Darlene’s Memorial Opening Comments  November 2020

 Thank you for coming out today to honour and remember Darlene. She was so important to me and well thought of by so many friends and family alike. This became clearer when I posted about her illness on Facebook and later about her passing on September 18^th, all of the 87 responses had a common thread. It is quite clear that:

·          She was much loved by all

·         She was a beautiful lady

·         She had a heart for those in need

·         She was a tolerant, kind and a gentle soul

Clearly I knew all of that and more. I knew her as a wife, lover, friend and soulmate. She was my rock when things didn’t go quite the way I thought that they should. She never had a word of criticism through a couple of career changes. She just smiled and said “you’ll figure it out”. We had 29 wonderful years together.

While she was all of the things I just said and I thought I was the only one who knew this, she was also a very self-assured and may I say it – a strong willed person who clearly knew her mind. Turns out I was the last to find that out. All of her family had known that since she was a child. And I’m sure that you will hear more of that later.

Darlene and I enjoyed a good life together. Travel was important to both of us. We started our life together by getting married in Montego Bay in Jamaica. Then we travelled to some other fun places like Hawaii, Florida, Puerto Rico, St Thomas, San Francisco and Las Vegas. We also spent a lot of time in some not so fun places like the Down Town East Side cleaning rooms and helping tenants in four SOR’s on behalf of Community Builders. They also led us to Haiti beginning just after the 2010 earthquake through 2013 where she found her niche working with the kids in the school and the orphanage.

But we also got to go to other interesting places in Canada like southern Ontario, my birthplace. We went to the Badlands in Alberta, to Whitehorse and Dawson City in the Yukon, to Montreal and Quebec City and on to Charlottetown, PEI and to New Brunswick in the Maritimes. As well, we made the usual trips to Vancouver Island and Barkerville. We were blessed to have also many of those trips with good friends in our family plane all through Washington and Oregon.

All through those years we were a family. We argued with each other and we forgave each other. We tolerated each other’s idiosyncrasies. We suffered each other’s health issues. We prayed together. We moved twice. First from Brookswood to Clayton and then more recently to Langley City. In short we lived together. Now she is gone to her well-earned rest but I am going to continue to miss her.

Thank you for your patience in listening to that trip down memory lane and now I will shut up and allow others who know her as well and perhaps even better than me some time to share their remembrances...

I am honoured that people who were very important to Darlene have all offered to speak today. They are three members of her family. We will hear from Geoff and Tom Carr, Doug Lucier and a lifetime friend, Jill Rose.

 

 

 

B.C. AERO HOLDS FIRST TRAINING FOR VOLUNTEER PILOTS AND GROUND HANDLERS.

 

Saturday April 23 was going to be a busy day at the office for BC AERO. The work shop and hangars of the WEST COAST PILOT’S CLUB at the Langley airport would be filled with volunteers and guests. This was the site for the first ever training session for members of the BC Airlift Emergency Response Operation hosted by Sean Heaps, President of BC AERO and owner of WCPC and led by Sigmund B. Sort, Chief Preparedness Officer for BC AERO. The day would also include a well-advertised Open House where guests would tour the facility and meet the volunteers.

Early in the morning however, chaos was the order of the day. There were tables to be set up, aircraft parts to be moved, TV’s hooked up and chairs had to be found. “Swag” in the form of hoodies and T shirts complete with the corporate logo had to be arranged. Once the tables were all set, some higher power decided that the colour of the table cloths were wrong and they all needed to be changed.  Eventually, however all was ready. Volunteer pilots once signed in would spend the day learning what and who BC AERO is, what has been accomplished to date and what would be expected of them as participants when “the big one” occurs. The day long sessions covered a range of need to know items from pilot qualifications to cross border requirements. Sigmund’s dedication to safety and his background as an instructor and teacher was clearly demonstrated and noted that while it might have seemed that he never had an unspoken thought, his instruction was always on point.

We were instructed in marshalling aircraft, parking aircraft, loading aircraft whether they be on wheels or floats, on land or in the water, working around helicopters, awareness of both propellers, and rotors. What to touch and what not to. For example, no placing cargo on the wing of a low wing aircraft. And on and on it went, only relieved occasionally by coffee or nature breaks.

A hands-on session that included both loading and unloading an aircraft with emphasis on safety as well as weight and balance and gross weight concerns rounded out the day. Experienced staff led by Claire Neufeld who was instrumental in the success of the November event provided the expertise.

All of this effort was in preparation for the first international cross border disaster exercise to be held in cooperation with “Operation Thunder Run” planned for Saturday, June 18. The Washington based DART and California Cal DART groups will be testing their ability to respond to a simulated tsunami by flying supplies and personnel across Washington State in a dawn to dusk operation. They have 50 planes and volunteer pilots ready to go. BC AERO has been invited to join in. Our contribution will be the “real time” experience gained responding to the 2021 disaster in Southern BC.

Approximately 20 Canadian pilots will be flying from Langley to Bellingham, Washington and perhaps even beyond carrying some 30,000 pounds of donated non-perishable food stocks to Washington State. Just moving all that food could take as many as 3 flights each requiring at least 3 “round robin” flights. This requires not only the full coordination and cooperation with CBSA and US Customs officials on both sides of the border but also that each pilot have his or her ducks in a row. In addition to personal documentation such as passports, pilot’s license, current C of A, proof of insurance and a current customs decal. CANPAS and eAPIS filings will be needed and even a COVID vaccination proof, pilots will be required to wear photo identification badges that clearly identify them as members of BC AERO. We may even be able provide transportation for some media types such as the Globe and Mail and the Vancouver Sun.

Now I just hope my new passport and customs decal comes in time. Thanks to COVID I hadn’t looked at the passport in a while and sure enough it had expired. And then just for the icing on the cake, I caught COVID - after having three vaccinations.

                                                           

 

 

Political Correctness, Diversity and the Right to freedom of speech.

Opinion is defined by my copy of Mr. Webster’s book of words as:

“A belief not based on absolute certainty or positive knowledge but what seems true, valid or probable to one’s own mind”.

It is ok to have one; an opinion, that is. You just shouldn’t share it with anyone if it could be construed to be a little to the right. One may, however express any opinion that is liberal or to the left of centre. But, it seems that one is not allowed to express an opinion that is even a little bit to the right in this the second decade of the 21^st century.

No one should know where you stand on any issue, as expressing your thoughts could result in a criminal conviction for having that thought in the first place. Does that seem Orwellian to you?

If you should find the activities of a certain group offensive or disagree with the behaviours of persons in a parade, on a public street or park and dare to comment on it, you will find yourself the subject of ridicule, derision and possibly even prosecution for a hate crime. Our society sometimes penalizes those who commit offences of all magnitudes and sometimes not. While most might be offended by such behaviour; public nudity or obscenity displayed during a pride parade; that behaviour is not only condoned, but even encouraged.

People get offended all the time over things going on around them but are afraid to speak out. This seems to indicate that we no longer enjoy the freedom of expression for fear that expressing an opinion will offend someone. In fact we have lost our right to even mention that we are offended.

Standards of decency have been eroded to the point where anything is acceptable. Laws are being broken daily and nothing is being done. Whether it is using and or selling illegal drugs, or an illegal camp site in the inner city to name just a few. There seems to be no consequences for bad behaviour, just for expressing concern or outrage about it.

Current teaching in Surrey schools now includes instruction (to straight kids) how to come out as gay. I thought that we are to accept those who are different in their sexual orientation, not to try and create variations where none may exist. As well, the teachers in these same schools have now added the words boys, girls, mom and dad to the banned list.

Am I the only one who finds this offensive?

Can’t wait to see the hate mail on this one.

   The best lack all conviction, while the worst   

   Are full of passionate intensity.  YEATS – The Second Coming   published Nov 1920

 

 

 

Credit Where Credit is/was due or will the Cancel Culture prevail?

Even the expression: Politically Correct is no longer appropriate. Diversity is key to happiness. Racism is bad – yes I get that. But and there has to be a but…..is unfettered reconciliation the answer? In a climate that says we have to take Uncle Ben off rice boxes, Dr. Seuss off the shelf and Aunt Jemima from the syrup bottle, some ask how long can the US White House last?

Sports teams have changed their names and that list is long. The Edmonton Eskimos became the Edmonton Elks, The Cleveland Indians became the Cleveland Guardians and on it goes Can the Atlanta Braves be far behind?

In 2018 the City of Victoria removed a statue of Sir John A MacDonald from city hall. For those who don’t know, he was Canada’s first prime minister. Greatly disliked by some, considered a criminal by others this does not change the fact that he was one of our founding fathers and our first prime minister. Love him or hate him, Macdonald was responsible for completing the Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) that physically united Canada. In 1885 he incurred the wrath of the Metis population in Manitoba when he refused to commute Lois Riel’s death sentence for his part in the Northwest Rebellion; a sore point for those who demand reconciliation at any cost to this day.

In 2022 a statue of “Gassy Jack” Deighton was defaced and removed from Gastown in central Vancouver because he married a 12 year old native girl in 1870, 152 years ago.
This makes him a pedophile – by today’s standards, but not those of over a century and a half ago.

Ryerson University in Ontario has changed its name due to his (Ryerson’s) connection to the residential school issue. However existing graduation diplomas will still be valid. Surely they should also be rewritten?

These are just a few of the many rewrites that have or are occurring in Canada as we as a nation weep and moan about the real or perceived evil of past leaders without considering the context.

People are human and sometimes achieve greatness in spite of that. They were and are both great and small at the same time. Winston Churchill led the fight against facisism yet was considered by many to be a racist.

To name a few in the US’ past, Richard Cohen, an American writer of note has listed some of the following notables who have come into conflict with modern day revisionists.

Thomas Jefferson was a champion of religious freedom while at the same time, a slave owner; as was George Washington. Henry Ford created the automotive industry that we have today, paid his employees well and yet was an anti-Semite. Woodrow Wilson, America’s 28th president championed Women’s Rights, the 8 hour work day and helped create the League of Nations but also was a racist.

Removing statues from parks or names from schools and bridges will never change the history that these revisionists are upset about. Cohen said it best “Still we have an obligation to place historical figures in the context of their times and accord them what they, in some instances did not accord others: understanding.”

To paraphrase Cohen; people are never one thing or another. They are one thing and another.

Mike Davenport

April 26, 2022

 

Everything Electric

Once everything is electric, I wonder how we will manage. We don’t have enough electricity now to meet current needs (pun intended). I just heard a plea from the electric company to conserve power during the current (that word again) heat wave. It seems too many of us are running fans and air conditioners and not a few have electric cars and all of that impacts consumption.

Where will the electricity come from to meet the growing need? Two clear nonstarters are nuclear and diesel generation; the first because of fears real or imaginary about radiation. The second because it requires the use of that evil natural resource called oil.
That leaves just three options, wind, solar and hydro. But each have issues that have to be dealt with.

Wind generation requires the construction of large windmills on equally large areas of land and preferably in areas where there is consistent air movement. Perhaps both Ottawa and Victoria could be considered logical sites due to the volumes of hot air available in each.

Solar panels are used to absorb sunlight to generate electricity but require vast acreages to be effective and that takes the land out of use permanently.

Hydroelectric generation is the last resort as that also consumes land and river valleys and requires the construction of dams to contain the water to run the turbines to generate the power. A trial of ‘run of river’ was unsuccessful for a variety reasons. By the way, hydroelectric dams are not a very popular concept as illustrated by the controversy surrounding Site C in northern BC.

The environmental groups combined with global warming advocates will be happy when we stop using oil and building dams but how happy will they be when Netflix is off the air and their cel phones and IPads don’t work because there isn’t enough power to charge them and the electric company puts up the rates that makes it more expensive to drive their Tesla?

Insurance defined: The business of insuring against loss.

Insurance is something we are all familiar with. Love it or hate it (depending on whether your are the buyer or the seller) it is a necessary fact of life.

I, like you, have many different insurance policies; life insurance, house insurance, auto insurance, health and dental insurance and as I own an airplane, yes that too is insured. 

And that is what has my hair on fire tonight. It is renewal time again, something that seems to happen more often but the paper work says no. It is only once a year. I have owned and insured this particular plane for 30 years, all of which have been accident/claim free and yet my rates keep going up. 

This year it is an astounding 23% increase. Is there no reward for flying safely, paying exorbitant rates for fuel, $1.60 per litre, buying the latest safety equipment and maintaining the beast to ever increasing standards at ever increasing costs?

At what point does it become uneconomical? During the last 12 months, I flew just 17 hours. This due to COVID restrictions as we were not permitted to fly south to the US and were discouraged from travelling within the province as well. That pretty much restricted us to the circuit and a nearby practice area in order to maintain some semblance of competency. Yes, that is important in order to be safe and continue the claim free status. Using those numbers, each hour flown cost $100 just for insurance. With a fuel burn of 12 US gallons (45 litres) an hour, that is another $72.00 for fuel. Then you need to set some aside for maintenance and of course there is the hangar cost as well. It is getting a little pricey, eh what?

 

The New Normal –what will it be?

As I write this in late January in the midst of the uncertainty about COVID vaccine deliveries and a flattening but not declining incidence of infection, I wonder what 2021 will bring. When will we get back to enjoying life as we knew it “back then”? Everyone is concerned, especially those of us over 70. Uncertainty is the norm as no one let alone the politicos has a clue as to what tomorrow will bring.

The feds have sealed our borders, limiting flights into Canada, travel to the US and even closing the Caribbean to travel. I guess that means my frequent flyer points will continue to accumulate in spite of a desire to get out of town.

We can’t go to church or have a strata meeting. Everyone is told to stay home. No birthday or anniversary parties and even no funerals. Stores are closing permanently and the mall seems empty – because it is. Retailers can’t get inventory as shipments from China have been reduced. Perhaps in the long term that could turn out to be a blessing. Maybe Canadians will start making things once again. Come to think of it, making vaccines would be good.

Fear is everywhere. People are wearing masks in malls and stores, and even when outside or in their car and alone. It is difficult to read someone’s expression through a mask. Some are even wearing two masks based on the theory that if one is good, two must be twice as good.

TV programs are buying into this as well, with the characters wearing masks and making it hard to understand what they are muttering about – especially if you are a bit “hearing impaired”.

Virtual meetings are the current reality and the only option but they really don’t provide a good substitute for the real thing.

Will the vaccine bring relief from all of this? If we are to believe that then we also have to believe that another summer is lost as it won’t be till fall that all have received their shots.

I don’t have the answers, just more questions.

With the aid of Jack Scofield of Coast Dog Press, Mayne Island BC,  a pilot, author, editor and all round capable good guy I have published a book about the things I like best - People Places and Planes. and it is available for shipment within Canada for $39.95 - higher in the US and other locales due to postage costs.

 

FLYING IN THE LOWER MAINLAND OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

FLYING IN THE LOWER MAINLAND OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

Vancouver VTA VFR Terminal Area Chart

Flying in the lower mainland of British Columbia can be a wonderful experience with the views of the scenic snow covered coastal mountains just to the north and the Strait of Georgia to the west. It also can be challenging for a visiting private pilot. The area is relatively small, hemmed in by 5000 ft. mountains to the north and by the US border to the south; a triangle 65 miles deep and just 20 miles wide at the base. In that triangle are a number of airports ranging all the way from a busy international airport to a number of private grass strips.

On the west edge is the busy Vancouver International (YVR) with over 800 movements every day. Located just to the south of YVR is the Boundary Bay airport, itself a busy training field with constant student movements. Just 2 miles east of Boundary is Delta Airpark, a small grass strip that is home to a Recreational Aircraft Association chapter. Just north of YVR is the Vancouver Harbour, also busy with numerous scheduled float operations. East of there is the Pitt Meadows airport with just 2 miles separating its control zone from that of Langley. Pitt and Langley both have a high volume of students in addition many resident private aircraft. To the east of Langley is Abbotsford International with a growing number of scheduled airline flights and yet even more students and private aircraft. Are you detecting a theme here? BC has become a significant centre for flight instruction with students from around the world. If you extend out a bit further east up the valley, it gets a little quieter where you will find Chilliwack and finally at the apex of the valley, Hope, a well-known venue for gliders.

Considering all of the airliners above, towns and cities below and student pilots in-between; it can be a very busy place to fly. Keeping a sharp lookout is always the order of the day as is listening out on the frequency of the nearest airport or practice area. With so many students in the air it is important to give them some space. After all, they are learning just as you did once (and with any kind of luck – still are).

On a beautiful sunny day it seems incongruous to have a GPS turned on. I mean after all how can one get lost in such a small area? Well, with overlapping control zones, it is very important to know exactly where one is at any time. I know this from experience, having had the phone call wanting to know why I had “busted” a zone without talking to anyone. (I think my right wing tip may have been over the line)

Even with all of this congestion, there are still lots of places to go and play. We can dip our toes into mountain flying with short trips up three local lakes; Harrison, Stave and Pitt lakes all are within a few minutes flying time and any would make a great trip as an intro flight if you have a guest or wannabe pilot along for the ride. The north shore route to Howe Sound and the Sunshine Coast is bordered by mountains with views of Stanley Park and metro Vancouver.

For the more adventuresome, they can extend out to Vancouver Island and find even more to see and do. Just remember the flight plan and the life jackets for the over-water portion.

Canadian Museum of Flight

CANADIAN MUSEUM OF FLIGHT

Langley BC airport CYNJ

Hidden on a side street at the Langley airport is a small museum with a large heart for promoting and preserving BC’s aviation history. You might say “It’s the little museum that could – and does”. Located between a flight school and a row of private hangars, it struggles for both recognition and visibility.

The Canadian Museum of Flight is located at CYNJ, having arrived there in 1996 after having spent the first 20 years of its existence in White Rock BC. At that site they had a 600 ft. grass runway that permitted flying only their smaller aircraft.

The museum is owned and operated as a not for profit society by a volunteer board of directors and a small but dedicated staff.

Snowbird #8

It is currently situated in Hangar #3 on the south side of the airport where their display includes a large number of static aircraft as well as several that are maintained in flying condition. They are able to fly a Fleet Finch*, an SE5A replica, A Sopwith Pup replica as well as a Fleet Canuck.

A stroll through the outdoor display reveals a number of 1950’s era jets, such as a CF104, CF100, T-33 and a DH Vampire. Another well-known Canadian aircraft is a Tutor painted in Snowbird colours. Piston engine aircraft on display run the gamut from a Handley Page Hampden, a DC-3, Conair Fire-cat, Beech 18 Expediter 

CF100

all the way down to an 18 hp composite Quickie. Each and every one has a story to tell and the volunteer docents are willing to spend the time to do so.

The entrance to the museum is where you will find a well-stocked gift shop with an excellent selection of books and magazines.

A very busy place indeed

Inside the hangar you will discover numerous displays of engines, uniforms and medals and all of the fabric covered aircraft that must be accommodated inside due to weather concerns. There are also several restoration projects that are currently underway in the hangar.

All of this is maintained and supported by a cast of volunteers who meet weekly to help with the myriad of tasks that are required to run such complex facility.

Plans are underway to relocate to a new, yet to be built building on the west side of the airport when sufficient funds are raised to support the project.

For more information and their hours of operation, check out their web site at:

www.canadianflight.org/

*the writer has flown this Finch for 16 hours during displays in 2000 and 2001.

A JANUARY PHOTO SHOOT

It all started with a phone call the night before telling me to be at the airport for an 11:00 briefing for a long awaited photo shoot. The subject was a recently re-restored 1938 Beechcraft SD17S Staggerwing owned by a retired businessman from West Vancouver. We wanted to get some air to air shots for a magazine article and this was the first day that both the weather and everyone’s schedules coincided. The plan called for using a Robertson helicopter, a 4 place R44 as the camera ship as we could take the doors off for unrestricted sightlines. It seemed like a good plan, everyone inside and warm except the photographer – me.

Photo ship pilot & owner, Roy Heaps

The air temperature on the ground was -4C[i] with calm winds, sky clear and a million. How can it get any better? I had a borrowed arctic type flight suit and an all Canadian Toque. Gloves were a problem though, if they were to be warm, they’d be too thick to operate the cameras. Oh well, tough it out bare handed and get on with it.

Everyone involved got together and arrangements were briefed for altitude, direction of flight for the best light and the backgrounds, airspeeds and radio frequencies were confirmed. As the R44 cruises at 110, it was agreed by all that the Staggerwing, being faster, would form up on the helicopter as required.

The air was smooth with no wind to speak of. The local mountain peaks were clear with a coating of fresh snow made which made for an excellent backdrop for the bright yellow Staggerwing.

Staggerwing over north shore mountains

During the shoot, the helicopter pilot would yaw the helicopter towards the Staggerwing to help position the shots and this of course put even more cold air into the back cabin. At one point I became concerned when it appeared that I had a camera failure. I switched to a backup camera only to have the same issue. As it happened, both cameras were fine; it was my hands that weren’t. I was losing feeling in my fingers and couldn’t feel the camera controls.  The pain from the cold quickly became unbearable. (See foot note.) However, as we changed locations or the Staggerwing repositioned, I took the opportunity to get the gloves back on and restore some semblance of feeling to my hands.

All went well and as a result, we got the last of the pictures we needed.

---

[i] A quick check with “Professor” Google, a temperature of -4C and an airspeed of 110 mph = a wind-chill of -43C!

Reno Air Races

Cottonmouth #20 and the race crew - note the T shirts.

Back in 1991 my friend Jim McRae and I decided to drive from Vancouver to Reno to see the 28^th National Championship Air Races and the associated air show. The races featured many well-known pilots, three time winner Lyle Shelton in Rare Bear, Bill Destefani in Strega and Skip Holm in Tsunami. A totally new design, the Pond racer made its debut.  This composite twin designed by Burt Rutan would be flown by Rick Brickert. This unique aircraft powered by two 6 cylinder automotive racing engines fostered hopes of defeating the much larger war bird racers. The daily airshow included such as then current notables as Jimmy Franklin and Johnny Kazian, Joann Osterud, Leo Loudenslagger and of course Mr. R.A. (Bob) Hoover.

Seafury Cottonmouth Race #20

Jim, a longtime volunteer at sports car races and a frustrated race driver at heart drove his new Honda Civic while I navigated. This was the same division of talents that we had refined during long cross country trips in his Champ. There was slightly more trepidation in the Honda than in the Champ however.

We drove straight through to Reno and checked into the Peppermill and slept the sleep of the just and exhausted. I had stayed in the Peppermill numerous times in the past while in Reno on business and while the hotel had the feature of familiarity and good rates, it was also the unofficial hotel for some of the race teams.

After breakfast the next day we bussed out to the race venue at Reno Stead Airport where we purchased the necessary passes including the obligatory "pit pass". It was as necessary to get into the pits as breathing for two aviation nuts. Besides that, we knew one of the unlimited racers and who knew what might come out of that.

A long time friend of Jim's was a former BC Lions football player and war bird owner, Jerry Janes. Jerry and his crew had brought his #20 Hawker Sea Fury, “Cottonmouth” for the race week and as luck would have it, his pit was next to Lyle Shelton's #77 Bear Cat - Rare Bear. Lyle was to win the Unlimited race on Sunday and set a new race record of 481 mph in the process.

Jim wangled our way on to Jerry's pit crew and we were promptly given the “vital” task of polishing the Sea Fury. Polishing this beast to a high gloss was to make a huge difference in the win potential. The Sea Fury is a big plane and the task was made more challenging by the amount of oil deposited by the 2700 hp Curtis Wright 3350-26WD. This task occupied us for most of the weekend. Very little other work was needed as according to the crew chief Russ Popel, “you have to come ready to race, otherwise stay home. “  With the original 2480 hp Bristol Centaurus engine, the Sea Fury had a top speed of over 400 mph and with the more powerful Wright it should be competitive in the Bronze and maybe even in the Silver races This particular aircraft was one of 35 built for the Royal Canadian Navy and still had the wing folding feature and I would be reminded of this fact much later in the weekend.

Pond Composite unlimited racer

The race weekend proceeded with the usual suspects winning their respective classes. Gold on Sunday was won by Rare Bear followed by Strega and Tsunami. The highly touted composite Pond racer suffered an engine fire and pilot Rick Brickert declared a mayday, pulling up and out of the race. This surprised no one in the Unlimited pits as they, the Pond crew, had managed to alienate most of the unlimited teams and so there was little sympathy for their misfortune. At he end of the day, some of the unlimiteds were wearing a "Pond kill" on their cowlings. 

Emotions were running high in the unlimited pits

John Muszala flew “our” #20 Sea Fury to a six place finish in the Silver race as Jerry had come down with a bug on Saturday.

Late Sunday after the end of the Gold race as I was focused on cleaning the last of the oil off the side of the fuselage, I was surrounded by the noise and bustle of the crew as they packed up preparing to go home. Suddenly it started to get dark and I detected movement overhead. I was startled and dropped to the wing walk, fearing that something was about to fall on me. That was not the case as it was just the outer wing panel folding up and over me. Sheepishly I got up and finished my task, thankful that no one had spotted my brief moment of terror.

Fans of all descriptons

The ride home on the following Monday must have been uneventful or perhaps I was too tired to care. It was an exciting weekend and an exceptional opportunity to see the races from the inside.

“Being at the right place at the right time”

Ray-Ban Gold Pitts S2B

I was at the airport recently with my wife looking over some issues that concerned our hangar when I spotted George Kirbyson. He is one of the six local pilots who own our “condominium” hanger at the Langley, British Columbia airport. By the way, our hangar contains an interesting variety of aircraft; a ‘41 Porterfield, a Fairchild 24R, a Piper Family Cruiser, a Piper Pacer, my Stinson 108 and George’s Pitts S2B.

IFR Capable Back Seat of Pitts S2B

George’s Pitts is painted black and gold in the striking colours of “the RayBan Golds”, an aerobatic team that George was part of in the 80’s and 90’s. That team included the founder, Bill Cowan (Left Wing), Rod Ellis (Lead), George Kirbyson (Right Wing) and Al Hauff (Slot). 

At multiple Abbotsford International Airshows over the years, I had watched this team put on incredible displays of formation aerobatics little knowing that I would one day share a hangar with a member of the team.

Fast forward back to this sunny winter day when George offered me a ride and of course I immediately said yes.

After a brief stop at the fuel pumps George gave the most comprehensive pre-flight briefing that I have ever had. It included how to put on the parachute, how to get into the airplane, attach the five point harness and the secondary seat belt and in the worst case scenario, how to jettison the canopy, how to get out of the airplane and also how to use the parachute. By the way the canopy comes completely off to allow certain no longer flexible geriatrics to get into the aircraft in the first place.

He then briefed the flight which would include turns around the nearby Golden Ears mountain peaks, an opportunity for me to fly – more or less right side up followed by more serious things such as loops and rolls.

We turned on to the active runway and the acceleration provided by the 260 hp engine was incredible as was the climb out at 80 mph and 4000 fpm!

After a tour of the local mountain tops and some nearby valley lakes we headed for the practise area where he said “it’s your airplane”. After some straight and level flight and some (by my standards) steep turns, I began to feel more comfortable with the stick instead of the wheel I was used to. However, things do change.

My first attempt at an aileron roll required his help as I sort of fell out of it into what he thought might have been a split S. I then paid more attention to his instructions and actually felt quite proud of my second and third tries.

By now we had been at this for a while and the effects of the upwards to 3.5 “G’s” were starting to be apparent.

He then demonstrated a loop and when I seemed a bit hesitant, he demo’d it again. While I declined his offer to try one, I did consent to riding along on a hammerhead. I then cried uncle as the need for the sic sac was getting more apparent.

At that point George kindly headed back to the airport to land. However – being who he is the landing had to include a low approach and a hard left break to join the pattern.

After thanking him for what had been an awesome opportunity and experience, we put the airplane back in the hangar and I headed for home.

As I said, the effects of G loading are accumulative and there were moments during the drive home that I didn’t think I would make it – and no sic sac! But so what!? It was fun and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

A recent article by Patty Wagstaff in Plane and Pilot sparked some memories. In that article she wrote about learning to do and then performing inverted ribbon cuts. That article inspired me to share my experience of ribbon cutting from the viewpoint one of the ones on the ground holding the poles.

The Abbotsford airport has hosted an annual airshow for what seems to be forever. I started attending in the mid 70’s and have only missed one show since. Let’s see, at 3 shows per weekend that would be around 117 days at that particular airshow. Another regular was Art Scholl. Art was an aerobatic pilot who not only flew airshows and competitions but also worked for the movie industry, flying in movies such as The Great Waldo Pepper, The Right Stuff, Blue Thunder and finally, Top Gun. Aviation and airshows lost a great personality when he was killed flying a sequence in Top Gun in California in the fall of 1985. We all miss Art, his wife Judy and his co-pilot-dog Aileron.

He was a regular at the Abbotsford Airshow in British Columbia through the 1970’s and 1980’s. Art would come to Abbotsford and perform in a borrowed Piper J3 and in his highly modified “Super” D H Chipmunk. The ribbon cut was the climax of his show and was a huge crowd pleaser. It was the ribbon cut that I remember most vividly. One year during the Friday show, I was selected to hold one of the two poles that supported the ribbon.

That year the airport had resurfaced the show runway with nice black asphalt just prior to the annual airshow. Airshow weekend weather was “clear and a million” with temperatures in the high 90’s. This created some interesting air over the runway as Art would find out.

During Art’s show, his ground crew would set up for the ribbon cut, readying the poles and ribbon and briefing the volunteers on when to raise and how to hold them. They were in contact with Art by radio and when he was ready we were told to raise the poles. We were also told to concentrate on keeping the poles vertical and not to watch Art. Like that would happen!

As Art descended to the show line, he rolled inverted and approached the ribbon. I saw what looked like “lock to lock” movement in the ailerons as he dealt with the hot rising air over the runway. Large power changes were also apparent as he appeared to control altitude with throttle. In spite of my best intentions, I never saw him cut that ribbon. I closed my eyes just as he passed through. If you have ever been that close to an inverted airplane that was no more than ten feet away from you both horizontally and vertically, you will understand.

I was disappointed in myself for my lack of intestinal fortitude and total inability to watch what was clearly a once in a life time opportunity.

Well, the stars were aligned on Sunday and I was once again asked to help out. It was a great experience and one I have never forgotten. This time I kept my eyes open. I can’t imagine how it feels to fly that sequence but I do know that standing out on the runway holding the poles has to come a close second.

                                    EASTERN CANADA TRIP 2015

Over the years, we have been able to do a fair amount of traveling from our home in British Columbia. We have been to the US many times, to Florida, California, Hawaii, and of course, nearby Washington and Oregon. We spent a week in Puerto Rico, visited St Thomas and were married in Jamaica. We visited Haiti a number of times. But it wasn’t until Darlene’s health created issues with being able to get insurance coverage that we took a serious look at other options. A eureka moment, we could travel in Canada to places we’ve never been!

Neither of us had ever been beyond Montreal to the east or to the Maritimes. The question then became not if but when to go? Spring and early summer was out as I was working for the Abbotsford International Airshow then. Winter was never an option. So that left the fall. School is back in, most tourists have gone home or back to work and hey, what about October and the fall colours? So why not go then and try to cram four provinces into two weeks? We decided that we can do this. Brochures and maps were ordered from Quebec City, New Brunswick, PEI and Nova Scotia in August and the planning got underway. A stop at the thrift shop for a “new” suitcase and we were all set.

We started by booking the flights to and from Montreal and motels both there and Quebec City as well as a rental car with unlimited mileage for two weeks. The rest, we’d do on the fly.

I spent a month brushing up on my French for our time in Quebec – that was a complete waste of time. Parisian French and the Quebec version bear little relationship to each other and when the latter is spoken at a rate of 125 words per minute with gusts to 175, well………..

We caught a late Air Canada flight out of Vancouver on October 5^th arriving in Montreal around 1 am on the 6^th. We were traveling on Aeroplan points so didn’t have a lot of choices of flight times but can’t complain too much as the cost was just the airport fees and taxes

We overnighted at the Best Western in Dorval and left for Quebec City in our rented Hyundai Sonata. I promptly took a wrong turn (this became a theme oft repeated) and ended up on Highway 40 headed for Trois-Rivières instead of the Trans-Canada Highway south of the St Laurence River. However, this didn’t change the destination, just the routing, so not really any problem.

We pulled into Quebec City in the early afternoon and found our hotel for the next 3 nights with very little problem. We booked into the Hotel Manoir Victoria located in the heart of Old Quebec. A bit pricey but perfectly located within walking distance of many of the sites we wanted to see. We gave the car to the valet and never saw it again for the rest of our stay.

The next day, we booked a tour of the city on an open topped double decker bus and had an excellent if somewhat breezy ride around much of the old city. This gave us a good overview of the points of interest and we picked the sites that we wanted to see more of later.

Porte St Louis, Quebec City,           built in 1880

Restaurant meals were expensive but choices were unlimited. We ranged from MacDonald’s for egg Mc-Muffins to an expensive hotel breakfast buffet - for which I was billed $42.62 for 2 people.

We walked the city walls, took an underground tour, and visited the Museum of Civilization’s Egyptian magic exhibition (don’t ask). We went by the citadel but it was under renovation. Later we took a second bus trip, this time to see the Montmorency Falls. That made me face my fear of heights. The falls at 272 feet are higher than Niagara by almost 100 feet. To get to the top of the falls and the suspension bridge over them, we took the cable car rather than the stairs. The other option was a zip line but oh darn it all, it was closed.

Chateau Laurier, Quebec City

On Friday morning it was time to move on. Our next scheduled stop was Woodstock, New Brunswick. Due to Quebec’s almost none existent road signs, we missed an important turn off at Riviere-du-Loup and thus took secondary roads south into New Brunswick. Would have worked out ok except that area had severe rainstorms about 2 weeks earlier and several roads had been washed out and were still closed. That necessitated a backtracking detour that added about 3 hours driving to the day. Neat scenery and light snow.

On Saturday, we had an easy drive from Woodstock to Moncton, getting there by noon. We checked into our 3^rd Best Western and got directions to The Hopewell Rocks on the

Hopewell Rocks, New Brunswick at low tide

Bay of Fundy. It was a pretty 40 minute drive on secondary roads from Moncton to the park. The Bay of Fundy tide, which can be up to 46 feet was out and this gave us the opportunity to explore the rocks from the ocean floor. A truly spectacular attraction and a great photo op.

The next day, on Sunday morning we headed for PEI via the Confederation Bridge. This 13 km bridge is tolled but you only pay when leaving the island. We checked in for two nights and after a short driving tour of the city, we went for dinner at "Lobster on the Wharf " where I had, what else - lobster! Delicious!

On Monday morning we drove north to a provincial park with long sand dunes facing the Gulf of St Lawrence. It was cool and grey and just a few people walking on the sand. I dipped my shoe in the water so that I could say I did. We drove back to town via farm roads past potato fields with the reddest soil we had ever seen. A road construction site, red soil; a garden, red soil everywhere.  Back in Charlottetown, we spent an hour at the Confederation Museum, an interactive display with video screens and head sets. A quiet dinner, laundry and then to bed.

Off the island on Tuesday, by way of the bridge again and 20 minutes and $45, we were back in Nova Scotia, headed for Port Hawkesbury on Cape Breton Island.

Fall Colours in new Brunswick

Port Hawkesbury is a mill town with a few motels and fewer restaurants so on advice, we moved on to Baddeck for the afternoon to tour the Alexander Graham Bell Museum where we saw many of Bell’s original inventions; the early telephones, gramophones and of course a replica of the Silver Dart, the first aircraft to fly in Canada. Dinner was at a recommended Chinese-Canadian family restaurant appropriately named Wong’s, a 3^rd generation family business. We were able to make a reservation for the next night in Baddeck at, for me at least, the aptly named and very reasonably priced Silver Dart Motel. We then drove back the 85 km to Port Hawkesbury, only because of a guaranteed motel reservation that couldn’t be changed.

Neil's Harbour, Cape Breton Island, NS

On Wednesday morning after breakfast at the local A&W, we headed back towards Baddeck and started a clockwise drive around Cape Breton Island. We drove the circuit in about 5 ½ hours making numerous stops for pictures of lighthouses, fishing boats and the incredible autumn colours. The island is very mountainous and the road seems to have as many curves as the “Road to Hana” on Maui. A local later told us that she gets sick every time she drives there. As it was late in the season, a number of the tourist oriented businesses were closed but that did not impact our trip. Cape Breton is glorious.

By this time, we were getting more than a little tired of restaurant meals and Darlene located a “Co-Op” grocery store where we picked up some premade cold dinners and fruit and spent the evening in our room watching TV.

It’s now Thursday and we are once again on the road, this time working our way generally towards Montreal. But first we have a stop planned back in Moncton to see if we can find the “Magnetic Hill” and a covered bridge. We eventually found both. The magnetic hill is on the edge of the grounds of a huge theme park which was closed for the season. However, the public still has access to the illusion and indeed, that is what it is. We tried it both frontwards and backwards and either way, the car rolled up the hill!

The Budd Bridge on the Cocagne River, NB        built in 1913

Any equally lengthy search revealed a covered bridge northwest of Moncton. Located in a small river valley (where else?) surrounded by forest and farmland, we had an excellent opportunity for pictures.

Friday and back in the car and headed for Riviere-du-Loup in Quebec, we made a detour side trip off the main road to Edmundson to get a sense of back country New Brunswick. Lots of farm land and well maintained century homes. Good roads and beautiful scenery.

We arrived in Riviere-du-Loup to the 5^th of 6 Best Western Hotels on this trip to find a newish facility that didn’t seem quite sure that it wanted to be a Best Western. Very high end décor but little reference to the corporate plan. The complimentary breakfast wasn’t. In fact, it cost us $25 to buy the restaurant ‘pass’ when we could have eaten for less a-la-carte. I complained but doubt that anyone cared.

On the road again (country & western song?) to Montreal on Route 20 south of the St Laurence. Light rain turned to light snow but not sticking. We stopped for lunch at a rest stop on the highway where there was about an inch of snow on the grass.

October 16 snow fall

Took some pictures just in case we don’t see any this winter.  Quebec’s poor highway signage bit us again. The signs for the tunnel under the river were once again too close to the turn to permit a safe exit. So we kept going east and finally getting across on an old steel road and rail bridge. That put us downtown with a myriad of twists and turns through construction sites and one-way streets and finally on to a freeway going north and west to Dorval. Aaargh!

Well since driving in Montreal is so much fun, let’s take the bus tomorrow. That way we don’t have to worry about getting lost or about finding parking, right?

The plan was to see as much of old Montreal as we could as neither of us had ever spent much time there.

 Getting the bus meant taking the hotel shuttle back to the airport and buying $10 day passes on the #747 express bus. Done. On the ½ hour ride down town we couldn’t see too much due to the seating arrangement and the heavily tinted windows. We got off at the end of the line and started walking down St Catherine’s Street.

Hmm, this end looks a lot like Vancouver’s downtown eastside. After a couple of blocks and a meeting of the minds, we moved down to the other main street where it was slightly less interesting. No strip joints, bars, SRO’s or shelters. But it was cold. Very cold as the wind blasted around the towers. After several blocks of this, enhanced by noise from the heavy construction, we sought shelter and solace in a Tim Horton’s. After a restroom and hot chocolate break, we determined that we weren’t dressed appropriately and were no longer interested in what downtown Montreal looked like. We just wanted to get back to our warm hotel and the sooner the better.

That turned out to be easier said than done. The construction had closed most of the bus stops in the downtown core and we had to hike another 6 blocks to find an active stop. Finally back at the hotel, we determined to stay in for the rest of the day.

While on the bus, we had spotted a Walmart near the hotel and figured that is was a good idea to drive there on Monday morning. So after getting directions, we set off. We drove around and around and around till lunch time with no success.

After lunch, I got on Google Maps and printed off the directions figuring that might be more successful. After all, I am a pilot and am supposed to know that kind of stuff, right?

Guess what, we finally found the place and could have walked there except for the three freeways in the way. In the interest of full disclosure, it did take two more tries. An early dinner in the mall and back to the motel to watch the election returns and the less said about that, the better.

Tuesday morning and it’s time to pack for home, return the rental car and see what shopping and edible delights that may be awaiting us in the airport terminal. After all, our flight doesn’t leave till 6:30 so we have most of the day to ……

The flight left on time and though seats 50A and C were probably noisiest on the aircraft, they were definitely the coldest. In spite of minor hypothermia, we got home on time.

Paid the parking fees and we were done.