TC Safety Seminar

We need your help

We need pretty much the entire club's help in putting this event together. The plan is to have a work party the Friday evening (September 29th) to prepare the hangar and get a head start on setting things up. We also need to give CMQ a bath that same afternoon. Then, on Saturday, we need about a dozen volunteers to assist with setting up, during lunch and taking everything down at the end of the day.

Please contact Leo Avendano at: events@bordenflyingclub.com

Need an excuse to fly?

Help us advertise the Transport Canada Safety Seminar

For the rest of this month whenever you visit an airport ask if you can post one of our flyers on their bulletin board.

You will find a list of airports that we need to post our flyer advertising the safety seminar and plenty of flyers in the flight bag. Be sure to fill out the accompanying form so that we can keep track of which airports have a flyer.

What better reason to fly to a new airport this month!

Around Georgian Bay

By Fred Simpson

I would have to say that my favourite trip in CMQ is to circumnavigate Georgian Bay. I endeavour to make this trip at least once every year. It is not only my favourite but my wife’s too. Those who know Janice know that flying is not often on the top of her list of things to do. So what is it that entices her to be the first one up in the morning to check the weather on the day we plan on making this particular trip? Well, for starters, lunch will not be a hundred dollar hamburger.

For Janice to enjoy a flight several items must be added to the pre-planning checklist. First, it must be CAVU (ceiling and visibility unlimited). Turbulence has to be virtually nil; at least during cruise flight. She is okay with a few bumps on approach as, for the most part, her eyes are closed during short final anyway. The flight has to include spectacular scenery. Endless acres of farmland just do not cut it. And finally, and most importantly, there has to be a really great lunch involved.

So how does circumnavigating Georgian Bay meet these criteria? Well, the weather is simply a matter of good luck. The hardest part here is making that Go/No Go decision, not to go, when I know perfectly well that the weather is VFR; but not CAVU. I just have to look long range. If I were to go with less than ideal conditions it would probably be the last time that we would make the trip together. Like I said, long range planning, and by that I mean next year’s trip.

Janice can handle some late afternoon bumps. She figures that it is part of the price to pay for all that scenery and wonderful lunch, but it is best to limit it to the decent and landing back at Lake Simcoe, otherwise I am risking ruining a good thing. As for the scenery, well just look at the chart. From departure we head towards Collingwood and follow the Nottawassaga Bay shoreline around to Owen Sound. We have done the trip often enough that Janice reminds me to keep clear of the restricted airspace near Meaford. Then it is up the Bruce Peninsula to Tobermory, island hop across to Manitoulin Island, follow the south shore of the island north-eastwards; past Manitoulin East (CYEM), and then head straight to Killarney.

Killarney (PT2) is on the east shore of Georgian Bay, closer to Elliot Lake than Parry Sound. It is a small fishing village nestled alongside a protected channel, the headland of which juts into Georgian Bay. The town sits on the edge of Killarney Provincial Park and is home to several outfitters. It is also the home of Killarney Mountain Lodge and The Sportsman Inn. Killarney Mountain Lodge was originally built in the late 1940s as a wilderness corporate resort by a large American trucking company. The Lodge has a long and fascinating history that carries on to this day. Maury and Annabelle East bought the Lodge in 1962 and opened it to the public the year a road was built into Killarney.

The history of the lodge and its guests is quite colourful and includes several high profile Americans who flew to Killarney Mountain Lodge for fishing trips and fun times in the 1950s. Since then, Maury, Annabelle and their family have welcomed visitors for over forty years. And the food! That is what we came for after all.

The lodge operates a Unicom and I always try to reach them during our decent into the airport, but to date, I have never been successful in getting them to answer. There is also a pay phone at the airport but you require a calling card to use it (remember those). I noticed this year that, for the first time, my cell phone had a signal. If you do reach the lodge and mention that you plan on having lunch there they will send a car to pick you up. Janice and I though, prefer walking the twenty minutes to town.

There is plenty to see and do in town so plan on spending several hours. If you did not know better, you would swear that you just landed in an out port in Newfoundland. The scenery is breathtaking. This is after all the landscape that Frank Carmichael, Arthur Lismer, A.Y. Jackson, and A.J. Casson, all members of the Group of Seven, sketched and painted. On our list of places to poke our noses into is the Quarterdeck, a gift shop operated by the lodge, located right on the pier, and Herbert Fisheries. Herbert’s, also on the pier, is the local fish monger. You can buy the catch of the day which they vacuum seal and put on ice for you to take home. We never leave without at least half a dozen fillets. If we go to Killarney late enough, typically September, Janice’s favourite, pickerel, is available; otherwise we can count on bringing home trout, whitefish and splake. Splake are a hybrid trout resulting from the cross of brook trout and lake trout. You are not limited to getting your fish packed on ice as Herbert’s also runs a chip wagon. For eight dollars you can enjoy the catch of the day battered and served with fries.

After strolling through town we sometimes head over to the Sportsman Inn or Rock House Inn for a refreshment before heading to Killarney Mountain Lodge for lunch.  Heading along the waterfront on the way to the lodge I can see why the Group of Seven lobbied to protect the area as a wilderness reserve, resulting in the creation of Killarney Provincial Park. Lunch at the lodge is always the highlight of our trip. It is after all what enticed Janice to come along in the first place and we usually order the fresh seafood.

After lunch we walk around the lodge heading out past the last cabin to a headland that offers a spectacular view of the North Channel. It is soon time to be thinking of heading back to the aerodrome. We consider asking the staff at the front desk if they can arrange a ride but we often decide to walk back. I bring a knapsack with me so the 20 pounds of fish and ice that we picked up at Herbert’s are not an issue. Besides, I can count on Janice finding a rock or boulder that catches her fancy that just 'has' to be added to her rock garden back home.

On departure I make a pass over town so that Janice can take a few pictures. We then head southeast following the shoreline of Georgian Bay towards Parry Sound. It is late afternoon by now and I try to stay close to the shore to avoid the effects of the late day heating further inland. It takes close to 90 minutes to get to Killarney via the Bruce Peninsula but by taking this route we can anticipate arriving home in just over an hour.

Another perfect day, if not a perfect landing at Lake Simcoe, as we both enjoyed the day and Janice is already looking forward to our next flight to Killarney. Mission accomplished.

• Hobbs Time: 3.1 hrs.
• Air Time: 2.7 hrs.
• Departed Lake Simcoe at 1030 returning at 1610
• www.killarneylodge.com

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Borden Flying Club 224 Line 7 N RR2 Oro Station, Ontario L0L 2E0 Lake Simcoe  Regional Airport CNB9