April 2013

THE PATRICIAN APRIL 2013

The Victoria Flying Club ~ Aviation Excellence Since 1946

Heath Moffat Photo GROUNDSCHOOL SCHEDULES | CLUB NEWS | FIRST SOLOS | PHOTO CONTEST

THE PATRICIAN APRIL 2013

Monthly Newsletter of The Victoria Flying Club - Aviation Excellence Since 1946 “To promote flying and aviation in general, and to teach and train persons in the art and science of flying and navigating and operating all manner of heavier-than-air aircraft.”

(Victoria Flying Club Incorporation Bylaws, 1946) Board of Directors

President.........................................Don Devenney Vice President...........................Ramona Reynolds Secretary......................................Colin Williamson Treasurer...........................................Wayne Clifton Directors..........................................Dave Gagliardi Steve Demy Dave Gustafson Cal Mjolsness General Manager.................................Gerry Mants Chief Flying Instructor....................Graham Palmer

In This Issue

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Message from the CFI

5

Social Corner

7

New Dispatch Procedures

9

The DC-3: World Famous Warbirds

11

Flyin’ Home - Don Devenney

1852 Canso Road Sidney, BC V8L 5V5

www.flyvfc.com info@flyvfc.com Phone: 250-656-2833 Fax: 250-655-0910 Editor: Christie Hall thepatrician@shaw.ca Midnight Design & Communication info@midnightdesign.ca

April 2013

The Patrician accepts unsolicited submissions.

This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, with prior permission of the publisher or author.

The opinions expressed are strictly those of the authors.

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www.flyvfc.com

MEET THE FLEET VFC News

You asked and we answered!

We are excited to share with you the newest members of the VFC Fleet. Member feedback and other factors have indicated that a fleet upgrade was needed to maintain the level of safety and enjoyment consistent with the goals of the Victoria Flying Club. As such, there are now six Cessna 172 S Model aircraft on the VFC ramp, featuring 180hp and “NavII” avionics pagckages. There are a number of opportunities coming up in the next few weeks for you to “Meet the Fleet.” Please plan to attend and participate as you are able!

Aviation Excellence Since 1946

Meet the Fleet Week Tweet the Fleet!

Beginning Monday April 8th, please join us on Facebook for an inside look at the great features of each of the new aircraft. www.facebook.com/VictoriaFlyingClub

Tweet a photo of your flight in one of VFC’s 172 S Model aircraft using the #vfctweetthefleet hashtag all during April. We’ll share those photos with our over 400 followers. @FlyVFC

“Meat” the Fleet - Saturday April 20th C172 S Model Seminar

VFC Members Barbeque

with VFC CFI Graham Palmer 4:00-6:00 outside the lounge.

1:00-4:00 in upper classroom A chance to enjoy a burger, Register now as seating is socialize with VFC friends, and limited. For more information, kick the tires on the new memplease see page 3. bers of the fleet.

S Model Seminar and Barbeque are open to all club members at no charge.

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April 2013

VFC News

Message from the CFI

The past few months have been an exciting time for Members and Staff of the Victoria Flying Club! With the arrival of our Millennium Cessna’s, and the gradual retirement of our venerable Fleet of Legacy Cessna’s, it’s fair to say that over the next few months Club Members will continue to experience several exciting and innovative changes with Club Flight Operations.

Our goal is simple: “We want to guarantee that your Flying experience with VFC is as safe, enjoyable, and easy as possible!”

Beginning with our 2013 Currency Policy, Flight Safety remains at the core of our Flight Operations. Safeguarding our Members, their Friends and Family and our Aircraft is paramount.

Additionally, you will begin to experience several evolutions aimed at streamlining Club Operations in order to make your flying experience simpler, and more enjoyable.

Who could say no to that!

Some of you may have noticed New Checklists in the Millennium Cessna’s; gone are the over-head visor checklists, as most of these aircraft have Rosen Sun Visors. The new checklists reside in each aircraft for the Pilot & Co-Pilot in the calf pocket.

These checklists are two-sided, one for Normal Operations, and one for Emergency Operations.

These checklists incorporate highlighted areas denoting “Vital Actions” (memory items) which are provided for your review as required. Passenger Briefings, Line-Up, Level Checks, PreLanding, Post Landing checks are highlighted in green on the Normal

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Operations Checklist. On the Emergency Checklist are Engine Failures highlighted in yellow, and Engine Fires highlighted in red.

Paper copies of these checklists can be obtained at reception.

Additionally, you will find ‘FuelHawk’ dipsticks in each Millennium Cessna. The FuelHawk is a fuel resistant thermoplastic tube graduated in gallons. To use it, simply place it into the tank until it touches the bottom (be careful to avoid the raised cross-over rib at the bottom of the tank), then firmly place your finger over the top of the tube to lock the fuel in and read the fuel level in gallons.

Allow the fuel to drain back in the tank when you’re done. It’s simple to convert this measurement into pounds by multiplying gallons by 6; to convert to liters, multiply gallons by 3.78.

You will also start using the ‘GATS Jar Fuel Tester’, found in each Aircraft. The GATS Jar is a 12 ounce fuel resistant thermoplastic jar equipped with a sump actuator, and a unique microfiber screen which separates nonpetroleum contaminates from the fuel so that you can pour clean uncontaminated fuel back into the tank. Gone are those days of hunting or waiting for the red jerry can!

One of the most noteworthy changes we are initiating, on April 1st (no fooling!), is the discontinuance of filling out the

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Aircraft Journey Logbook at the completion of each flight. So long as VFC retains required information on our Daily Dispatch record, Dispatchers will be able to batch enter every flight for a particular day in one entry pursuant to CARs 605.94 (2)(B). Keep in mind that you must report defects to dispatch in order for them to carry out the appropriate defect reporting and logging protocol.

For those who have been to the Club lately, you have most likely seen the new Dispatch Counter, and soon the Reception Counter will be replaced providing the entire VFC office area with a more efficient and professional layout. You will begin to notice two smiling faces to assist expediting your ground time in the office area as we are splitting the role of Dispatch and Reception into a two person synergistic team.

Finally, with all of these exciting evolutions I will be conducting Monthly Cessna 172S Symposiums aimed at familiarizing members with Aircraft Systems, Performance Capabilities, Limitations, Operational Considerations, and Aviation Best Practices. The first Class will be April 20th, at 13:00-16:30 followed by the “Meat the Fleet BBQ”. Seating for this class will be limited, so I encourage you to reserve your seat by contacting me at graham.palmer@ flyvc.com, or through Twitter GrahamPalmer@VFC_CFI. The cost is Free for active Club members interested in enhancing their knowledge of the aircraft we all love to fly. For those who are unable to attend, I will schedule another date for May & June.

I’ll see you around the Club, and I encourage you to come out to the ‘Meat the Fleet BBQ’…

www.flyvfc.com

Mystery Aircraft

APRIL MYSTERY AIRCRAFT Can you identify the aircraft shown below?

Email: thepatrician@shaw.ca

March Mystery Identified From Tim: This month the British Aerospace ATP which was a 1980s development of the highly successful Hawker Siddeley HS748. A lot quieter and efficient with the R-R Darts replaced with PW126 engines, but a commercial flop with only 64 built. 40 are still in service, almost all as freighters in Europe where it has found its true niche.

Correctly Identified by: Tanvir Gill and Daryl Williams

IMPORTANT REMINDER: Don’t forget to schedule your Annual Checkride!

Blow off the dust and brush up on your skills before summer. All VFC members are encouraged to take advantage of 2 hours of instruction at no charge. Please note, with the retirement of our Legacy Cessnas from the VFC fleet, we want to encourage all members to use their Annual Checkride as an opportunity to also be checked out on one of the S Models of our new Millenium Fleet.

Please call the office to book your Annual Checkride today! 250-656-2833.

Aviation Excellence Since 1946

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April 2013

Fly-Out Updates

SOCIAL CORNER by: Jonathan Wallace

Over the past six months VFC members may have noticed a flurry of references to fly-outs, pilot meetings and ongoing pilot training. This has been largely due to the efforts of some of our members getting together and attempting to create more of a social component to our club once again.

The Victoria Flying Club is a bit unique as Canadian flying clubs go. We are fortunate to have an active powerhouse of flight training which even

April 2013

for the post-training members, is a real boon! For example, the flight school gives us access to full time knowledgable and helpful staff every day of the week from before sun-up to after sun-down. We have a huge, fantastic facility which we can relax, dine, learn or just hang-out in. We have a well maintained, constantly upgraded fleet of rental aircraft available to fly. We soon will have 24 hour access to aviation fuel at a significantly discounted price. We have this newsletter, the Patrician which keeps us informed, entertained and up to date on airport and local aviation events. The list goes on, but you get the idea.

What we are presently lacking in Victoria though is a

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strong social component to our club. In Feburary I had the opportunity to visit the Salmon Arm Flying Club, which is a different sort of club altogether. Salmon Arm has no flying school so their club is purely a social gathering. They own a single C-172 which many of their 50+ members are checked out on and able to fly recreationally. The club also maintains an airport courtesy car which they make available 6 months of the year to incoming pilots.

Sounds quite different to Victoria, doesn’t it? Nevertheless they have a beautiful club house and they gather monthly to meet, socialise, discuss flying and learn from one another.

I, and many of the VFC members believe we in Victoria

www.flyvfc.com

COPA Information might be able to benefit from some of these more social aspects of flying clubs. This is why over the past six months we have started a couple of new exciting programs for pilots and aviation enthusiasts alike, right here in Victoria. You don’t even have to be a VFC member to participate (although we do encourage it!)

The Fly-Out Bug program is a revival of an old VFC tradition from years ago. Let’s face it: once you have your license, flying in the CYYJ circuit every month to maintain your skills gets real old, real fast. (Who among us decided to take flight training so we could primarily fly rectangles around airports?!)

Nevertheless flying especially for those of us who aren’t career pilots - can be very intimidating when we are starting out! Dark clouds can certainly look scary from the cockpit of a C-152 (and so they should - if not respected they can be dangerous!), invisible mountain waves on an otherwise beautiful day can throw you for a loop (literally!) with little to no warning. Some of the small paved strips scattered around the coast look like a sidewalk compared to 09-27, and there is no comforting tower controller to be able to talk to!

Our flight training wisely teaches us to be conservative and safe when we fly, but how does one gain experience with these and dozens of other potential hazards once we have our license? We don’t know what we don’t know, so how can Aviation Excellence Since 1946

we go about expanding our envelop of comfort in a way which is safe?

This is just one of the reasons we brought the FlyOut Bug program back. There is strength in numbers. Flight planning with a group of other pilots is a great way to gain confidence and pick up real-world tips and tricks to make yourself a more capable, experienced and safer pilot. Flying around that imposing looking cloud, through that high-walled valley or into that short strip is a lot more comfortable when you are flying with (or perhaps following) a dozen other aircraft!

Also, have you noticed: flying is expensive! The FlyOut Bug program attempts to limit the sting to your wallet by helping to connect pilot(s) with passengers to cost-share. It’s pretty hard to walk away from a fly-out without having made a new friend.

So far it is working: last fall we had several great flyouts. One event had 14 aircraft and 40 participants! It is Spring now and the weather is only improving. We are looking forward to the coming season and hope to be arranging a fly-out every month. Come join us!

Get out of the circuit.

Catch the Fly-Out Bug! flyoutbug@gmail.com

COPA Flight 6 Monthly pilot meetings

Ground school at the VFC is great. I learned a tremendous amount over those 10 weeks, but that type of classroom learning stopped abruptly after I received my PPL.

Our FREE monthly meetings provide an opportunity for ongoing learning - not just the theoretical or legalistic side of flying like in ground school, but also exposure to other fun flying events, opportunities and real world tips and tricks. (And there is no test at the end!)

How comfortable are you with U.S. customs procedures? How much do you know about the benefits of using portable electronics (e.g. iPad, smart phones) in the cockpit while flying - did you know they can save you money? Ever entertained the idea of flying to Alaska? The Caribbean?

South America? Why not attend a slide show presentation of someone who has! These are just a few of the many topics we have scheduled in 2013.

Learn. Build friendships. Help us to grow general aviation in our own community.

For more information or for meeting times and locations, please email: copaflight6@gmail.com

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April 2013

VFC News

New Dispatch Counter and Procedures Provide Improved Member Experience

Less time on paperwork, means more time in the air!

We’re changing the way we work, and want you to know all about it.

What’s happening?

Beginning May 1st, the Club will be improving our processes to provide everyone with some benefits. As you know, we are nearly finished refreshing our fleet of Cessna 172s. This means we have a lot of really April 2013

nice airplanes to fly. It also means that our airplanes are more alike - most of them will be 180hp “S” models and all of them are equipped with better and more consistent avionics.

We intend to take advantage of this and provide: 1) A better, faster and easier renting experience. From the moment you walk in the door 7

to the moment you leave, our processes should support your needs, and not burden you with unnecessary paperwork, calculations or create time pressures.

On the contrary, we want renting an airplane to be a relaxed and enjoyable experience.

2) We want your flying to be more rewarding. Whether you’re a new student or a seasoned veteran, we want the www.flyvfc.com

VFC News aircraft to provide a higher standard of performance and quality.

3) We want to utilize our planes more effectively. When an aircraft flies more hours each day, we become more efficient and are able to pass the benefits back to you in the form of more quality improvements.

So what changes will you see?

Beginning May 1st, you won’t be booking a specific Cessna 172 plane, you will be booking a time. When you arrive for your flight, you meet with your instructor if you have one, you’ll get prepared for flight and when ready to go, you will proceed to dispatch and request an airplane. An airplane will then be selected for you and you’ll go fly it. We have a shiny new computer system which will assess your mission, your aircraft

loading profile and the state of our airplanes (in the air, on the ground and fuel loads) and assign you the most appropriate airplane. We will do the weight and balance calculations, check your documents, get your approval, provide ours and send you on your way.

Tell me more.

Arriving at the airport Let’s say you’ve booked a 172 for flight at 12 noon. We expect that you and your instructor will be ready to go flying at 12:00. If you’re early or late, we’ll accommodate that, but in general, a 12 o’clock booking means that you intend to walk out to the ramp to go flying at 12:00.

So you’ll need to arrive at the airport before 12:00. How long before 12:00? That’s up to you and your instructor. If you think it will take an hour to check the

weather and NOTAMS, to have a bite to eat and have a briefing from your instructor, then you need to arrive at 11:00. If you have no instructor and did the bulk of your flight planning at home, you might arrive at 11:45.

12:00 is the time when you should plan to have it all together, including passengers and are ready to go. A quick hint here - it takes us all about twice the time we think to do all this.

There’s no harm in arriving a bit early and taking it easy. When you’re ready, we assign an airplane for you - a process that will take only a few minutes, and off you go. If you’re not quite ready at 12:00, no problem, we’ll be here when you’re ready. If all the planes are out flying, there is a chance you’ll have to wait a few minutes for one. But we’ll strive to make sure any waiting is minimal.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be providing more detailed information about the new dispatch procedures. These are exciting times at VFC as we work towards implementing practices and procedures that will be beneficial to all our students and members. We want to make sure that everyone has an enjoyable and safe experience!

As you experience these improved systems, please share your feedback and questions with a staff member or a member of the board of directors.

They are all here to make your experience the best it can be!

Aviation Excellence Since 1946

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April 2013

Featurue Article

The DC-3: World Famous Warbirds Although we couldn’t find the initial origin of this article from several years ago, it is a great read and a great tribute to the DC-3. Our thanks to Leon LeChasseur for sending it in.

This is part 1 of several. Watch for more upcoming issues of The Patrician.

It groaned, it protested, it rattled, it ran hot, it ran cold, it ran rough, it staggered along on hot days and scared you half to death. Its wings flexed and twisted in a horrifying manner, it sank back to earth with a great sigh of relief. But it flew and it flew and it flew.'

This is the memorable description by Captain Len Morgan, a former pilot with Braniff Airways, of the unique challenge of flying a Douglas DC-3.

It's carried more passengers than any plane in history, but Now the DC-3 has been grounded by EU health and safety rules.

The DC-3 served in World War II , Korea and Vietnam, and was a favourite among pilots. For more than 70 years, the aircraft known through a variety of nicknames the Doug, the Dizzy, Old Methuselah, the Gooney Bird, the Grand Old Lady, but which to most of us is simply the Dakota, has been the workhorse of the skies.

With its distinctive noseup profile when on the ground and extraordinary capabilities

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April 2013

in the air, it transformed passenger travel, and served in just about every military conflict from World War II onwards.

Now the Douglas DC-3 --- the most successful plane ever made, which first took to the skies just over 30 years after the Wright Brothers’ historic first flight --- is to carry passengers in Britain for the last time.

Romeo Alpha and Papa Yankee, the last two passengercarrying Dakotas in the UK , are being forced into retirement because of --- yes, you’ve guessed it --- health & safety rules.

Their owner, Coventrybased Air Atlantique, has reluctantly decided it would be too expensive to fit the required emergency- escape slides and weather-radar systems required by new European rules for their 65-year-old planes, which served with the RAF during the war.

Mike Collett, the company’s chairman, says: “We’re very saddened.”

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The end of the passenger-carrying British Dakotas is a sad chapter in the story of the most remarkable aircraft ever built, surpassing all others in length of service, dependability and achievement.

It has been a luxury airliner, transport plane, bomber, fighter and flying hospital, and introduced millions of people to the concept of air travel.

It has flown more miles, broken more records, carried more passengers and cargo, accumulated more flying time and performed more ‘impossible’ feats than any other plane in history, even in these days of super-jumbos that can circle the world non-stop.

Indeed, at one point, 90 percent of the world’s air traffic was operated by DC-3s.

More than 10,500 DC-3s have been built since the prototype was rolled out to astonished onlookers at Douglas’s Santa Monica factory in 1935.

Find out more about the DC-3 in next months’ issue. www.flyvfc.com

Flight Training

PRIVATE PILOT GROUNDSCHOOL Monday and Wednesday 1900-2200 Victoria Flying Club Classroom

DATE TOPIC

INSTRUCTOR

Apr 03

Jason Grist

ATC

08 Review Colin Brown

10

Aerodynamics and Theory of Flight

Kale Haley

15

CARS and Licensing Requirements

Kristen Ursel

17

CARS and Licensing Requirements

Kristen Ursel

COMMERCIAL PILOT GROUNDSCHOOL Beginning April 19th. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for four weeks.

To Register for Groundschool, or to purchase a Groundschool Kit, please contact the Victoria Flying Club office at info@flyvfc.com or 250-656-2833.

New Members Russell Dubinsky Tyler Miller Steve Beaudry Waseem Barhoum Ian McMillan Yaaseen Mall Mitchell Hewson Cliff LeBeau Matthew Chunn Adan Thornton Harry Brunton Lisa Brown Gordan Friedley Michel Gosselin

Aviation Excellence Since 1946

First Solos Thomas Claes David Dyck Keegan Allen Toyo Noguchi Paul Tambeau Sean Dale Mitch Hewson

PPL Flight Test Braydon Janzen

PPL Licence Braydon Janzen

CPL Flight Test Todd Cuthbert Joshua D’Amours 10

Congratulations from the Victoria Flying Club!

Note: First Solo Photos from this month will appear in next month’s newsletter.

April 2013

Feature Article

Flyin’ Home By: Don Devenney

As many of you are aware, Victoria Flying Club is in the midst of a fleet renewal program. We’ve purchased some very nice Cessna 172 “S” model aircraft which, for a variety of reasons, were all located in the United States. Thanks to the efforts of CFI Graham Palmer and VFC Board member Steve Demy these aircraft are all now in their new home in Victoria.

However, those flights from “Somewhere, USA” to Victoria weren’t easy and each one had its share of adventure.

I was fortunate enough to accompany Steve on the flight to bring N2124V from Clearwater Florida to Victoria – a total of 3 days and 28 hours of flying time. I took some pictures, made a few notes and so if you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to undertake this sort of trip read on….

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Wednesday, Feb 13th

We met at YYJ, way too early…. Our flight to Clearwater took us to San Francisco, then to Washington DC and finally to Tampa Florida. It was a pretty routine trip really. We flew United and they sometimes have Air Traffic Control on the entertainment system, so I got to listen to ATC / pilot chatter all the way from Dulles to Tampa. I was surprised at the number of WestJet flights I heard.

We got in to Tampa, grabbed a cab and headed over to our motel, settling in about 2am local time.

Despite the late hour, Steve found a friend still partying in his room…

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Thursday, Feb 14th

We met for breakfast about 8:30 or so and Steve reviewed the weather with me.

There was a line of convective activity moving across our route but it looked like it might move out of the way so Steve decided to continue with our preparations and check prior to departure.

Casey the aircraft broker picked us up about 9am and we headed to Clearwater Airpark to meet N2124V. Clearwater Airpark is a single strip general aviation airport with a few hangars, a variety of GA aircraft and a club / FBO building occupied by a group of local pilots all drinking coffee and swapping flying stories. Sorta like the Dakota on a Saturday morning.

We had a good look over N2124V and it was pretty impressive – it had an Aspen 1000 unit and Traffic capabilities in addition to the standard Cessna Nav II package. All in all it was a pretty nice looking airplane.

We loaded it up with our kit, signed the papers and then it was time to go. We’d filed IFR, but it was probably 10 minutes after take-off before we actually got our clearance. There was a lot of traffic in the area that day and they all seemed to have priority over our little airplane. The weather wasn’t great; there was several layers and some “scud” cloud however it wasn’t turbulent and for the most part we were visual as we headed out over the Gulf of Mexico. Our plan for the day was to make Lafayette Louisiwww.flyvfc.com

Feature Article ana, however that wasn’t going to happen.

About 45 minutes into our flight ATC contacted us and told us that our route of flight was going to take us through a military training area that was going to become active shortly.

Now I don’t know what chart he was looking at but none of the charts we had put our route in that area however we weren’t in a position to argue. We were given the option of descending

the Gulf. We landed there and fuelled up, had a much-needed washroom break, etc. We were talking with the guys from the FBO while fuelling and mentioned where we were going.

“Victoria BC, huh? Our parent company is located in Victoria…

Vancouver Island Helicopters.

They come in here with their Challenger jet all the time. And the Hawker sometimes too.”

We started tossing names around – yes, they knew Jason

done and were off at our projected time of 6:30am. Next stop – Deming New Mexico.

By the time the sun came up we were definitely in Texas oil country. There were oil wells pumping and wind turbines spinning as far as the eye could see! Eventually however we ended up on top of a layer of stratus cloud and when we next saw the ground we were out of oil country and into the desert.

A “quick turn” at Deming

and continuing VFR, which we took. And then there were the winds. The upper winds along our route were forecast to be 20kts on the nose; in reality they were close to 40kts.

Our ground speed for the first couple of hours of the flight was about 68 kts. It became pretty clear that we wouldn’t make Lafayette on our current fuel load so we started looking for alternates and settled on Galliano Louisiana.

Another single strip GA airport, Galliano also serves as a base for the helicopters transporting workers to the oil rigs in

Stewart and Cal Mjolsness.

Talk about a small world!

Servicing done, we were back in the plane headed west.

We had lots of time and – finally – some tailwinds so we decided to press on and head to Stephenville Texas. And no, the thought of dinner at “The Hard Eight Bar-B-Cue” had no bearing on that decision…

and we were on our way back up to 10,000 ft enroute to Thermal California. It’s pretty hard not to be impressed with this new airplane. Load the flight plan into the GPS, set the cruising altitude in the auto-pilot and it climbs to altitude, levels off and basically flies itself. Nothing new in airliners, twins or fancy singles but a Cessna 172?

Wow! All we really needed to do was change frequencies.

So with minute-by-minute flying duties taken care of and four hours to the next stop we had a lot of time to check out the new airplane’s features, take

Aviation Excellence Since 1946

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Friday, February 15th

Up at “zero dark thirty”, a delicious breakfast in the hotel and then it was out to the airport. It was clear, dark, cold and windy; we got the pre-flight

April 2013

Feature Article photographs or flight plan for the next day. On the bright side, we were blessed with some pretty good tailwinds on this leg, something that’s a bit rare on east-to-west flights.

We eventually arrived in Thermal, which is near Palm Springs, where we had another “quick turn”. (i.e. no sightseeing, no relaxing by the pool, just gas up & get going). Thermal had two features of note: first, it was 26 degrees C when we landed (I did NOT want to leave); the second is best explained by this photo of our altimeter, taken while we were on the ground in Thermal (and yes – it was set correctly):

Thermal airport, it turns out, is 125 ft below sea level.

Gassed and “relieved” we climbed back into 2124V and launched ourselves into the traffic jam that is the airspace around Palm Springs and the Los Angeles Basin. Again, it was about 15 minutes before we were able to get our IFR clearance.

We got up to 10,000 ft and with the help of a couple of “direct to” clearances we were able to move through the busy area pretty quickly and we were soon back in less congested airspace. The traffic feature in N2124V sure came in handy…I used it to pick up some of the traffic before ATC had advised us. We also continued to benefit from some great tailwinds – the ground speed number on the Aspen read 152kts!

With these tailwinds we started thinking about our April 2013

intended destination. We’d planned for Sacramento however with the speed we were getting and the amount of daylight left it looked like we could get farther so we started doing some investigating.

The audio panel on N2124V allowed us to “split” the radios – Steve could call FSS using one radio, listen to the response on the local VOR frequency while I was able to maintain a watch on the other radio and talk to ATC – all at the same time. Steve got a weather briefing and decided to take advantage of the great conditions so we extended our flight plan to Redding California. Coming in to Redding we again split the radio duties – Steve was on one radio talking to ATC and flying the approach while I was on the second radio talking to the FBO and arranging for fuel, a hotel, etc. What a cool feature! We arrived at Redding about 1930 local time, just as it was getting dark. Factor in the time change and we’d been travelling for 15 hours! Definitely time for a decent meal and a comfy bed. A late night weather check however proved to be a bit ominous… moisture at our planned altitude along with upper temperatures below freezing and cloud cover all along our route of flight that was low enough to preclude VFR…not good. We may have to stay over another day.

Saturday, February 16th

A good night’s sleep, a great breakfast and a new, much more promising weather 13

forecast…what a great way to start the day! So it was out to the airport, pre-flight the plane and once again we’re off…next stop – Victoria!

The weather for the first couple of hours was pretty good. We had clear skies and more of a crosswind then a head wind. That gradually changed as the flight progressed. As we approached Eugene Oregon the clouds started to appear and the crosswinds became headwinds.

We ended up on top of a cloud layer that would continue for the rest of the flight.

The winds however became stronger and more on the nose, slowing us down. And when you’re in the last couple of hours of a 3 day / 25+ hour trip that’s the last thing you want to have happen. N2124V took it all in stride and eventually the Straits of Juan de Fuca were in sight….we’re almost home!

We picked up a trace of ice as we descended through the clouds on our approach to Victoria. And boy, was it windy! 40+ kt winds out of the west. Those winds decreased as we approached the airport and turned final for Rwy 27.

Steve accepted my last minute challenge and managed to get N2124V off by Whiskey taxiway and 5 hours after leaving Redding we were home!

In the end, we logged over 28 hours of flying time in three days. I was really impressed by N2124V, soon to be C-GTLF, as I know you’ll be when you get a chance to fly it. www.flyvfc.com

Photo of the Month

Thanks to Elissa Boyd for submitting this month’s winning photo (above) of Mt. Baker taken during her 300 nm trip to Cranbrook.

Aviation Excellence Since 1946

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April 2013

VFC Classifieds Aircraft - Accomodation - Aviation Books and Gear - Help Wanted - Miscellaneous Email the details of your FREE Ad to: thepatrician@shaw.ca

Victoria Flying Club CHARTER SERVICE

TRAVEL BETWEEN VICTORIA AND BOUNDARY BAY NO FERRIES NO WAITING BE THERE IN 30 MINUTES Email tedk@flyvfc.om or Call 250-474-0213

Submission Request Email: thepatrician@shaw.ca

Photos, stories, letters, adventures, articles, classified ads all accepted.

big business thinking for small business Christie Hall, BPA Web Design, Graphic Design, Print Advertising 778-426-3452 info@midnightdesign.ca www.midnightdesign.ca

April 2013

711 A Broughton Street

(street level, by Victoria Public Library)

Victoria BC V8W 1E2

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www.flyvfc.com