The Patrician, March & April 2023

The Patrician

EMERGENCY PARACHUTES: Lifesaver or very expensive cushion?

ALSO FEATURING: FLYING IN SOUTH AFRICA

by Derek Melton

PLANE PERFECT

by Nick Croft

The Victoria Flying Club ~ Aviation Excellence Since 1946

MAR-APR 2023

The Patrician

“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.”

(Victoria Flying Club Incorporation Bylaws, 1946)

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PRESIDENT Don Devenney

VICE PRESIDENT Colin Williamson

SECRETARY Glen Rippon

TREASURER Cal Mjolsnes

DIRECTORS Angie Johnson

Mike Vossen

Graham Palmer

Laurie Ingalls

TABLE OF

GENERAL MANAGER

1852 Canso Road Sidney, BC

Mike Schlievert

3

5

6

P: 250-656-2833

F: 250-655-0910

Editor: Kelly J Clark

vfcpatrician@gmail.com

THE

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.

vfcpatrician@gmail.com http://flyvfc.com/subscribe-to-the-patrician

Front cover photo from the 2023 Wings

Banquet.

NEWS Around the Club

THE VFC IS HIRING!

Are you or someone you know looking to break into the world of aviation? The VFC is still looking for a qualified individual to join our ranks as Flight School Line Crew! This critical role ensures that aircraft are fueled, cleaned, and ready for takeoff, as well as other important duties. Do you know someone looking to get their start in aviation? Send them the full details of the job, found here: http://flyvfc.com/jobs

WRITE FOR US!

The Patrician is looking for more stories for upcoming issues! We're interested in all kinds of stories about our members, aviation, or any combination therein. If you'd like to be a published writer, we can help! Email your story or pitch to vfcpatrician@gmail.com today!

EVENTS & HOLIDAYS

MAY 06 SOCIAL SATURDAY AT THE VFC

MAY 24 VICTORIA DAY

JULY 1 CANADA DAY

JUNE 3 SOCIAL SATURDAY AT THE VFC

JULY 1 CANADA DAY

JULY 8 SOCIAL SATURDAY AT THE VFC

AUG 2 B.C. DAY

AUG 5 SOCIAL SATURDAY AT THE VFC

AUG 11-13 ABBOTSFORD AIRSHOW

Know of an aviation-related event that's not listed? Let us know at vfcpatrician@gmail.com!

STUDENT AWARDS

At the Wings Gala Awards, a number of the VFC's students were awarded one of our prestigous flight training awards to assist in funding their education. Congratulations to the winners of these awards:

THE BETTY WADSWORTH SCHOLARSHIP

Recipient: Giona Chappell

THE BRIAN SMEDLEY AWARD

Recipient: Hayden King

THE BUTLER FLYING AWARD

Recipient: Tristan Bacon

THE MGEN (RET'D) M.S. EICHEL AWARD

Recipient: Whitney Ford

*excluding holiday weekends

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2023

On March 28th, 2023, the Victoria Flying Club held its Annual General Meeting.

Among a number of important items and updates, the VFC wished a fond goodbye to outgoing Directors Adam Johnston and Iain Barnes.

However, it's not all sad news, as two new Directors were confirmed to take their place. Let's all welcome our new Directors, Angie Johnson and Mike Vossen!

THE 2023 WINGS GALA

Enjoy this gallery of pictures from this year's Wings Gala and congratulations to all of the VFC's students on their accomplishments!

by David Gagliardi

“‘Professionalism’ is commonly understood as an individual’s adherence to a set of standards, code of conduct or collection of qualities that characterize accepted practice within a particular area of activity.”

EMERGENCY PARACHUTE LIFESAVER OR VERY EXPENSIVE CUSHION?

Your first response to the title of this article is probably “I’m a GA pilot why do I care since I will never wear a parachute!” Well, that may be true until you get offered a ride in a warbird, or a glider, or something aerobatic. At that time your pilot is going to give you a parachute. The purpose of this article is to provide a bit of a primer so that in the case of a very unlikely but not impossible event occurring which forces you to bail out, the parachute will be the lifesaver that it is meant to be.

First of a bit of background. There are 2 main types of parachutes you are likely to see, a sport parachute and an emergency parachute.

Emergency parachutes as the name implies are meant to be used in a bail out scenario. It will have a heavy duty round canopy and an oversize drogue which will increase the speed of deployment to allow a lower survivable activation altitude. Sport parachutes in contrast are design for regular use and are optimized for a softer opening and high maneuverability. In addition, emergency parachutes are designed to be worn while sitting in an aircraft seat.

There are 2 main types of emergency parachutes, backpack, and seat pack. In the backpack style the parachute is contained in the fabric container worn on your back while the in

the seatpack you sit on the parachute container. Seatpacks are typically found in X-military aircraft while backpacks would normally be worn in GA aircraft.

So, the pilot hands you a parachute and tells you to put it on, what now? Well, if it is indeed going to be a potential lifesaver not a seat cushion, there are some things that need to happen.

1) The parachute should be inspected for general condition and any obvious defects such as rips in the container or frayed straps or bent buckles. You should also ask the owner to check the release pin. This is the pin the D handle is hooked to and when pulled free starts the deployment process. It will

-Universities UK et al. 2004

be easily accessible under a velco patch on the back (backpack) or top (seatpack) of the parachute container. If this pin is bent, then you may not be able to pull the D ring and the parachute won’t open.

2) When you put the parachute on, the vertical straps should be fairly tight. If the whole rig is loose and hanging low tighten the straps so the back panel is centered high and in the middle of your back. When you stand straight everything should feel a bit too tight. Don’t worry when you are sitting down the straps will feel loser.

3) You should ask the pilot what would cause him to initiate a bailout. I brief that in my Nanchang I will only bailout if the airplane is on fire or has suffered structural damage to an extent that puts aircraft control in doubt.

4) You should then get a bail out brief specific to the airplane. This should start with the bail out command and the specific actions you must take to get out.

For example, my bail out brief in the Nanchang CJ6 is as follows:

1) I will initiate a bail out by saying “bail out” three times on the intercom. If I can’t communicate with you, if

you see me initiate the bail out actions, follow me as I perform them

2) Take your headset off and if possible, stow it in a place out of the way, jammed along the right side of the seat is best.

3) Open the canopy full open. Push it back until it locks open.

4) Place your right hand on the forward fixed canopy bow.

5) Place your left hand on the seatbelt release and pull hard to release all the belts.

6) Exit the aircraft on the left side.

7) When clear of the airplane look, locate, pull. That is bend your head down and to the left to look at and locate the D ring, then put both hands on the D ring and pull hard.

8) After deployment look for the steering toggles and keep you legs together and slightly bent for the landing. Some general considerations. The headset cord can impede or even prevent your exit, so you need to get rid of it. It is very important that you open or jettison the canopy or door before you release the seatbelt because if the airplane is tumbling you could be thrown away from the exit. Similarly

having a grip on the canopy arch or door frame will allow you to control your body during the exit process. The seat belt should open with a right to left motion;however, you should check to see if it has a nonstandard configuration in which case you would reverse your hands. If you have a choice, the side to bail out is determined by the engine rotation. On airplanes with Western engines go out the right side. Russian, Chinese, or British airplanes with engines rotating in the opposite direction favour going out the left side. This is because the propeller slip stream will push you away from the fuselage not towards it.

I know this seems like a bit of overkill and 99.5% of the time it is not going to matter, but if it turns out to be a really, really bad day for you, without some preparation and planning; it is highly likely you will just be wearing a very expensive seat cushion riding the airplane down to the scene of the accident.

GROUND SCHOOL SCHEDULE

PRIVATE PILOT LICENCE GROUND SCHOOL

PPL #23-04: APRIL 01/2023 TO JUNE 11/2023

Saturdays (09:00 - 16:00)

PPL #23-05: JUNE 02/2023 TO JUNE 12/2023

Sundays (09:00 - 16:00)

PPL #23-08: JUNE 18/2023 TO AUGUST 06/2023

Saturdays (09:00 - 16:00)

PPL #23-09: JUNE 19/2023 TO AUGUST 07/2023

Sundays (09:00 - 16:00)

COMMERCIAL PILOT LICENCE GROUND SCHOOL

TBA ON REQUEST

Individual scheduling requests are available for Private Pilot Licence, Commercial Pilot Licence, Mountain Awareness Training (MTA), Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (Drone) Courses (RPAS) by request.

Individual tutoring is also available for PPL and CPL upon request.

Confirm your attendance by contacting:

Neil Keating: (204) 291-9667

PARKING AVAILABLE!

Interested in prime paved parking spaces for your aircraft? Good News: there are spots available!

Secure, pull-in/pull-out, easy access.

Call Dispatch at 250-656-2833 to arrange a spot or to get on the waitlist for hangar spaces!

VFC MENTOR PROGRAM

Do you want other pilots to fly with, split flight cost, share knowledge, or get help getting to a new airport for the first time? Find potential mentors and their resumes posted on the Mentors bulletin board beside the Dispatch counter. Contact details are on each mentor's resume or you can email mentors@flyvfc.com for more information.

Interested in becoming a mentor? There's always room for more experienced pilots! Send an email to mentors@flyvfc.com for more information on how to join up!

Ground School Schedule

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."

THIS ISSUE WE CELEBRATE THE FIRST SOLOS OF THESE PILOTS:

Martin Lorenz

Kartik Sharma

Happy Deliva

Joshua Audet

Manveer Singh

Sarah Steele

Svitlana Holova

Taiga Momose

Nicholas Bardon

Sydney Trepanier

Derek Nussbaum

Dominic Sokol

Happy Deliva

Nicholas Bardon

Josh Audet

Sydney Trepanier

Taiga Momose

Svitlana Holova

Mark Miele

Peter Jansen

Hyodo Yusuke

William Combaluzier

Robin Farquhar

Richard Allouche

Christopher Cairns

Carl Bunnin

Francesca Klim

NEW MEMBERS

Julia Shibata

Mickey Armstrong

Sara Riemer

Shanon Maurer

Nathanial Limpus

Lise Alain

Cameron Anderson

Elissa Boyd

Lee Henschke

Brian Norwick

Piersson Richards

Qasim Ali

Nathaniel Limpus

David McCreight

Rory Sinden

Sean Tavanaei

Justun Darnel

MEMBER ACHIEVEMENTS

PPL WRITTEN TEST

Ben Gilette

CPL FLIGHT TEST

Brent Newman

Matt Savage

Samuel Godsell

Travis Dhasi

CPL WRITTEN TEST

Sam Godsell

NIGHT RATING

Tristan Bacon

Alex Wood

Brock Campbell

Sean Reyes

INSTRUMENT WRITTEN TEST

Liam Wilson

GROUP 3 IFR FLIGHT TEST

Albena Ivanova

GROUP 1 IFR FLIGHT TEST

Albena Ivanova

David Lunn

Ryan Wiens

Liam Wilson

Mami Iijima

MULT-ENGINE FLIGHT TEST

Adam Sakuma

RECREATIONAL PILOT PERMIT

Zach Byers

PLANE PERFECT

BY NICK CROFT

To everyone reading this, it is fantastic to be part of the Patrician Magazine. We’ll start things off with an introduction.

My name is Nick Croft, and I’m the Co-Founder of Plane Perfect Detailing (more on this later). Not only did my greatgrandfather have a role in building the VFC hangar, but my Dad was also the Chief Flight Instructor here a long time ago. Some of you may also remember me as a “line guy" for the summers of 2016 through 2018.

Whilst it was a pleasure fueling your airplanes, I have something more to offer… Plane Perfect Aviation Detailing. I hope that this article (and potential future articles) will help educate you and help keep your aircraft cleaner, safer, and maybe even add a few knots. Sounds good right?

So let’s dive in… In this

article, I want to cover just a few of the main benefits of having a clean aircraft. For the purpose of this article, when I use the term “clean”, I mean a smooth, contaminant-free, and protected exterior surface.

SAFETY

Safety in aviation is paramount. I think it’s fair to say that we’ve all experienced a questionable windscreen at some point in our flying career. Improper technique,

paired with a poor quality rag can lead to hazing of the windscreen that only becomes apparent on final approach with the sun in your eyes!

Adopting a regular cleaning routine helps you to become intimate with your airplane and you may notice things that you wouldn’t normally notice on your typical walk around. Some examples of safety items that I’ve notified past clients about are smoking rivets and missing screws.

AESTHETICS AND EXPERIENCE

We all love taking friends and family up in the air to share our love for the skies. That's why it’s really important that they feel safe and trusting not only in your incredible piloting skills, but also in the metal tube that you’re taking them up in. A clean, shiny aircraft gives the perception of a well-maintained one, giving peace of mind to your passengers. At the end of the day, everybody loves taking

photos of the landscapes through the windows, but they don’t always turn out well with piles of scratches and plastered on bugs in the way.

MAINTENANCE

Cleaning your aircraft regularly, as well as applying a sealant to your airframe (e.g. a wax, or ceramic coating) will go a long way to both reducing the effort of each clean, but also reducing the number of times you have to clean. There are many reasons for this that we hope to explain further in future articles, but the long and short of it is creating a slippery surface with low surface adhesion. Doing this can also extend the lifespan of your paint, and protect against corrosion! You tell me what’s more cost effective, $40,000 for a new paint job, or some elbow grease and good quality aviation-certified product?

RESALE VALUE

What catches your eye first when looking to buy a new aircraft? An aircraft with flakey, oxidized, or chalky paint? Or one with a glossy smooth finish like the one below.

An aircraft with a rough looking exterior gives the perception to the buyer that the owner doesn’t keep up to date with regular maintenance items. On top of that, the new owner will have to spend their own time and money to restore the appearance of the aircraft. So not only will your aircraft sell more quickly, but you can boast how well it’s been cared for and the fact that it’s protected for the years to come!

A bit about Plane Perfect Detailing…

Plane Perfect is all about making your life easier, and ensuring you’re doing what you’re supposed to do - flying your airplane rather than cleaning up after it.

Plane Perfect Detailing is co-founded by myself (Nick Croft) and my business partner (John Sommerfeld). Our idea was born after seeing my grandpa's rigorous post flight routine; the airplane goes into the hangar, the rags come out, and we get right on those pesky bugs before they harden like concrete. There was a clear pain point that

we wanted to tackle, so we developed our idea through UVic’s entrepreneurship program as we completed our Bachelor of Commerce degrees. Unlike regular auto detailers, we have intimate knowledge about aircraft and complete a thorough walk around with clients on any aircraft we detail.

Our solution is simple. We strive to make cleaning easier, faster and effortless through careful technique, innovative products, and aviation experience.

Plane Perfect

Flying in South Africa

BY Derek Melton

My logbook shows 194 hrs flown in South Africa over a six-year period. I had arrived from Botswana in September to take up a university ecology research and teaching post in Pietermaritzburg,KwazuluNatal Province. After a few months settling in to work I found my way to the Pietermaritzburg Aero Club at Oribi Airport (FAPM), where I was met by Mel the CFI and shown around. Oribi is at 2425ft elevation with then a 1200m paved 34 / 16 runway, plus two shorter grass strips. It was quite busy with both general aviation and scheduled flights, mainly piston single and piston

twin or twin turboprop aircraft. There was also a very active skydiving club. Radio communications only required use of a traffic frequency. PMB Aero Club had been established in 1938 with a logo of a winged elephant that looks rather good on a baseball cap or tie. The club had two C150s and two C172s. It also had a restaurant run by Heather, a bar and a fine swimming pool next to the ramp. I’m afraid these facilities have set somewhat high expectations for flying club amenities ever since! Mel checked over my USA ppl and my logbook showing Botswana flying hours in a C210 and worked out the paperwork and flight test I would need to

receive a South African ppl. Given my experience and currency he suggested just a one hour dual flight in a C172 to get familiarized with the plane and local area, to be followed by a practical flight test.

It was a hot summer’s day when I turned up on January 16th for an initial dual familiarization flight in ZS-FXX. Mel appeared a large easy going man, but I quickly learned he set high standards and so

I should not relax too much, even on a “familiarization” flight. After a few circuits we headed away from town with Mel pointing out various landmarks before entering a hilly area with rock outcrops, deep river valleys, natural scrub vegetation and the occasional farm. Mel cut the power, noted that the engine had failed and asked what I was going to do. Apparently my restart efforts did not work, so I needed to plan for an emergency landing.

One green area looked like a managed field, so I glided in that direction, which met with Mel’s approval. I was able to maneuver for a right base arrival, coming round to final at about 300ft. I thought I had made the field and moved to power up for a go around, but Mel kept the throttle closed and said to continue the approach. At 100ft with a dead pan expression he calmly said we might as well land. The area was flat and the grass short

which helped for a smooth arrival. As we slowed I looked across,no doubt with my mouth somewhat open,at a now grinning Mel, who suggested I park over where he pointed so he could fetch something from his house, which was also over there! He may have done this with students a few times before.

Two weeks later in February I took and passed the practical flight test. After that and with paperwork sent in, I received

my South African ppl on March 2nd, bound impressively with pink ribbon in a small dark blue cardboard folder, rather like an old UK passport, along with other relevant pages including “authority to operate radio apparatus”.

Over the next six years I was able to use the C172ZS-FXX and the recently acquired ZS-KVW to help with my wildlife research. Two main studies were inshore dolphin abundance surveys, and movement studies of radio-collared eland in the Drakensburg Mountains.

The follow description

of a main dolphin survey is based on an article I wrote at the time in the PMB Aero Club magazine “Telstar”, plus by looking at my logbook. From April 23rd to May 5th I flew ZS-KVW for over 40 hrs carrying out dolphin censuses. The survey covered the coast more than once from Kosi Bay, on the Mozambique border,to East London in the Cape, a distance of 458 nm. Operating height was 750ft AGL with two colleagues as observers, who also used photography to document larger groups. Northerly flights were along the shoreline looking offshore, while southerly

flights were 800m offshore looking in. Calibrated tapes on the struts helped me maintain the offshore position when at 750ft AGL.

Day one was a write-off with 18 knot winds and white caps everywhere near our starting point of Durban Virginia (FAVG). We could only census below 10 knots otherwise sea conditions meant that under counting would be very high. The second day was perfect. I had fueled half way up the sleeves, giving 50 gallons; this C172P had optional extra long-range tanks totaling

62 gallons. With camping gear and three onboard we were 60 lbs below gross. Within minutes of takeoff we were in position to start surveying heading north from Umhlanga with dolphins immediately in sight. I planned most legs to be less than 1.5 hrs which allowed observers to take a welcome break, especially if we had done a lot of circling over larger dolphin groups to get consensus on numbers or to take photos. The longest leg was over 4 hrs between FAVG and East London (FAEL). Landing the first time at East London’s

2000m runway was a big contrast to our other stops and included being marshalled on the ramp by a man with orange paddles who positioned us next to a B737. My passengers were very impressed, but I tried to be nonchalant as though I was very used to such treatment. That flight took 4.2 hrs and used 31 gallons of fuel for a use rate of 7.3 gal/hr. Many rest stops used short dirt or grass Natal Parks Board or Forestry Department strips with no facilities, such as at St. Lucia and Kosi Bay. These strips were often muddy

and required a pre-landing field inspection and soft field technique for landing and takeoff. Flight planning also required thinking of refueling since even when fuel was present,refueling was sometimes not actually possible especially on weekends.

Most observations were of bottlenose dolphins, but humpback, spotted, common and spinner dolphins were also identified by my experienced observers. Results were eventually written up and added weight to the suggestion

Flying in

South Africa

Flying in South Africa

that dolphin by-catch in shark nets off swimming beaches were likely reducing dolphin population numbers.

A second research study that used flying concerned eland in the Drakensburg Mountains along the South African - Lesotho border. The Drakensburg Mountains have peaks between 7,000 ft and 11,000 ft and comprise conservations areas at higher elevations, with forestry and farmland lower down. Eland are the largest antelope in the Drakensburg Mountains with males weighing up to 900 kg. The focus was on the ecology of animals that used farmland, since they were viewed a problem species by farmers, as they often damaged cattle fences and ate crops. With help from Natal Parks Board staff, seventeen eland on farmland at around 5000ft were marked with either colored collars or radio collars to allow their movements to be documented.

While most observations of eland with colored collars came from on-foot or on-horseback ground surveys, most observations

of radio-collared individuals were from aerial surveys. I used a yagi-antenna affixed to each wing strut, with cabling to a left-right switch box in the cockpit and a commercial Yaesu receiver. It was a quick process to affix or remove the system and it never gave problems with aircraft operation. Reception range was up to about 50km line of sight, but in practice was often much less in higher mountain terrain. The left – right switch box allowed each antenna to be used in turn, which along with circling resulted in a direction fix to fly towards the signal. Survey flights originated in Pietermaritzburg and were of 1 to 2 hr duration, often with a rest landing at a farmer’s mountain grass strip “El Ranchito”. Surveys generally involved flying up ridges or across ridges at an angle and down valleys, at up to 9000 ft MSL. When a signal was picked up the plane was flown to the animal and altitude AGL reduced to attempt a visual observation, with numbers in the group and vegetation type also recorded. The main challenges with the mountain survey flying was

quickly changing weather conditions, including cloud and rain and afternoon thunder storms in summer. Carb icing occurred on at least one occasion, but cleared with full carb heat, after much rougher engine running when carb heat was first applied. Also, on clear winter days, strong streams of cold air were sometimes encountered flowing down from snow-covered peaks, which could cause a swift loss of altitude and emphasized the need not to fly up valley bottoms. Over a two year period I found radio-collared animals 128 times. Results showed that eland marked on farmland were actually using higher conservation areas 75% of the time, especially in spring and summer, which emphasized the need for more integrated eland management between these areas.

Flying C172s from the PMB Aero Club for ecological studies certainly helped my research, was good fun and was a useful way to gain hours and experience. I planned the aerial surveys, but in general then had trained observers carry out observations so I could

concentrate on the flying. I also tried to be a stickler for the needs of flying to come first, which could mean not taking off or finishing a survey early.

I returned to the PMB Aero Club in 2012 along with my grown son Noel who is also a pilot and found that it was still going strong with a couple of new aircraft, but still including ZS-KVW which I had mainly flown, sometimes with a young Noel as passenger. KVW had been bought

as a three- year old plane in 1984 for R48,000,but in the 2000s it was being insured for R600,000.

Exchange rate variations make a straight comparison between years difficult but you get the general trend. I also learned that Mel had retired in 2007 after 35 years with the club.

Unfortunately I did not have time for a flight, but I did get a smart new club baseball cap. I just need to find an occasion where I can wear my old club tie,

which through lack of use is still in pretty good shape.

Derek has flown in Botswana, South Africa, the USA and France, in addition to Canada. He has written about Flying in France and Flying in Botswana in previous editions of the Patrician.

Sawubona, hambakahle, means Greetings, go well in Zulu.

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