October 2007 - The Patrician

Victoria Flying Club

October 2007

Reflections of a Victoria summer - Ian Malcolm flies photographer Rob O'Brian

Inside

in GSN on a beautiful August day.

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3

5

6

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9

10

11

15

Short Final

Letters to the Editor

Bears Air

Indian Summer

In My Travels

First Solos

Virtual Aviation

Flight Itinerary

Aviation Project

The

Patrician Newsletter of the Victoria Flying Club

OCTOBER 2007 Editor:

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

Unsolicited articles welcome.

The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, October 24, 2007.

Board of Directors President Vice President Treasurer Secretary Directors

Paul Levie Doug Marin Lloyd Toope Jeremy Prpich Colin Dormuth Don Goodeve Eleanor Eastick Dennis Arnsdorf

General Manager Gerry Mants Chief Flying Instructor Graham Palmer 1852 Canso Road Victoria, BC V8L 5V5

Phone: Fax: Email: Web:

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

Eleanor’s

S hort F inal The Club’s Indian Summer Party of September 2nd was held not only to acknowledge our Indian students, but also to hold out the possibility of an Indian Summer – well, it worked! Not only was it fun and fabulous, but we have had some pretty darned good weather during the last month.

For the past two weeks I have been RV-ing, as they say, with my husband and managed to make it over a collection of potholes and washboards to Holberg, way up by Port Hardy. During the Cold War, the Royal Canadian Air Force established RCAF Station Holberg, a Pinetree Line radar base. The many radar stations on the Pinetree Line from the 1950s to 1990s employed thousands of Canadian and American service personnel. After a 53 km drive over a rough road, it was a little disappointing to see no sign of the base, save an old barracks-like building.

However....the next stop was Coal Harbour, reached by a paved road and here there was a seaplane base, where only a few days before, a memorial to the RCAF stationed there during WW II had been dedicated. The memorial was to honour the crew of Stranraer 951 who were lost most tragically. This story starts in August 23, 1942, nine months into the Pacific war, when a Stranraer flying boat from RCAF’s 120 Squadron, operating from Coal Harbour on Vancouver Island, disappeared on a patrol flight.

They were forced down onto heavy seas, and although they were spotted from the air in the still floating aircraft, rescue was impossible. The plane broke up and sank and all its crew perished. No trace of the large twin-engined aircraft and its eight crewmen was ever found. All were declared missing and presumed dead.

The operator of Air Cab aircraft charter, a busy little operation in Coal Harbour maintains a small museum featuring aviation and whaling artifacts, whaling (UGH) having been the main occupation of the town until the late ‘60s. Pictures say more than words, so here’s a selection:

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

the right marketing solutions for YOUR business.

Call today.

250.383.7777 seasidedesigns@shaw.ca seasidedesigns.net

2

SEASIDE designs & photography

Short Final cont’d p. 4

Letters to the Editor Hi Eleanor, I’m pretty sure that is an old Lockheed constellation.

Liam

The mystery plane is the Super Constellation built by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation.

Cal

That’s gotta be a Super Connie Eleanor? Vi flew to Canada in 1948 in one of the first ones converted for civilian trans Atlantic service. That tail is a giveawy! Al

Hi Eleanor, The aircraft pictured is a Lockheed Constellation, or “Connie”. As near as I can tell that specific aircraft is in the US Air Force livery.

Matthew G.

Hi Eleanor! This is an easy one! It’s a Constellation (can’t tell you what model, though). Affectionately known as the “Connie”, these much beloved aircraft were used extensively by the US military and civilian airlines, including Trans-Canada Airlines (although quite briefly). The Super Constellation was rapidly phased out by the onslaught of many jet powered aircraft, and they were then relegated to cargo duties and secondary airlines. Back in 1967, I recall seeing one at Downsview in Toronto with the markings “Canairelief ”. I still have a photo of this one somewhere. It was a Connie used to fly food relief to Biafra, a state in Nigeria which was attempting to secede from Nigeria. More recently there was a huge controversy with a derelict Connie at Pearson airport in Toronto. This aircraft could be seen from the 401. It had been used by TCA but had been purchased by the Boeing Museum of Flight. There was quite an uproar to keep this aircraft in Canada. I don’t know what was the final outcome of this battle. Also of interest was actor/pilot John Travolta for a while owned one of the very few remaining Constellations still flying. Finally, the tail photo shows a U.S.A.F Constellation operated by the Military Air Transport Service, or MATS, which later evolved into the MAC or Military Airlift Command. Today, it’s known as the AMC or Air Mobility Command (a merger between the Strategic Air Command and MAC back in 1992).

Many believe this to be the most beautiful piston engined airliner ever produced.

Walt Salmaniw Lockheed Super Constellation!

I came across one while visiting aerodromes in Australia. It was absolutely beautiful. I was wondering whether it was static or flying, so I went inside and found out that it had been up the previous day. http://www.hars.org.au/fleet/constellation/index.html Bob Wootan GenAv Systems Ltd. It’s a Lockheed Constellation. The MATS version was a C-121.

Shorry Adams The tail section shown in the picture is from a Constellation.

Cheers Chris Staples

Hi Eleanor: The September mystery is hardly a mystery to anyone with an interest in historic airliners. It’s a Lockheed Constellation or “Connie” as it was affectionately called then. Here’s a little tale about one family’s first-and-only flight in a Super Constellation: At the time of this 1960’s happening, I was editor of Canada Track & Traffic magazine (Canada’s first consumer car mag) and a part-time race driver. My bosses at CT&T decided to arrange a travel tour from Toronto to Nassau for the annual Bahamas Speed Week. Naturally, I purchased a ticket for myself, my wife, and our 6-month old son. Skeptics criticised our decision to take a baby boy along but Maggie (now my ex) was quick to make friends with a Bahamian lady who became our reliable babysitter.

This being an aviation newsletter I won’t go into race details except to say that drivers like Stirling Moss, Dan Gurney, Innes Ireland, and a trio of Canadian favorites (Grant Clark, Dan Shaw, John Cannon) were competing. Oh, and the parties! Well, Bahamas Speed Week, a non-championship offseason affair was more about having a good time than winning.

Our return flight was to be in a Trans-Canada Airlines (pre-Air Canada) Constellation. I was delighted. Though it would be many years before earning a pilot’s license I’d loved airplanes since I was a kid and regarded the Connie as pure “design art” for its elegant shape. Just short of the “no return” decision-maker I noticed that the starboard outboard propeller was no longer propelling and we were beginning a slow 180 to the right. (As a flying enthusiast I had, and still have, a preference for window seats, so was deeply engrossed in all that was happening.)

I mentioned my observations to the tour guide who loudly informed me and the rest of her passengers that pilots often did that in order to rest the engines. Um... excuse me? Even as an amateur flying enthusiast I knew better. Ignoring the tour guide I did my best to inform Maggie that all was well. The captain then informed us that one of the outboard starboard

3

engine’s cylinders was overheating and for safety reasons Miami was now the alternate. He would be dumping fuel in order to reduce our in-flight weight.

That resulted in the only scary moment in our journey.

Looking out at that broad wing as red aviation fuel poured into the sky even I, in my ignorance, felt some trepidation.

“What” I thought, “if he can’t turn off the tap?” But by then the tour director was in a state of near-panic and I had to reassure she and Maggie that all was well. Which, indeed, it was. We landed safely in Miami, got an extra night in a luxury hotel, flew back in a DC-8, our first-ever jet experience.

To this day I think the Constellation was the most beautiful airliner, although the Vickers VC-10 is a close second. We flew New York to London in one of those, many years later. A tale for another day.

Classic Cars: http://classicaldrives.com

Philip Powell New Car Reviews: http://cars.about.com

Hi Eleanor With that triple tail I’d have say it looks like a Lockheed Constellation to me. Or, as it was affectionately called, a Connie. As a bit of trivia, it shows up in the movie American Graffiti.

Cheers Colin

Thanks to all who wrote – the Connie is certainly an old favourite. An acquaintance of mine told me he used to live in Slough, just west of Heathrow Airport as it is now called.

Back in the ‘50s, the Super Connies, taking off westbound and fully loaded, passed quite low over his parent’s house and actually shook it! No wonder - Max takeoff weight: 137,500 lb, powered by four Wright R-3350-DA3 Turbo Compound 18-cylinder supercharged radial engines, 3,250 hp each. - Ed

Short Final cont’d from p 2

On a final, note, Rob Shemilt of Island Blue is kindly supplying, free of charge, 50 hard copies of the Pat for whoever gets to Dispatch first to collect one. The beautifully printed magazine is very popular, and herewith I offer a bit of praise from Al Whalley: Hi! Eleanor

Thanks for the hard copy Patricians! Super!! What a difference a magazine makes! Layout/presentation and ease of a relaxing read! Everything jumps right out at the reader. Very good of the printers to provide the extra 50 copies. Vi is reading them cover to cover and has never been able to read them off the internet.

I too am reading things I missed !

Thanks again. Al That’s it for this month. Blue Skies.............Eleanor #202-31 Bastion Square Victoria BC V8W 1J1

4

The Beauty is in the Landing

A

irplane watchers. You can see them almost any Sunday afternoon, outside the airport security fence at the end of the active runway. They bring lawn chairs, blankets, lunches, beverages, loud music, and their friends, and they congregate under the flight path of landing aircraft. Many airports accommodate these people by constructing a quasipark, or at least an open field. Vancouver International (YVR) has a great approach park on the east end of 08-26. The fence is very close to the runway too. Even better.

Yes, I’ve spent some time at various “approach parks”.

Seems even those who fly the planes like to watch ‘em.

Landings are always the best. I’ve often sat in front of the hangar and spent the afternoon watching the student pilots in the circuit, practising the endless touch-‘n’goes. I’m always fascinated.

The landing seems to be the part that determines the success or failure of a flight. Determines whether it was a good day or a bad day. Most pilots never comment on their ability to hold an altitude or heading, or navigate at low levels in the mountains. But they’ll tell you about the smooth touchdown when they got to where they were going. Everything else is foreplay. The landing is the real thing, the big event.

Landing an airplane is more a work of art than a science.

And if that’s a true statement, then taildraggers and floatplanes are Academy Award nominees. In my logbook there are a few hundred hours in tailwheel aircraft, some on pavement, mostly on gravel and grass.

There is also one ground loop noted, a harmless, lowspeed affair when I let one get away from me in severe, gusting crosswinds. And it wasn’t early in my career.

Experience means nothing to the airplane. The taildragger is like a cannibal, just waiting for a chance to bite you.

The prettiest landings in my opinion, are on floats.

There’s a really active seaplane base in the Nanaimo, B.C. harbour where you can sit at a waterfront cafe and watch planes come and go all day. Several companies, Harbour Air and West-Coast Air among them, routinely land and depart numerous times every hour. I never tire of the show. These pilots nurse their planes down, holding just inches above the water until at just the right moment the floats ‘kiss’ the surface, they bring the power slowly back, and the plane skims, settles, and

BEAR’S AIR Barry Meek

finally digs in as the nose comes up.

I don’t have much float time, but would be doing it again if the opportunity ever came up. The instant the floats touch the water is always satisfying. The feeling is like a gentle ‘tug’ on the airplane, rather than the ‘bump’ when wheels touch pavement. The sea plane pilots tend to land on wheels using the same techniques as on floats.

They hold a slightly nose-high attitude, and control the descent with power. With a lot of practice, they become true artists, painting the prettiest picture a plane watcher could ever see.

On a flight into a grass strip in the mountains one day, I used that approach. And it was really nice! As the wheels skimmed then delicately settled in the turf, the sensation was like landing on water. Not even a bump, until about half way through the run-out and at nothing more than a high taxi speed, one wheel dropped into a depression around a gopher hole. The effect on the

PHOTO COURTESY OF HEDGEPETH TRANSPORT, LLC

plane was more of a deceleration than a jolt such as you’d feel on a hard landing. Because ELT’s are designed to trigger on horizontal impact, the gopher hole was just enough to set mine off. After congratulating myself on such a smooth landing, I couldn’t believe the ELT signal blaring in the headset was from my aircraft!

Flying an airplane never killed anybody. It’s the landing that does it. Some say any landing you walk away from is a good one. No one who thinks about that statement would ever say it with conviction. I’ve walked away from many, many landings that were bad ones. They can’t all be good, but I never stop trying for perfection.

Barry Meek bcflyer@propilots.net

5

The Indian Summer sun came out in all its radiance for the party of the same name, held in the lounge on September 2nd.

The afternoon was a bit iffy and it got downright nasty with some rain, but as the guests began arriving for the feast, the sun broke through, the sky cleared and made the rest of the day bright and warm. It couldn't have been better! Cold drinks and hot food were enjoyed by all.

Indian Summer

photos by Doug Marin using Renee Kraft's camera

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In My Travels

by Larry Dibnah

T HE G RUMMAN G OOSE

The Grumman Corporation, also referred to as the Grumman Iron Works at one time, is probably best known for its tough, reliable line of WW2 carrier-borne naval aircraft such as the Avenger and the ‘Cat’ series of fighters – Wildcat, Hellcat, Bearcat and Tigercat.

But Grumman also produced an equally famous line of amphibious aircraft fittingly named after water birds such as the Duck, Widgeon, Goose, Mallard and Albatross. Most of Grumman’s ‘birds’ became familiar sights along BC’s West Coast over the past five decades but it is the Grumman Goose that was the most numerous, the longest serving and the one that, for some reason, people can best relate to. Perhaps it’s because the aircraft conjures up fantasies of past south sea adventures during the romantic era of the flying boat.

Anyway, Grumman’s line of twin engine, cantilevered high wing amphibians started off with the design of the G-21 Goose in 1936. Intended as a commercial aircraft, the Goose introduced all metal construction and a two-step hull based on the central float design of the earlier, single engine J2F-1 Duck. A familiar story indeed, Grumman’s Goose design caught the interest of the US military who soon ordered 54 copies of the aircraft including eight civilian versions that were pressed into service. In Army, Navy and Coast Guard service the Goose was put to work as a transport, an observation C-FIOL once owned by MacBlo plane, a target tug, a photographic plane and as a search and rescue plane. A further fifty of the JRF (Navy designation) were supplied to the Royal Air Force as the Goose 1A and served with No. 24 Squadron for ferry and anti-submarine duties. The Royal Canadian Air Force also acquired 31 copies of the G-21 Goose between 1938 and 1956 and flew them as general purpose aircraft including at least one with No. 120 Squadron at Sea Island Station - now Vancouver Airport. Altogether, a total of 350 Goose amphibians were built by the Iron Works.

C-FMPG once owned by the RCMP

The G-21/JRF-5 Goose is powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-985 –AN-6 radial engines of 450 hp each. Its wingspan is 49 feet, length is 38feet 4 inches and its gross weight is 7955 pounds. The Goose has a cruise speed of 191 mph, a maximum speed of 201 mph @ 5000 feet and an initial rate of climb of 1100 fpm. The service ceiling for the Goose is 21,000 feet although most are flown below 10,000 feet. Range is between 500 and 600 miles depending on the amount of fuel on board. The Goose can seat 9 passengers along with the pilot and co-pilot.

Post war, the majority of surviving G-21 Goose amphibians were quickly bought up by small airline companies and private owners throughout North America. Most have been upgraded with retractable wing floats, tailfin extensions and newer P&W engines with three-bladed propellers. A few examples were tested with gas turbine engines but for the cost, didn’t offer much of an advantage over other available aircraft types of similar performance.

Because the Goose amphibian is well suited for the rugged conditions of British Columbia’s coast the aircraft has been popular as a corporate transport, a Government transport, a charter aircraft, a regional airliner and as a private aircraft. Some of the local airlines that have operated the Goose over the years include Air West/Air BC, BC Airlines, Queen Charlotte Airlines, Trans Provincial Airlines, Waglisla Air, and currently, Pacific Coastal Airlines. For many years, the MacMillan Bloedel Forest Company used a Goose as their company transport aircraft throughout British Columbia as did the RCMP. TimberWest of Port Alberni, BC still uses a Goose as a spotter plane for their giant Martin Mars water bombers.

C-CYVG

story cont’d on p 12

7

In My Travels cont’d from p 7 My one and only flight in a Grumman Goose was back in 1974 when my job took me to a series of community meetings in the Queen Charlotte Islands. From Prince Rupert airport we flew at about 500 feet above the waves in a Trans Provincial Airlines Grumman Goose to remain below the overcast. We made a landing in rough water at Queen Charlotte City, BC then the pilot lowered the gear and taxied the rugged amphibian up the ramp to the terminal building where we disembarked.

What a thrill that was!

Today there are only about 50 Grumman Goose amphibians left in the world, either flying or in museums.

Fortunately these survivors have garnered plenty of TLC from their owners to keep them around for a while yet.

References: Air Classics magazine, June 1994 issue, Grumman’s Water Birds BC Aviation Museum Library Goose Central website Photos: Larry Dibnah

A number of outside tie-down spaces are now available.

Phone DISPATCH 656-2833 for details.

A P AV E F E W D AVA I S P A C E S LABL E!

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

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THE BRITISH COLUMBIA AVIATION MUSEUM is dedicated to preserving aircraft and aviation artifacts.

We collect, restore and display aircraft and artifacts related to the history of aviation in Canada, with emphasis on British Columbia.

1910 Norseman Road Sidney, BC Canada,V8L 5V5 Tel (250) 655-3300 Fax (250) 655-1611 email: bcam@bcam.net The Museum is open daily!

Summer Hours May 1 - Sept. 30 10:00 am to 4:00 pm Winter Hours Oct. 1 - April 30 11:00 am to 3:00 pm

Club Flyouts 2008 Where would YOU like to go??

Let us know.

Arvind Kumar (Mina Katayama)

First Solos as of Aug 25

Christopher Temos (Ian Watt)

Daniel Slade (Brad Fraser)

Manish Jha (Ian Watt)

Richard Carter (Emily Harvey)

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Virtual Aviation

by Liam Aloni

Hobby: an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation.

That is what most of us do at the VFC. But for those who are in training or pilots who want to do more flying than their financial budget allows them, there is flight simulator. Flight Simulator is a computer program that allows you to fly any plane in any airport at any time with any weather. You can fly anything from a 747 in Hong Kong to a C172 in Victoria! You can do ANYTHING! As a training aid/game, flight simulator is a dream game for airplane lovers everywhere.

There are many combat flight simulators, but there are only two general aviation simulators; X-Plane for Macs and Microsoft Flight simulator for PCs. If you decide to Get MFS, buy version 2004. There is a new FS called Flight Simulator X, but it is a “Computer Killer”. If you want a realistic experience when you fly buy a joystick as well. They range from $30 to $175, the higher the price the more realistic your flights are.

Once you are used to flight simulator you can start adding to your flight simulator programs. You can download almost any kind of plane, from hang gliders to the A380. You can also download more detailed airports, new sounds and new cockpits. And the best thing is IT’S ALL FREE! Have you ever wanted to fly for an airline, fly the big jets and get a rank? Well, here is your chance.

Virtual Airlines are all over the net. You can fly for a real world airline or a made-up airline. Most are free, so if they charge a fee, don’t join. A virtual airline will ask you to fill out a registration form. Some VA’s will ask you to fill out a small test before you register. After you join you have to use the airline’s airplanes from their site. Some airlines will ask you to “book your flight”. After that just fly! After your flight you will have to file a pilot report.

There are also virtual flying clubs. They work the same as virtual airlines but without the pilot reports. You can buy a plane or book planes from the virtual flying club.

VIRTUAL AIRLINE: SimAirline.net Description: a group of twenty-seven virtual airlines,

VIRTUAL FLYING CLUB: Victoria Flying Club Virtual Description: a small virtual flying club based on the

offering the real-life operations of each of the airlines

VFC. Book UZR and GSN. If you are interested in joining,

they are based on. Because they have a centralized

E-mail me at laloni@shaw.ca.

organization across all our virtual airlines, pilots can join SimAirline.net and fly for all of their virtual airlines.

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OCTOBER 07

DATE

PLACE

October 17-20 Victoria, BC

EVENT

CONTACT

SARSCENE 2007 Conference

1-800-727-9414

National Search and Rescue Secretariat &

www.nss.gc.ca

BC Provincial Emergency Program

OCTOBER Mystery of the Month Hi everyone. The October ’07 mystery aircraft was a product of the A.V. Roe Company of the UK and started out as a twin engine aircraft. The addition of two extra engines improved performance immensely. Eventually this aircraft was mass produced here in Canada. The final version served with the RCAF right up until 1965. I look forward to hearing from you. Cheers!

Larry Dibnah

Send your educated guesses to

patricianeditor@shaw.ca

Wouldn’t you rather be flying?

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

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

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

VIEW…AND AIR PLA ITH A W NE M ST O O O R

Open 8am 4pm daily

O!

in the Victoria Flying Club

Join us for breakfast or lunch…inside & patio seating 101-1852 Canso Rd

LICENSED

250.655.9395 11

BIG UPGRADE COMING TO THE VFC WEB SITE "PHOTO GALLERY" !

Very soon, VFC Members will be able to "Upload" their Flying Photos and Stories to this Gallery all by themselves.

No need to submit them to the web master ! You'll need to call the club for a Log In ID & Password so we can identify you as a real member. The "Upload" System takes a bit of instruction so we'll be providing that for you in the very near future. The information sheet will be posted right on the Photo Gallery Page as a PDF download. (Oct. 30, 2007

VFC WEB SITE �PHOTO GALLERY“

latest)

The VFC is very happy members have taken interest in submitting their Flying Photos and Stories behind them to our Web Site. The VFC Photo Gallery provides our Members and Friends with an opportunity to share their Flying Experiences with everyone who visits this very exciting part of our Web Site. Now it will be a much easier process.

We're looking for Photo Stories that interest many kinds of pilots. We have people who are building aircraft, building time, building ratings or are simply having a whole lot of fun going places, with wings attached. This is your opportunity to express your love for aviation, any way you want to.

Submissions to our Photo Gallery are always welcome!

Copyright over all published material remains with the original author(s). For permission to use any of the images or text contained in the photo gallery, please contact The Victoria Flying Club to request permission.

12

P R I VAT E P I L O T G r o u n d s c h o o l Classes held Monday and Wednesday, 1900-2200 Oct

Nov

First Solo Daniel Slade Manish Jha Richard Carter Arvind Kumar Chris Temos

DATE

TOPIC

INSTRUCTOR

01

Meteorology

B. Thompson

03

Meteorology

B. Thompson

10

Meteorology

B. Thompson

PPL Flight Test

15

Meteorology

B. Thompson

17

Human Factors

Brad Fraser

Vikas Sahrawat Emily Waller

22

Flight Operations

Brad Fraser

PPL Written Test

24

Flight Operations

Brad Fraser

29

Navigation

Emily Harvey

Sylvia Yzenbrandt Tom Eng

31

Navigation

Emily Harvey

05

Navigation

Emily Harvey

Private Pilot Licence

07

Radio and Electronic Theory

Mike Chow

Glenn Golonka

14

Review (Tower Tour/Written Seminar)

John MacConnachie

19

Review

Brad Fraser

COMMERCIAL GROUNDSCHOOL Oct 12, 2007

1700-2100

CARS

S. Mais/Koide

Oct 13, 2007

0830-1700

Navigation

Emily Harvey

Oct 14, 2007

0830-1700

Flight Operations

Brad Fraser

Oct 19, 2007

1700-2100

PDM

Brad Fraser

Oct 20, 2007

0830-1700

Crew Resource Management

Brad Fraser

Oct 21, 2007

0830-1700

Crew Resource Management

Brad Fraser

Oct 26, 2007

1700-2100

Airframes & Engines

S. Mais/M. Chow

Oct 27, 2007

830-1030

Airframes & Engines

S. Mais/M. Chow

1030-1700

Licensing Requirements

E. Harvey/I. Watt

Theory of Flight & Aerodynamics Oct 28, 2007

Achievements

0830-1130

Systems & Instruments

S. Mais/M. Chow

11:30-1700

Radio & Electronic Theory

E. Harvey/M. Chow

Nov 2, 2007

1700-2100

Meteorology

B. Thompson/E.Harvey

Nov 3, 2007

0830-1700

Meteorology

B. Thompson/E.Harvey

Nov 4, 2007

0830-1700

Meteorology

B.Thompson/E. Harvey

Oct 12-14, 19-21, 26-28, Nov 2-4, 2007

CPL Written Test Chris Mathison

Welcome New Members!

Pierre Grignon Glenn Brown Geoff Orr Tyler Egginton Clayton Akerman Scott Stephens Brad Daneliuk Tyler Robinson Wayde Parker Wyatt McNulty Marc Dallen Trevor George Ashley Burbidge Chris Barton Jessica Dearman Ueno Hideki Walt Nicholson Luc-Antoine Arsenault Cameron Domay Sheila Ballman Gary Ballman Russell Ballman Sam Ballman Jeffrey Pennington Wyatt McNulty Sam Fisher Andrew Galewitz Fumiko Miyamoto Michael Lane

13

September’s

Mystery Plane

Lockheed Constellation

VFC Smile Cards The Victoria Flying Club is very excited to partner with Thrifty Foods in their successful

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Pick up your Smile Card today and 5% of all your Thriftys grocery purchases will go towards creating scholarships and awards for VFC members.

To date, we have been able to create three new bursaries!

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We thank you for your support!

SMILE CARD TOTAL TO DATE

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“Canada’s Most Significant Aviation Pr oject” r eceives $25,000 donation (Original text used by permission from Outlook magazine, with thanks – ed.)

Now in its seventh year of restoration, the Comox Valley’s Y2K Spitfire Project recently became the recipient of the largest cash donation in the project’s history. Keith and Betty Beedie Foundation of Burnaby, B.C., donated $25,000 to this project.

“We are ecstatic about this huge cash infusion into our project,” said Captain John Low, chairman of the museum. “This donation will allow us to continue working through 2007 and into the next year.” The Supermarine Spitfire is arguably the most famous fighter of the Second World War. The Royal Canadian Air Force operated 13 Squadrons of Spitfires in all operational theatres during the war. Gallant Canadians flew Spitfires out of bases in England during the Battle of Britain, over France, and into Holland and Belgium. Many Canadians flew Spitfires over the skies of the Mediterranean, Malta, North Africa and Southeast Asia. During the Battle of Britain, the Spitfire was seen as a symbol of Victory. Keith Beedie, a Royal Canadian Air Force veteran, has a passion for this aircraft and the role it played in the Second World War. He has fond memories of the young men that went to war and served our country, and says the freedoms enjoyed today are because of the sacrifices made by Canadians during a very dark period in world history.

“Ever since I was building model airplanes at the age of 11 in 1937, my favourite was the Spitfire. I had the opportunity to name a street in one of my projects in Port Coquitlam, so there is a culde-sac named ‘Spitfire’ in the Meridian Industrial Park on the Mary Hill bypass,” says Beedie. “When I heard about the restoration project I wanted to help; so I picked the figure of $25,000, which I believe was the cost of a Spitfire during World War Two.” The Y2K Spitfire Project attracts thousands of Spitfire enthusiasts from all over the world to the workshop each year. To date, the museum has invested over $500,000, and it is estimated that an additional $1,500,000 is required to complete the project.

The Spitfire is being restored using donations made to the Y2K Spitfire restoration fund, and will honour the memory of the young Canadians who gave their lives for freedom under the flag of Canada. “Our dream is to see this Spitfire fly again, to help Canadians connect with our proud military history,” says Capt Low.

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day, and donations can be made during those hours or at the Y2K workshop, which is open to the public on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. If you have any questions about the Spitfire, or would like information on how to make a donation, please contact Pat Murphy at pjmurphy@shaw.ca.

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An interesting story with this aircraft.

Does it look a little unusual? Look closely at the nose....not quite right, isn't it? Well it's N877MG, a DC-3 with a long history. The nose was modified to house a weather radar.

I knew that something wasn't quite right. There's some interesting write-ups about it if you Google the registration and some interesting videos of a transcontinental flight earlier this year. It's fun to spend an hour watching and reading about this particular rather unique aircraft!............Walt.

A number of outside tie-down spaces are now available.

Phone DISPATCH 656-2833 for details.

A P AV E F E W D AVA I S P A C E S LABL E!

VIEW‌AND AIR PLA ITH A W NE M ST O O R OO A !

Open 8am 4pm daily

Join us for breakfast or lunch‌inside & patio seating 101-1852 Canso Rd

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in the Victoria Flying Club

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250.655.9395