Spring is in the air

Stretch your wings

I like to write about this every spring, it’s a secret recipe that I really don’t want to be kept secret. I’m talking about the best rust remover at the best price you will ever find: go up and fly with an instructor or a check pilot that will stretch your wings, to try the things you wouldn’t really do on your own anymore: a high-wing or a power-off stall; crosswind landings; a tight base to final (at safe altitude), anything to stretch your comfort zone which can sometimes get smaller and smaller as we fly less during the winter months. I guarantee you will walk away with a sense of accomplishment. And maybe even a few beads of sweat on your forehead. Invest in yourself, not just your airplane.

Web Site

Have you seen the completely revamped Places to Fly or the COPA Flights sections on our website? We have received a lot of positive comments and there is still some tweaking being done. Newer material will be coming out soon and if you have images or videos you would like to share, just send them our way they may find their way on the site for all to see and enjoy.

One of the most interesting features of our new website is the ease with which we can update the material and the multiplatform capability: website, Facebook and our newsletter. We have divided the site into sections which we hope you will find intuitive and this is why you should go back often to look for the latest news items or stories. We strongly encourage you to give us your feedback.

Oshkosh

Once again this year, we will be at Oshkosh for the great Canadian Cook-out, thanks to Magnes and AIG, where all Canadian pilots are invited to gather under the tent. There will be many door prizes, food and drinks for everyone to enjoy. Just go to our events page on the website to see the details.

Special announcement at the COPA Convention in Kelowna, BC June 23-24.

We are very proud that Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) has approached COPA to work together on a General Aviation Safety Campaign, which we will launch during the convention in June. We are well aware that regulations are not the only form of promoting safety. Experience and research indicate that optimal results in terms of increasing safety practices can best be achieved by combining broad promotion efforts with well-targeted objectives. Safety collaboration activities between the regulator and industry are sometimes more successful than going through the sole regulatory compliance route, as well as being less costly for all of us.  Watch out for the announcement!

Economic impact of general aviation

As I write these lines, we are in the final revisions of a study we commissioned late last year, to give us the big picture of the economic impact of general aviation in Canada. We will make this impressive study publicly available as soon as it is completed in the next few weeks.