COPA Flight and E-Flight editor Russ Niles had the experience of a lifetime with COPA featured sponsor Breitling at the company’s annual event in Buochs, Switzerland. Wingwalking, says Niles, is like having your cheeks wrapped around your neck.
Mogas Use Cited In Crash
The non-certified use of mogas in a turbonormalized Beech Bonanza was cited as a risk factor in the forced landing and subsequent fire that destroyed the aircraft and badly burned its pilot in Osoyoos, B.C. in July of 2015. In a report issued last week, the Transportation Safety Board said the aircraft owner’s frequent use of automotive fuel may have been a contributing factor in the vapour lock that caused the engine to quit as the aircraft was climbing out from nearby Oliver Airport. “If automotive gasoline is used in aircraft that are not certified for its use, there is an increased risk of engine power loss due to fuel delivery issues such as vapour lock,” the report said.
According to the report, the pilot frequently used mogas in his aircraft even though Bonanzas are not certified to use that type of fuel. Mogas is more volatile than 100LL and more prone to vapour lock. The pilot told investigators he’d had interruptions in power before but had always been able to get the engine running normally by adjusting the mixture. After filling up with 100LL at Oliver, he took off on a hot afternoon with a mix of fuels in the tanks and headed for his base of Boundary Bay Airport near Vancouver. While climbing through 6,000 feet, the engine quit and he couldn’t restart it. He tried to make the Osoyoos Airport but the TSB report said the time he spent trying to restart the engine put the runway out of reach and he settled for Highway 97 just north of the small city.
The aircraft landed hard, hit a truck and a pole and the spilling fuel caused a big fire. The passenger cabin was largely untouched and the pilot escaped but he was burned by the fire. The emergency locator transmitter did not activate.
Places To Fly: CZAM (Salmon Arm)
Conveniently located in B.C.’s vacation heartland, Salmon Arm/Shuswap Regional Airport is just five km. from downtown Salmon Arm on beautiful Shuswap Lake. The airport boasts a 4,300X75-foot runway (14/32) and is owned and managed by the City of Salmon Arm. There is avgas and Jet-A available, an onsite AME, helicopter repairs and a flying club courtesy car. Only itinerant turbine fixed-wing aircraft get charged landing fees. Call 250-832-1000 for more information.
Events in the Coming Week
June 3, Kelowna, BC (CYLW): Join COPA Flight 36 for a COPA For Kids event at Kelowna Airport 0800 – 1400. Contact: Jon Itterman 5250-808-1816 Info@kelownaflyingclub.com www.kelownaflyingclub.com
June 3, Kamloops, BC (CYKA): Join COPA Flight 82 for a COPA For Kids event. www.kamloopsflyingclub.com
June 3, Pitt Meadows (CYPK): Join COPA Flight 16 for a COPA For Kids event. Contact Trevor at 2t.fleming@gmail.com
June 3, Fort St. John, BC (CXJ): Join COPA Flight 180 for a COPA For Kids event. stevehorychun@gmail.com
June 3, Hanover, ON (CYHS) Join COPA Flight 54 for a COPA For Kids event at Saugeen Municipal Airport 0930 – 1400. Contact: Barry Tschirhart 519-881-6020 barrytschirhart@wightman.ca
June 3, Burlington, ON (CZBA): Flight 28 is holding a COPAfor Kids event between 1000 and 1300 with a rain date of June 4th
June 3, Prince George, BC: COPA Flight 79 is hosting a Fly-in breakfast at the Central BC Flying Club. 0800 – 1200. Longest Flight prize, draw prizes. Contact John Hebb at johnhebb@telus.net
June 4, Smiths Falls, ON (CYSH): COPA Flight 100 Fly-in Breakfast. 0730 – 1130. Go to www.smithfallsflyingclub.com or call 613-283-1148
JUNE 4, Almaguin Highlands Airpark, ON (formerly South River/Sundridge Airport CPE6): Spring Fly-In. Sausages and Pancakes 0900 – 1100. $6.00 followed by tours of the airport and a Power Point presentation on the history of the Airport. This is a rain or shine event, If you can’t fly, drive, bike or walk, the pancakes and presentation are a go.
June 4, Stratford, ON, (CYSA): COPA Flight #69, Perth County Flying Club, 2017 FLY-IN, DRIVE-IN Breakfast at the Stratford Municipal Airport. 8 am – 12 pm noon. Pancakes with local maple syrup, peameal bacon, coffee, tea, juice. By donation with proceeds to Stratford General Hospital Foundation MRI FUND. billverellen@gmail.com http://www.perthcountyflyingclub.ca/
June 4, Carman, MB (South): CJS7 The Carman Flyers’ Group will hold its annual Airport Day again this year. Attractions planned include glider from Winnipeg Gliding Club, model aircraft display, flight simulator for would-be pilots, aircraft static displays, and lots of contests and activities for kids. Brunch served from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm…. Just $6 with kids under 12 free. Manitoba Flying Farmers eat free. Saskatchewan and Ontario FF OK also. Info contact J. Carley (204) 745-3122.
June 8-11, London, ON: Canadian Aviation Historical Society 54th Annual Convention and General Meeting. Join authors, historians, pilots, engineers and enthusiasts for speakers on civilian, industrial, and military topics, tours of local aviation attractions, and a banquet.
COPA Flights Welcome Vimy Pilots
Volunteer pilots who flew their replica First World War biplanes over the Vimy Memorial in France in April are getting a warm welcome by COPA Flights as they head from Atlantic Canada to their home base of Langley, B.C. on a cross-Canada educational tour.
The aircraft were flown back to Canada in mid-April aboard an RCAF C-17 and after they were reassembled at CFB Greenwood, the pilots kicked off their tour.
One of the stops was particularly well suited to the little taildraggers. Four aircraft made it to Stanley Airfield, a former RCAF training base in north central Nova Scotia. There they picked up a new volunteer pilot to help them move the flying circus across the country.
The pilots will be stopping at various airfields and air force bases on their way to B.C.. They are scheduled to fly over Parliament on July 1 and also attend EAA AirVenture at the end of July.
Announcing COPA’s Members Choice Awards Program
COPA is pleased to announce the launch of our new Members’ Choice Awards program. This exciting new program is a new way for our members to recognize businesses and organizations that directly contribute to the success of general aviation across Canada. Have a favorite aircraft maintenance shop or airport restaurant? Nominate them for recognition by your fellow pilots!
The Members’ Choice Awards program is an idea created from a suggestion by one of our members to find some way of recognizing service levels and quality from businesses and organizations serving the General Aviation community in Canada. Developing the Members’ Choice Awards is a positive way to recognize our GA community partners and promote COPA.
Nominations are now being accepted for the following categories:
- Best Airport Management
- Best Airport Restaurant
- Best Aircraft Maintenance (includes engine, propeller, and avionics specialty shops)
- Best Aviation Event
- Best FBO or fuel retailer
- Best Flight Training Unit
- Best Medical Examiner
- Best Pilot Supply Store
Winners will be selected in each category in the following regions: BC & Yukon, Prairies & North, Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic.
Winners will receive a certificate from COPA for that year as well as an offer of 50% off the current 1-year corporate membership fee.
Voting is online through COPA’s website and will open on October 1st, 2017. Voting will close on October 31st and the winners will be announced in the December issue of COPA Flight.
The awards program is entirely a membership-driven recognition program. Nominations must be made by a proposer and must have a seconder who must be current COPA members and not be employed or have an interest in the company being nominated. Nominees are not required to be current COPA members.
COPA At Work For You
COPA at FCM this week-end (June 1-June 4). COPA will be attending the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ conference and trade show in Ottawa. The FCM is the premier forum for municipal governments and local officials. We will be talking about the value and benefits of community airports as well as highlighting our new study on the economic impact of general aviation in Canada.
COPA’s Economic Impact of General Aviation Study: COPA recently commissioned a study to look at how general aviation benefits Canadian communities and the contribution our industry makes to the national economy. Starting Monday, June 5th, we will be sharing this study with our partners and stakeholders to spread the message that general aviation is good for Canada and good for communities. As part of our outreach strategy, we will be sending resource kits to our COPA Flights to help them communicate this important message at the local level. Stay tuned for more information!
COPA Convention: COPA’s annual convention and tradeshow is happening June 22-24 in beautiful Kelowna, BC. This exciting event promises to be the aviation event of the year for general aviation in Canada. For the first time ever, underwing camping is being offered at the Kelowna International Airport. We are also proud to be partnering with Transport Canada to launch a General Aviation Safety Campaign at the convention which will raise awareness among pilots and the public about some of the top safety issues affecting general aviation. For more information and to register, visit http://www.copaagm.2017.ca.
Phraseology Cited In Incursion
The Transportation Safety Board says the use of non-standard phraseology in radio exchanges between the crew of an Air Canada Embraer 190 and a ground controller at Pearson International Airport was cited as the primary cause of a serious runway incursion in January of 2016. In a report released earlier this week, the TSB said “plain language taxi instruction” by the controller was misunderstood by the E190 crew and the pilots’ readback using the same language failed to flag the misunderstanding to the controller. The aircraft taxied onto Runway 24R for takeoff as a company A320 was on short final for the same runway. The Airbus crew was half a mile from the runway at 270 feet AGL when they spotted the Embraer and went around.
In the report, the TSB said that instead of using standard phraseology to tell the crew to hold short of the active runway, he instead said: “OK, the nineteen hundred [GGN7286] is still waiting for their video player to finish so he is not ready; you can go to the right side and [switch to frequency] eighteen thirty-five.” The Embraer crew interpreted that as clearance to get on the right runway (24R) for takeoff and responded: “Over to the right side, eighteen thirty-five. Thanks for the help, Air Canada seven two six.”
In its findings, the TSB said the use of standard phraseology is vital to aviation safety. If air traffic controllers are not required to use standard phraseology that reinforces the need to hold short of a departure runway, there is an increased risk of miscommunication leading to runway incursions,” the report said. “If plain-language phraseology used by air traffic controllers is not explicit, there is a risk of miscommunication between air traffic control and flight crews.”
Nouveaux investissements aux aéroports locaux
Le gouvernement du Canada vient d’annoncer de nouveaux investissements destinés à certains aéroports locaux et régionaux grâce à son Programme d’aide aux immobilisations aéroportuaires (PAIA). Cette dernière ronde représente 41,7M$ d’investissements destinés à 34 aéroports.
Ces sommes serviront à l’amélioration ou au remplacement d’équipement de déneigement, à améliorer l’éclairage, à la réfection de chaussée, à l’achat de systèmes de rapport de l’état des pistes ou à d’autres équipements de surveillance.
COPA salue fièrement le gouvernement pour ces investissements qui viennent en aide aux aéroports locaux et régionaux du Canada, reconnaissant ainsi leur apport important au commerce, au tourisme et à l’économie en général des communautés qu’ils desservent.
Pour voir la liste complète des aéroports et projets ciblés par ces derniers investissements, rendez-vous sur le site de Transports Canada.
Vous trouverez toutes les informations en ce qui a trait au Programme d’aide aux immobilisations aéroportuaires (PAIA), incluant des renseignements sur les projets admissibles, connaître les critères et la procédure pour faire application, en consultant le guide PAIA.
New Investments in Local Airports
Today, the Government of Canada announced new investments in local and regional airports across Canada through the Airports Capital Assistance Program. This latest round of investment includes $41.7M for capital investments and upgrades at 34 airports.
These upgrades range from upgrading or replacing snow removal equipment, improving airfield lighting, rehabilitation of pavement for aircraft maneuvering surfaces, to purchasing or modernizing RCR and other airfield surveillance equipment.
COPA applauds the government for these investments that are helping to sustain Canada’s local and regional airports as valuable community assets that contribute to trade, tourism, and the economy overall.
To view the complete list of airports and projects included in this latest round of funding, visit Transport Canada’s website.
For more information on the Airports Capital Assistance Program, including information on eligible projects, application criteria, and how to apply, click here to view the application guide.