Family Day at the Bar Adventure

So, what does one do on a beautiful Family Day?

Leave the kids at home with the wife and fly out to the gravel bars for the day with your aviation family.  (Don't worry, I'm still married and had the wife's permission to go.)

On my way, just past the Mission Bridge

BC General Aviation was hosting a fly out on the gravel bars up past Agassiz.  Since this was my first time flying onto the gravel bars, I did some research on what to expect.  Well, what I found out is to expect the unexpected.  You never know what you'll encounter, there can be soft spots, big rocks, small rocks, logs, branches etc.... so a fly by or two was required.


The winds today were light to none, except for at an altitude of 50' to 800' where the breeze was rolling over the hills and trees making for some interesting attitudes and movement in the aircraft. 

My first fly by, I got a general idea of where I may decide to land.  My second go around, I went nice and low to check out how big those stones were.  There were some big ones and small ones but they seemed to be embedded in the sand.  Hmmm.... what to do?

The plan was to come in at a normal approach speed, but then to touch down as slow as possible to minimize the possibility of kicking up stones into my prop or tail feathers.  Well, it was looking really good, stable approach, had my touch down point in sight..... then at about 10 - 5' the wind stopped and she dropped! BANG!  Oh, my poor baby, what did I do to you?

After a short roll out on what felt like a cobblestone runway, everything sounded normal, my landing gear and wheels were still there.  Ok, lets taxi to the other planes...one bump at a time.

C-IMMY made it!

I shut down the engine and secured the plane.  Let me look at what I did to my bird.  During my walk around I found I still had 3 propeller blades (in perfect condition), the vertical stab, rudder and stabilator were all there and not a nick of damage.  Yahoo!  Time to relax and enjoy the day.

Lots of fantastic examples of general aviation planes.

One by one, the planes started to arrive.  I didn't know most of the pilots but knew I would make some new friends today.  I met the gang who formed the BC General Aviation group. The B.C. General Aviation Association is a not for profit group who's mission is to make British Columbia more accessible to general aviation and to foster the camaraderie and sense of adventure that we all crave as we take to the skies.  Check them out at: www.bcaviation.ca

Van City Seaplane's DeHavilland Beaver

Photo Curtesy of: Peter Grimm 

I knew this was the right place to be when Pete
from Van City Seaplanes showed up with a beautiful DeHavilland Beaver.  Naturally I had to go greet and help the guys beach the Beaver.  Again best plans don't always work out and the guys got pretty wet trying to get the Beaver beached.  My experience told me to wait and see, and at the end the Beaver was beached and I somehow managed to stay dry.  Ryan helped unload the kids and Pete's wife since he was already wet. 

It was nice to sit and relax and take in the sun's   The smell of the campfire was soothing while I kicked back and took it all in. We had a couple visitors fly past to do some low and overs.  It felt like we had our own private airshow.

After socializing and relaxing for a couple hours, it was time to depart back  home.

I must admit, I was a bit concerned about my departure.  Will I kick up a rock on take off and damage my prop and tail feathers?  Shoot, where would be the best spot to take off from?  As I taxi out, I kept using stumps and logs as reference points where the best surface was for taking off.  I turned the plane into the breeze, did a run up and crossed my fingers.  The take off was again bumpy but uneventful.  After getting airborne I did a 180 degree turn and did a low and over to give the aviator salute goodbye. 

I'm looking forward to the next BC General Aviation fly out.

Stay safe my friends,

David Bianchi

Our Pacific Pilot jackets arrived and they look great!   "Thank you" to David B. for all his work!"

Aeroplane Model - For Sale - detailed wood carving

Model wooden aeroplane for sale: Detailed wood carvings include moving parts: wheels, propeller and rudder. Ident from local flying school. Length: 35 , Wingspan: 40cm, Height 25 cm.
 Buy here: aviationnews@uniserve.com

U.S Airspace issue resolved.

Canadian GA and business aircraft can again take shortcuts over U.S. airspace on their way to Canadian destinations. The FAA has amended a NOTAM issued a couple of weeks ago that made such overflights illegal without special security measures. As we reported last week, the NOTAM, apparently issued at the request of the TSA, cancelled the decades-long agreement between the two countries that allowed Canadian aircraft to transit U.S. airspace without security or Customs requirements. The NOTAM caught authorities and groups on both sides of the border by surprise and caused some major headaches for private and commercial operators who had to take long detours around the U.S. border or risk interception by U.S. authorities. It was apparently all a mistake but one that took two weeks to resolve, said Canadian Owners and Pilots Association President Bernard Gervais. "The subsequent 15 days required relentless discussions and communications between COPA, AOPA, IAOPA, Canadian Business Aviation Association, Air Transport Association of Canada, FAA, Transport Canada, and more," Gervais said. "This event was apparently an oversight, a mistake and unfortunately normal protocol between TSA/FAA and our Transport Canada Civil Aviation Security was skipped or forgotten." Gervais said the matter has been a learning experience on both sides of the border. "COPA received assurance that such an event would not repeat itself without proper coordination," he said. "Canadian and U.S. staff pulled together in an amazing collaboration to resolve this issue."

Live Web Cam: Delta Heritage Air Park (CAK3)

Greetings All,

Winter seems to have me flying a bit less, so adventures are somewhat limited. During this cabin fever season I came across the link to the Delta Heritage Air Park Live Webcam which I had heard about forever, but never got around to actually checking out.


The link is below. To use it, follow the instructions. It's very easy.

Click the "remember log-in" button so you don't have to fill in the log-in info every time you want to use it.

This webcam is a very handy tool to let you know what the conditions are like at CAK3. A great thing to check if you're headed to the pancake breakfast, a fly-in, or meeting friends there before heading out on an adventure of your own.

http://www.deltaheritageairpark.org/videoCam.html

If there's a grey Mazda 3 parked next to the RAA hangar, that will usually mean that I'm there, or airborne.

The Webcam is mounted to the building that houses Mary's Place (Coffee shop) and is pointed North. In view you can see the fuel pumps, the windsock, and the RAA hangar on which the windsock is mounted.

The RAA hangar, as well as the paved taxiway running across the webcam view in the foreground are roughly aligned with the grass runway (25/07). The white picket fence aligns approximately perpendicular to that. This is a good tool for judging the conditions at CAK3, and you can get good idea of the crosswind component, but obviously decisions to land in any sort of adverse conditions lie solely with the PIC. Just sayin'.

While we wait for Spring to arrive, feel free to pass along any tools or pieces of knowledge that we can post here to help make 2016 a safe and enjoyable year for us all.

Happy winter flying!

Cheers,

David M

It's never too windy to fly this aeroplane.....

           SILVER CREEK LOGGING ROAD ON THE EAST SIDE OR HARRISON LAKE

Airspace changes for U.S airspace.

This notice just came for COPA regarding airspace changes. Please be aware. I will will update this notice as we learn more about the changes.

U.S. has tightened cross-border aircraft security.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued a NOTAM on Jan. 1 that significantly changes cross-border operations for Canadian aircraft.

The NOTAM appears to require the operator of any Canadian aircraft to obtain a waiver from the FAA to fly in U.S. airspace.

Before the NOTAM was issued, Canadian aircraft were allowed to transit U.S. airspace without notifying U.S. Customs or security authorities as long as their destination was another Canadian airport.

There are numerous shortcuts across U.S. airspace used by Canadian pilots to get from one domestic airport to another and this NOTAM appears to add a layer of bureaucracy to those flights. Pilots who ignore the directive could find an F-16 or Blackhawk helicopter on their wing, according to the NOTAM.

The measure was apparently imposed without consultation and it seemed to take authorities on this side of the border by surprise.

The Canadian Owners and Pilots Association has put the following notice on its Web site.

“Urgent to all Canadian pilots as of January 1st, 2016, U.S. NOTAM FDC 5/6289, requiring a U.S. TSA approval for “all” flights through U.S. airspace. COPA is currently working with authorities to resolve this issue.”

COPA Flight 6

Email: copaflight6@gmail.com

Blog: copaflight6.blogspot.ca

NEW Aviation News & Lifestyle Magazine Jan/Feb 2016

Hi Aviators!

Here is your NEW Aviation News & Lifestyle Magazine Jan/Feb 2016

Because the file is too big to post here, we can give you the link that works on all electronic devices to download and read - whenever - wherever:  Enjoy!

http://www.tinyurl.com/ANJMagzter

For the next ANJ March/April 2016 issue , your ad booking and article /photo submission deadline is February 20th, 2016
email your AD and copy material to:  aviationnewsjournal@live.com

Happy and fabulous 2016!
TEAM ANJ and Elke Robinson
604.897.4749

New Years Day Flight – As the Props Turns - around the Lions!

I have a great view of  the North Shore mountains and The Lions (also known as the Twin Sisters) when taking my lunch walk at work.  Every time I look at them I think “one day I’m going fly around them”.    Today I did!  While I flew, Darrell took some amazing pictures.

But first I’ll start at the beginning of the day… New Years day… we look out the window and see nothing but white. Fog everywhere.  I don’t give up, I log on, to Ian’s King George web-cam and yes, the airport was clear!   (Thank you Ian!  Your cam is amazing.)

We made the plan to fly The Lions last night, so I was really excited to get going.  Breakfast, the Chevron for fuel, fuel in, gear in, inspection… oops, a bolt is missing from the right side wheel pant.  Found a spare in the trailer and got that on.  Last check of cowling and fuel caps… one cap looks off and a closer inspection found it not completely tight.  After much fiddling we finally got it closed using a wrench.  Why is it so hard to close, when yesterday it was fine?  Hmmm. 

Wheels up and we’re off to Delta Heritage Park for their New Year’s Day Open House.  Visited with friends and enjoyed great snacks and coffee.  “Thank you DHP!”

A Flight Services call for a wind report, and James as our ‘Reliable Buddy on the ground’ with our planned route, we were off.  Straight across Burnaby to the North Shore, Van Tml wouldn’t give us clearance, so we stayed under 1200 until we reached Van Harbour.

Then the climb began.  Not a puff of wind, not a cloud in the sky. 

The Lions

And then the mountains…. Wanting to approach from the West, we flew over Cypress ski hill, which was packed with skiers.

Looking North

Over the Inlet we climbed to 6000 ft and turned East

approaching from the West

 right about here ... we are both in total awe. 

The East Lion

A slow decent to the East

along the edge of the fog,

the hi rises near Coquitlam Centre

and over the Port Mann bridge, back home to King George

This flight was a dream come true, with no wind and clear blue skies. (fog on the ground doesn't count :o)

Happy New Year everyone!

From Darrell & Sharon

C-IZIM