July 2014

THE PATRICIAN JULY 2014

The Victoria Flying Club ~ Aviation Excellence Since 1946

What’s Your Next Adventure?

We have a few ideas for you!

Photo: Xi Chen

GROUNDSCHOOL SCHEDULES | CLUB NEWS | FIRST SOLOS | PHOTO CONTEST

THE PATRICIAN JULY 2014

Monthly Newsletter of The Victoria Flying Club - Aviation Excellence Since 1946

In This Issue

“To promote flying and aviation in general, and to teach and train persons in the art and science of flying and navigating and operating all manner of heavier-than-air aircraft.�

4 From the President

(Victoria Flying Club Incorporation Bylaws, 1946) Board of Directors President...................................Ramona Reynolds Vice President....................................Firat Ataman Secretary......................................Colin Williamson Treasurer.............................................Rob Shemilt Directors............................................. Steve Demy Howard Peng Vernon Fischer General Manager.................................Gerry Mants Chief Flying Instructor....................Graham Palmer

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BC Airport Challenge Update

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FormFest 2014

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Women in Aviation Updates

1852 Canso Road Sidney, BC V8L 5V5

www.flyvfc.com info@flyvfc.com Phone: 250-656-2833 Fax: 250-655-0910 The Patrician accepts unsolicited submissions.

Editor: Christie Hall thepatrician@shaw.ca Midnight Design & Communication info@midnightdesign.ca

July 2014

This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, with prior permission of the publisher or author.

The opinions expressed are strictly those of the authors.

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News from VFC

VFC News

Welcome 2014 Cadets!

Aircraft Parking Available at VFC

We’re excited to once again be working with a spectacular group of young people this summer. Twelve winners of the Air Cadets Power Sholarship will be working on their Private Licence over the next few weeks. These cadets from across the province have worked hard to get here and they are well-deserving of the opportunity. Each summer our instructors work hard alongside the Air Cadet students, and that shows in the high success rate of this top-notch group of students. When you see the cadets around the club over the summer, please give them a warm welcome. We wish them all the best in the weeks ahead!

Do you have an aircraft and nowhere to put it?

We have space!

The Victoria Flying Club has outdoor parking available, in the paved area and on the grass. Please contact the club office to inquire about availability and pricing.

Got Charts?

With charts expiring every 56 days, it can be challenging to keep up to date. The Victoria Flying Club regularly stocks up to date charts, but we want to make sure we have what you need.

If you would like to receive a regular subscription for specific charts, please let us know, and we’ll be happy to stock them for you. We’ll set up automatic payments and will let you know when your charts arrive.

To be added to the subscription service, please contact Marcel at the Victoria Flying Club office: 250-656-2833.

Attention All You Camera-shy VFC Alumni!

We are still looking for photos of our successful (and good looking!) alumni to share with prospective student pilots.

If you completed any of your training, or worked as an instructor, at VFC and you are presently working in the aviation industry (in a plane or on the ground) then we really

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want to hear from you! We couldn’t be any prouder of your achievements and we would love to share that pride with our new visitors and students!

So don’t be shy! Take a smiley photo of you living the dream, and email it to: thepatrician@shaw.ca

July 2014

VFC News

VFC Welcomes New President The Victoria Flying Club Board of Directors recently welcomed club member and pilot Ramona Reynolds as their first ever female president. Despite the efforts of Amelia Earhart and many like her through the decades, women are still underrepresented in the field of aviation, both recreationally and professionally. Ramona is working to change that.

1928 first saw the Victoria Aeroclub operating out of Lansdowne field in Victoria. In 1946, after WWII, the Victoria Flying Club was formed on the site of Patricia Bay Air Base, also home to the Victoria International Airport, where the club still operates a first class flight training facility nearly 70 years later.

Throughout that 70 year history, many women have earned their private and commercial pilot licences from the Victoria Flying Club. In fact, one of the earliest photos of the club, framed and hung proudly in the pilot’s lounge, is local pilot and Victoria Flying Club member Mae Frame, standing proudly beside the club’s Fleet Canuck. A number of women have also been instructors at the Victoria Flying Club and have gone on to careers in aviation with national and international airlines. There is one female club manager in the record books, as well as several female board members through the years. But Ramona is the first to hold the position of President.

July 2014

A recreational pilot, CEO of her own company, an author, a mother, and a mentor, Ramona wears many hats every day and is eager to add another. After a year as club Vice President, the role of President is a welcome opportunity for Reynolds to promote the Victoria Flying Club, and also the recently formed Vancouver Island Chapter of Women in Aviation International, where she also holds the role of president. The Victoria Flying Club has been a major supporter of the new chapter, and Ramona is excited to continue the synergistic relationship, sharing not only her enthusiasm for aviation in general, but also working to create scholarships and outreach opportunities for girls and women interested in learning to fly.

“Women make significant contributions to all facets of aviation, but are still underrepresented in a mostly maledominated field,” says Ramona.

“The Victoria Flying Club and Women in Aviation International want to encourage women of all ages to pursue their aviation interests. We value equality, diversity, and inclusivity, and are committed to providing a safe, supportive and connected community for mentorship, leadership and lots of fun, whether you’re an airline pilot or still a little nervous about that first flight.”

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In the coming months the Victoria Flying Club will see an upswing in recreational flying over the summer, and continued participation in the BC Airport Challenge (a contest run by the club which challenges members to visit as many of the 91 approved BC airports as they can before year’s end), as well as Air Cadet training and the first ever Summer Flight Camp in August, a unique opportunity for young aviators age 9-12. The Vancouver Island Chapter of Women in Aviation will continue to meet monthly, participating in local and regional events. The chapter is also planning a gala fundraiser and silent auction on September 13 at the BC Aviation Museum to raise funds for scholarships and outreach opportunities. Ramona will play a key role in the success of all of these endeavours, bringing her endless energy and enthusiasm to every situation, and leading her various teams with unsurpassed organization and skill.

www.flyvfc.com

From The VFC President Welcome to Summer everyone!

If anyone has been watching the BC Airport Challenge board we have experienced a significant upswing and at the date of writing it looks like John Litherland is going to be tough to beat with 30 airports already knocked off the list. Thank you to all of you for participating but also for sharing your photos, stories and personal goals. All of you have turned Dave Gustufson’s personal New Year’s resolution into something I don’t think any of us could have wrapped our minds around in January.

In addition to the Challenge, there is a lot in store for us this Summer: the Air Cadet training program starts in July; and our first ever Summer Flight Camp runs for a week in August.

I would like to introduce all of you to our two newest Board members. Rob Shemilt is our new Treasurer. Many of you already know Rob. He is a prominent local businessman and has been a member of the Victoria Flying Club and COPA for 32 years with about 700 hours of flying time. Rob has twice been a Board member of VFC and enjoys the camaraderie in the Club.

the President of Fischer Financial Services. Vern is also past Chair of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and is currently serving as a Director with 8 years of service. He is also the past Chair of the Victoria Christian Education Society (VCES) and now serves the foundation as a Board Director. Vern is also a Volunteer Pilot for Angel Flight.

One of the aspects of the Club that I love the most is our excellent, friendly, professional staff and instructors. Everyone at VFC, from Dispatch to the Board, value your experience of the Club and take pride in the opportunity to serve our members. I’m going to try something a little different here. I invite you to let me know how we are doing by emailing me directly at: president@flyvfc.com.

VFC News

I can’t do anything about. I do want to hear about how we are doing today.

Our vision for the Club is one of financial stability and accountability; and one that involves all members in our long term development plans. We want our members to be well served and empowered in their experience with VFC so we choose to start here with you being part of the solution.

Now get out there and give John Litherland a run for his money!

Thank you.

Ramona

Here’s what I would like to know from you: • On a scale of 1-10 (10 being awesome of course) I would like you to rate your most recent experience with the Club.

• If it wasn’t a 10 please tell me what we can do to make that experience a 10.

Vernon Fischer is our newest Director. He has been a member of the Club since moving to Victoria in the 1990’s. He is

I would like to hear the good and the bad – down to the nit picky stuff. I don’t want to hear about any historical event that

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July 2014

Events

MAID MAID IN IN THE THE SHADE SHADE

“Maid in the Shade” comes to the Victoria Flying Club July 28th – August 4th. The Commemorative Air Force will be stopping in Victoria on their Western Canadian Tour with their B-25 “Maid in the Shade”.

Don’t miss this opportunity to see, tour, and fly in this historical 70 year-old WWII Bomber.

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www.flyvfc.com

Flight Training

PRIVATE PILOT GROUNDSCHOOL Monday and Wednesday 1900-2200 Victoria Flying Club Classroom DATE TOPIC INSTRUCTOR

July 02 Meteorology Sean T. 07 Meteorology Sean T. 09 Meteorology Sean T. 14 Flight Operations Colin 16 Flight Operations Colin 21 Navigation Brendan

23 Navigation Brendan 28 Navigation Brendan

30 ATC/Fly Out Bug Jason G. Aug 06 Review Colin

DID YOU KNOW? If you have previously taken PPL groundschool at VFC you can sit in and experience the class again at no charge? Just call ahead and let the office know you’ll be attending. Great pilots never stop learning!

To Register for Groundschool, or to purchase a Groundschool Kit, please contact the Victoria Flying Club office at info@flyvfc.com or 250-656-2833.

VFC SMILE CARDS Pick up your smile card today at the VFC office, and 5% of your grocery purchase will go towards creating scholarships and awards for VFC members. Thank-you Thrifty Foods! To date, the Victoria Flying Club has received over $14,000 from

the Thrifty Foods Smile Card program. These funds have been appreciated by all members of the club. Thank-you Thrifty Foods!

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July 2014

VFC News

BC CHALLENGE - Your 2014 Adventure

Check out all that green - and it’s spreading rapidly to the north and the east. But what we all want to know is who’s going to be the first to log Dease Lake and Fort Nelson?

Thanks to VFC Member Doug Neal for putting together an incredible online map of of the BC Airport Challenge. With the help of our amazing dispatch team, Doug will keep the site as up to date as possible.

You can find the map at: http://www.olantra.com/vfc/ Thanks Doug!

July 2014

Current Standings: Club Aircraft Aaron C (2) Aaron N (8) Adan T (8) Alethia F (4) Andrew H (9) Andrew K (8) Bart-Jan C (15) Ben H (2) Brett W (6) Bruce R (4) Colin W (7) Courtlandt R (2) Don D (5) Doug N (9) Firat A (4) Jessica R (10) Joey M (3) 7

Keegan A (8) Kyle H (5) Lynn F (5) Morgan S (20) Ramona R (2) Robin H (10) Schuyler C (5) Tim H (2) Walker R (9) Yaaseen M (6) Owner Aircraft Dave G (27) Glenn L (13) Jeremy P (3) John L (29) Ken C (22) Ken T (7) Norman Y (6)

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VFC News

Marvelous May Winners!

July Participation Prizes:

Congratulations to this month’s participation prize winners, and a HUGE thank you to our sponsors!

Buffalo Air Wear – T-Shirt and Flight Bag donated by our friends at Buffalo Airways from Ice Pilots NWT

Tsuniah Lake Lodge – Andrew Harton

Magnolia Spa Package – donated by the law firm of Devlin Gailus

Gift Package From COPA – Morgan Scott Spot Prize Winner – John Litherland – 100 L of 100LL - AV Gas. Fuel voucher redeemable at the Hope Regional Airpark.

Spot Prize – Doug Neal for creating and updating our awesome map – Dakota Gift Certificate

June Participation Prizes: Has anyone flown to Barkerville yet? Every pilot who flies into Barkerville is eligible to win this prize package including one night for two people and breakfast at the famously haunted St. George Hotel.

Free Fly-in Pass for 2014 Abbotsford Airshow donated by our best friends at the Abbotsford International Airport.

One night’s stay at the beautiful Timber Guest House located on Nimpo Lake, 15 min drive south of Anahim Lake Airport. The certificate is valid from August to 2014 closing, so plan accordingly.

Courtesy of The Lovely and Talented Lise St. Gelais James and Jessica James.

Fly in July and enter your photos at dispatch for your chance to win these great prizes!

For more details, contact dispatch: 250-656-2833.

Did you know... when you fly into YXS the

good people from the Prince George Airport Authority have a prize waiting for you? There’s a bit of a catch though. We have to let them know you’re coming so please pass on your information to our dispatchers (or let Ramona know) and we will make sure they are expecting you. If you intend to fly in on a weekend please make sure we know about it by Friday morning at the latest.

If you don’t fly, you can’t win!

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July 2014

Achievements

VFC MEMBER ACHIEVEMENTS PPL Licence Russell Dubinsky

New Members Garth Williams Tianru Sui Stephanie Giroux-Boucher Elliot Hersant Tina Fang John Ryan Ryan Barnes Troy Richards Mark Walker Norman Dove Abel Cheng

CPL Flight Test Steve Baker Keegan Allen CPL Written Elissa Boyd Michael Bahrey CPL Licence Steve Baker Aaron Campbell Matt Bryce

First Solos Steve Beaudry Isabelle Weiss

Float Rating Jaber Almakhalas Adam Michaud Tom Vesey Ron Cowpe

PPL Flight Test Bret LaMarsh PPL Written Ron Johns Russell Dubinsky Ian Baxter

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www.flyvfc.com

Mystery Aircraft

JULY MYSTERY AIRCRAFT Can you identify the aircraft shown here?

Email: thepatrician@shaw.ca

711 A Broughton Street

(street level, by Victoria Public Library)

Victoria BC V8W 1E2

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July 2014

Feature Article

FormFest 2014 Soaring Success!

On Saturday June 7, twelve VFC members got the chance to participate in the inaugural FormFest 2014. The lucky partipants experienced a Nanchang groundschool class, an introduction to formation flying, and an actual formation flight in one of three Nanchangs.

experiences. It was an unqualified success and we are already looking forward to FormFest 2015! You’ll want to watch for details early on in the new year, and be sure to throw your hat in the ring. All of this year’s participants would agree that it was an amazing experience!

With cooperative weather the day progressed full of smiles, photos, and incredible flight

We want to extend a huge thank you to our FormFest 2014 pilots and owners: David Gagliardi,

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Mike Sudul, Jim Hume and Chris D’Arcy. These gentlemen graciously shared with us their time and knowledge, as well as their enviable aircraft. We could not have done this without you!

We also want to thank the VFC board members and staff who put in significant time and skill to organize the event. An excellent group effort all around!

www.flyvfc.com

Feature Article

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July 2014

Events

Join us this summer for an exciting week of fun and adventure at ...

This unique five day camp program includes: 5 Hours of Actual Flight Training With A Certified Flight Instructor  1 Hour of Simulator Time in our Full Motion Red Bird Simulator  An Introduction to Ground School  Tours of the Victoria International Airport  And Much More!

Explore the amazing world of aviation and the first steps of learning to fly!

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www.flyvfc.com

Isabelle Weiss Instructor: Sean Tyrell

Steeve Beaudry Instructor: Bonnie Tidswell

FIRST SOLO

FIRST SOLO

First Solos

“Without disruption of air traffic, these fearless, forthright, indomitable and courageous individuals did venture into the wild blue yonder in flying machines. Furthermore, these skillful individuals did safely land said flying machines at Victoria International Airport, incurring no significant damage to self or machine, thus completing first solo flights.�

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July 2014

VFC News

START YOUR CAREER IN AVIATION TODAY

WATCH YOUR FUTURE TAKE FLIGHT

Did you know....

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You can obtain your Private Pilots Licence from the Victoria Flying Club before you graduate highschool?

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Within two years of graduation, you can complete your Commercial Pilots Licence AND a Diploma in Business Administration from the University of Victoria?

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Commercial flight training at VFC meets the requirements for the Canada Student Loans Program and StudentAid BC?

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Victoria Flying Club alumni are currently flying for international airlines, charter companies, and the military?

Your future is cleared for take off!

VICTORIA FLYING CLUB 1852 CANSO RD. SIDNEY BC 250-656-2833 July 2014

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Women in Aviation

Women in Aviation The Vancouver Island Chapter of Women in Aviation would like to thank COPA Flight 6 for inviting us to participate in their wildly successful COPA4Kids event.

What a great group of pilots and volunteers! It was so exciting to see so many kids feeling so happy and so empowered after their flights. And our youngest WAI member, Kendra Lovely, had the time of her life.

We have some very exciting events coming up but before we let those cats out of the bag, we would like to invite you to attend our first gala and silent auction on Saturday, September 13, 2014, at the BC Aviation Musuem.

Please join us for an evening of vintage aviation, music and magic. We have fantastic sponsors

and amazing auction items. McComb & Watson are going to dazzle us with an all-star performance. Apparently these guys know every tune ever written but only know how to play about 35 of them. They are great musicians and lots of fun.

We’ve also got a few tricks up our sleeve but you will have to show up to share the magic.

All proceeds of this event benefit the Vancouver Island Chapter of WAI Outreach Program and Scholarship Fund. Tickets are $40.00 and can be purchased through the Victoria Flying Club or WAI members starting July 15.

We must thank the Victoria Flying Club and the BC Aviation Museum for being our first sponsors and supporters. Watch for our posters for our other generous sponsors.

Our next meeting is Saturday, July 12 at the Victoria Flying Club. Everyone is welcome.

On July 26 we will be at the BC Aviation Museum Open House. See you there!

Women in Aviation September 13, 2014 Aviation Excellence Since 1946

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July 2014

COPA Quadrant

For more information on COPA Flight 6:copaflight6@gmail.com For flyout information: flyoutbug@gmail.com

The June 3rd COPA meeting was well-attended as always, especially with Jason Grist as the guest speaker. Jason, one of the disembodied voices from Victoria Tower kept everyone’s keen attention with good advice from ATC, good stories and lots of laughs. I loved his description of planes in the circuit being like mosquitoes in a tent!

Fun aside, the main message from ATC is KNOW THE PROCEDURES. The next COPA meeting will be on Tuesday, July 8 since the

first Tuesday in the month is Canada Day, a day of celebrations, barbecues, fireworks and flyouts.

The topic for the July meeting is Meteorology, a subject of vital importance to pilots. Come to the Catalina at 6 PM if you want to eat and schmooze; meeting starts at 7 PM. Please give us a heads-up if you plan to have dinner there - the restaurant staff needs to know how many to expect.

You don’t have to be a COPA member to attend the meetings - they are free and everyone is welcome to come and hear cool pilot stuff.

2014 Flyout Schedule July 1st -

Alert Bay

Aug 4th -

Hope /

Pemberton Sep 6th -

Osoyoos

Oct 4th -

Chilliwack /

Rowena`s

Nov 11th - Boundary Bay /

Delta Air Park

Dec 20th - Abbotsford A $20/hr rental discount on VFC aircraft will remain in effect during these days, and a new fuel discount (for owners) is being implemented for any VFC member participating in these flyouts.

For further information, please contact copaflight6@gmail.com.

Submission Request Email: thepatrician@shaw.ca Photos, stories, letters, articles, adventures, classified ads all accepted.

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www.flyvfc.com

Flight Training

VFC’S NEXT SEAPLANE PILOT

IT COULD BE YOU! SEAPLANE DISCOVERY FLIGHTS ONLY $200 plus tax

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July 2014

VFC Classifieds Aircraft - Accomodation - Aviation Books and Gear - Help Wanted - Miscellaneous Email the details of your FREE Ad to: thepatrician@shaw.ca

VFC CHARTER SERVICE

BE THERE IN MINUTES!

Fly between Victoria and destinations on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.

Charter an aircraft and take up to 3 people. (restrictions apply)

For more information or to book a flight Email: tedk@flyvfc.com Call: 1-250-474-0213

Discover the Beauty of Flight

learn to fly gliders in the Alberni Valley

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transitioning to gliders is simple with previous flying experience

Alberni Valley Soaring Association

www.avsa.ca Photo: Patrick Pelletier

July 2014

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