Saturday, March 2 sees the 17^th Annual Ski Fly-In happening at the Kars/Rideau Valley Air Park (CPL3). Organized by the RAA Chapter 4928, attendees will enjoy home-cooked food which will be served between 11 am and 2 pm.

Aerodrome coordinates are 45° 06’ N; 075° 38’ W. Fly-in traffic to the 1800’ x 100’ airstrip are to use the Aerodrome Traffic Frequency of 123.4 MHz. Those driving can access the venue by taking the Dilworth exit from Highway 416. The field is located south of Dilworth Road at the Rideau River.

For more information, or to check on field conditions, call Chris Williams at 613-296-3391.

All are welcome.

COPA Flight 23 – North Bay member Carol Cooke and her husband Ron organized a fly-in at Arcadia airport (X06) in Florida on February 14 and invited their American and Canadian pilot friends who were wintering in the area.

Having spent several winters in nearby Punta Gorda, the Cookes observed a series of improvements to the camping area at Arcadia airport, remarking that it would be an ideal place for a fly-in. It boasts a covered picnic area, a gas grill and smaller charcoal barbecues, running water, a firepit and places to pitch a tent. The area is located behind an FBO, where tie-downs, washrooms and showers are available.

The FBO had a van available for those who preferred to drive into town for dinner.

Not all their flying friends had their planes with them and in the end only eight aircraft showed up, but many others drove in. COPA members from Alliston, Kincardine, Lindsay, Muskoka, North Bay, Picton, Parry Sound, Smith Falls and Waterloo, all in Ontario, were among the 40 people who showed up.

According to Carol Cooke, it might become an annual event.

A Quebec Superior Court judge has this week dismissed a class action lawsuit against float plane operators brought on by the Coalition Against Noise, a group of citizens who wanted an end to float plane noise on lac-à-la-Tortue in Mauricie, about 10 kilometres northeast of Shawinigan, Quebec.

The Coalition was asking for compensation for the noise emanating from commercial float plane flights on lac-à-la-Tortue, which affected residents in the municipalities of Shawinigan, Hérouxville and Saint-Georges-de-Champlain.

Citing the absence of misconduct, abusive behaviour and abnormal inconvenience, Justice Suzanne Ouellet concluded in her 84-page decision that there were no grounds for the lawsuit against Bel-Air Laurentian Aviation Inc. Additionally, Justice Ouellet ruled that the Coalition had not met its ‘burden of proof’ concerning their allegations against Aviation Mauricie, which ceased operations in 2012.

Justice Ouellet also cited the division among the residents as another factor in her decision to dismiss the lawsuit. Among the 1,747 people involved in the class action, 898 opted out of the process, leading the judge to conclude that the noise generated by the float planes was not an ‘abnormal disadvantage’ for more than 50 percent of the coalition members, and therefore “…do not constitute a neighbourhood disorder.”

The Coalition Against Noise was formed in 2007 with a mandate to fight against noise pollution at the lake. In 2009, Transport Canada introduced measures to mitigate the noise by reducing the times that commercial flights could take place, banning commercial flights during summer statutory holidays, on weekends, before 8 am, during lunch hour (12 pm to 2 pm) and after 5 pm at other times.

The first Airbus H145 helicopter to be delivered in Canada has arrived at the RCMP’s base at Langley airport (CYNJ) in Metro Vancouver. Dubbed Air 5, the helicopter’s design allows it to support day and night operations over land and water, and conduct fast roping and hoisting, medical evacuations and search and rescue operations.

“With its enhanced safety features and reputation for reduced maintenance and excellent availability, the multi-role H145 is an ideal aircraft for multi-faceted law enforcement missions,” said Airbus Helicopters Canada president Romain Trapp.

Some of the tactical equipment that the H145 is equipped with include a Trakka A800 searchlight, an Enhanced Reality System, a Health Monitoring System (HMS), a forward-looking infrared system (FLIR), night vision goggles, a four-axis autopilot and a tactical officer workstation. The H145’s internal long-range tanks will allow the RCMP to deploy its Emergency Response Team province-wide.

“A reliable and effective police force improves the quality of life in any province. New resources, like the Air 5, will help keep our citizens and communities safe by providing the ability for quick response and sharing intelligence from the air to officers on the ground,” said British Columbia’s minister of public safety and solicitor general Mike Farnworth.

Air 5’s registration, C-FDJB, was chosen to pay tribute to civilian pilot David John Brolin, who died during a training exercise on a previous version of Air-5.

“It’s a great honour to be able to include Dave’s call sign on the side of the helicopter as he loved his work, was dedicated to Air Services and to ensuring public safety; a part of him will always be with us,” said B.C. RCMP’s Commanding Officer, Deputy Commissioner Brenda Butterworth-Carr.

The next few months will see RCMP crews undergo training on Air 5. Its first public viewing is planned for later this year at the Abbotsford International Airshow in B.C.

An Edmonton man with pre-existing Type 1 insulin-dependent diabetes has been awarded a Category 1 medical certificate by a Civil Aviation Medical Examiner, becoming the first such recipient in Canada.

Austen McDonald, together with his father Captain Ed McDonald, had been pressuring Transport Canada – Civil Aviation for years to make the change.

“Up until now, pilots who already had their commercial license when they became insulin-dependent could apply for a medical certificate to keep flying,” said the senior McDonald. “But no one who already was on insulin could do the same. It really made no sense to us.”

According to Dr. Peter Senior, endocrinologist at the University of Alberta and Chair of Diabetes Canada’s professional section, “There was no medical justification for preventing people with diabetes from applying for the certificate needed to get their commercial pilot license when hundreds of people who were already pilots when they developed diabetes continue to fly safely.”

“Diabetes Canada is pleased to see that this last barrier to Canadians with diabetes applying to become commercial pilots has been removed,” says Dr. Jan Hux, President and CEO of Diabetes Canada.

This change will allow the younger McDonald to pursue a career in aviation. “All I’ve ever wanted to be was a pilot. Now nothing is standing in my way.”

Pictured above are Austen McDonald and his father Ed.

By Jean-Pierre Bonin and Hélène Lavigne

Taildraggers won by a landslide (31 out of 35 aircraft) as the 9^th Sainte-Anne-du-Lac Fly-in was held on Sunday February 17^th 2019. Postponing the Fly-in to Sunday instead of Saturday was a winning decision. Sunny but quite cold early in the morning (-26º C) but no wind and warming up to -2 º C by mid-afternoon made for perfect flying and landing conditions.

A groomed runway and parking zone allowed for safe landing and circulation as the surface elsewhere was slushy under the snow. Aircraft on wheels weren’t allowed as no runway could be plowed clean but at least three wannabes flew over to say hello.

What started out as a slow cold day turned out to be a real heart-warmer in every way you could want. Many thanks to organizers and volunteers who made this a perfect day!

Enjoy the photos taken by Jean-Pierre Bonin and by Hélène Lavigne.

Photo above courtesy of Hélène Lavigne.