TC Safety Seminar

A good turnout considering the weather

With Paul Richardson having taken Barrie A-Channel meteorologist and local personality Bob McIntyre for a flight in CMQ we thought that we had an in with the weather. It was not to be with Saturday dawning grey and wet - exactly as all those forecasters had been predicting for days. There goes your member discount Bob.

Notwithstanding the weather, forty souls braved the weather to attend this year’s Transport Canada safety seminar. Three planes even flew in, one of which was Jamie Vins in his brand new Piper Meridian. For those not familiar with it, the Meridian is a single engine turbine that seats six and not a steam gauge to be found in the panel. As per their website (www.newpiper.com/aircraft/meridian) the Piper Meridian "…is poetry and harmony combined…"

Wayne Juniper and Will Boles entertained, informed and educated the crowed covering topics as far ranging as licence requirements, an owner’s responsibility for maintenance and every pilot’s role in maintaining a safe flight environment. Crowd participation was guaranteed with Will handing out Rock 103.5 FM t-shirts to everyone who asked or answered a question. Thanks to Aero Covers and National Aviation Insurance Brokers for setting up displays in the hangar. Everyone had a chance to check them out while chowing down on burgers, salads and the array of deserts for lunch.

The day was toped off with the drawing of door prizes and everyone receiving an endorsement for his or her logbook showing that they had met the biennial currency requirement.

While we had hoped for triple the attendance, and no doubt we would have, had the weather cooperated, it was encouraging that so many took the effort drive.

Special thanks to our sponsors for all their support

• Lake Simcoe Regional Airport
• Weathwise Aviation
• National Aviation Insurance Brokers
• Wilson Aircraft Sales
• Aero Covers
• Hope Aero Propeller & Components
• Leavens Aviation
• Galloway Motors Ltd.
• Techi-Seal
• Rock 103.5 FM
• Stewart Foods

Movie Night

Saturday November 18^th

The club will be having a movie night in November in the pilot’s lounge of the terminal building. Family and friends are welcome. Doors open at 7 p.m. with the show starting at 7:30. There is a microwave oven available so be sure to bring popcorn. The pilot’s lounge is on the lower level of the terminal building.

We have not chosen the movie yet but the criteria are that it must be aviation related, not too long and appeal to more than just us pilots. Send your suggestions to Paul at paulrich@rogers.com.

Christmas Party

Friday December 1^st

This year’s Christmas party will, for the second year running, be at Barkley Square. The restaurant is located at Hwy #11 (5567 Yonge St) and Hwy #89.

Cocktails from 6:30 with dinner at 7:30. Tickets are $45 per person and must be ordered in advance. Dinner includes your choice of entrée, plus dessert. There will be a cash bar.

You can order tickets online or by calling John Galloway at:

• 905-775-3384 - Office
• 905-955-0940 - Cell

You can also mail a cheque to John at:

• PO Box 288
• Bradford, Ontario
• L3Z 2A8

» Order your tickets online now - CLICK HERE

3 Guys and a Plane!

By Glen Alton

3 Guys and a Plane enjoy the beauty of Ontario’s fall colours

Impossible by car in a day, Andre Saulesleja booked CMQ until 1400 hrs on September 26th, 2006. He wanted to get pictures of his new home basement being dug out near Wasaga Beach and fly over his cottage on the Severn system in Muskoka.

I was eager to get in some "stick-time", it had been a while since my return from Oshkosh and I was itching to take some fall colour pictures from the air around our cottage on Shoe Lake near Dorset. Plus I had promised Brian Robinson I’d get up to see his Vet-Bee refurbishing operations at Stanhope sometime soon.

Tad Malak had just returned from an early morning solo flight around the 'pea patch' and it didn't take much coaxing to get him into the back seat for the day. Since he’d never experienced the taste of the renowned butter tarts at Lindsay airport, the plan was to fly in there for lunch and be back to LSRA all in good time for Paul Richardson’s CMQ booking later that day.

Andre flew the first leg with wheels up around 1030 hrs. The morning sun brought out the brilliant colours on the trees heading west, past the ever-expanding Edenvale airport, along Hwy 26 and north towards Wasaga. "There’s the subdivision down there", Andre called out, "would you take control while I get some pictures". I love flying from the right seat while holding a steep left turn, just ensure the ball keeps centered and the nose is on the horizon, tighten the turn and its not too long before the picture taking is complete and I can get back to enjoying my sightseeing ……works every time! Its now north-east towards the Saulesleja cottage on the Severn system, we circle a couple of times but alas, I don’t get the controls this time, I just enjoy the view of the water rocks and colourful trees.

On we fly east-north-east as Andre skirts around some rain showers but keeps in close enough so CMQ gets a nice bath and "gee", the trees look even better viewed out from behind a clean windscreen. As we head east, Muskoka airport is just off to our left and I can already see Lake of Bays stretching easterly towards Dorset where Hwy #117 and # 35 meet. Shoe Lake is south, about 3 miles on the west side of Hwy #35, and we fly towards it. I get the controls back from Andre with the promise not to make any water-landing SeaBee-type approaches to our beloved lake as he snapped some great pictures, flying at about 1000 ft AGL (or so). The colours are beautiful and make a patch work quilt of sorts. I think I’ll have one framed. The neighbours on the lake always marvel at air-shots and remark that the lake actually does look like a shoe. Our cottage is at the south- west corner and we try to stretch out the season until early November.

Tad is now wide awake as we climb out heading south-east with questions about this place called Stanhope. He’s never been before and I keep the little secret to myself of why we’re flying there. All three of us are treated to a beautiful view of Haliburton’s colourful landscape as Andre joins downwind for Runway 27, descending alongside the colour- filled hills to the north. After a textbook landing we taxi up to the hangar occupied by four SeaBees that Brian Robinson is refurbishing. It quickly becomes clear to all why Glen wanted to land here. Brian is a great tour guide and both Andre and Tad are amazed at the SeaBee restoration process underway on these vintage aircraft including the replacement of the old 1947 215hp Franklin engines with brand-new-out-of-the-crate 400hp LS 7 Corvette engines.

Our LS2 model (350hp) Vet engine conversion kit from Brian should arrive next month as my partner John and I continue into our 2nd year of restoring our Bee which has been in my family for 53 years. But that’s a whole other story for another time, perhaps even a club meeting night. Now it’s the time to leave for lunch in Lindsay!

It’s my leg in the left seat as we head south to Lindsay and one of those famous butter-tarts. Tad is alive and well in the back with questions about where Lindsay is. I tell him we’re going there IFR. He perks up as he is IFR rated and is looking forward to one of those DME localizer back-course approaches or whatever it is that those guys who like to fly in clouds do when they file IFR. "No unfortunately Tad", I say, "it’s I follow roads. We simply follow Hwy #35 south and eventually Lindsay will appear on the west side of the highway just north of Hwy 7". Tad smiles and goes back to sleep saying wake me when we arrive (or something to that effect).

The Lindsay airport restaurant seems to be full every time I’ve been there. We got the very last table in the place and its now well past 1300 hrs. I highly recommend it for a great lunch and of course, you have to have one of those homemade butter tarts.

We knew time was moving on so Andre and Tad logged into the Borden Flying Club website from the Lindsay flight office and extended our CMQ rental from 1400 to 1530 hrs, knowing that Paul was booked for 1600. It took the pressure off having to rush through lunch and was just common courtesy to other members.

Flying back on the final leg home to LSRA via the north shore of Lake Simcoe over Orillia and into the circuit for Runway 28 I reflected on the day - where we’d flown, what we’d seen and how beautiful the country looks at this time of year from the air.

All told, we were away for five hours, Andre logged 1.4 hrs PIC and I logged 1.3. As for Tad, I’m sure it was a bigger pea patch than he had planned for that day. He got to see where Andre and Anna are moving to in Feb., got a birds-eye-view of the Severn, saw the fall colours around Shoe Lake, was introduced to the world of the SeaBee projects at Stanhope, found out where Lindsay was and although he passed on a butter tart, he took the word of Andre and I that indeed, they are the best.

When I got home my wife asked me how my day was….I simply said it was a great day for 3 Guys and a Plane!

GAlton@Rogers.com

We are always looking for content for the club's newsletter. Anything related to the club or flying whether it be a story, your comments or training so long as you don't mind sharing it with others.

Send your submissions to webmaster@bordenflyingclub.com.