The Patrician
LET'S WRAP UP THE YEAR TOGETHER IN THIS ISSUE OF THE PATRICIAN
The Patrician
“To promote
(Victoria Flying Club Incorporation Bylaws, 1946)
BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
PRESIDENT Don Devenney
VICE
SECRETARY Glen Rippon
TREASURER Reg Smith
DIRECTORS Angie Johnson
Mike Vossen
Joseph Martin
Laurie Ingalls
GENERAL MANAGER Mike Schlievert
you want other pilots to fly with, split flight
potential
and their
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.
NEWS Around the Club
FROM THE EDITOR:
Welcome to the end of 2024!
It's been a long flight, but we're finally cleared for landing in 2025! From all of us at the Victoria Flying Club, we hope you had a wonderful Christmas, Happy Holidays, and stayed warm and happy during this holiday season!
This month, David Gagliardi brings some holiday pilot jokes to the issue, I share some of my favorite holiday movies (with planes), and we get a reminder of how tracking Santa Claus became a thing.
Going forward, we would absolutely love to see more submissions from members and to hear what kind of content you like in the Patrician. Feel free to drop us a message any time and don't be afraid to send in your own articles, photos, and ideas!
See you next year!
—Kelly, Editor of the Patrician
ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT IN FLIGHT TRAINING AT SOCIAL SATURDAY:
On January 4th's Social Saturday event, our very own David Gagliardi, long-time VFC member, project team member for Transport Canada's Electric Aircraft in Flight Training trial, and most importantly: writer of the Patrician's "Professional Pilot" column, will give a short talk what TC is doing to allow the introduction of electric aircraft in flight training, describe
the Pipistrel Velus Electro and give some thoughts on what it is like to fly.
If you haven't been attending our Social Saturdays, you're missing out. Come join us this Saturday at 9:30 AM for David's talk, some good conversation, coffee, and those incredible Sidney Bakery doughnuts!
Let's put the "club" back in the Victoria Flying Club!
“The engine is the heart of an airplane, but the pilot is its soul.” – Walter Raleigh
EVENTS & HOLIDAYS
JAN 1 NEW YEAR'S DAY
JAN 4 SOCIAL SATURDAY @ THE VFC
FEB 14 VALENTINE'S DAY
FEB 17 FAMILY DAY
MAR 9 DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME BEGINS
APR 18 GOOD FRIDAY
APR 20 EASTER
MAY 19 VICTORIA DAY
Know of an aviation-related event that's not listed? Let us know at vfcpatrician@gmail.com!
CALLING ALL LOVERS
Do you have a story about love and aviation? If so, the Patrician wants to feature your story in our Valentine's Day issue! Send your stories and photos to the editor at: vfcpatrician@gmail.com
WE NEED YOUR STORIES!
Do you have some adventures you want to share? The Patrician relies on content from VFC members like you!! Reach out to vfcpatrician@gmail.com and we'll be happy to work with you to create a memorable article for an upcoming issue.
VFC CHARTER SERVICE
GROUND SCHOOL SCHEDULE
PRIVATE PILOT LICENCE GROUND SCHOOL
PPL #24-12: NOV 03/2024 TO FEB 02/2025
Sundays (09:00 - 16:00)
COMMERCIAL PILOT LICENCE GROUND SCHOOL
CPL: OCT 5/2024 TO FEB 08/2025
Saturdays (09:00 - 16:00) with Instructor Ken Kosvik, Ben Holden, Neil Keating
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
PHILIPPINE MARS GROUNDED
DUE TO MECHANICAL PROBLEMS
Sometimes even milestones get delayed.
On Sunday, December 15th, one of the last two Philippine Mars water bombers in the world was scheduled to make its final journey from Port Alberni, BC to its retirement home in an Arizona museum. However, the final flight was canceled due to mechanical issues that forced the bomber to make an emergency landing in Patrician Bay.
The plane landed around 1:20 PM and tread water for about forty minutes before mooring at the water aerodrome Eyewitnesses report that only three of the plane's four engines were running when it landed
The water bomber will spend Christmas in Victoria being repaired and perhaps visiting its sister, the Hawaii Mars at the B.C. Aviation Museum, before continuing on its journey south.
While this is a disappointment for the bomber's many fans who turned up for its final flight, this does give our members at the VFC a rare opportunity. After all, how often can you say you saw a legendary plane's final flight twice?
Photo courtesy of CHEK News.
HELIJET & BCEHS CELEBRATE
20 YEARS OF SANTA FLIGHTS
2024 marks a major anniversary for Helijet International and BC Emergency Health Services: 20 years of their annual Santa Flights!
People often wonder how Santa Claus can visit every kid in the world in one night. Well, we may not know the answer to that, but we know that he visits pediatric units across six hospitals in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island in one day thanks to a ride aboard a BCEHS air ambulance!
This cozy holiday tradition brings hope and joy to youngsters who are spending their holidays in the hospital, as sometimes a little hope and joy can make all the difference.
But the Santa Flights aren't the only anniversary worth mentioning: this is also the 50th anniversary of British Columbia's provincial ambulance service!
So whether you were able to catch a glimpse at Santa in one of the hospitals or just had to settle for what he left under the tree, spend a minute this holiday season thinking about the hard work of our province's emergency services and healthcare workers.
Photo from Canadian Aviation News
20 Years of Santa Flights
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:
Peter Blencowe
Dominic Opatril
Jordan Brockhurst
Kari Fujikawa
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
Ned Taylor earned his Private Pilots License!
Nathanael Korby is now a Class 4 Instructor!
PPL WRITTEN TEST
Xenon Calwell
PPL FLIGHT TEST
Patrick Heaney
Jose Pablo Sandoval Sandez
Keanu Ling-McGill
Mark Russell
MULT-ENGINE RATING
Tristan Bacon
Matthew Browning
CPL WRITTEN TEST
Ilya Pavlovic
Saviru Rathnayake
Aaron Flaig
Julien Bahain
Michael Grew
Darryl Winmill
Avi Gunderson
CPL FLIGHT TEST
Jason Dempsey You Zhou
GROUP 1 INSTRUMENT RATING-IFR
Adam Sakuma
Forest Kruus
Russell Graham
CLASS 4
INSTRUCTOR RATING
Jason Dempsey
Nathanael Korby
Amelia Sutton-Atkins
Chase Meckbach
Scott McBride
Adrian Tabari
Toren Harrison
Nelson Harvey
Matthew Carrington
Zachary Dolan
Henry Cheng
Kien Quoc (Andrew) Bui
Kelsey Smith-Rojo
Yiwe Hao
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.” -Universities UK et al. 2004
HOLIDAY EDITION
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 a special holidays edition that proves that professional pilots can have a sense of humor… I think
• How do pilots decorate their Christmas trees?
With "prop"-er care!
• How do you find the pilot at the Christmas party?
He will already have told you.
• What does Santa say when he's flying in turbulent weather?
"Ho, ho, ho-ld on tight!"
• Why do pilots keep sugar cookie air fresheners in the cockpit? It really helps with de-scent.
• Why did the little airplane not get any presents?
They had a bad altitude.
• How did the two jets decide where to go for New Year's Eve?
They winged it.
• How do airplanes decorate for the holidays?
They use "jet streamers"
• Why did the Air Traffic Controller become a stand-up comedian?
They the jokes to land smoothly!
• Why did nobody get the Air Traffic Controller's jokes?
They always seem to go over people's heads.
• Why did the airport gift shop have a sale during the holidays?
To make sure everyone had a chance to "land" a good deal!
• What is a reindeer's favorite part of the airport?
Deer-partures.
• How does a reindeer keep everything organized?
With an "elf-a-betized" checklist!
• How does Santa's sleigh navigate through foggy weather?
With "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Radar"
• What's the Wright Brothers' favorite holiday movie?
"It's a Wonderful Flight!"
And, finally, an oldie but a goodie:
Santa Claus, like all pilots, gets regular visits from Transport, and it was shortly before Christmas when the TC Inspector arrived.
In preparation, Santa had the elves wash the sled and bathe all the reindeer. Santa got his logbook out and made sure all his paperwork was in order.
The examiner walked slowly around the sled. He check the reindeer harnesses, the landing gear, and Rudolf’s nose. He painstakingly reviewed Santa’s weight and balance calculations for sled’s enormous payload.
Finally, they were ready for the checkride. Santa got in and fastened his seatbelt and shoulder harness and checked the compass. Then the examiner hopped in carrying, to Santa’s surprise, a shotgun.
“What’s that for?” asked Santa incredulously.
The examiner winked and said, “I’m not supposed to tell you this, but you’re gonna lose one on takeoff.”
Fly safe everyone!
TOP HOLIDAY
Who doesn't love a good movie over the holidays? Here are some of the best ones for this (or any) holiday season that include planes!
PLANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES (1987)
Neal Page (Steve Martin) teams up with a bumbling but well-meaning stranger (John Candy) to make it home for Thanksgiving. This one is the king of travel misadventures that kicks off with a flight mishap and then devolves into a series of hilarious transportation misadventures
Ironically, this R-rated comedy would have been PG without Steve Martin's impressive string of F-bombs at the airport counter. Worth it.
HOLIDAY MOVIES (with planes)
DIE HARD 2: DIE HARDER (1990)
Some guys can't catch a break! On Christmas Eve, John McClane battles terrorists who have taken over an airport and its flight control systems. Not as good as the first one, but full of action and the tension of grounded flights during the holidays. And yes: the first Die Hard is a Christmas movie too.
HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK (1992)
You think they would have kept this kid on a leash after the last year. In this sequel, Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) accidentally boards the wrong flight and ends up in New York instead of Florida for the holidays. Featuring chaotic scenes at O’Hare International Airport (which is basically just O'Hare on a normal day) and some inventive uses of a construction site, this is a sequel that pays off as a fitting conclusion to the Home Alone saga. Just disregard the fact they made five more without Culkin.
UNACCOMPANIED MINORS (2006)
A group of kids stuck at a snowed-in airport during Christmas cause chaos and hilarity as they try to reunite with their families.
This one is a fun, familyfriendly take on holiday travel mishaps. Perfect to take a nap during while the kids watch.
Love Actually (2003)
Look: odds are that you've seen it, I've seen it, and you'll see it again on some random TV channel this year, but it's a classic for a reason. Multiple romantic storylines unfold during Christmas, with the whole thing coming together at Heathrow International Airport.
The cast is why you watch this one: Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy, Alan Rickman, and a partridge in a pear tree.
CARRY-ON (2024)
This movie is the answer to the question: "What if Die Hard 2" wasn't as good? Carry-On, which could have been named Try-Hard, is still an enjoyable action movie set in an airport over the holidays. It follows Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton), a young TSA agent who is blackmailed by a mysterious traveler (Jason Bateman) into allowing a dangerous package onto a Christmas Eve flight.
This movie had a lot going against it, like the unavoidable comparisons to Die Hard 2, but the hardest thing it had to do is make us root for the TSA.
THE HOLIDAY (2006)
Two women (Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet) swap homes during the holiday season to escape heartbreak, finding love in unexpected places with two men (Jude Law and Jack Black). It's full of air travel, airports, and holiday journeys of love and self discovery.
Also, if you haven't seen this you might not believe that Jack Black is somehow a more charismatic leading man than Jude Law. I was surprised too.
THE FLIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS (2015)
This one is a holiday TV movie that follows Stephanie (Mayim Bialik), who, after a sudden breakup, decides to fly home to Connecticut for Christmas. On the plane, she meets Michael (Ryan McPartlin), who is en route to propose to his girlfriend. When a snowstorm diverts heir flight to Montana, the pair end up sharing the last available room at a bedand-breakfast.
You can probably fill in the dots from here. It's pretty paint-by-numbers, but sometimes that's exactly what you need from a holiday romance movie.
So what's your go-to holiday movie? Does it involve aviation? Let us know!
TRACKING SANTA
The Story of Santa Claus and NORAD
This article was published in 2023, but it's a good enough story we thought you might want to see it again!
Santa Claus has a tough gig: in just one night, he has to single-handedly deliver toys and cheer to more than 2 billion children across the entire world. I think we can all agree that his sleigh must be packing a lot of horse—or rather reindeer—power to get the job done. It's a tough job, but he's just the man for it!
But do you know what's harder than that? Being a kid who has to wait until morning. Luckily, kids around the world can rest easier knowing that Santa is making good time thanks to the efforts of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Using cutting-edge technology, NORAD makes sure that Santa's sleigh remains on track and that his whereabouts are known to the entire world. It's a holiday tradition that's served the kids of the world since for generations, but how did it begin? Let us tell you!
The History of Santa Tracking
The first instance of Santa being tracked can be tracked back to 1948, when the United States Air Force announced that "one unidentified sleigh, powered by eight reindeer, at 14,000 feet, heading 180 degrees" had been detected by early-warning radar networks in the north. This was
the first time that the USAF tracked Santa, and it remained a one-off event.
NORAD enters the picture in 1955, technically even before it was founded, through rather amusing circumstances. A Sears department store in Colorado Springs, Colorado, ran an advertisement in their local paper that invited children to call Santa directly. However, due to a misprint in the telephone number provided in the ad, the call was not routed to the store's on-hand Santa, but instead the Colorado Springs' Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), Center NORAD's predecessor.
Lucky for the kids of Colorado Springs, Colonel Harry Shoup, the director of operations at CONAD, was on shift that night. In some versions of the story, it was Colonel Shoup himself who answered that first call and, recognizing the confusion and not wanting to disappoint the children, he instructed his staff to provide updates on Santa's location using the military radar system.
Colonel Shoup had not intended to repeat the event the following year, but when he was told that both the Associated Press and United Press International were expecting reports on Santa's location, he knew what had to be done. And just like that, due to a simple mistake and a little Christmas magic, a heartwarming tradition was born.
Evolution of Santa Tracking Technology
Over the years, as technology advanced, so did NORAD's methods of tracking Santa. What began as a simple phone line transformed into a high-tech operation that combines radar, satellites, and even fighter jets. Today, NORAD uses its stateof-the-art systems to pinpoint Santa's location with remarkable precision, ensuring that children everywhere can follow his journey in real-time.
The NORAD Tracks Santa Program:
NORAD's commitment to spreading holiday cheer led to the official establishment of the NORAD Tracks Santa program. Since 1958, when NORAD was officially formed, the organization has continued the tradition of tracking Santa's sleigh every
Christmas Eve. The program has become a global phenomenon, with millions of people eagerly awaiting updates on Santa's progress through various media channels.
NORAD Tracks
Santa is not just about monitoring Santa's route; it's also an educational initiative. The program provides insights into geography, weather patterns, and even offers glimpses into the various cultures and traditions celebrated around the world during the holiday season. In doing so, NORAD fosters a sense of global unity and understanding among the diverse communities that participate in the festivities.
How NORAD Tracks Santa Works:
The process of tracking Santa involves a combination of advanced technology, skilled personnel, and
a touch of holiday magic. NORAD's sophisticated radar systems, satellites, and high-tech equipment are deployed to monitor Santa's journey. The organization collaborates with various partners, including telecommunications companies and volunteers, to ensure that real-time updates are available to the public.
Volunteers play a crucial role in the success of the NORAD Tracks Santa program. Each year, individuals from around the world join forces at NORAD's headquarters to answer phone calls and emails from children curious about Santa's whereabouts. The volunteers, often military personnel and their families, add a personal touch to the experience by sharing stories and spreading holiday joy.
Global Impact and Community Engagement
The impact of NORAD Tracks Santa extends beyond just tracking a mythical figure's journey. It has become a unifying force that transcends borders, bringing people together in the spirit of joy and goodwill. Families and communities worldwide gather around screens, eagerly awaiting updates and sharing the excitement of Santa's progress.
The NORAD Tracks Santa website and app provide an interactive experience, allowing users to explore Santa's Village, play games, and learn more about the various locations he visits. This engagement not only entertains but also educates, making the program a valuable resource for families during the holiday season.
Adaptation to Changing Times
As technology continues to evolve, NORAD Tracks Santa has adapted to keep up with the times. Social media platforms, streaming services, and mobile apps have become integral parts of the program, ensuring that people of all ages can access Santa's journey from various devices. This adaptability reflects NORAD's commitment to staying relevant and accessible in an ever-changing digital landscape.
In Conclusion
The magical partnership between Santa Claus and NORAD is a testament to the power of tradition and innovation coming together. What began as a serendipitous event in 1955 has blossomed into a global phenomenon that
captures the hearts and imaginations of millions each year. NORAD's commitment to spreading joy, fostering global unity, and embracing technological advancements has solidified its place as a key player in the holiday narrative.
As we eagerly await the next Christmas Eve, the NORAD Tracks Santa program continues to remind us of the enduring magic of the holiday season and the joy that comes from sharing in the wonder of Santa's journey with the world. In the spirit of collaboration, tradition, and innovation, Santa and NORAD inspire us to believe in the extraordinary and to celebrate the magic that unites us all during this special time of year.
THANKS FOR THE SHARE!
SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO TAGGED US ON INSTAGRAM!
From top, left to right: @nathanaelkorby: "Summer vibes in the sky"; @drklghtr: Breakfast with the planes…; @kyla.kowalchuk.photography: "Satur-yay! Great day to practice soft fields + cloud dodging"; @davemcrobb is taking to the skies with a co-pilot!; @bcaviationmuseum: "Crews completed the work burying the blocks ahead of schedule, and Hawaii Mars is open again!"; @dakota_cafe: " The Dakota Cafe is very excited to be extending our hours to include dinnertime service from 4:00PM to 9:00PM! We are so excited to host and serve you soon!" // Thanks for the share!
