April 27, Westlock, AB. COPA Flight 139 (The Westlock Flying Club) will be hosting a “rust remover” that qualifies for the two year recurrent training activity required by all Canadian pilots. The event will cost $25 and run on April 21, 2018 from 10:00 am – 2:30 pm at the Westlock Airport, with lunch included. For more information, please contact Dan at 780-961-2213 or dan@syz.com.
COPA Hosts 2020 IAOPA Assembly
COPA will host general aviation advocates from 78 countries in the summer of 2020 in Montreal as host of the 30th annual World Assembly of the International Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (IAOPA). The meeting will be held from June 29 to July 4 it was announced at the 29th meeting of the group being held at Queenstown, New Zealand this week. “I am excited to relay the news … the delegates at the 29th World Assembly presently in NZ have accepted our invitation and have voted in favour of holding the next meeting in Montreal, June 29- July 4 2020,” said COPA President Bernard Gervais, who is attending the Queenstown meeting. “This is a great opportunity to promote general aviation and COPA/Canada on the world GA stage.”
COPA is the second largest of the 79 member groups behind AOPA in the U.S. and the worldwide representation of IAOPA groups is more than 470,000 members. The groups are defined as “autonomous, nongovernmental, national general aviation organizations” whose members fit the ICAO definition of general aviation as “all civil aviation operations other than scheduled air services and non-scheduled air transport operations for remuneration or hire.” More details will be released as the event draws closer.
For more information in IAOPA, visit https://www.iaopa.org/
Gliding Season Prompts Warning
Cadet gliding season is back and the Air Cadet League is reminding pilots to familiarize themselves with the procedures at the dozens of airports across the country that the training and demo flights are going on most weekends. Although many airports are in areas without much transient air traffic, a few in Ontario especially are in busy and complicated airspace and there have been some close calls with aircraft at the Markham training centre with “aircraft that blundered through the ATF area and through the circuit at circuit altitude, unannounced, operating to or from Buttonville and the Claremont Training Area or following Highway 48,” according to Capt. Craig McNeill, commanding officer of the Markham base.
McNeill has offered some tips for GTA pilots who might be flying through the area during the gliding season from April 14 to mid-June and from late August through mid-November
Markham CFS operates from April through mid-June and late August through mid-November
Operations occur only on: Weekends and holidays during Day VFR between 0800 and sunset, and occasional Friday afternoons during Day VFR until sunset.
All active operations are advertised by NOTAM and are included in the Buttonville ATIS.
The tow aircraft and up to two gliders will only be found in the red box bounded by Markham airport runway 09 / 27 centreline and the town of Stouffville McCowan Road and 10th Line. All operations are conducted from the surface to 3,500’ ASL
Glider and tow aircraft continuously monitor and transmit on VHF 122.8
The tow aircraft uses TCAS technology and will detect aircraft operating a transponder.
Markham Unicom or “Glider Ground” will provide GTGC operational status on VHF 122.8
During active operations, the tow aircraft and gliders remain in the north circuit – all other powered traffic remains in the southern circuit. Circuit joining via overhead is not authorized.
Markham is a PPR (Prior Permission Required) airport. Permission must be obtained from the airport operator by phone as per the CFS.
Girls Take Flight at Oshawa
The fifth Girls Take Flight is taking place at Enterprise Airlines at Oshawa Airport on April 21, 2018. This event is organized by the Ninety-Nines and focuses on encouraging girls to take interest in aviation and aerospace by providing them with information from education specialists. This is especially important when taking in consideration the current pilot shortage that the industry is facing.
“In attendance we will have inspiring female speakers who will immerse the girls in the world of aviation,” said spokeswoman Anna Rusinowski. ‘We also organize the opportunity for 200 girls to go for a free flight by pre-registering on our website.” There will be exhibitors offering information on various aviation and aerospace careers, static displays of aircraft, including the Durham Police helicopter, presentations by influential females in aviation. There will be numerous hands-on activities and the chance to interact with women with aviation careers. Registration starts April 1 and early registration is recommended.
Fermé le 30 mars au 2 avril
Le bureau de la COPA sera fermé pour le week-end de Pâques, du 30 mars au 2 avril.
Places to Fly: Melfort, SK
COPA Flight 182 in Melfort will hold its fifth annual Rust Remover at the Kerry Vickar Centre starting at 9 a.m. Lunch is included.
G7 Airspace Restrictions Set
A large swath of airspace in eastern Quebec will be affected by flight restrictions to accommodate the G7 Summit in Charlevoix, Quebec in early June. The Summit goes June 8-9 at Manor Richelieu, on the St. Lawrence River, but some restrictions will be in place as early as June 1 and as late as June 10. The restrictions will affect at least a dozen airports, seaplane bases and heliports and are complex and overlapping in nature. Some will also be designed to accommodate the comings and goings of heads of state and their entourages. Anyone who plans to fly anywhere near that area at that time should be thoroughly familiar with the areas under restriction and should check NOTAMs carefully at the time to make sure they haven’t changed.
As always, errant aircraft will be intercepted and if they don’t comply with the directions from military aircraft they can be shot down. “G7 Summit restricted airspace has been designed to allow the Department of National Defence (DND) to safely manage participating air traffic and to help ensure that non-authorized, non-participating air traffic will remain clear of the airspace surrounding sensitive G7 activities,” the AIP supplement detailing the restrictions says. “Restricted airspace activation will coincide with the arrival and departure dates of the visiting heads of state at Bagotville and Charlevoix and will also support increased air traffic in and out of Charlevoix in the week leading up to the event.” The supplement will be released March 29. It appears in English and French below.
2018 Recency Tests Ready
After consultation with Transport Canada Civil Aviation, COPA has secured the self-paced exams that pilots can complete to satisfy recency requirements. The tests and answers, in English and French, are below.
recencyfrenchanswersrecencyfrench
recencyenglishanswers
recencyenglish
COPA Wants Navaids Consultation
COPA is calling on Nav Canada to conduct “meaningful consultations with the GA community” over its navaid modernization program. In a letter to the corporation, COPA CEO Bernard Gervais called on Nav Canada to provide details of the program so stakeholders can determine how it will affect, particularly on matters of safety. “We see the timeline for a project of this magnitude is especially rushed and we are concerned that full consideration is not being given to the project’s overall impact on safety for all users of Canada’s airspace,” Gervais said.
COPA met with senior Nav Canada staff in October of 2017 to express concerns about the program, which will involve major changes to air navigation in Canada. In our view, for a legacy project of this magnitude, NavCanada should be directly consulting in an open and transparent manner with the user community across Canada and taking a proactive role to mitigate the obvious safety risks in all sectors.
The full text of Gervais’s letter is below.
I am writing on behalf of Canada’s General Aviation community to express our concerns about the proposed NAVAID Modernization Plan and the effect it will have on operations and the safety of flight for GA aircraft. While COPA does recognize the validity of a modernization program for our aging NAVAID network, we have yet to be presented with a full, comprehensive detailed project scope of what will be accomplished.
As we highlighted for you in our meeting of October, 2017, we see the timeline for a project of this magnitude is especially rushed and we are concerned that full consideration is not being given to the project’s overall impact on safety for all users of Canada’s airspace. In our view, for a legacy project of this magnitude, NavCanada should be directly consulting in an open and transparent manner with the user community across Canada and taking a proactive role to mitigate the obvious safety risks in all sectors.
We have not had any further follow-up from NavCanada on this proposal since our meeting in October and we feel the proposal has not been adequately presented to users for consideration. We expect NavCanada to fully engage with the user community and propose a plan that prioritizes the safety of all pilots in Canadian airspace as well as their passengers.
We remain willing to assist you in conducting more than just information sessions, but meaningful consultations with the GA community.
Formation des cadets de l’Air en support au programme 2018 de bourse de pilotage motorisé des cadets de l’Air
Le ministère de la Défense nationale a besoin de services professionnels pour la prestation d’un cours visant à obtenir une licence de pilote privé conformément au Règlement de l’aviation canadienne afin d’appuyer le Programme de bourse de pilotage motorisé des cadets de l’Air.
L’objectif de cet avis de projet de marché est de signaler l’intention du gouvernement de solliciter ouvertement et de façon compétitive des soumissions provenant de potentielles écoles de pilotage à travers le Canada pour des services en juillet et en août 2018 – pour une deuxième fois. La première demande de soumissions W8561-18-0010 / A a été conclue le 7 mars 2018 et a obtenu un certain nombre d’offres recevables, et un certain nombre de contrats seront attribués. Cependant, comme les cibles n’ont pas encore été atteintes et que le financement le permet, le ministère de la Défense nationale accueille plus d’offres pour cette même exigence.
Cette demande de soumissions W8561-18-0010/B Formation de pilotage des cadet de l’Air 2018 sera affichée pour 10 jours civils seulement et contient les mêmes critères que le précédent. Cependant, le format de soumission d’offre a été simplifié dans une version plus favorable aux soumissionnaires.
Le ministère de la Défense nationale demeure déterminé à l’intention d’attribuer environ 18 contrats de ses deux processus compétitifs, et la valeur totale estimée de tous les contrats ne dépassera pas un maximum de 2 800 000,00 $ CAD, taxes incluses. Dans la mesure du possible, la répartition des cadets dans les diverses écoles de pilotage du Canada sera encore similaire à la répartition provinciale de la population, mais elle sera nécessairement influencée par les coûts et aussi la disponibilité de logements pour les cadets.
Exigences de service :
Ce besoin permettra à chaque cadet de l’Air sélectionné d’obtenir une licence de pilote privé de Transports Canada conformément au Règlement de l’aviation canadienne, qui comprend l’instruction théorique au sol (au minimum quarante-cinq (45) heures par cadet de l’Air, sans compter l’examen écrit de Transports Canada) et une formation en vol comprenant une évaluation en vol (au moins quarante-cinq (45) heures de formation au pilotage par cadet). En plus, l’entrepreneur doit fournir les installations, l’équipement, les aéronefs et le personnel nécessaire à l’instruction dans une école conformément au Règlement de l’aviation canadienne.
Demande de soumission : voir les documents ci-joint (à suive et qui pourront prendre 24 heures avant d’être disponible dans le système d’Achats et Ventes).
Veuillez consulter le site internet achatsetventes.gc.ca pour les détails et les coordonnées.