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April 2008 Newsletter.
Next meeting: Thursday, April
10, 2008, at 7:30pm.
Location: Clubhouse, Blair Field, Knutsford.
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site hosted by OCIS, On Call Internet Services.
376-3858 Check their Website
here: http://www.ocis.net/
Due
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year. For members only: If you need to look at a
specific newsletter from previous years, please
let me know, I will e-mail you the file. villeneuve@shaw.ca
President's Letter
Hello
Everyone:
Well
not a lot has happened since last month! Everyone
is waiting for the weather to improve to get
flying.
At one
of the fall meetings the membership discussed
going to the Annual General Meeting of the
Rosehill Farmers Institute to do a presentation
on our Club. This meeting took place several
weeks ago. I was unable to attend, but 4 or 5 of
our members attended and a presentation was done
and questions answered. There was approx. 30
people in attendance and Dennis Seib answered a
few questions. Several people were interested in
rides and aerial photography was discussed. All
in all a worthwhile venture.
I have
been busy snowmobiling lately so not spending
much time in my shop! There is fresh snow coming
down very regularly in the mountains resulting in
some very good riding conditions. A test with a
probe 2 weeks ago in behind Seymour Arm showed
over 10.5 feet of snow!
This
picture was taken on the March 27th/08 on
Crowfoot Mountain.
Hope
to see everyone out at the next meeting,
Richard
Suttie.
The Beaver Will Fly
Again!
I
know, I know! It doesn't look like it right now!
But I still expect to have it ready for the
Mother's Day Fly-In in Cache Creek on May 11. If
not, the Proton is ready to go anyway!
How
about this? Looks better already, doesn't it?
That garbage bag will be off the vertical
stabilizer, I promise!
A
little bit of work every day.... Hey! Don't
scratch that cute red car!...
Editor's
Notes
I
have started making a few changes to the
newsletter, you will notice more in the months
ahead. For one thing, now that most everybody is
on high-speed Internet, I think we can show
bigger pictures. There's more coming, so stay
tuned!
If
you send me photos for the newsletter, please
send them in high-resolution, I will take carte
of the cropping and sizing.
Did
you ever see an aircraft roll away without a
pilot? Here is a good reason to have an electric
starter!... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJVfyRDCi3o&feature=related
A
reminder: the next Rust Remover will
be in Vernon on the weekend of May 3, 2008.
Also: The Ninth Annual
Fly-In Breakfast will be on Sunday, May 11th,
Mother's Day, at the Cache Creek Airport,
starting at 8:30am. For more info, contact Andy
Anderson 250-453-2281 or 250-457-7333. Everyone
welcome!
Note: Some of us retired
folks, with lots of time on our hands, are
regularly meeting for a bull session at 3pm, most
days, at the Aberdeen Mall Food Court. Everyone
is invited to get a coffee at McBeans and join
us: master the art of hangar flying in the
company of experts, share your true stories and
tall tales! We haven't heard it all yet, but we'd
like to!
Get
well, Gene! I learned lately that our
friend and fellow member, Gene Zwick, was
presently in hospital following heart surgery...
I relayed the news to the Food Court gang, and
everyone is wishing Gene a prompt recovery!
Aerial
shots, courtesy
of Bill Huxley.
Heading due South! The
end of Napier Lake right above the compass, and
Stump Lake coming on the right.
Over the hills, North of
Stump Lake
Coming back to the
Knutsford area. Tony's airstrip just above of
center.
On April 3, Gerald's
Kitfox and Bill's Challenger on the Qilchena
strip
Gerald's Kitfox
Golfing
and Flying Don't Mix
By Barry Meek
I once
witnessed a dog get chewed up by a prop. It
wasn't a pretty sight, one which has been
depicted on the big screen in a few Bruce Willis
movies where a bad guy meets the same
fate. What you see in the movies is
very close to the real thing. I attended a
fly-in breakfast at a small, country airport
several years ago, before the time when security
fences and locked gates were the norm. For
the most part, pilots knew and understood safety
around airplanes, so it was a surprise to see one
fellow bring his dog into the picnic area which
was quite near the turf ramp and runway.
The
morning was warm, people were happy, the
breakfast was bacon, eggs and pancakes.
Pretty soon the fly-bys started up. The
owner of the dog got invited by another pilot for
a flight around the patch. He tied the dog
to a post and climbed aboard the tricycle-gear
airplane with his new friend. The dog got
excited, broke the leash and dashed toward the
plane which was by that time, already
running. The horrified owner of the dog
looked on as it ran straight into the prop, and
was slashed to pieces in an instant.
The
sight we'd just witnessed stuck with me for
years. It didn't cause nightmares or affect
my quality of life. After all it wasn't my
dog, and dogs don't happen to be on the top of my
favorite animal list. In my work as a
paramedic, the sight of blood and trauma isn't
uncommon. However actually witnessing the
event that causes it is rare. By the way,
we can't blame the dog for it's own demise.
After all, a dog will usually follow it's owner
anywhere. I only hope this fellow
learned a lesson about looking out for his
animals, and that nobody leaves their child in
his care.
There's
a resort and golf club we liked to fly to on
Sunday mornings for an outing and a
breakfast. The strip was grass and actually
split the course in a way that golfers needed to
cross it twice in 18 holes. The cart trails
didn't make much of a difference to the runway,
and there was almost no air traffic, so the
airplanes didn't interfere with the
golfers. The community around the course
included a few pilots who flew in and could tie
down near their homes. That was about all
the traffic there was, and naturally it was an
uncontrolled field. There were
"stop signs" with the warnings about
active runways and that planes could be operating
at any time, posted at the cart crossings.
But the golfers were complacent, and usually
never bothered to look, or even think about air
traffic.
One
morning, along with two friends, I planned a
flight into the resort for lunch. I always
called the manager's office ahead of a trip
there, requesting permission to land, and to be
aware of any special events they might have
planned that would interfere with use of the
strip. The usual response was for me to be
aware that I'd be landing at my own risk, the
strip is in good shape, and "come on up, you
guys are always welcome."
Photo
by Joe Olson
On
arrival, we flew the standard approach,
broadcasting intentions on 123.2, crossed centre
field for a look at the sock, then proceded
through the downwind and final. The runway
was clear at touchdown and part way through my
roll out, when suddenly a golf cart sped out from
the left, crossing directly in front of the
plane. Judging the speed and closing
distance between us, there was no way to avoid
the collision. The prop was about to chew
into the side of the cart, slicing through the
first golfer, then with enough momentum, do the
same to the driver.
There
was no way I could get it stopped. The
wheels were locked and sliding on the
grass. Speed was too slow to fly. By
the grace of God, at the last second I saw the
golfer in the passenger seat look up, then warn
the driver who stopped just as the wingtip of my
Cherokee sped past in front of their cart.
The
vision of what a prop had done to that dog years
before, flashed into my mind. I
taxied back to the parking area and for several
minutes my knees were so weak it was actually
difficult to stand. My mouth was so dry, I
couldn't speak to my passengers. I busied
myself with the log book until my nerves could
settle down.
One of
the golfers walked back across the strip to the
parking area to aplogize for their lapse in
judgement. It turned out that his wife was
the driver of the cart, and they had not seen or
heard the airplane as we flew over centre field,
nor on final approach. When idling, and on
a turf runway, a small plane can be very
quiet. What caused their near-death
experience was that they ignored the stop sign
and entered an active runway without even a
glance in either direction.
A
parent teaches a child is to look both ways
before crossing a street. Drivers do it
instinctively. Pilots check before entering
an active runway. At least most pilots
do. But if you spend half your life in an
environment like a golf course, or on a quiet
country road, or a retirement village, you're
just not as likely to be on the lookout for
traffic, if for 3 days out of 4, you never see a
car.
That
episode could have ended up with two dead golfers
and a nasty court case. I suspect that it
wouldn't have been difficult for my lawyer
defending me in any action, given the clear
warning signs at the cart crossing, and the fact
that proper aviation procedures had been
followed. In short, I don't think I did
anything wrong. However, was my airmanship
up to par? Probably not. I could have
been more vigilant. I could have informed
my passengers of the ever-present danger of when
people are close to runways. I could have
briefed them on the possible incursions and where
and how to look for them. Having a few
extra eyes in the cockpit never hurts.
Intent on the touchdown, the speed, staying on
the centre of the strip, generally getting us
down safely probably occupied too much space in
my brain that morning.
The
golfers were lucky. I was lucky. In
my minds eye, I saw the golfers being sliced up
as the dog had been. We've all seen
prettier sights. The airstrip is still on
that golf course, which surprises me. With
all the litigation, people not accepting
responsibility for their own actions and so on, I
always expected that incident would be another
nail in the coffin for the strip. Maybe it
was. But so far, we can still fly in and
enjoy a meal at their club house.
bcflyer@propilots.net
New
in the Buy&Sell
New ads! A few aircrafts
have been sold too! And some price changes!
Have a look at http://www.ocis.net/tvsac/buyandsell.html
Parts for Murphy Renegade
Renegade
lower wing L & R spar kit , factory jigged.
800x6 turf tires (Armstrong)
and tubes. Murphy
Aviation tail wheel kit new. MAC
trim kit new in box.
Vertical
Speed indicator, used, like new. Two
Renegade throttle assemblies.
Stamped Gussets, 3 sizes and
angles.
Renegade wing
ribs. Assorted wing
parts. Various Renegade spar parts. Also:
Rebel parts and sheeting Click here for
pictures
Contact
Scott Blackwell to make an offer.
250-672-6809 Barriere BC
(03/27/08)
Lazair III project,
$2500.00
Extended
fuselage, modified rudder pedals, Stits covered
wings, lift struts, tail feathers, fuel tank, 2
rotax 185's with propellers. Needs gap cover,
fuel lines, throttle cables, misc. small items
(eg: AN bolts). Very little work to complete.
Sold as is, buyer to pickup in Langley B.C . Contact Shawn
604-897-6994 or e-mail airjunkee@telus.net. Selling as I have too
many projects on the go.
(03/26/08)
1999 Zenair HDS, $29,000.
482
TT Stratus 100 hp Engine with Ram Performance
heads,
Day/Night VFR instruments, Radio, Mode C
Transponder, ELT, Nav Lights,
Landing Lights, Electric Trim, Fuel Flow Monitor,
Warp Drive Prop, Wheel pants, Garmin 95XL GPS. Phone
403-320-4157 day, 403-328-5473 evening.
(03/17/08)
We
welcome your feedback. Do you have any
contributions for the newsletter? Photo would be
great! So would flying stories, project updates
or tall tales... Contact me: Newsletter Editor:
Camille Villeneuve 1-250-374-4181 villeneuve@shaw.ca
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