The Patrician
The Patrician
“T
(Victoria Flying Club Incorporation Bylaws, 1946)
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PRESIDENT Don Devenney
VICE
SECRETARY
TREASURER
Mjolsnes
DIRECTORS Angie Johnson
Mike Vossen
Graham Palmer
Laurie Ingalls
GENERAL MANAGER
Mike Schlievert
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!
NEWS Around the Club
FROM THE EDITOR: HAPPY CANADA DAY!
Welcome to the early summer issue! Because we're a bi-monthly magazine now, we here at the Patrician decided to delay the issue a couple of days to include Canada Day in the issue, rather than have it be lost in the July-August issue. There's a hundred ways to get out there and enjoy the day, so go have a great time over this long weekend!
This month, the VFC is celebrating a huge number of member achievements, as well as June being both LGTBQ+ Pride month and also Indigenous History Month. In honour of that, we've included a pair of features on both that show how to learn more about both and get involved in your local communities.
As always, thanks for reading and see you next issue! —Kelly, Editor of the Patrician
SOCIAL SATURDAYS
If you haven't been attending our Social Saturdays, you're missing out. Barring holiday weekends, the first Saturday of every month is the place for club fun and aviation-based socializing at the VFC! The event usually begins between 9 and 9:30 AM, and always offers free coffee, free donuts, and something interesting or valuable to attendees. Let's put the "club" back in the Victoria Flying Club! Join us this month on July 6th!
EVENTS & HOLIDAYS
JULY 1 CANADA DAY
JULY 3-7 THE 99'S INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE & CAREER EXPO
JULY 6 SOCIAL SATURDAY AT THE VFC
JULY 7 THE 30TH ANNUAL VICTORIA PRIDE PARADE
JULY 13 BOUNDARY BAY AIR SHOW
AUG 5 BC DAY
AUG 9 ABBOTSFORD AIRSHOW CONFERENCE & CAREER EXPO
AUG 16-18 GLOBAL CONFERENCE ON AEROSPACE & AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING (GCAAE) AT UBC
AUG 17-18 BC AVIATION MUSEUM OPEN HOUSE
SEPT 2 LABOUR DAY
Know of an aviation-related event that's not listed? Let us know at vfcpatrician@gmail.com!
“The sky is not the limit, it’s just the beginning.”
-Chuck Yeager
NEWS Around the Club
UPCOMING ISSUES
The VFC needs your help! Please contact us if you have photos, articles, or anything else that you want to share with our membership!
We're particularly interested in receiving the following for upcoming issues:
• July/Aug: Aviation stories about Canadian flight history, and other Canadiana!
• Sept/Oct: Aviation stories about autumnal fun, ghost stories, and other seasonal faves!
• Nov/Dec: Aviation holiday stories and charity events to wrap up the year!
It's okay if you're not much of a writer! That's why the VFC is here. Just reach out to us at vfcpatrician@gmail.com and we'll be happy to edit your draft and work with you to create a memorable article for an upcoming issue.
After all, who doesn't want to be published?
ABBOTSFORD AIRSHOW
As you're all well aware, the Abbotsford Airshow is coming up on August 9th. Send us your photos and we'll be sure to feature them in an upcoming issue!
AVIATION INFRASTRUCTURE
The B.C. government is investing in airport improvements to support essential services and economic growth. This includes enhancements at various airports to improve services and accommodate future growth. According to BC Gov:
" The Province is investing $19.8 million in the latest round of BC Air Access Program (BCAAP) projects, which will support 40 projects at 29 air facilities, improving safety, security and passenger facilities. Projects include runway extensions, improved runway lighting, pavement improvements, terminal enhancements and better fire protection."
99S INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
The BC 99s are holding their yearly Conference & Career Expo in Vancouver over July 3-7. Approximately 300 women pilots from all over the world will be in attendance. If you'd like to know more or attend, reach out to the 99s ASAP!
We'd also love any photos or articles from pilots who attend!
NEW AIR AMBULANCES
BC Emergency Health Services has introduced a new fleet of 12 Beechcraft King Air 360CHW air ambulances. These state-of-the-art planes will enhance emergency medical response and patient transport capabilities across the province, particularly benefiting remote areas (from BC Gov News).
AIRPORT WORKERS DAY AT YYJ
On June 26th, YYJ celebrated the first ever Airport Workers Day to thank the amazing people who make the travel dreams of Canadians come true.
(Photo courtesy of Victoria Intl. Airport)
HAWAII MARS AT BC AVIATION MUSEUM
This just in: the British Columbia Aviation Museum has acquired the iconic Hawaii Mars water bomber! This aircraft was a key part of fire fighting efforts in our area. Get ready to visit the BC Aviation Museum for a full walkthrough when the Mars becomes the centerpiece of the museum's wildfire aviation exhibit after its final flight this fall!
WESTJET MECHANIC STRIKE
WestJet is in a bit of trouble right now. Contract disputes with the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) led to a strike that cancelled hundreds of flights across Canada. This strike was over cost of living pay increases and other concerns.
However, as of June 30th, a tentative agreement appears to be in the works. We'll have to see how this plays out in the long run. WestJet says that it will take time for services to return to normal. (Photo courtesy of CBC)
GROUND SCHOOL SCHEDULE
PRIVATE PILOT LICENCE GROUND SCHOOL
PPL #24-04: MAY 19/2024 TO JULY 21/2024
Sundays (09:00 - 16:00)
PPL #24-05: AUG 4/2024 TO OCT 6/2024
Sundays (09:00 - 16:00)
COMMERCIAL PILOT LICENCE GROUND SCHOOL
CPL #24-XX: AS REQUESTED
Saturdays (09:00 - 16:00) with Instructor Ken Kosvik
MOUNTAIN AWARENESS TRAINING GROUND SCHOOL
MTA #24-XX DATES AS REQUIRED OR REQUESTED.
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!
"Without
Furthermore,
Evelyn Ridsdale
Jaxon Cooper
Josh Nelson
John Buffey
Kevin Cherry
Walter Rojo Flores
First Solo: Walter Rojo Flores Instructor Anthony Bocquentivn
MEMBER ACHIEVEMENTS
PPL FLIGHT TEST
Kevin Transchel
Mathew MacKenzie
Emmett Scott
Johnathan Clark
Kartik Sharma
Jordan Edwards
Christo Snyman
GROUP 1-IFR
Steve Allan
PPL WRITTEN TEST
Nathan Limpus
Gene Fedderly
Jordan Edwards
CPL FLIGHT TEST
Kiarash Zandi
Julia Jensen
Tristan Belcourt
Rory Sinden
Jeff Wesa
NEW MEMBERS
Adam Ferreira
Ryan Novotill
Miko Tsares
Cameron Cope
Shelby Wilson
Phaelan George
Garrett Jensen
Alexander Cabrnoch
Tyler Walker
Emma Maynard
Jamie Walkden
Lee Denny
Graysen Vistisen-Harwood
Emrys Burrell
Vladislav Gaidelis
CPL WRITTEN TEST
Jeff Wesa
Katrina McGie
MULT-ENGINE RATING
Ben Kinkela
Ben Ham
Jason Dempsey
Forest Kruus
Cale Sterloff
James Squire
Cole Patterson
Peter Blencowe
Dominik Opatril
Tristan Smith
Justin Floyd
Oliver Barrett
Rogan Rennie
Drew Zinkiew
Kari Fujikawa
Jodi Broadhead
Ksenya Narkevich
Michael Abrantes
VFC CHARTER EXPANDS TO WASHINGTON STATE
BY TED KRASOWSKI, CHIEF PILOT
PART VII COMMERCIAL AIR SERVICE
As mentioned in a past Patrician article, work has been undertaken to expand VFC charter operations into Washington State. That work has now been completed and successful!
We are specifically advertising charters to Friday Harbour/Lopez Island, Bellingham, Port Angeles and Boeing Field. We are open to going into Renton and other destinations as requested. The rate for these flights is set at $6.25CDN per nautical mile plus GST.
To gain the “greenlight” for these flights, approval from Transport Canada, the Canadian Transportation Agency, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was required. And approval from all these groups has been received.
FAA approval was particularly interesting. The agency required that all aircraft used for flights to Washington State are ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast) equipped.
They also requested proof of ownership of aircraft by VFC (documented on our Certificate of Registrations), Certificate of Airworthiness of all aircraft, proof of a deicing system and proof of a pilot training program. All of these requirements were easily met through a combination of journey log documents and information held in the VFC charter company operations manual (COM).
Adherence to requirements of the U.S. Electronic Advance Passenger Information
System (eAPIS) and the Canadian CANPASS system is also required when we fly to and from the U.S. Collection of eAPIS information will be undertaken by the Chief Pilot or his designate and all of our passengers will need to confirm their legal status to enter the U.S.
In addition, we need to communicate the details of each of our flights to our Principal Operations Inspector (POI) in the United States (actually located in El Segundo, California). Information required here include: aircraft identification, pilot-in-command, number of passengers, reason for the flight, departure and arrival cities and dates and times and a telephone number of a contact in the U.S.
The Canadian Transportation Agency also has requirements for our flights to WA. We need to have an international tariff manual or “international tariff”
in place. This document is basically a resource for interested individuals to see how much we charge per nautical mile for flights to WA cities. The international tariff, as well as our domestic tariff, are posted on the VFC website under the Sightseeing and Charters tab.
The hard work is done. Now it is a matter of keeping on top of requirements. Throughout the process, the aviation authorities in both Canada and the U.S. have been supportive and definitely assisted in our success. No reason to doubt that will change any time in the future.
You may ask “Why do charters into WA?” It offers a potential cost savings to Canadian travelers as it is cheaper to fly from, say, Bellingham to destinations in the U.S.A. than it is from Victoria or Abbottsford to those U.S. destinations. It also offers an additional revenue
stream for the Victoria Flying Club, allowing for the generation of new funds that may be used to enhance the training experience of our potential new pilots.
And it helps our charter pilots, largely trained at VFC. They get experience flying internationally, dealing with customs officers and a different sort of air traffic control system. Experience always brings enhanced knowledge that will benefit pilots as their careers progress.
These flights will also raise the profile of the Victoria Flying Club, letting travelers know who we are and what we can do, what services we provide and how we can make travel just a bit more efficient.
Overall, expanding the Victoria Flying Club Part VII Commercial Air Service will prove to be a benefit to all those involved –passengers, pilots and the Victoria Flying Club.
VICTORIA FLYING CLUB SIGHTSEEING FLIGHTS
Enjoy an exciting aerial tour of the city, view the stunning coastline from the air, or let romance take flight with a private sightseeing excursion. Create an extraordinary experience that will be remembered for years to come!
When planning your sightseeing tour, consider one or more of the following options:
#1 CITY TOUR
See all of Victoria from above! Fly over quaint Sidney, the golf course of Oak Bay, the Victoria Inner Harbour, Discovery Island, and the Emerald Highlands. See Elk Lake and Bear Mountain from the air!
45 minutes, $300 + tax for 1-3 people
#2 GULF ISLAND TOUR
Bring your camera to capture the breathtaking beauty of the forests and beaches of British Columbia's spectacular Gulf Islands: Pender, Mayne, Galiano, Thetis, Penelakut, and Salt Spring!
60 minutes, $400 + tax for 1-3 people
#3 LIGHTHOUSE TOUR
Travel back to the 19th century with glimpses of oceanic gateways while you learn about the Discovery, Trial, Fisgard, and Race Rocks Lighthouses that helped create Victoria!
75 minutes, $500 + tax for 1-3 people
#4 CUSTOMIZED TOUR
Prefer a personally tailored experience? Talk with our Chief Pilot to design your own one-of-a-kind tour package!
Prices noted above are subject to change without notice and based on hobbs hours.
Indigenous Vancouver Island
An Overview of Where We Live and Fly
In Honour of National Indigenous History Month
Did you know that the VFC exists on the traditional lands of the W̱SÁNEĆ people (more specifically the Tsyecum, Pauquachin, and Tsawout nations)?
The W̱SÁNEĆ are part of the Coast Salish tribal group who, with the Nuu chah nulth and Kwakiutl, comprise the 50 First Nations of Vancouver Island. The name W̱SÁNEĆ (Anglicized into Saanich by settlers) means "emerging land" or "emerging people", as the land had been theirs since the great flood. W̱SÁNEĆ are Straits Salish People who traditionally lived on the bounty from the ocean and land. The W̱SÁNEĆ people split their time between their summer homes, along the Gulf Islands and San Juan Islands, and their protected winter homes, which are the locations of the W̱SÁNEĆ reservations.
We celebrate our Indigenous cultures on June 21 due to the summer solstice and the spiritual significance it has for many people. It's also a wonderful time to spend time outdoors and enjoy this beautiful land and in honour of its first inhabitants!
The next time you're flying, take a moment to look at the vast beauty and Indigenous history of Vancouver Island!
If you would like to learn more about your local Indigenous History, here are some resources:
Learn about Maps, Languages, and Treaties https://native-land.ca/
Learn and Hear Indigenous Languages (The W̱SÁNEĆ people speak SENĆOŦEN https://www.firstvoices.com/
Discover Local History, Get Involved, or Contact the W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council https://wsanec.com/
Support Indigenous Tourism in BC https://www.indigenousbc.com/
A Quick Guide to LGBTQ+ Inclusion
Not Just for Pride Month!
By no means an exhaustive list, but a good place to start!
Every organization, whether it realizes it or not, contains a diverse multitude of personalities, sexualities, and gender identities. As society becomes more welcoming, the number of people in this community grows with each new generation.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but rather some things to keep in mind. Cultivating thoughtful language is a core part of making our club a welcoming, inclusive space.
The Singular They. We use it every day, but did you know that the singular they was used as far back as Shakespeare? It's very useful to use the singular they in daily life to avoid making assumptions about gender.
Use Inclusive Language on all Communications Instead of saying "Ladies and Gentleman" or "Boys and Girls", try some inclusive alternatives like: folks, friends, pilots, air aficionados, members, etc.
Use the name and gender a person provides you. Deliberately using the wrong name or pronoun for someone is a jerk move by all accounts.
Can't remember their pronoun? Use their name! Not sure of a person's pronoun or gender identity? Use their name instead! It's really that easy.
What if someone changes their name or pronoun? People change all the time--especially their names! Just use the new one!
But what if I make a mistake?
Mistakes happen. Take a breath, self-correct, and try again. Effort matters and we guarantee that the person noticed that you took the time to try.
There's often a bit of confusion as to what each part of LGBTQ+ represents, so here's a Quick List of LGBTQ+ Definitions to help you out:
Gay: a term for a person whose physical, emotional, or romantic attractions are to people of the same sex.
Lesbian: often the preferred term for a gay woman.
Bisexual: a person whose attractions are to either their own gender or to another gender. There are many degrees of bisexuality. See also: pansexuality, the attraction to all genders or regardless of gender.
Asexual: a person who doesn't feel sexual attraction or has a low/absent interest in or desire for sexual activity. There are many shades of asexuality, including demi-, grey-sexual, and more, and all are perfectly fine and normal. A person can also be aromantic, meaning they do not experience romantic attraction.
Queer: a catch-all adjective for those are either not exclusively heterosexual or cisgender. Formerly derogatory, the word has been reclaimed and is particularly popular among younger people.
Intersex: An umbrella term describing people born with reproductive or sexual anatomy and/or a chromosome pattern that can't be classified as typically male or female.
Transgender: An umbrella term for people whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. There are many terms used, so default to whatever term is preferred by each person. A trans person may or may not seek medical or surgical means to bring their body into alignment with their gender identity. Indeed, some feel that such changes are irrelevant to who they really are.
Cisgender: someone whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth. Cis is shorthand for this.
Non-binary/Genderqueer: a person who does not feel that their gender identity falls neatly into the strictly defined categories of man or woman. As such, there are many different ways to be nonbinary. Note: neither term is a synonym for trans.
There are many resources available online if you'd like to learn more! Here are some great ones:
• GLAAD | glaad.org
• LGBT YouthLine | youthline.ca/
• The Trevor Project | thetrevorproject.org
• Egale Canada | egale.ca
• The Human Rights Campaign | www.hrc.org
• Canadian Centre for Gender & Sexual Diversity (CCGSD) | ccgsd-ccdgs.org/
THE PROFESSIONAL PILOT
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.” -Universities UK et al. 2004 by David Gagliardi
RADIO COMMUNICATION
Professional pilots embody the attributes in the definition above. Being a professional pilot has nothing to do with what license you hold, it is ultimately about the attitude with which you approach flying. This article is the eighth in a series that will examine aspects of piloting light aircraft to a professional standard.
Today I am going to discuss best practices for radio communication. Victoria and the lower mainland are busy and you will have doubtless heard many radio calls. Some are crisp and professional, others less so and probably a few that are were really cringe worthy.
Talking on the radio can be intimidating especially for new pilots or those that are a bit rusty. The point of a radio call isn’t to sound like Ace McCool; it is to convey information, make a request, or respond to direction.
Fundamentally virtually every radio call has the same three parts:
- Who you are
- Where you are, and
- What you want or are doing.
Eg: Victoria Tower, GXTZ, Quamichan Lake 2000 ft, inbound for full stop with India
Here are some best practices for effective radio communication
1) Engage brain before the push to talk switch. Try to take a few seconds to organize the information you want to convey before talking
2) Listen before talking so that you are not interrupting another conversation. This is especially important if you have just changed frequencies
3) Speak at a steady even pace with a normal voice
4) If you have a brain cramp and freeze in mid conversation let go of the microphone switch and pick up the call by
again when you have your thoughts organized
5) If you didn’t get all or part of a call to you tell them “say again”.
6) If you did get the call but don’t understand it, fess up immediately, with a simple “I don’t understand”
7) Initial calls should be all 4 letters of your call sign. After that follow ATC’s lead. If they keep using all 4 letters do the same if, they just respond with just the last 3 letters, do the same.
8) Place your call sign at the beginning of your transmissions to ATC and at the end of your response to ATC. Eg, “Ground GIM at the Flying Club, Taxi for you to
ATC”, or “Maintain 2000 ft GIM” for your reply to an ATC Instruction
9) If ATC gives you an instruction that you are unsure of whether you can follow it, for example “exit at runway 14” but you are still moving pretty fast, say “unable”. You are responsible for the safety and control of the aircraft and ATC will often not be aware of a situation that is going to be a problem for you.
10) You are only required to respond to an ATC instruction with your call sign, but understand you now own the instruction, so if you get it wrong it’s on you. That is why I readback route and altitude clearances. There have been numerous instances over my flying career where I
misunderstood a routing or altitude and the readback resulted in a correction from ATC before I went the wrong way or to the wrong altitude.
11) With respect to altitudes, it is important to tell ATC immediately if you can’t maintain the altitude, which is usually a result of clouds in the way. You need to be proactive and tell them what altitude you need to remain in visual conditions.
12) If you are given an informational call from ATC, like for example a wake turbulence warning, or some amplification of a direction, like “expect descent in 5 miles”, you can indicate you have received and understood the call by
saying “check remarks”
13) If you are asked to “squawk ident” don’t answer just push the ident button, ATC will see the ident on their radar screen and know you have done what they have asked without you taking up radio time.
14) If you are told by ATC to “standby” don’t respond. The reason they told you to standby is that they can’t answer you so replying does nothing except clutter up the airwaves.
15) If you are too busy to answer an ATC call you can use the “standby” to give yourself enough time to get your airplane sorted before having to reply.
However, get back to ATC ASAP as they obviously need to talk to you.
16) Don’t be afraid to use a Pan or Mayday call if you are in trouble. You can always cancel it later if needed but that call will get you potentially invaluable help. There have unfortunately been many examples of pilots who delayed declaring an emergency until it was too late.
All the above is nice but what do you do if you have a communications failure ?
My experience is that during flight training the subject of a Comm fail is often presented in a procedural way. That is the procedures you would need to follow to get safety on the ground with no communications. These are important to know but what is often missing is to first treat the comm failure as a system failure.
The first imperative is to remember to keep flying the aircraft. It is easy to get distracted so before doing any troubleshooting ask yourself where the airplane needs to be in
the next few minutes to remain safe.
I think it is safe to say that most actual comm fails are a result of finger trouble, so an organized, complete and efficient set of troubleshooting steps are helpful
This is what I recommend :
When you think you have a comm fail do the following procedure
1) Check you have the right frequency in the active slot
2) Check you have the right radio selected in the audio panel
3) Check the volume has not been inadvertently turned down by cancelling the auto squelch and listening for the volume of the static
4) Press the push to talk switch and look for the "tx" indication on the radio.
If there is no tx go to the other radio and do the same 4 steps. All of this should take less than 30 seconds and will likely resolve your comm fail.
If it doesn’t and there is still no tx the problem is likely the push to talk switch (ptt) has failed or your headset has failed. Time and airspace permitting you can try plugging your headset in the right-side jacks and try again with the right side ptt. If that doesn't work and you have access to a second headset try that.
Still no joy check that the electrical system gauges as the comm fail may be a symptom of an electrical failure. Finally, it is a good idea to have the Victoria tower emergency phone number saved on your cell phone. Worst case scenario phone them and they can give you a clearance over the phone. If you are going somewhere else phone the Kamloops FIC and they can help you with the best number to call.
Finally, ATC often doesn’t get much positive feedback from pilots so assuming the frequency isn’t busy a sincere “Thanks for the help”, “Great job today” or simply wishing them a good day is a nice gesture.
THANKS FOR THE SHARE!
SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO TAGGED US ON INSTAGRAM!
From top, left to right: @mooney_wp: "Thanks for the help VFC"—no problem!; @roamaroundvancouver: "Legislative Assembly of British Columbia In Victoria (On Vancouver Island"; @pilot_nicholas: "Quick hop to Victoria for breakfast. Thanks for the great hospitality!"; @a.bee.gee: "First cross country tou r , to be this years lead in YYJ!"; @flyboy_dane: Sunset over Sumas Mountain on the approach into CYXX Abbotsford" // Thanks for the share!
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