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.