AUGUST 2012
For Onrait and O’Toole, there’s no such things as a bad sports day B1
Big North FREE PRESS
Yup, that’s big A lla n W ISHA RT/ Fre e Pre s s
The Antonov-124 which landed at Prince George Airport dwarfs the seven helicopters which would be loaded onto it before it continued on its flight to Angola. The Antonov-124, the third-largest plane in the world, made full use of the new long runway at the airport. ALLAN AL A LLA LAN W WI WISHART IS SH HAR ART allanw@pgfreepress.com all al a llanw@p nw@pgf nw @p pg gffreeep pre ress ess ss.c .com com om
They Th ey y wer w were eree li line lined ned d up p on on the the fa farr si side de of of the apron at Prince George Airport on the morning of July 13. Seven helicopters, their size clear by looking at the people near them. Those seven helicopters were waiting for their ride, as they prepared for a trip to Angola, to be used in ferrying people and supplies around the African country during its election. Anything that could fit seven full-sized helicopters comfortably would have to
be p rett re tty bi b ig. g. T Th he A he nton nt nton onov ov-1124 24 ffits its th it that hat at be pretty big. The Antonov-124 desccript desc de rip ri pttio ion. description. ““It’s “I It’ t’s th the he th hir ird-bi bigg gges esst ai airp rpla lane ne iin n th the he third-biggest airplane worl wo rld d,,”” Br Bria ian n My Mycr ycrof oftt of Van V anco couv uver er Isl IIsland slan and d world,” Brian Mycroft Vancouver Helicopters said. “We have contracts to supply helicopters to Angola, and we’re putting seven of them on that plane.” This wasn’t Mycroft’s first sight of the Antonov. “I saw it at Vancouver Airport, and we were in Angola doing the same job during their last elections, and the Antonov was there then.” Prince George Airport Association president and CEO John Gibson said the
Anto An Ant tono tono nov la nov llanding and ndiin ng in in P rin ri ncccee Ge G Geor eo orrg gee tto op pi ick ck Antonov Prince George pick p tthe he h he eellic icop opte terss w ass a b ig m ig om o men e t fo ffor or up helicopters was big moment th he airport. aiirpor airp orrt. the “It’ “I t’ss bi big g fo forr us us. It h hel elps ps p u uss bu buil ild d th that at “It’s helps build long-term commercial-business case with other clients.” The landing was also a practical demonstration of what was possible with the new runway at the airport, the third-longest in Canada. While an Antonov-124 landed here in 1995, it couldn’t take off with a load on the old runway. “We do need the big runway for something like this,” Gibson said. “We’re trying to tell the companies who supply the min-
ing comp in ccompanies co omp mpan anie ies an aand nd th tthe he pi p ipe peli lin nees th tthat hat at tthey hey he ing pipelines don’ do n’t need need ne eeed d tto o la lland and d aatt Ed E dmo mont nton ton no V ancou ncou nc ou-don’t Edmonton orr Va Vancouver and and truck truc tr uck k thei th heir ir eq eequipment uiipmen uipm e t in en in. ver their “The “T hey y ca can n la land nd rrig ight ght in in Pr Prin ince ce G Geo eorg rge ge.” “They right Prince George.” He and Mycroft agreed this was a definite win-win situation for the airport and the company. “We support all the initiatives at Prince George Airport,” Mycroft said. “We do all our training here, and we’d like to see the airport prosper. “If something like this can help them, we’re glad to help.” Once loaded, the plane headed for Angola.
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