Campbell River "Wings & Wheels" Fly-In

^{Written by: Mike Davenport
Images courtesy of Mike Davenport}

Sunday, July 14 was one of those severe clear days with virtually no wind or turbulence. It was perfect weather for a flight to Campbell River for their annual Wings and Wheels event. COPA member Greg Booker and his Zenith 750 provided the transportation. As a passenger, I had the opportunity to be a tourist and enjoy the incredible views that coastal BC provides.

The Zenith’s leisurely cruise speed and large windows allowed time for pictures to be taken “up, down and almost all around”.

The flyin was very well attended with traffic separation provided by the very capable and friendly flight service station. This included a variety of aircraft including several private jets and a Fisheries Patrol King Air.

COPA was well represented with significant numbers arriving in all varieties of aircraft. There were amateur built, and production planes, antiques and several warbirds as well as amphibs such as the classic Grumman Goose and a Super Cub on amphibious floats. The construction quality among the hand-crafted aircraft included such as the Glasair, Falco and the HRll Harmon Rocket was the finest seen in some time. Two aircraft that define opposite ends of the spectrum were the wood and fabric two seat Pietenpol and one of the early composite speedsters: the Q2. While both had 65 hp engines, one cruises at 60 and the other at 160. Another composite was the tandem two-seater called the Sky Arrow 400, one of a larger family of aircraft designed in Europe.

Antiques had a small representation, high-lighted by a blue Stearman, unusual in that most commonly they are yellow as per their history as a military trainer. Another trainer that always delights the crowd with the Harvard’s rumbling of it’s R-1340 radial engine, arrived mid morning.

As usual at events like this, the majority arrived in a variety of the ever-popular Cessnas; 172s, 150s and 152s.

A very unusual aircraft on display was the battery powered Pipistrel Velis Electro trainer also manufactured in Europe. It is owned and operated by Sealand Flight. This electric two-seater was flown at mid-day and it was remarkable in that while on the ground it was very quiet. However, in the pattern, it sounded just like any other aircraft due to the propellor. With a reported flight time of 50 minutes, it is unlikely to be used for any training outside of the circuit until improvements in battery life can be achieved. According to factory information, recharging times range from one hour and twenty minutes to two hours

An aircraft that needs a ‘lift up’ but for only a short time is the sailplane of Vancouver Island Soaring Club who had theirs on display. Warwick Patterson, COPA Director-At-Large for BC and the Yukon, was on hand all day talking to the curious and potential soaring customers.

 

Other interesting people also call Campbell River home; one of whom is a pilot with over 1,000 hours in the iconic Hawaii Mars water bomber. Peter Killin will be part of the crew taking the Mars to her new home at the BC Aviation Museum later this year. His beautiful C140 was on display as well.

Classic and custom cars were also on display and these varied from the sublime to the ridiculous, the immaculate and the rough and ready “Rat Rods”. All had proud owners on hand to answer questions. The event is called Wings and Wheels and that clearly described the event.

Refreshments ranged from overly large burgers to equally sized ice-cream cones. For those in need of a caffeine renewal, coffee was provided for a donation. In spite of an apparent shortage of garbage cans, the grounds were very clean.

On the trip home to Langley, Harbour ATC gave us permission to fly via the south shore route providing the opportunity for some big city photos. The view from the Zenith’s large windows created an unsurpassed look at the Vancouver harbour and the many downtown hi-rise buildings.

Do check out a Wings and Wheels near you. They seem to be everywhere and they are a lot of fun.