T he P atrician
“T
BOARD
PRESIDENT VICE
SECRETARY
TREASURER
DIRECTORS
Glen
Don
GENERAL
NEWS Around the Club
FROM THE EDITOR:
Welcome to summer!
I hope everyone at the Victoria Flying Club had an amazing Canada Day weekend. This summer's weather has been a bit more temperate than usual, but I don't hear anyone complaining. With luck, you'll all be able to get out and enjoy our beautiful island and take to the skies.
Speaking of getting out there: the Patrician is looking for enterprising photographers and writers to submit coverage of any air shows that they attend over the next couple of months! The Abbotsford Airshow, in particular, would make a fantastic feature for our next issue and I would love to put your photography on our cover!
Send anything you come up with to me: vfcpatrician@gmail.com and I'll get back to you ASAP.
Until next time!
—Kelly, Editor of the Patrician
EVENTS & HOLIDAYS
JULY 1 CANADA DAY
JULY 5 SATURDAY/COFFEE & DONUTS
JULY 19 BOUNDARY BAY AIRSHOW
AUG 4 BC DAY
AUG 8-10 ABBOTSFORD AIRSHOW
SEPT 1 LABOUR DAY
SEPT 30 NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION
Did we leave any events out? Let us know at vfcpatrician@gmail.com!
AIR CANADA RELEASES A SPECIAL CANADA DAY VIDEO ON YOUTUBE
Air Canada released a special Canada Day video over on their YouTube channel this week. If you'd like to see it, head over to : https://youtu.be/P7yBuvixXx4
COULSON AVIATION CONTRACTED BY BC WILDFIRE SERVICES
According to an article on aviationpros.com:
" Coulson Aviation Canada has been awarded and started a 70-day contract by the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) to provide one of its Sikorsky S-61 Type 1 helitankers equipped for Night Vision Goggle (NVG) operations... This partnership marks the first time Coulson will conduct live-fire NVG aerial firefighting missions on Canadian soil."
The article also mentions that: "The NVGequipped S-61 helitanker is capable of delivering precise water drops in low-light conditions. The partnership with BCWS will blend Coulson’s international NVG experience with local expertise."
Seeing as BC can use all the help we can get with wildfires, this is pretty cool stuff!
“I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things.” –Antoine de Saint-Exupery
GROUND SCHOOL SCHEDULE
PRIVATE PILOT LICENCE GROUND SCHOOL
PPL #25-04: MAY 5, 2025 TO JULY 20, 2025
Sundays (09:00 - 16:00)
Instructor: Neil Keating (Zoom attendance possible by arrangement)
PPL #25-10: AUGUST 10, 2025 TO OCTOBER 26, 2025
Sundays (09:00 - 16:00)
Instructor: Neil Keating (Zoom attendance possible by arrangement)
COMMERCIAL PILOT LICENCE GROUND SCHOOL
CPL: APRIL 5, 2025 TO AUGUST 2, 2025
Saturdays (09:00 - 16:00)
Instructor: Ken Kosik, Ben Holden, and Neil Keating
MOUNTAIN AWARENESS TRAINING GROUND SCHOOL
MTA: JULY 9TH, 2025
Wednesday (09:00 - 16:00)
OTHER DATES AS REQUIRED OR REQUESTED.
Individual scheduling requests are available for Private Pilot Licence, Commercial Pilot Licence, Mountain Awareness Training (MTA), Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (Drone) Courses (RPAS) by request.
Individual tutoring is also available for PPL and CPL upon request.
Confirm your attendance with Neil Keating on cell at 204-291-9667 and VFC Operations (Russell) at 250-656-2833.
VFC PRESIDENT RESIGNS
A Note From Your (Former) President,
On June 18th, 2025, after a dozen weeks on the job, I stepped down from the Board of Directors and tendered my resignation as VFC President & CEO. On one hand, it was a difficult decision...on the other hand, an easy one.
Let me start by saying this decision is completely about me. It is NOT about the Victoria Flying Club or any one of its members, staff, management or board of directors. My resignation stems from my personal assessment of what VFC needs versus what I can offer in a leadership role. One might well ask why this decision was not taken prior to accepting the position. Unfortunately, I could not make that judgement without taking the time and doing the research: I've volunteered hundreds of hours over the past 3 months in order to carefully and thoughtfully make that assessment. The conclusion I reached is very simpleAt this moment in time, at this juncture in my life and in the present economic climate...Laurie Ingalls is not the right person to provide requisite leadership at Victoria Flying Club.
That's it! There's is nothing worthy of rumour and innuendo, there are no ghosts in the closet and no conspiracy or backroom politicking. It's my judgement reached after careful reflection and thoughtful consideration. I'm honoured to have been asked; I'm grateful for the experience and I'm excited for the future of our Victoria Flying Club. My intent is to assist in the transition to a new President and to continue with full participation as a contributing and sustaining member of our Club.
If I was to add one personal footnote, my decision, in a small way, has to do with how little flying I've done lately! My hope is to get back in the air this summer. I look forward to seeing many of you around the Club in the days ahead.
Blue skies and tailwinds,
Laurie Ingalls
FIRST SOLOS
"Without disruption of air traffic, these fearless, forthright, indomitable and courageous individuals did venture into the wild blue yonder in flying machines.
Furthermore, these skillful individuals did safely land said flying machines at Victoria International Airport, incurring no significant damage to self or machine, thus completing first solo flights."
THIS ISSUE WE CELEBRATE THE FIRST SOLOS OF THESE PILOTS:
Julian McLachlan
Alonso Alexander Cabrnoch
Graysen Vistisen-Harwood
Nicholas Finnerty
Victoria Wood
Jonathan Watkins Garcia
Callum Stewart
Gen Kiffiak
Hugo Bandringa
Ryan Sutton
Matthew Carrington
Chase Meckbach
Anson Deng
We want your first solo or achievement in the Patrician! Send your photos to vfcpatrician@gmail.com or tag us on Instagram!
Cole Patterson's first solo!
MEMBER ACHIEVEMENTS
PPL WRITTEN TEST
Robert Innes
Dominik Opatril
Cale Sterloff
Fannuel Nsingo
PPL FLIGHT TEST
Aya Hammond
Aaron Jones
Madison Porter
Jacob Ross
Heather Blanchette
Joshua Nelson
GROUP 3 INSTRUMENT RATING
Brent Yager
CPL FLIGHT TEST
Roy Ledwosinski
Hayden Lafrance
Francesca Klim
CPL WRITTEN EXAM
Robert Innes
Dominic Neilson
Oscar Morrison
Trevor Birrell
Tristan Goddard
MULT-ENGINE RATING
Melissa Lacharity
CLASS 4 INSTRUCTOR RATING
Samuel Godsell
VFC MENTOR PROGRAM
Do you want other pilots to fly with, split flight cost, share knowledge, or get help getting to a new airport for the first time? Find potential mentors and their resumes posted on the Mentors bulletin board beside the Dispatch counter. Contact details are on each mentor's resume or you can email mentors@flyvfc.com for more information.
Interested in becoming a mentor? There's always room for more experienced pilots! Send an email to mentors@flyvfc.com for more information on how to join up!
WELCOME NEW VFC MEMBERS
William Neufeld
Maximilian Powell
Besar Cela
Dany Laliberte
Angela Kershaw
Conor Thompson
Anthony Tran
Austin Ferguson
Keagan Wingerter
Matthew Evans
Ian Walker
Cody Shankland
Pavly Youssef
Christopher Tetley
Amary Sinda
Fraser Tuck
Stefan O'Halloran
Liam Mayes
Scott Robertson
Behrouz Alizadeh
Bryce Andrews
Ethan Stewner
Ashley Rothman
Chad Grice
Barry Fisk
Leonard Freund
Eric Hodge
Levi Kamikawaji
Kynan Pearce
Gernot Kramer
Peter Lythall
Evan Freeth
Melanie Ronaldson
Joseph Holt
Sean Brenton
Lisa Daigneault
Sheldon Nordell
Maxwell Christoff
Allison Fisher
Dominique Lassonde
Connor Parry
Alex Holliday
Yu Zhang
Adam Maloney
THE PROFESSIONAL PILOT
by David Gagliardi
“‘Professionalism’ is commonly understood as an individual’s adherence to a set of standards, code of conduct or collection of qualities that characterize accepted practice within a particular area of activity.” -Universities UK et al. 2004
INCREASING FLYING SKILL & COMPETENCIES
Professional pilots embody the attributes in the definition above. Being a professional pilot has nothing to do with what license you hold, it is ultimately about the attitude with which you approach flying. This article is the twelfth in a series that will examine aspects of piloting light aircraft to a professional standard.
Looking back on your 10 last flights; did you have 10 flights or 1 flight 10 times ? I see some recreational pilots getting into a flying rut. Professional pilots look for ways to stretch their skills. This article will be the first part of a two part series looking at ways recreational pilots can increase their skills and competencies in ways that
will benefit all of their flying, not just the next flight. There are two main ways that pilots can stretch themselves, training or new experiences.
For a Private Pilot that training encompasses new ratings and what I will informally group as organized experience training.
A Private Pilots first rating after they get their license and have flown a bit should be the night rating. The extra instrument training will build your aircraft control skills for all flights and better prepare you to survive an accidental encounter with IMC conditions at any time. Similarly, the greatly reduced lack of visual cues
that is inherent in night flight will also prepare you to manage reduced visibility during the day as well as expose you to more training in pilot decision making. Finally, of course you won’t have to sweat getting back before grounding time during those short winter days.
The pilots first experiences training after the license should be a mountain checkout. As a practical consideration there are not many places you can fly to from Victoria that don’t have at least part of the flight transiting mountainous terrain. This course allows you to safely explore much more of our beautiful province and since the cornerstone of mountain flying training is Pilot Decision Making you will again learn and practice skills that are valuable for revery flight.
Next on the list of experiences is Expanded Envelope Exercises. This
program of 3 to 4 flights taught by a senior VFC instructor will safely expose you to the edges of the Cessna 172 flight envelope. I have found this is a great confidence builder especially for newer pilots as you will see that you can recognize and recover from inadvertent upsets and improve your overall airplane control skills.
The final skill to master is a short field landing at an actual short runway. Yes, you did short field landing training for your license but doing a short field landing on an 8000 foot runway is not the same as a real short field. To experience that for real I recommend a dual training flight to Courtney Airpark. It is a good cross country review, requires you to navigate the airspace around Comox airport and will give you the experience of landing on an actual short runway.
At this point you can put the above
training to use by going places. Tofino, Gilles Bay, and Powell River are all an hour of flying or less and are interesting places to explore when you get there. Alert Bay, Penticton, Oliver and Nelson are further away but have beautiful scenery and the airport is next to the towns.
At this point you are probably wishing for a bit faster airplane than the trusty Cessna 172. Getting checked out in the VFC Piper Arrow gives you 30% more speed and an introduction to the discipline required to fly a complex airplane.
It can be intimidating getting out of you comfort zone, even for experienced pilots but you will be rewarded with skills and knowledge that will make every flight better. As many of you know I fly a Nanchang and am the Instructor Pilot and Flight Lead for “Yak Flight” our local formation flying group. I have hundreds of hours flying formation in my airplane in the local area. However, I make a point of attending the annual formation flying clinic in Porterville California where I volunteer as an Instructor Pilot.
I just got back from this year’s event where I flew almost 11 hours over 3 days. I flew in 4 different kinds of airplanes with 5 different students in an area I only see once a year. Was I a bit uncomfortable on some of those flights in a strange airplane with a pilot I had never met before ? You bet, but it forced me to use all my skills and knowledge and just like last year I left the better for the experience.
Finally, VFC will hopefully soon announce the addition of an aerobatic trainer to the fleet. This will allow VFC to offer full Upset Recognition and Recovery training and a Basic Aerobatic course. As an Aerobatic Instructor and Examiner, I am admittedly biased, but I really believe you are not a complete pilot until you can fly the basic aerobatic maneuvers.
How Can I Prepare for My Transport Canada Aviation Medical?
Walter Salmaniw MD CD CAM
As the VFC CAME (Civil Aviation Medical Examiner), it seemed to me to be a good idea to review the process of your Aviation medical (usually CAT 1 for those going the commercial route, or CAT 3 for the private pilot), and how you can best prepare for your appointment.
First, please accurately record the appointment date and time. I’m writing this now since a father and daughter duo, who had booked back to back medicals, thought it was for tomorrow! That’s an hour of my time not available for other pilots because of an administrative error! I would also ask that you confirm all medicals with dispatch a day or two beforehand. That
certainly helps us avoid hiccups and for a smoother experience for both the CAME and the pilot or pilot to be! How should you prepare for the medical? First, bring with you your pilot license booklet (the passport sized blue document, or occasionally the old paper document sheet) along with hours flown in the past year, and total hours flown. For first-timers, I’ll need some form of ID (usually a driver’s license or passport). Before the medical, please avoid caffeine, as it might raise your BP, for a couple of hours beforehand. Next, come to the medical with something in your bladder, as you must submit a urine sample which I check for any signs of kidney disease, diabetes, or kidney stones.
Your medical history is very important. I do not have access to your last medical(s), so come prepared with your history (lifetime) of all medical events, surgeries, and dates. It’s also critical that you have a list of your medications and supplements used during the past year. A typed or handwritten list is great. Please don’t assume that I know the name and dosage of that, “oval orange pill”. If you have an existing medical issue that TC knows about and wants regular follow-up, it’s helpful to have the reports/tests from your physician or specialist with you, so that I can review them and upload them to TC.
Know when additional tests are required: ECG (electrocardiograms) are required on the first assessment for CAT 1 (and CAT 2…mainly for ATCs) medicals, then every 2 years from age 30, and yearly from age 40. For CAT 3 medicals, an ECG is required at age 40, then every 4 years thereafter. It is useful to bring a copy of these to the medical. You can have your Family Physician or NP order these before the medical. I’ll get the results within 24 hours if my name is on the requisition (Dr Walter Salmaniw MSP 8300). Otherwise, bring in a copy, and I’ll upload it to TC after your exam. The cost from LifeLabs for the ECG is about $67. MSP will pick up the tab if there is a medical indication only.
Audiograms are required on the first medical for CAT 1 and 2, then for all categories at age 55. Again, please bring a copy of a recent audiogram. I’ve had excellent service from HearingLife in the Royal Oak Plaza, 4500 West Saanich Road. Their number is 250590-6569. They charge $50 for this, which is about the lowest I’ve seen in town. They will scan and send me a copy.
If you have a BP history, it’s always useful to bring a list of recent BPs. If you have a history of Obstructive Sleep Apnea, then TC requires a CPAP
compliance report from the last 30 days. Please print it from your CPAP app, and bring it along.
Diabetics, and cardiac patients are usually are well aware of what TC requires, as they will be instructed by TC what is required on a yearly basis. Don’t forget to bring along whatever TC has previously instructed you to have done (like yearly Exercise treadmill tests, regular labwork, etc).
On the day of your appointment (don’t forget to confirm a day or two, or more, ahead of time with Dispatch!). Arrive
wearing loose fitting clothing. We’ll spend a lot of time reviewing your medical history, as well as changes to contact details (address, phone and email addresses). The latter is critical as TC has to have a way of contacting you if they require additional information. Try and arrive a few minutes ahead of time in order for you to provide the required urine sample. I place the cups in the room upstairs, opposite to my office, so take one, go downstairs and collect the urine sample. You can then carefully bring it back upstairs and wait in the room opposite until your turn comes up. It’s best to try and provide about 1/3 of a cup of urine. That’s plenty for the dipstick I use for testing.
If your wear glasses or contacts, glasses are preferred, as I need to measure your visual acuity both with and without glasses. Contacts are, of course, more difficult to remove, and I’ve had at least one instance where the contact was lost while the pilot was taking it out!
It’s important to understand that I do not have immediate access to previous medicals, and certainly no access to your family physician’s records. There’s no such thing, unfortunately, as a “Universal Health Record” (yet) in Canada. The questioning may sound
repetitive, but they are important. If TC knows a previous medical event fully (like a previous concussion, serious illness, or myocardial infarction), a brief summary is fine. I’ll comment in the records that TC is aware.
The physical examination, itself, is quite straight forward. Your height and weight (all metric) is measured, so you’ll remove footwear and hats and heavier clothing. You will not need to disrobe. Your BP will be measured (and sometimes several times). I’ll perform some screening examinations for hearing and vision. A lot of time is spent reviewing your eyesight, naturally,
including close and distance vision, as well as colour vision testing, so please have your glasses in your pocket and ready for the examination. I’ll quickly examine your heart and lungs, then abdomen and joints, and skin and neurological examination if required. Remember, TC is looking for anything that might impede your ability to safely operate an aircraft, and especially risks of sudden occurrences in the air.
Once all the information is recorded, the medical will be “in limbo” if I’m
awaiting further reports. Usually this will be an ECG and/or audiogram. The sooner you get these done, the sooner I can upload everything to TC. Normally, I aim at getting everything uploaded within 2 weeks of your inperson medical. It helps to do these promptly, and keeps me from having to track your down for status reports on the outstanding tests, or from my submitting an incomplete medical (which I will do if I don’t hear back from you). If I have everything, then I can
submit immediately to TC. Remember, one of the steps is the attestation that you confirm that all the information submitted is truthful and honest. TC does take this very seriously, and it could have life-long consequences if you are not totally forthcoming with all medical details! TC wants you to become or continue to be a pilot, as long as it’s safe to do so. For perhaps 25% of my applicants, TC will ask for more details. The letter is emailed to you (or is available via a portal that is shared with you by TC). I also receive a copy of the letters, so I’m kept in the loop. I highly advise you to print the letter out and carefully read it and to answer every question fully. It’s best to take the copy to any treating practitioners so that they know what TC is looking for. If all the questions are not answered, the entire process stops until they get what is required. You then have the option of either sending everything to me for uploading to TC, or doing that directly from the practitioner’s office.
Once TC has all the documentation, I have no “insider” information about timeframes, decisions, etc. My role is to gather all the information, perform the exam, and submit to TC. The next step is with the RAMO (Regional Aviation Medical Officer) in Vancouver,
and sometimes beyond for the more complex cases. Be patient. You can look at the process and submit a query on-line with Transport Canada. I will have to check with the Club if they have the link, as I was unable to find it when I searched on-line recently. I have access to those letters in a different way, when I sign-on to the CAME site.
If everything is complete at the end of the medical, then I’ll stamp and sign your TC pilot booklet. If so, then you are good to go. For student pilots, I’ll inform you whether there’ll be any likely issues, and whether it’s safe to continue with ground school and flying with an instructor. For everyone, I’ll be absolutely upfront with my assessment and what I **think** TC will say. Sometimes, TC will issue something that I wasn’t expecting. Thankfully, that’s a rare occurrence. Good luck to each and every one of you, and I look forward to performing your next Aviation Medical.
A SHORT HOP
by Katrina McGie
Editor's note: this article was originally published in the July 2022 issue of the Patrician.
Flying to rescue an animal isn't a new thing. People have been doing it for ages! Since I started working the Dispatch desk, I've seen cats, dogs, and even — not a word of a lie —150 turkeys. You try packing 150 turkeys into a Cessna 172 and tell me how that goes for you.
But that's not what this is
about. Something I hadn't seen come through the doors of the Flying Club is much more exotic, much stranger, and you've seen them absolutely everywhere. Bunnies. Weird, unique, bunnies. Bunny owners are like pilots. You'll always know when you're in the room with one because they'll
You try packing 150 turkeys into a Cessna 172 and tell me how that goes for you.
inevitably tell you that they have a bunny. Or two.
I volunteer with a local rabbit rescue: Amy's Bunny Barn. The person who runs it is completely devoted to bunnies and her entire house is jam packed with them. She rescues them, nurses them to health, and raises the babies when the inevitably pregnant females get surrendered. She wants to help every-bun, but sometimes even the most powerful heroes need a helping hand.
That brings us to Poppy, a beautiful little Netherland Dwarf bunny that had a traumatic upbringing in Comox. She was raised in a tiny cage not even big enough for a hamster. She had been put up for free online — effectively abandoned. A nice person saw her online and scooped her up, contacting Amy about her.
MEET POPPY
The call went out: Poppy the bun needed transport from Comox to Sooke. A tall order for most, with 6 hours of driving round trip with today's gas prices. I had done a few rescues for Amy before, and everyone knows I have a major soft spot for these weird creatures, and even have one particularly moody and antisocial example of a rabbit that I adopted from Amy myself.
I had a plane booked for a Sunday flight to see my brother in Qualicum already. I wanted to have lunch with him and take him for his first ever flight with me!
I hadn't heard anything from Amy or the person with the bunny, but planned a flight to Courtenay anyways.
Once we were in Qualicum, I got the call. The bun was ready. I asked them if they could meet me at the Airpark. They questioned it a little, asking if I wanted to meet somewhere more convenient instead. They asked where I was coming from and I said 'Qualicum.
If you're able to meet me at the airport, I'll see you in 20 minutes.' Again the question of meeting up and a reminder of the time it takes to drive from Qualicum to Courtenay.
'Don't worry,' I said. 'I'm flying in.' I told them the identity of the plane that would be pulling onto the ramp, and asked them to meet by the airside gate.
My brother and I
hopped into the plane and off we went. After a quick trip at 2,500ft up the coast and a smooth landing on runway 31, we taxied in and parked in front of the lounge.
They were waiting with the bun in their van. We had quickly discussed how to transport the little angel while on the ramp in Qualicum, and settled on a cardboard box as the enclosure she had been put in after being rescued was too big for the little Cessna. With a few tears, Poppy was released into our custody for the flight to her new home. We popped her into the backseat and buckled her box in tight.
We made a quick stop back in Qualicum to drop my brother off after his very
Buckled in tight
successful first flight, and had a quick check in on Poppy. She was alert, but visibly nervous.
I'm not sure how much she really enjoyed flying, to be honest. Rabbits can't communicate like a dog or cat when they're upset or stressed, and body language is important. But she would be home a lot safer and quicker this way.
All told, the trip to Qualicum, up to Courtenay, back to Qualicum, and then home to Victoria took less airtime than driving from Victoria to Qualicum would have taken one way.
And then Poppy was in Victoria! After talking with
Amy, we both figured that it'd be easiest for everyone if I took her in for the night at my house, then brought her to Sooke the following day when I was doing another bunny transport anyways.
My own bunny, Vincent, was less than excited to have another rabbit in the house, but was nonetheless curious about her. She was safe in my home and I gave her free roam of the house while Vincent was kept separate.
Her body language loudly exclaimed that she was happy, and free. She never had to see a little cage ever again, and her adorable little happy jumps, called binkies, showed it. The next day, she went off to the Bunny Barn
to get a vet checkup and find a forever home. I don't think she'll have any troubles winning someone over. She already has my heart. One afternoon was all it took to save an animals life. I know other people have rescued animals with Club planes before, but I think this was the first rescue bun we've had come through the Club doors. I want to talk to other people who have done rescues, as I would love to do more.
As I write this, I have a little bunny on my lap that desperately wants a banana, so I should probably attend to that.
THANKS FOR THE SHARE!
SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO TAGGED US ON
INSTAGRAM!
From top, left to right: @keanu.mcgill: "Weeknights"; @pilot_laura: "Back in a few. Oh hi! Just hanging out learning about the F18. Thanks for dropping in @rcaf_arc!"; @yyjacksjets: "Big yellow flying boat at YYJ… PBY-5A Cansoe in its original livery when it first arrived in Victoria 14 years ago! She’s still around, painted in her wartime colours."; @ flyboy_dane: "Me and my bird, happy Friday"; @ylw_planespotter: "Pacific Coastal Airlines Saab 340B YYJ->YLW"; @ grants_aviation: "Back in BC for the week, what better place to fly than Tofino?" // Thanks for the share!
