January
2009 Newsletter.
Next meeting: Thursday, January
8, 200, at 7:30pm.
Location: Clubhouse, Blair Field, Knutsford.
This
site hosted by OCIS, On Call Internet Services.
250-376-3858 Check
their Website here: http://www.ocis.net/
Due
to the limited space available on the server, the
archives will not contain anything older than one
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
A
few words from our new President, Wally Walcer:
Hope everyone had a
wonderful Christmas and wishing you a Happy New
Year and many safe hours of flight . I just was
able to start my bird today Jan. 4th. The plugs
are fouling up in this cold weather. See you at
the meeting if it's not -20 C.
Editor's
Notes
A Happy New Year to
everyone! Clear skies, no wind or turbulence! But
if you encounter cloudy skies, moderate winds and
light turbulence, enjoy the flight too! The
challenge will help you become a better pilot!
Someone said that 'what does not kill you makes
you stronger', but it might seem a bit extreme to
apply that to flying an aircraft!...
Time for a few of us to
renew the aircraft insurance with Marsh... Don't
fly without it!
Also time to pay the
membership fees! I already received some money
just for that from a couple fellows at the Mall;
I joked that I needed that for beer... But I hope
that Jim Bottoms can attend the January meeting
so I can give it to him (the money, not the
beer...)
Most of us have not flown
for a few weeks, due to the cold and the snow.
But Dan Berwin installed skis on his Challenger,
and Gerry did it on his Power Parachute and flew
it a few days ago. I was not planning on flying
this winter, but I feel like changing my mind...
The problem now is that I did not prepare skis
for the Beaver. But I got a new snowmobile suit,
and that's a start!
I just got a new series of
2009 Club Calendar printed; some pictures are
different from the first edition, and I will
bring them to the January meeting this next
Thursday 8th. If you want to see them ahead of
time, I posted them here: http://www.ocis.net/tvsac/2009.pdf but it is a large
file and downloading will take a few minutes.
To see a good example of
how-not-to fly, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njMCOYzLJWE
To
anyone advertizing in our Buy&Sell section: as soon as the
item is sold, please let me know! That will
ensure goodwill and prompt service if you want to
place another ad in the future...
We would love to hear from people
checking our site from points outside the
Kamloops area! Let us know what you fly, and what
is is like "out there"!
THE
PAINLESS PILOT LICENSE
Filling out paperwork and forms is not something
that’s on my list of favorite things to do.
Like many readers out there, I resent the
intrusions into my simple life with demands to
complete paperwork for the bank, city hall, or a
registration for warranty on a new computer.
And most of all, I detest the endless paperwork
from the government. They must know that
too because they irritate me further by always
sending me the “Long Form” at census
time. They make me file my income tax on a
quarterly basis. They returned my initial
passport application because my signature touched
the line in the little box when I signed it.
Now, they’re after us all to apply for a new
format pilot’s license.
If
you’re a pilot, you’ve been notified by
now. Transport Canadaseems to know they
needed to send at least two reminders to me.
As usual, I lost the first one having never even
read it.
When the last one came in the mail, it stated
that ATPL and commercial licenses will be first
to be processed into the new booklet format.
All these will be replaced by March 31, 2009.
Private licenses will be changed at a later date.
If you don’t apply, your license in the OLD
format will no longer be valid when your medical
expires.
Since I’ll be out of the country for most of
the winter, it was necessary to bite the bullet
and apply right away. It turns out to be
quite a simple process, and almost painless.
Apart from the passport-style photograph
required, there is no cost to the pilot. The
whole thing is similar to applying for a
passport, including having a guarantor sign to
confirm your identity matches the picture. One
nice change that they have made is the
requirement for the guarantor has been relaxed.
You no longer need to find a lawyer, a doctor or
professor who has known you for two years to
vouch for you. At this time, your guarantor
can be anyone you know provided he/she is a
Canadian passport holder and meets a few other
criteria. It makes things much easier.
Something else coming down the pipe is the new
requirement for Language Proficiency. They’re
saying it will apply to new licenses only, and
there are tests being set up involving some
interactive role-playing, probably right at the
flight schools. It is quite simple but as
usual, Transport seems to have described it to
seem very complicated.
The whole point of this article then is to
reassure you that this entire change is not
something you need to be afraid of. The
procedure is simple, it involves just one page on
which your name, address and a few other details
are inserted. You need the passport picture
done, then you mail it off to your local office
of Transport Canada. The websites involved
explain in great detail (more than you need to
know actually) all the policies, procedures, and
other information. But don’t lose any
sleep over it. I’m the worst one for
this type of bureaucratic paper shuffling
and if I can honestly tell you not to worry, then
don’t. Just do it. It really is
painless.
My application got into the mail November 15, and
the little booklet was in my hands December 07,
2008. Seems an incredibly short time given
we’re dealing with two organizations that
are usually not know for punctual service,
Transport Canada and the Post Office. Surprises
never cease.
The website you’ll need is http://www.tc.gc.ca/civilaviation/general/personnel/changes.htm
Best of luck to you.
Barry Meek bcflyer@propilots.net
Well,
surprises never cease. Transport Canada had
stated these new licenses would not be sent out
immediately. I took that to mean it may
come to me sometime in the New Year. However,
I’m happy to say that as of this date (Dec.
04) my new license booklet is here in my hands!
New
in the Buy&Sell
3 Blade Warp Drive Prop $900.
2
hrs. TT. Hub has bolt pattern for
both Lycoming and Rotax 912/914 hubs. Nickel
Leading Edges, Constant Speed Platform, White
Blade Tips. Includes 10 in. diameter
Spinner and Protractor for adjusting blades. Ph.
Ken Hemmerling, Clearwater BC at 250-587-6219 or
email kenhemmerling@hotmail.com
There are a few new aircrafts for
sale, and some others have been sold. Have a
look!
http://www.ocis.net/tvsac/buyandsell.html
We
welcome your feedback. Do you have any
contributions for the newsletter? Photos 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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