Meek

emotions. Why? Well, by now most of us can relate to living with more realistic goals, and have learned to focus on things that make us happy, probably because we know time is running out, and we have to let go of the bad things in life, things that don’t really matter anymore. Like the golf handicap, the latest fashions, or how we look in the mirror.

Where is all this rambling going you ask? Well, it’s nothing more than a consideration of happiness. Conclusion? Pilots who are old, rich and married are indeed more likely to be almost as happy as those wonderful farm people who host flyin/picnics for us. I salute you folks, and can speak for all the fellows who fly by saying thank you all for a most enjoyable day.

We’ve all heard that marriage makes people happy. I suppose if your 35 year old daughter or son who still lives at home announces he/she is getting married and moving out, you’d be very happy. Studies from many countries reveal that married people are consistently happier than singles. The question remains, does marriage make you happy or are happy people more likely to get married?

Another happiness determining factor is age. When people are asked to respond to questionnaires regarding their emotional status, older people consistently report more positive

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Flying the

in

Orient

by John Saunders, VFC member residing in Hong Kong lying in Hong Kong in the summer is an interesting density altitude experience with 98% humidity and F 40 degree temperatures. I now really appreciate Jason Stewart's simulated density altitude take off's!

In fact as you will see I have come to rely heavily on Jason's excellent teaching, given what can be a challenging environment to fly in....thought you might enjoy the following:

500". This innocuous sounding clearance has you scooting over the end of Hong Kong's main suspension bridge (with about 500ft spare) before descending over water to 500ft (!) to cross underneath the extended centreline of Chep Lap Kok (look up for 747's). Once you approach the Kowloon coast line you start a climb up to ensure at least 2,000 ft (to maintain safe height above the tower blocks of Tuen Mun) before a run in to the SKARA military zone and the home airfield at Sek Kong.

Flying here is much more limited than in Canada as in the time it takes you to get overhead Chemainus, you are bumping up against the border with China. Don't misread the map unless you have a strong desire to see Migs up close. Weather is also an issue here as CB's build up very quickly in the afternoon and they are BIG...

Although a military base in the week, the Chinese don't fly at weekends (let's hope their enemies also adhere to this genteel protocol) so the airfield is essentially uncontrolled.

Once overhead the runway at 2,000 ft a check of the wind sock and a call to "traffic" to confirm all aircraft in the circuit in sight and we descend to join the downwind at the circuit altitude of 800ft. "Brakes, undercarriage, mixture master mags... etc etc" and the downwind call goes out, "Cessna Papa Lima, left downwind, runway 11, full stop".

In that wonderful way of aviation though there are of course many special and interesting treats. Outside of the international airport, Chep Lap Kok (please don't land your Cessna there unless it is a real emergency) there is only one airfield for general aviation (Sek Kong) which is the Chinese military aviation HQ. A typical day's flying starts with much saluting from stern faced men with guns, followed by a search of your car before being waved on to drive across the active with a quick look downwind to check finals for traffic!

Turning base, the call goes out...carb heat, throttle back, 10 degrees and stabilise at 70Kts. Now the turn and the call for finals, 10 more degrees, a crack of down trim to maintain 70.... 1,500 rpm works well for this aircraft... nicely lined up (Jason's voice again "pick a spot, gentle use of the power, don't let it move in the windscreen") big trees just before the threshold, a quick dap of power as we go over to catch the sink and then feel your way into the flare... hold it off.. hold it off and then just a little bump.. a pause and another bump as the nose wheel comes down..

Later on in the aircraft and with power checks and pre take off checks done, a painfully long roll down runway 11 sees 55Kts on the ASI and a grindingly slow climb to a cross wind turn at 300 ft to avoid rising ground ahead. Jason Stewart's voice always pops into my head at this point saying "watch your airspeed, smooth coordinated inputs..."

Just the one runway, so off as quick as you can... flaps up, carb heat cold, transponder to standby and a taxi back to the club. Shutdown checks complete, mixture out and the prop stutters to a halt.. mags off and as you open the door while you fumble for the control lock all you can hear is the cicadas chirping in time to the ticking of the exhaust... ahh bliss....

Climbing out on the downwind, the hard part is over and as the ground falls away the beauty of Hong Kong opens up in the windscreen. The tour guides may only show the clamouring skycrapers lining the harbour, but much of Hong Kong is wonderful lush green hills and mountains. At 1,500ft a turn back down the runway leads to a break out between the mountains (Kadorie Gap) and a flight over the open water of Tolo Harbour and down through Port Shelter with its blue green water topped with a mixture of fishing and pleasure boats. Once through Tolo and Port Shelter, the city builds up as we approach the harbour and ATC clears us for a harbour crossing at 1,500 ft. At this height some of the skyscrapers are looking down on us and as the flight path must remain over water one gets a feeling of weaving through the buildings.

Once out of the harbour ATC clears you for the "Ma Wan crossing, not above 1,000 to Gold Coast

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From the BOARD: You‘ve noticed the recent physical changes to the Club. In the next short while you will see the new and improved Club website. It is increasingly important that our web profile reflect the quality and professionalism of the Club, be attractive to prospective members and still remain a useful information source for existing members. Our new website design I believe does all this (and more!) and builds on the strong foundation left for the Club by past director Bjorn Olsen (to whom we owe our gratitude for getting us on the web in the first place). The project to revamp the website has been spearheaded by Director Don Goodeve, with much help from VP Bob Mace and Director Doug Marin to whom we owe our thanks for the hard work they‘ve put in to giving the Club a strong web presence and a good foundation for our future marketing initiatives.

This interesting plane was photographed by Bob Mace this year at Oshkosh.

Larry Dibnah gives us the story behind it: The photo shows a full-sized replica of a Sikorsky that was flown in 1935 to Brazil by H.F. Johnson who was in search of carnauba palm plants for the family line of household products (hence the name “carnauba” on the hull).

The replica took more than three years to build and has been operational since 1998. During 1998, the replica, replete in the original colours, was flown by the late Sam Johnson and his sons on a flight to Brazil to re-create H.F. Johnson’s original flight in search of the carnauba plant.

The 7500 mile trip took 27 days.

Today the Sikorsky replica is flown to airshows around the US. (source: EAA AirVenture Today Online - Volume 5, Number 4, July 27, 2005)

Sean Steele, Pres.

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Graham Palmer VFC/CFI

bout a week ago I received an email from a student of mine who completed his Private Pilot Licence about six years ago. Retired, and living in the interior of BC he has accumulated an impressive amount of experience flying his Piper Super Cub in and out of areas that most pilots wouldn’t even consider a landing strip.

A

He asked me a simple question: “Graham, I’ve flown a lot over the last five years, but am I current?”

A quick email later I found out that he had flown approximately 250 hours in the last two years, and about 45 in the last 60 days. He hadn’t done a checkride, or flown with a flight instructor since he completed his night rating four years ago. The answer was not simple… Yes & No! Yes he is competent, as he flies on a regular basis; but as far as recency goes, no. Recency is a legal requirement set forth by Transport Canada in CARs 401.05. While this outlines a broad topic, CARs 401.05(2)(a) details that a pilot must complete a recurrent training program in accordance with the personnel licensing standards within the 24 months preceding a flight.

Now this is where it can start getting confusing; what constitutes a recurrent training program? Most people assume that doing a check ride or an annual check ride at a flight school or Club will satisfy these requirements, but it technically won’t. While a check ride or annual check ride will satisfy a flight school or flying club’s ‘currency’ policy’, a ‘flight review’ found in CARs 421.05(2)(a) requires a review of all flight test exercises associated with the licence one holds; keep in mind that this may require several flights to complete.

There are available to you several other ‘recurrent training programs’, such as: attendance of a safety seminar conducted by Transport Canada Aviation, a program approved by Transport Canada designed to update pilot knowledge in human factors, meteorology, navigation, or air regulations. Additionally, completion of a self-paced study exam produced annually in the Transport Canada Aviation Safety Newsletter, or completion of the skill requirements for issue or renewal of a pilot permit, licence or rating. And finally, completion of the written examination(s) for a permit, licence or rating can satisfy the requirements of a flight review.

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Squawk Ident

Deciding upon what requirement is good for you is very important. If one flies regularly, more than 10 hours per month, then completion of the self-paced study exam is acceptable. If one flies 5 – 10 hours per month, then attendance of a safety seminar or Transport Canada approved program is sufficient. If on the other hand one flies less than 5 hours per month, then upgrading the licence (completing the skill or knowledge requirement(s) for a higher licence or rating) or a flight review is ideal.

Keep in mind that the onus is on the pilot to ensure his recency, which means every 24 months one of the requirements outlined above must be completed. Just as ensuring that one’s Medical Certificate is valid, so must one ensure his Pilot Licence is ‘recent’. I encourage you to check your logbook, and licence and determine your recency, while the decision of a particular method to establish recency is not governed by law, the requirement to do so is. My suggestions outlined above are based on my observations of the ability and skill levels of pilots that I have flown with who have decided to conduct the flight review.

In my friend’s case, because of the hours he has flown in the past 24 months, I recommended he complete the self-paced study exam. What to do with the exam after completion? Retain it with your logbook, each of the requirements to establish recency will end with your having proof. A licence or rating will provide you with a dated permit, a Transport Canada approved safety seminar or program will provide you with a dated letter.

Should you decide to complete a flight review with an instructor, he will stamp your logbook with the wording: “This is to certify that the skill requirement for the __________ (permit or licence) has been met” followed by the date, his signature and licence number. If your logbook doesn’t contain this phrase, you haven’t done a flight review.

If you want some advice in selecting the course of action that is right for you, feel free to email me at: graham.palmer@flyvfc.com, and I’ll be more than happy to help.

F L I G H T

P L A N S

COMMERCIAL Groundschool October 28th- November 27th, 2005 DATE

TIME

TOPIC

INSTRUCTOR

Oct 28

1700-2100

CARS

Jason Ware

Oct 29

0830-1700

Navigation

Jason Stewart

Oct 30

0830-1700

Flight Operations

James Zack

Nov 4

1700-2100

PDM

Jason Stewart

Nov 5

0830-1700

Crew Resource Management

Jason Stewart

Nov 6

0830-1700

Crew Resource Management

Jason Stewart

Nov 18

1700-2100

Airframes & Engines

Steve Mais

Nov 19

0830-1030

Airframes & Engines

Steve Mais

1030-1700

Licensing Requirements Theory of Flight & Aerodynamics

Jason Ware

0830-1130

Systems & Instruments

Steve Mais

1130-1700

Radio & Electronic Theory

Jason Stewart

Nov 26

0830-1700

Meterology

Bryon Thompson

Nov 27

0830-1700

Meterology

Bryon Thompson

Nov 20

PRIVATE PILOT Groundschool

Classes held Monday and Wednesday, 1900-2200 DATE Oct

Nov

Dec

TOPIC

INSTRUCTOR Jason Stewart Marcel Poland Marcel Poland

19 24 26 31 02 07 09 14 16 21 23 28 30 05

Navigation Review Review Theory of Flight & Licensing Requirements Aerodynamics Airframes and Engines Systems & Flight Instruments Canadian Aviation Regulations Canadian Aviation Regulations Meteorology Meteorology Meteorology Meteorology Meteorology Human Factors Flight Operations Flight Operations Navigation

Jason Ware Jason Ware Steve Mais Steve Mais Jason Ware Jason Ware Bryon Thompson Bryon Thompson Bryon Thompson Bryon Thompson Bryon Thompson Jason Stewart James Zacks James Zacks Jason Stewart

07

Navigation

Jason Stewart

12

Navigation

Jason Stewart

14

Radio and Electronic Theory

Jason Stewart

19

Review (Tower Tour if available)

Marcel Poland

21

Review (Tower Seminar/Written Seminar) Marcel Poland

03 05 12 17

Download A.I.P. CANADA These files are available in PDF (Portable Document Format) and may be viewed using version 3.0 or higher of the Adobe速 Acrobat Reader. This reader may be downloaded free of charge by visiting the Adobe速 web site. If an alternate format of these documents is required, please contact Transport Canada, Communications, Place de Ville, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N5.

A.I.P Canada 17.6 MB (1 hour 25 min) Amendment 1/05 Explanation of changes 128 KB (36 secs) - Letter To Recipients - Change Of Address 105 KB (29 secs) General 3 MB (14 min 33 secs) Aerodromes 2.1 MB (10 min 11 secs) Communications 2.7 MB (13 min 6 secs) Meteorology 3.7 MB (17 min 57 secs) Rules Of The Air And Air Traffic Services 8.5 MB (41 min 15 secs) Facilitation 1.7 MB (8 min 15 secs) Search and Rescue 2.3 MB (11 min 9 secs) Aeronautical Charts and Publications 2.2 MB (10 min 40 secs) Licensing, Registration and Airworthiness 1.8 MB (8 min 44 secs) Airmanship 2.4 MB (11 min 39 secs) A.I.P. Canada Supplements - Summary issued annually 3.7 MB (17 min 57 secs) Aeronautical Information Circulars (AIC) - Summary issued annually 2.4 MB (11 min 39 secs)

9

To Tsuniah Lake on Labour Day

by Ken Browning

The September flyout to Tsuniah Lake (CAF4) offered some of the best scenery I ever experienced. This is saying a lot given the spectacular scenery usually offered on these coastal routes.

Unfortunately, we had little company on this trip.

Originally two planes from our Victoria Flying Club (VFC) were to meet three planes from the Boundary Bay Flying Club. The plan was to assemble in Powell River to top up tanks before continuing as a group. After a call on the morning of our flight, Gillian Reece, my flight partner from VFC, and I were the only two pilots in the single plane on this flyout.

The upside was that not being rushed to meet up with others gave us the chance to wait out the weather, which was a bit iffy in the early morning.The weather up the coast had fog patches with some low clouds, but was better on the east side of the strait than the west and forecast to improve. We killed some time in the Dakota CafĂŠ at the Victoria field while reviewing flight plans.

It was wheels up at 10:45 a.m. for a smooth one-hour flight to Powell River. Enroute puffy cumulus clouds hung directly over the Gulf Islands with plenty of flying room in between. The well-spaced clouds were at the same altitude as our plan and made for a stimulating visual experience. We had a bit of luck in Powell River. We were about to call Kamloops for a further weather update and to file a flight plan when we ran into a Stinson pilot who had just flown down from Tsuniah Lake. We could expect very good weather according to the pilot.

After refueling in Powell River, Gillian piloted the plane and we flew along the coast to Bute Inlet. The water was a surreal, vivid turquoise and we could not help but comment on it as neither of us had experienced these

The runway at Tsuniah Lake Lodge.

colours before. We were continually surprised to see various shades of turquoise with, at times, long filaments of contrasting colours.

At the head of Bute Inlet we followed the steep-sided Southgate River valley, which offered magnificent mountain scenery, though we were both glad of the canyon turning practice we each had prior to the flight.

We continued north along another valley over a high pass before entering an arm of Chilko Lake. We were surprised to see the same turquoise shades in this fresh water lake as we had just witnessed in Bute Inlet. We were soon at the 4000-foot long, 4000-foot high, grass landing strip of the Tsuniah Lake Lodge. This lodge has been in operation since 1952. The only other plane there was a twin Cessna 310 on a grassy area adjacent to the strip.

We were met at the plane and driven to the lodge.

Although the thought was appreciated, after 1.4 hours in the air, a stretch of the legs would perhaps have been a better idea as the lodge is close to walk to being located right at the end of the runway.

We were given phone privileges, a normal courtesy given the lack of cell phone coverage, so we could close our flight plan. A tour of the lodge was followed by a reasonably priced, generous portioned and tasty lunch. Lunch was followed by a tour of the lodge's ground and dock.

West Arm of Chilko Lake

My current urban life had made me forget the peacefulness of these large, unspoiled areas.

The almost complete silence was broken only by a few, natural sounds. I found it very soul fulfilling. I have never been so cont’d p. 13 Tsuniah Lake

10

Wing Ride

by Glenn C. Matthews In my role as one of the directors of the Abbotsford International Airshow Society and as the Airshow Announcing Coordinator for 25 years I had the privilege of meeting and flying with many airshow performers.

One of the highlights was riding the top wing of Joe Hughes Super Stearman. “How did that come about?”

I’ll refer to the pertinent paragraphs in my life story: The idea came to me while on the announcing stand at the 1974 Paine Field Airshow in Washington state. As I watched Joe and his wing rider Gordon McCallum going through their routine I thought “Hey, I’d like to do that!”

And it occurred to me that since I knew these guys all I had to do was ask. Joe could turn me down but that was his choice. So at the end of the show I popped the question.

On the airshow circuit Joe was described as “Gentleman Joe Hughes” because he was, well, an outstanding

photo credit Mike Matthews

gentleman. Instead of brushing me off he looked me in the eye and I could see his mind working. Then he said, “Well, Glenn, I know you are a pilot and are familiar with aerobatics. You are the first person other than a wing rider to make that request and I can tell you I’d be more

than pleased to give you that opportunity.”

So it was arranged that we would do the deed the day before the upcoming Abbotsford Airshow. I talked to wing rider Gordon McCallum to determine what I needed in the way of gear. I already had my own helmet and goggles but Gordie recommended a snug Glenn Matthews fitting nylon jacket with a steel zipper and to “get the sleeves sewn up the sides to make them tight so they don’t flap in the wind.” I dug out a tight pair of ski pants and rubber deck boots so I was all set.

On the Thursday afternoon, at Abbotsford Airport, I met with Gordie and Joe on the grass by the Stearman, but I wasn’t prepared for the crowd of people that showed up.

Somehow the word was out and I had to field a bunch of questions: “Are you nuts?” “What are you trying to prove?” And I answered, “I’m not trying to prove anything. I just want to have this experience.” It amazed me that most of the onlookers couldn’t seem to grasp what a rare opportunity this was and could only scoff.

The other remark from the bystanders was, “Be sure to tape his mouth closed,” and I’m not quite clear what their reasoning was except the concept seemed to be that the wind would suck the breath out of me and render me unconscious. What a bunch of malarkey.

Among the crowd was my son Mike busy snapping photographs at each stage of the event. A number of these pictures found their way into a half page feature article in the Abbotsford newspaper with photo credits to Michael Matthews. Mike also provided me with a number of colour prints, one of which showed me standing on the wing in my bright orange jacket giving a very casual wave to the onlookers below.

Anyway, after Gordie finished duct-taping my wrists and collar (but not my mouth), he directed me to climb up onto the centre section and then made sure that the safety belt was secured around my waist. It should have felt strange standing up there but the whole process seemed quite normal, not at all unusual, even though it was, in fact, far from an everyday occurrence. As I stood there with my lower back resting against the support behind me and my feet tucked loosely into the stirrups, Joe climbed into the cockpit and hollered, “All set Glenn?” I replied with a thumbs up, which was our prearranged signal. Joe had outlined the maneuvers he was planning and said if I was happy after each one I story cont’d p.12

11

cont’d from p.11 ‘Wing Ride’

A video of my flight showed the airshow smoke pouring from the Stearman as we climbed out, but from where I stood on the wing I was too busy admiring the incredible view to notice it. The only thing between me and the sky were my goggles. The feeling is hard to describe, especially as I watched a seagull drop away below our wings.

Joe climbed the Stearman to circuit height, about 1200 feet, and after leveling out we banked and headed downwind to set up for our first pass down the runway. Joe had stated that we would do a low pass and go into a roll at show centre. He had asked that I fold my arms in front of my chest and lean forward while we picked up speed for the first maneuver. As he lined the plane up with the runway, I folded my arms and tucked my head in as the nose started down. The speed increased to 150 mph and the pressure on my chest became intense, to the point where I was saying to myself, “Ok, Joe, pull up, pull up!” And suddenly the nose came up and we started into a slow roll. I immediately felt the weight come off

my feet and I felt like I was going to fly right off the wing.

The toe straps were fairly loose but they held my feet enough to prevent them from slipping out and suddenly we were upright again and I was able to relax. That roll was just breathtaking.

On our second pass I was ready for the maneuver that Joe had outlined before taking off. We came around the circuit and went into a 150 mph dive. The nose came up with a jerk and we rolled to inverted, screaming down the runway centerline at about 50 feet altitude. The white stripes were just a blur and for a split second, I got a glimpse of people on the runway but we were past in a flash and gradually climbing away inverted. Joe rolled the Stearman upright and we came around for the landing.

Later, I was handed the video of the performance by my friend Mike Edwards of Seattle, a colonel in the Confederate Air Force and a former Hungarian fighter pilot.

When I watched the photo credit Mike Matthews short tape, I saw the camera follow our inverted pass down the runway and, at show centre, the camera panned down to the runway to reveal three people holding a large wicker basket. This was to catch me if I fell off the wing, or at least that was the gag the guys cooked up with the permission of the tower. In all, it was an incredible, oncein-a-lifetime experience.

Glenn’s obsession with aircraft started at age five in Victoria’s Inner Harbour when he saw a Boeing flying boat delivering mail from Seattle. After that, he built model aircraft, took his first flight at age 15, apprenticed as an aircraft mechanic at CYVR for various companies then joined the RCAF in WW II although not as a pilot. That came later in a busy and varied career which saw him return to the west coast as a commercial artist. Glenn was instrumental in getting the Abbotsford Airshow started and was an announcer for 25 years. He’s an honorary Blue Angel, artist, teacher, Commercial pilot, but best of all, he says, he’s now married to Kate Beckett, the luckiest thing that ever happened to him!

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Glenn Matthews

could let him know with the thumbs up. Then he fired up the big 650 HP engine and that felt somewhat unusual from my perch, looking down on that big propeller whirring just a few feet below me. Taxiing out was interesting, bumping across the grass and then finally out onto the runway. I gave another thumbs up just for the heck of it and we started to roll.

cont’d from p.10 Tsuniah Lake

reluctant to leave and almost hoped that the weather would require us to stay at least the night. However, as was predicted, the weather continued to improve. The flight back was essentially cloud free. The return trip was uneventful with the exception of a reminder of the dangers of mountain down drafts. As I was approaching a 6300-foot mountain ridge just east of Chilko Lake, I suddenly realized I had lost 200 feet. I had been monitoring the ridge nestled between the steep valley sides to see if we could clear it and the suddenness of the downdraft made me wonder if we had enough altitude. I maneuvered into the narrow valley to approach at a 45-degree angle and was able to gain enough altitude, but it was all the plane could do to climb slowly as the air was channeled up the canyon over the pass and down the other side. Once over the ridge the air up flow made the climb much easier.

Overall, Gillian and I were so inspired by the trip and the lodge that we are proposing an overnight fly out next year. Staff at the loge informed us that the August long weekend is not usually heavily booked and so this weekend would be a good choice as the weather is usually good. Rates for groups are $160 per person, which includes all meals, a cabin, and use of boats, canoes and fishing equipment. Arriving at noon and leaving at 4:00 in the afternoon of the next day allows for almost two days to pursue fishing, mountain biking, horseback riding, photography. Given these activities are included in the daily rate, this is a bit of a bargain. If you

Gillian relaxing on the dock at Tsuniah Lake Lodge.

happen to catch some fish, your catch will either be smoked or frozen for you. Topping up fuel tanks in Powell River allows for more than enough of a fuel reserve for safe flying even with three people aboard.

VFC has not had a flyout to the lodge since 1995. There are a few pictures on the club web page under "flyouts."

The cost of the proposed flyout would be slightly higher than our usual flights, such as to Seattle or Hope, but it is well worth it. Start planning now for what will probably be the best flyout of 2006.

More information is available at www.imagehouse.com/tsuniah/index.html.

Ken Browning

CANADIAN AVIONICS & INSTRUMENTS Calgary Int’l Airport (403) 250-5665

Victoria Airport (250) 655-0665

BOB CAMERON President

9548 Canora Road Sidney, BC V8L 3R1

Tel: (250) 655-0665 Fax: (250) 655-0664 E: cav#2@islandnet.com

R O YA L PA C I F I C MAINTENANCE LTD.

CALL

Mitchell Holme Cessna Parts, Sales, Service and Aircraft Maintenance General Aviation Services Victoria International Airport 9552 Canora Rd T: 250 656-7322 E: service@royalpacificmaintenance.com Toll free Parts line: 1-877-2CESSNA (1-877-223-7762)

Wouldn’t you rather be flying?

• Tax and financial planning • Rapid refunds (electronic filing) • Personal, corporate and estate tax

Owner Evelyn J. Andrews-Greene, CA Sustaining Member of VFC since 1983

386-4466 #202-31 Bastion Square Victoria BC V8W 1J1

13

P A G E S

Spare Time Reading

The Big Dipper Route

by Danny Bereza Danny Bereza has a rare combination of skills; the ability to fly, and the ability to write well about his flying adventures. His account of his early career in the Yukon, flying the “big dipper” route in DC-3s is witty, amusing, scary, informative and a downright page-turner. It’s a real first-hand look at Canadian life in the North as seen by a young pilot in the late 1960s.

Danny was hired by Great Northern Airways to fly as copilot on the Fairchild F27, a 40 passenger aircraft, and eight months later was posted to Whitehorse to train as a captain on the DC-3 with thirty-eight hundred hours of flying in the north and a lot to learn. The Big Dipper Route went from Whitehorse to Mayo, forming the “handle”, and from Mayo to Dawson to Old Crow to Inuvik to complete the dipper. The descriptions of the

by Eleanor Eastick

starkly beautiful landscape, the people and their ways are interesting enough, but throw in the excitement of flying and you’ve got the makings of a terrific story! Landing at Old Crow on an 1800 foot long sandbar in the middle of the river was an exercise in precision flying to say the least. To young trainee Danny, who was used to 5000’ paved runways, the little strip looked unsafe for a Super Cub let alone a 13 ton DC-3. With old barrels marking the safe landing area, the trick was to get the aircraft down between the first set of barrels and stand on the brakes. Departing the strip with a heavy load on a hot day required the utmost skill as well, but Dan learned the ropes from the older, experienced pilots and finally the day came for his check ride to determine his fitness to be a captain.

The Chief Pilot put young Danny through his paces in the DC-3 culminating with a hair-raising lesson showing why it’s not possible to do a go-around with the gear and flaps down and one prop windmilling. It was more of a lesson than expected when the gear handle malfunctioned. But Dan got his promotion to Captain and so began a year and a half of funny, frightening, trying and sometimes routine flying for GNA.

The Big Dipper Route is hard to put down, right from the first chapter where the junior pilot has to pick up a still warm corpse and fly it to Whitehorse, to the Five Thousand Hour party (Danny had logged 5,000 hours) to the tough economic times that ended Great Northern Airways. Life in the North was hard, funny and very different, but possessed an inherent charm that drew people there and even today still keeps them there.

Give yourself a treat – buy a copy of Dipper from the VFC pilot shop. You won’t regret it; it’s a bargain for $16.95.

(Now retired from Canadian after flying the Airbus A320, Danny still teaches part time for Korean Airlines and can be seen fairly regularly flying his gorgeous blue and white Mooney to VFC from his home in Courtenay.

He is a member of VFC.)

14

T

giving F s k lyou t n a h Monday October 10

See the world… from our point of VIEW!!

Flyouters Choice Meet at the Club 09:30 Where would YOU like to go?

Increase your confidence • Aerobatic Course* • Adventure Rides • Emergency Manoeuvres Training

This year they’ve all been Turkeys.

Discovery Ride

Let’s make this one a success!

$

99 95

Intro

*Basic course - 10 hrs dual 5 hrs solo Courses customized to help you reach new horizons.

Achievements

Ryan Kuan Ted Krasowski Rylan Dunn Matthew Jobes Victor Steflja Callum Campbell John & Mary-Ann Smith Etienne White Catalin Albu Adam Carlson Hannah Harper-Merrett Kathleen Ellis Giovanni Escobedo Marek Molozzi Graham Noyes Mark Hassenplug Stephen Demy Geoffrey Steeves Geoff Blondhal Rachel Manning Eric Schlieper Don Seable Vicki Cook Katie Sommer Marc Vlitos Andy Polzl Courtney Macpherson Cambria Hanson

PPL Flight Test Fiona Lisboa Dave Williams Jeff Richmond Nick Van Heyst CPL Written Exam Todd Cammin Aerobatic Endorsement Natasha Jobin Private Pilot License Ed Cunningham Chris Mathison Larry Green Graeme Ferguson Aerobatic Solo Natasha Jobin

First Solo Russ Kerr Night Rating Laura O'Connor Adam Fras Tina Kotthaus Rec Pilot Permit Jessa Salked Class 1 Instructor Written Exam Jason Ware

VFC

Aerobatics

New Members!

Call Dispatch at the club for further information

656-2833

15

2005 WEBSTER MEMORIAL TROPHY COMPETITION PRESS RELEASE-September 1, 2005

Victoria Flying Club produces “Top Amateur Pilot” in Canada 25 year old Yor go Roumanis of Victoria BC wins the 2005 Webster Memorial Trophy Competition.

This year, eight regional finalists competed in Brampton, Ontario for the coveted Webster Memorial Trophy. Air Canada Captain Jim Guild, Chief Pilot of Operations declared Roumanis the national winner at the awards banquet held at the Wyndham Bristol Hotel on Saturday August 27, 2005. The Webster Memorial Trophy Competition is internationally recognized by the world aviation authority, Fédération Aéronautique Internationale of France, as a National aviation-sporting event.

History: The late Dr. J.C. Webster of Shediac, New Brunswick, established the Webster Memorial Trophy Competition in 1932 after his son died during a practice flight for a Trans Canada Air Pageant flying the Curtiss Reid Rambler. The Webster Trophy was designed by R. Tait MacKenzie of Almonte and is the mythical Greek god, Icarus that symbolically represents youth and flight.

The competition has been sponsored by Air Canada since 1980 and holds the finals in a different Canadian city each year. All entrants must be a Canadian Citizen and hold at least a valid private pilot license.

Roumanis was symbolically presented with the Webster Memorial Trophy, awarded the John C. Webster Medallion and Air Canada pass for two valid anywhere in the Air Canada system by Captain Jim Guild. Yorgo also received a framed print depicting John Webster’s racing aircraft (Curtiss-Reid Rambler) and a stateof-the-art HMEC 300 noise-canceling headset and battery pack donated by Sennheiser Canada Ltd. Roumanis took his flight training at the Victoria Flying Club and presently holds a Commercial license with multi-engine, IFR, float, and Instructor Class IV ratings. One of his solo crosscountry flights out of the VFC took him to Phoenix Arizona via San Francisco covering 2700 Nautical Miles and 30 flight hours.

Yorgo heard about the Webster Competition from an instructor at the VFC and subsequently entered the regional competition for BC and won, therefore qualifying him for the national competition at the Brampton Flying Club.

The runner-up is Matthew MacKinnon from Dieppe, New Brunswick. Matthew is 19 years old and learned to fly at the Moncton Flight College. He holds a Commercial license with multi and IFR endorsements and is working towards a career in commercial operations. Bruce Carter, Aero Club of Canada Secretary General presented MacKinnon with the runner-up award the “Eunice Carter Memorial Award”. MacKinnon also received a framed print depicting John Webster’s racing aircraft (Curtiss-Reid Rambler) and a HME 100 headset donated

by Sennheiser Canada.

The Webster banquet was fortunate to have in attendance not only Captain Jim Guild from Air Canada but also staff from the Brampton Flying Club and Board of Directors, Transport Canada officials, Webster winners from 1951, 1953, 1997, 2000, CurtissReid Rambler artist Mr. Robert Bradford, COPA President Mr. Kevin Psutka, instructors and staff from Seneca Flight College and Academie de L’Aviation, as well as the Canadian Sport Aeroplane Association officials who administer the Webster Competition.

Unable to attend this year were Canada’s aerobatic team “The Snowbirds”. They are however a strong supporter of the Webster competition and sent their congratulations to all the finalists and provided each with a signed lithograph depicting the aerobatic team in flight.

CFI Graham Palmer poses with Webster winner, Yorgo Roumanis on the flightline.

VFC photo.

The Competition: Finalists are subjected to two rounds of air flight tests conducted by Transport Canada examiners as well as a written examination judged by four members of the Canadian Sport Aeroplane Association. Examiners look at the pilots’ abilities to carry out pre-flight inspections, to operate the aircraft systems, to maneuver the airplane skillfully in the upper airwork portion of the test as well as evaluating the pilots’ competency; all of which is similar to Transport Canada’s private pilot examination. Overall, this competition strives to encourage excellence in amateur piloting skills, provides the entrants with a challenge, and gives finalists national exposure to senior officials and other dignitaries within the aviation industry.

Another VFC Winner!

Adam Fras poses in front of GZXP with good reason to smile.

He’s the winner of the BC Aviation Council $2500 scholarship.

Congratulations Adam and Yorgo! VFC is very proud of you both.

From the Staff

From The Pilot Shop

A BIG Thank You

This month's feature is the great selection of

Along with the redesigned website, the Club will be offering a beautiful, new, all colour Learn to Fly brochure. I would like to extend a very warm thank you to Nic Hume for his aerial photos, Elwood White and Peter Smith for sharing photos from the Elwood White Collection, and mostly Rob Shemilt for all the great layout work he did with the folks at Island Blue. They all helped immensely in the production of the new Learn to Fly brochure.

flight bags that are newly in stock. The several varieties range from $32.95 to $119.95. Keep your charts and headset organized in these great padded cases. They're all fantastic with the VFC Wings logo on the side.

Come into the Club and check them out.

Joscelyn

And we Club members would like to thank Joscelyn Barnard for all her efforts in organizing so many of the improvements now being made.

Want to Get into the Airlines?

Come and hear Mark Esterhuizen of Cathay Pacific tell you how.

Thursday, October 13, 7:00 PM, VFC Lounge Please contact Dispatch to let them know you will be attending.

For Sale 1956 CESSNA 172 C-GHNA For details see Patrician September ‘05, page 7.

Andrea and Bjorn Olsen hold Baby Erik after his Baptism, Sunday, September 11