THOMPSON
VALLEY SPORT AIRCRAFT CLUB
(Member of
Recreational Aircraft Association)
Beautiful
Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
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Next meeting: Saturday, October
10, 2009, at 10am.
Location:
Clubhouse, Blair Field, Knutsford.
October
2009 Newsletter
Editor's
Notes
Larry
had told me: "Next time you go to Edmonton,
don't miss the Aircraft Museum at
Wetsakiwin!" I missed the September meeting
because I was at the Museum! I think it is
actually called the Reynolds Museum of Flight. I
spent half a day there with my brother-in-law,
and we did not see the half of it! I could spend
a whole issue of the newsletter on it, but for
now I will show only a few pictures.
In
the main entrance you can see this beautiful
Tiger Moth.
Of
course we had to see the replica of the Avro
Arrow.
They even have this
strange contraption. No word on how well it
worked.
We
came back on one of those rare days when the
summit of Robson was free of clouds.
Tony
Bellos is
not flying anymore, and he has many tools and
parts he would like to sell. To find what he has,
give him a call at 250-374-6591.
Dan
Berwin has bought a
half-share in a Cessna 172 and is learning to fly
a certified aircraft. He did not send any flying
story, but a link to a story and photos about his
bike trip around Tatlayoko Lake. Very
interesting! Have a look at http://www3.telus.net/public/berwin01/
Who
is Flying?
The wind and turbulence
lately have made it hard for me to fly the Beaver
as often as I would love to, but I got the chance
to fly with Gerald in his Kitfox to Quilchena on
September 23. Gerald did the take-off and
landings, and let me fly the rest of the time. I
found it nice to fly at 90mph instead of 60!
Larry was there with his Kitfox, and also Bill
and his Challenger.
On September 25 I went to
the strip with the intention of flying the Beaver
to have a look at Highland Valley where I used to
work. There was already too much wind for my
small aircaft, but Bill Huxley offered me a ride
in his Challenger; it was great again to fly
faster. But over the mine we experienced some
severe turbulence; the Challenger had no problem
with that, but if I had been flying the Beaver I
might have left some fingerprings in the
joystick!
That same day I got some
e-mail from James Shepherd telling me that he was
planning on flying to Quilchena from King George
Airpark with a few other flyers on the coming
Sunday. Again I got a ride with Bill Huxley,
after taking the Beaver long enough to find that
there was already too much turbulence; and it was
only 8 degrees. Again Gerald and Larry came with
the Kitfoxes.
Jim Bottoms rode in on his
bike despite the cool morning. He was wearing a
special jacket with a built-in heater. Here are
Larry, Jim, Cam and Gerald. Photo by Bill Huxley.
Nine aircrafts came in from
the Valley. It had been quite a while since I saw
that many at Quilchena! (First four photos by
Bill Huxley)
A Pober Pixie.
A Zenair 601.
A SeaRey.
A Symphony.
James Shepherd's
Rans S-6 Coyote ll
A Tecnam
A Rans S-7 Courier
Pober Pixie again.
Zenair 601 again.
Murphy Maverick.
A view of the
field.
THROW THE DRUNK OFF
THE PLANE
By Barry Meek
The airline passenger in row 11, seat 3 was
obnoxious, demanding, loud and obviously
intoxicated. The woman seated beside him
requested the flight attendant move her, or him.
The captain was called, spoke briefly with the
offending drunk, brushed off a couple of insults
and returned to the cockpit. In short
order, an announcement came over the PA system
advising of a diversion. With some
difficulty, the drunk was escorted, or closer to
the truth … ‘thrown off’ the plane
in an airport far from his intended destination,
and the flight carried on.
Causing a disturbance while on an aircraft these
days, however minor, can get a passenger in
serious trouble. This fellow was lucky that
he didn’t go to jail. The airlines
take a dim view of troublemakers, and are prone
to take decisive action quickly to get rid of
them. The captain has the ultimate
authority on board his plane. No one can
overrule his word. Whether it’s a
politician, a policeman, a priest or even his
boss, if the captain says he doesn’t fly, he
is turfed off. I witnessed the following
incident at an airport that involved a member of
the Canadian Prime Ministers’ staff. The
woman was bilingual with perfect English, but
demanded the airline staff speak to her in
French. While still at the departure gate,
she became abusive to the agents, loud, demanding
and disruptive. The captain of the plane
was advised, he denied her boarding, and as the
aircraft taxied away from the terminal, she was
left at the gate surrounded by several policemen.
Not many would argue with a policy that protects
the traveling public from those who would abuse
alcohol and disrupt the safety of an airline
flight. But what if that person is the
captain of the plane? There have been
incidents involving flight crews who are under
the influence of alcohol and still attempt to
fly. These cases are definitely rare,
considering the number of flights in the world on
any given day. Far from being a normal
occurrence, they do however happen.
The cancellation of an America West Airlines
flight from out of Miami in 2002 was one that was
widely reported in the news media. The
captain and the first officer both ended up with
long jail sentences following their trial and
conviction for operating an aircraft while
intoxicated. They had been out on the town
until 04:30, then showed up for their flight
scheduled to depart at 10:30 in the morning.
The agents at the security screening smelled
alcohol on the crewmembers, were involved in a
verbal discussion with the two men, notified
their superior who in turn called police. When
officers arrived at the airport, the Airbus 319
with 127 passengers on board, had pushed back
from the gate. It was ordered to return,
whereupon the captain and first officer were
arrested, then blew higher than legal
breathalyzers.
I’m not aware of any studies that discuss
the percentage of airline pilots who have a
problem with alcohol. Given the nature of
the work and pilots’ professional attitude,
it would likely be a very, very small number.
However, there are quite often news reports of
cases such as the one involving that AWA crew.
They do happen and are widely condemned by the
general public. The legal profession is on
board this as well. One website on the
internet is for a Chicagolaw firm advertised as
“Pilot Intoxication Lawyers”. In part,
the website states: “Pilots who
neglect their important duties, including those
who work under the influence of drugs or alcohol,
are a serious risk to everyone on the plane and
in the area where it might land. If you or a
loved one has been injured in an accident caused
by an intoxicated pilot, call Chicago pilot
intoxication attorneys” ……. then
goes on to give details on how to contact them.
Pilots who seek help will find support.
Some start by confiding in other pilots, their
unions and their employers. They can also
turn to a worldwide organization called
“Birds Of A Feather.” Many
ultimately are left with BOAF as their last
chance. Based on the principles of
Alcoholics Anonymous, BOAF is for pilots and
cockpit crewmembers in private, military and
commercial aviation. Their concern is for
recovery from alcoholism, a
‘misunderstood’ disease. They
maintain a very informative website (www.boaf.org) and have support
groups in many countries. I have been
acquainted with at least one pilot who admits he
salvaged his career by joining the organization.
To the young pilot with his dreams set on flying
for the airlines, it must be difficult to imagine
a senior captain throwing away his career, the
pay and the pension, and committing a federal
offence by operating an aircraft while under the
influence of alcohol or drugs. There should
be by now, enough information out there to warn
us about the dangers of addictions. The
news media, our schools and various programs
aimed at young, impressionable kids ought to have
scared them away from it. But apparently
it’s not enough yet. Our society still
has not found the perfect, workable solution to
this very real problem. Birds Of A Feather,
A.A. and other similar groups have proven track
records and have helped, in fact have saved the
lives of many, many people.
bcflyer@propilots.net
To read all of
Barry's previous articles, go to http://www.ocis.net/tvsac/BMLetters.html
New
in the Buy&Sell
Two-seater Beaver RX 550.
Rotax 582, blue head. Water-cooled. With Model
"C" gearbox. No prop.15 hours flight
time on engine. 18 gallons aluminum fuel tank.
12V. fuel booster pump. Limited engine and flight
instruments. One piece 1/8" inch tail boom.
Wings recently rebuilt but not recovered.
However, all fabric, glue and paint are
included. A small collection of extra fasteners
and miscellaneous items also included.
For info call: Paul at 1-250-852-1521. parkbench@ssimicro.com
This
site hosted by OCIS, On Call Internet Services.
250-376-3858 Check
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Due
to the limited space available on the server, the
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welcome your feedback. Do you have any
contributions for the newsletter? Photos would be
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stories, project updates or tall tales... Contact
me: Newsletter Editor: Cam Villeneuve
1-250-374-4181 villeneuve@shaw.ca
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