Ottawa Flying Club to Hold 57th Annual Fly Day

By The Ottawa Flying Club

It's that time of year again! On Saturday 26 September 2015 the Ottawa Flying Club will once again host its Annual Fly Day event supporting The Rotary Club of Ottawa. Members of the public will be able to register the morning of the event to take a sightseeing tour of our beautiful city for $40 per person.

Pilots Needed!

We have about 15 planes to date but more never hurts....! Fly Day is a great opportunity to give back to the community by volunteering your time as a pilot. We are seeking as many pilots and 4 seat or larger aircraft as possible. A tax receipt will be provided to pilots for their fuel used during the event. For more detail please contact Marc Desjardins.

Volunteer opportunity!

The OFC is seeking energetic people to assist with multiple tasks during the day of the event including passenger escort and aircraft marshalling. At a minimum volunteers who will be airside require a student pilot's permit. We can still use non-pilot volunteers for other non-airside tasks! For more detail please contact Julie Marion.

The OFC has been supporting the Rotary Club of Ottawa for more than 30 years through the annual Fly Day event. The Rotary Club is a not-for-profit international organization with a mission of assisting families with physically challenged kids by providing respite care services. Over the past 10 years the OFC has helped raise more than $100,000 through the Fly Day events with 100% of the proceeds being donated to the Rotary Club of Ottawa.

Fly Day is a fun and popular way for the community to learn about the Ottawa Flying Club while doing something great for a local charity. This year's proceeds will benefit the Ottawa Rotary Home, long known for offering short-term respite care to families who have children with disabilities, and the Rotary Club of Ottawa.

Tickets

Tour tickets are $40 per person. The gates open at 0830 hrs and the first flight is at 0900 hrs.

Events

Events (apart from flying) will include:

• Ground Displays and Demonstrations
• Colouring Contest for the Kids
• Breakfast and Barbeque, and food services from our excellent Lunch Pad Café
• Information about learning to fly

For more information, please contact Margot Nichols of the Rotary Club of Ottawa at 613 860-1521

External links

• Official Fly Day website
• Ottawa Flying Club

Gatineau to Host September Air Display

Thanks to the work of Vintage Wings, Gatineau Airport will host a small airshow on Saturday, 19 September 2015.

The event is the Battle of Britain Air Show & Pub Night, taking advantage of the military aircraft that will be in town for the Battle of Britain Parade that day.

The airshow will consist of a CF-18 Hornet demonstration, at 1530 hrs, followed by the Snowbirds at 1600 hrs. There will also be static displays, followed by a twilight run-up of a Spitfire, Hurricane, Lysander and the Canadian Warplane Heritage Lancaster bomber.

The air demonstrations are open to the public, while the Vintage Wings pub night at their hangar require tickets to be purchased.

The gates open to the public at 1300 hrs.

External links

• Gatineau Airport Website
• Vintage Wings Website
• Event Website

Lancaster Airpark’s Annual Labour Day Corn Boil

The Lancaster Aero Club (COPA Flight 190) will host their Annual Labour Day Corn Boil on Monday 07 September 2015 between 1100-1400 hrs.

Everyone is invited to fly in, drive in, or bike in to the airpark!

Here are the details:

• Date: Monday 07 September 2015
• Time: 1100-1400 hrs
• Location: Lancaster Airpark (CLA6), Latitude: 45 12 00 N, Longitude: 74 21 45 W
• Runway: 07/25 2,400' grass, elevation: 145' asl.
• Note: All circuits to the north
• Frequency: Traffic: 123.2 MHz
• Food: Hot dogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob
• Prices: Adults: $8, Children under 12 free!
• Contact: Brian Russell, 613-347-7000

External links

• Lancaster Aero Club
• Lancaster Airpark on COPA's Places to Fly
• Google satellite photo

Safety Alert on Unmanned Air Vehicles

Photo by Zimin.V.G.WikiMedia Commons

by Mélanie Drouin, Manager, Canadian Aviation Regulations Advisory Council, Transport Canada

Transport Canada issued a Civil Aviation Safety Alert to remind all persons operating unmanned aircraft (model aircraft and unmanned air vehicles or UAVs), for any purpose, about the safety impacts and consequences of interfering with manned aircraft operations, including firefighting aircraft.

This summer, a number of incidents occurred in British Columbia where manned aircraft fighting forest fires were grounded due to interference from unmanned aircraft. The Canadian Aviation Regulations state that no unauthorized person shall operate an aircraft within 5 nautical miles (9km) of a forest fire or within any associated restricted airspace.

The Civil Aviation Safety Alert is also a reminder of the consequences of contravening regulations pertaining to the use of unmanned aircraft.

Please distribute the Alert or this message where appropriate.

Book Review: Lost - Unsolved Mysteries of Canadian Aviation

• Lost - Unsolved Mysteries of Canadian Aviation
• by Shirlee Smith Matheson
• Published by Frontenac House, Calgary, Alberta, 2015
• 9" X 6" soft cover
• 224 pages, including notes and sources, aircraft index, general index
• $21.95

This book, by author Shirlee Smith Matheson, was originally published in 2005 as Lost: True Stories of Canadian Aviation Tragedies. The new edition, with a new name, is more than just a reprint, it expands some stories and even completes some, when old wrecks have been located in the intervening ten years since the first version came out.

The theme that ties this collection of chapters about missing aircraft is how easy it is to completely lose an aircraft in the Canadian wildness and not just small aircraft, as some aircraft lost for years have been quite large.

The book starts with the story of Ken Leishman and his 1979 disappearance while flying a medevac in a Piper Aztec between Sandy Lake, Ontario and Thunder Bay. The charismatic Leishman literally lived a life of crime, having stolen everything from furniture to gold and carried out bank robberies, but he was caught and did jail time. He even completed several jail breaks, but it was after his debt to society had been paid and he seemed to be "going straight" that he disappeared doing a "real" job, flying for a commercial carrier. His aircraft wreck was found some five months later.

Another chapter covers the loss of Sigismund Levanevsky and the Soviet four-engined Bolkhovitinov DB-A bomber he was flying across the North Pole in 1937 as part of raising Soviet technical prestige and that was never found.

There is the story of Gavin Edkins and his Cessna 150 flight from Fort McMurray, Alberta to Red Deer in 1996 that never arrived. In that chapter author Matheson criticizes the Canadian Forces SAR team and their scientific search methods, giving a lot more credence to people's dreams about where the aircraft was and the inherent wisdom of the local bush pilots, but when given free reign none of them could locate the aircraft either and it remains lost to this day. That same chapter covers the strange story of gold miners and suspicious mine stakes, ending in the loss of a Fairchild 82, pilot Chuck McAvoy and two American geologists in 1964. That wreck was located, 39 years later, in 2003.

The author next delves into British Columbia and its habit of "collecting wrecked planes". This chapter covers the 1942 crash of a Lockheed 14-H2 Super Electra en route to Vancouver from Prince George, BC. Its ten passengers and crew of three died when it hit Mount William Knight in the Cheam Range. The aircraft was not found for eight months. Another BC wreck was an RCAF Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber that disappeared in 1945 on a training flight from Abbotsford, BC. It was found three weeks later, also in the Cheam Range. A Trans Canada Airways Canadair North Star with 66 people on board disappeared in 1956 on a flight from Vancouver. The captain declared to ATC that one of the North Star's Merlin engines had caught fire and was heading back to Vancouver when it impacted Mount Slesse, not far from the other two. It was found five months later, possibly the victim of mountain wave conditions. There had been no survivors.

Other chapters cover war hero and seasoned bush pilot Johnny Bourassa's 1951 disappearance, another wreck that was never found, plus the crash of a US Army crew and their Martin B-26 Marauder in 1942 on what was to be a ferry trip from the US through Canada to the UK. It crashed in Labrador and was noted for the fact that when it was found the captain had left a lengthy diary that detailed how the crew eventually starved to death awaiting a rescue that never came. SAR during World War Two was often non-existent. Further stories include a U-boat hunting Lockheed Hudson that has eluded location in Nova Scotia since 1943 and a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress lost in Labrador. Another chapter deals with famous hockey player Bill Barilko, who had scored the Stanley Cup winning goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1951, but who disappeared on a fishing trip with a friend just a few months later, a wreck that wasn't found for 11 years.

For her final chapter the author returns to British Columbia's "Graveyard of Lost Planes" and relates a set of stories that include a lost Convair B-36, an enormous six-engined bomber that iced up, lost three engines and jettisoned a "Fat Man" atomic bomb over BC waters in 1950, the USAF's first "Broken Arrow" incident. The crew bailed out and the bomber flew on to crash, but it was not found for three years.

Overall the book is an interesting read for all aviators. It can be a bit dramatic in places, but never gruesome. It really drives home the reality that you can never be "too prepared" to survive in the terrain that is under your route of flight, because, even with modern ELTs and SAR, some aircraft still go missing and are never found. You really want to stack the odds in your favour.

The publisher, Frontenac House, is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and also the Alberta Government's Media Development Fund.

External links

• Book's webpage
• Author's website
• Publisher's website

Embrun Fly-In 2015

The Embrun Aero Club (COPA Flight 132) will hold their fly-in breakfast on Sunday 23 August 2015, between 0800-1100 hrs at the Embrun Airport.

Everyone is welcome!

Here are the details:

• Date: Sunday 23 August 2015
• Time: 0800-1100 hrs
• Location: Embrun Aerodrome (CPR2) Latitude N: 45 14 28, Longitude W: 75 17 55
• Frequency: Traffic 123.2 MHz, within 5 nm 1320 ft ASL
• Caution: Watch the wires on short final to Runway 26, they are marked with balls but are 30 feet high.
• Price: Breakfast:
  • Youth (13 and up) and adults: $7.00
  • Children under 12: $4.00

External links

• Embrun on Places to Fly

Carleton Place Fly-In 2015

The Carleton Place Flying Club (COPA Flight 121), will hold their 16th annual fly-in BBQ event on Saturday 12 September 2015, at the Carleton Place Airport. This annual event is well-known for the large number of ultralights it attracts, especially Quad City Challengers.

Everyone is welcome but an RSVP is requested by Wednesday, 09 September to allow for food planning purposes.

Here are the details:

• Date: Saturday 12 September 2015
• Rain date: Sunday 13 September 2015
• Time:: All day, but lunch is served 1100-1400 hrs
• Location: Carleton Place Airport (CNR6), Latitude N: 45 06 14, Longitude W: 76 07 24
• Frequency: Traffic 123.2 MHz
• Caution: Low-slung wires 200 feet short of the threshold of runway 35
• Contact: 613-836-7243 or email

External links

• Carleton Place on Places to Fly

Edenvale Gathering Of The Classics

This upcoming Saturday, 08 August 2015, is the annual Edenvale Gathering Of The Classics, one of the summer's bigger fly-in events.

The event features classic and antique aircraft, including Second World War aircraft, homebuilts and ultralights. Also on display will be classic cars and motorcycles.

Here are the details:

• Date: Saturday 08 August 2015
• Rain Date: Sunday 09 August 2015
• Time: 1000-1600 hrs
• Location: Edenvale Aerodrome (CNV8), Latitude (N): 44 26 28, Longitude (W): 79 57 45
• Frequency: ATF 122.775 MHz, AWOS 123.175 MHz
• Circuits: Left hand circuits to all runways.
• Admission:
  • Adults: $10
  • Youth (10-17): $5
  • Children 9 and under: free
  • Pilots and passengers flying in: free, plus free coffee and a donut!

The Short Wing Piper Club is planning to fly-in to this event!

External links

• Edenvale Gathering of the Classics 2015 Aircraft Arrival Procedures
• Edenvale on COPA's Places To Fly
• Edenvale Aerodrome website
• Google sat photo

News from the Carleton ACE Lab

Kathleen Van Benthem, a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Carleton University Advanced Cognative Engineering Lab (ACE), who has spoken to COPA Flight 8 in the past, recently send news about the Aging Pilot Study.

The study is complete and four videos have been produced that outline the project and its results.

Van Benthem writes:

It has been a while, but I am finally finished the Cessna study at Carleton U! We were very fortunate in that SmartPilot.ca came out last fall and made some professional videos about the lab and this study (much better than our homemade ones!). You will find the videos here (no login in required).:

The four videos presented cover:

• The people of the aging pilot study
• Understanding the study
• So what? Lessons learned
• About the Lab

Van Benthem also noted that a recent Carleton article has focused on the work done at the ACE lab by several grad students, including the work of Chris Nicholson, a psychology PhD student who is interested in how flight simulator motion affects pilot training.

In that same article Van Benthem summarized the findings of the aging pilot study:

Research at the ACE lab showed that, although older pilots did show poorer results on some aspects of flight performance when compared to younger pilots, some of the effects of age were reduced by having higher levels of expertise. "This emphasizes the need for continued upgrading of skills throughout the pilot lifespan," says Van Benthem.

She also notes: "I am also happy to say that we are working on finding the funding to continue this work, and develop a GA-purposed cognitive health screening tool."

Flight 8 would like to congratulate Kathleen Van Benthem on completing the study!

Book Review: Wings Over High River

• Wings Over High River - Conversations with A. Gordon Jones - The Biography of a BCATP Pilot Instructor
• by Anne Gafiuk
• Published by The Nanton Lancaster Society, Nanton, Alberta
• Book launch 1 December 2012
• 11" X 8.5" soft cover
• 287 pages
• $47.00

This book, by freelance writer Anne Gafiuk, was an accidental project. She started off writing a story about another World War II pilot when her background research took her to the Bomber Command Museum in Nanton, Alberta. The Museum's Tink Robinson connected her with Gordon Jones, a local pilot who was an instructor with the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) during the Second World War and taught at #5 Elementary Flying Training School in nearby High River, Alberta. In interviewing Jones and his family at their home in High River in southern Alberta, Gafiuk became entranced by his story and the museum convinced her to create the book from her interviews. The museum then published the book in house. Jones was well known at the museum because he owned and flew a deHavilland Tiger Moth, a yellow one in BCATP markings and he displayed it often at the museum.

Gafiuk showed up at the Jones house for her first interview bearing a homemade lemon meringue pie and that won over hearts and minds. She came back, several times, to complete the interviews through 2011-12.

Gordon Jones was born on 12 January 1923 in Bangor, Saskatchewan, the son of Welsh pioneer settlers. Jones' father served in the infantry in the First World War and was gassed in France. He came home with shrapnel wounds. Jones himself lived through the rigours of farm life in the Great Depression and then he enlisted in the RCAF when he turned 18 in 1941. He had to redo the medical three or four times before they took him and he then reported to #2 Manning Depot in Brandon, Manitoba in May 1941. After basic training he was assigned to do guard duty as an Aircraftsman Second Class at #10 Service Flying Training School at Dauphin, Manitoba. He was next sent to #4 Initial Training School in Edmonton, where he flew the Link Trainer simulator.

Jones did his Elementary Flying Training at #5 EFTS in High River, Alberta, on Tiger Moths, where the instructors were civilians at that time. Jones arrived in Fort Macleod and #7 SFTS for his service flying training on Ansons. Billy Bishop himself pinned Jones' wings on and Jones was then promoted to Sergeant pilot. Hoping to be sent overseas, Jones was surprised to be posted to #1 FIS in Trenton for instructor training on 1 January 1942, on Harvards. He says of the 40 or so members of his course who did go overseas, only one made it home.

After instructor training Jones was posted back to #5 EFTS in High River in March, 1942 to teach pilots and was promoted to Pilot Officer and later Flying Officer. It was in High River that Jones met his future wife, Linora Randle, and he says that she taught him how to dance at Alberta country dances. In October 1943 the school converted to Cornells, but Jones never lost his admiration for the Tiger Moth. Jones and Linora Randle were married in October 1944 and it was in that month that the orders came to begin the closure of #5 EFTS as the war wound down. Jones was sent to #1 FIS Trenton and later posted to #16 SFTS in Hagersville, Ontario, where he became a testing officer, taking trainees up for flight tests. No matter how much an instructor wanted to be sent overseas, once you had some seniority in the job you were too valuable as an instructor to go.

After the war Jones went back to farming and stayed in High River the rest of his life. He owned a Piper Cherokee 235, became a member of the International Flying Farmers and a freelance instructor. For a while he owned a flying school and flew charter flights as well, including air ambulance flights. He served on the local airport commission and became the Flying Farmer representative to the COPA board. He was elected to the Municipal District of Foothills five times and became the Reeve. He had kidney cancer in 1973, but overcame it. He later traded his Cherokee for a Piper Lance and then in 1994 bought a real yellow BCATP Tiger Moth when it came up for sale. He kept the Lance as well until 2008, when he was diagnosed with cancer again, beating it again. In 2012 he was given an Award of Merit by COPA President and CEO Kevin Psutka. He kept his Tiger Moth to the end of his life, willing it to the museum.

His biography was published in late 2012 and Gordon Jones passed away on 10 September 2013, at age 90.

In many ways this isn't a classic sort of biography of a World War II pilot. Instead this is a sort of a scrap book of interview transcripts, old photos, pages from logbooks, flight test reports, that sort of thing. It's a warm and personal book and has an intimate quality to it. During the long interviews that the author did with Jones and his family, friends and wartime associates she became a part of that family and very close to her subject. The book is full of the little stories and anecdotes that made up wartime service, even here in Canada, far from the fighting, stories of low flying exploits, cross country flights, promotions, train trips and country dances held on remote prairie air bases. Overall it is a delightful read and surprisingly compelling. It is also profusely illustrated with hundreds of photos and documents.

Wings Over High River is an interesting personal story, one that most aviators would find of interest.

External links

• The book publisher's website
• The book's web-page
• Author's website

Bancroft 2015 Pancake Breakfast Fly-In

The Bancroft Flying Club (COPA Flight 119) is holding their 2015 pancake fly-in breakfast on 12 July 2015.

The event will include a display of classic automobiles. Airplane rides will also be available from WM Aeroflight at $50 per person on both 11 and 12 July.

Everyone is welcome to fly in or drive in!

Here are the details for the event:

• Date: 12 July 2015
• Time: 0800-1200 hrs
• Location: Jack Brown/Bancroft Municipal Airport (CNW3), N45 04 23 W77 52 44
• Frequency: Unicom 122.8 MHz, within 5 nm and 4100 feet ASL
• Breakfast:
  • pancakes
  • sausages
  • orange juice
  • coffee
  • real maple syrup
• Prices:
  • Adults: $6.00
  • Children (5-10) $4.00
  • Children (under 5) free
  • Families: $20.00

External links

• Club website
• Bancroft Airport on COPA's Places to Fly
• Bancroft Airport on Google Maps

Midland Fly-In 2015

The Midland Fly-In is coming up soon on 11 July 2015! The event is organized by the Midland-Huronia Chapter of the RAA and sponsored by Aircraft Spruce and Speciality.

The event includes a Transport Canada Safety Seminar at 1000 hrs.

Other highlights include an airport terminal open house and displays by Aircraft Spruce and Speciality, as well as the Midland District Model Railroad Club. Zenair will also be holding an open house and there will be displays of vintage automobiles and motorcycles.

Everyone is welcome.

Here are the details:

• Date: Saturday 11 July 2015
• Time: 0900-1500 hrs
• Location: Midland-Huronia Airport (CYEE), N44 41 05, W 79 55 46
• Frequency: Unicom 122.85 MHz
• Telephone: 705-526-8086
• Food: Lunch will be available on site

External links

• Airport website
• Midland/Huronia Airport on COPA's Places to Fly
• Midland/Huronia Airport on Google Maps

RAA Ottawa-Rideau­ Chapter 4928 Fly-In BBQ Lunch

RAA Ottawa-Rideau­ Chapter 4928 is holding its July fly-in BBQ lunch on 12 July 2015 at Kars/Rideau Valley Air Park.

Everyone is welcome to attend! Fly-in or drive-in.

Here are the event details:

• Date: Sunday 12 July 2015
• Time: Lunch served 1100-1400 hrs
• Location: Kars/Rideau Valley Air Park, Kars, Ontario (CPL3), 45°06′N 075°38′, RWY 26/08
• Radio: Traffic 123.4
• Food: BBQ

External links

• Kars/Rideau Valley Air Park on COPA Places To Fly
• Kars/Rideau Valley Air Park on Google Maps

Smiths Falls Fly-in Lunch

The Smiths Falls Flying Club, COPA Flight 100, will host a fly-in lunch on 18 July 2015, in conjunction with a Transport Canada training session.

Everyone is welcome to attend! Fly-in or drive-in.

The Transport Canada recurrency training session will start at 1300 hrs, following lunch at 1100 hrs.

Here are the event details:

• Date: Saturday 18 July 2015
• Time: Lunch starts 1100 hrs, Transport Canada recurrency training session starts 1300 hrs
• Location: Smiths Falls-Montague (Russ Beach) Airport, Smiths Falls, Ontario (CYSH)
• Radio: Unicom 122.7 Mhz within 5nm and 3400 feet ASL
• Food: The Ad Mare Seafood Truck will be at the airport. Ad Mare’s famous fish and chips or fish tacos will be served. Price will be $12. Indoor seating will be available.

External links

• Smith Falls Flying Club website
• Smith Falls on COPA Places To Fly
• Smith Falls Airport on Google Maps

Iroquois Flying Club’s 49th Annual Fly-In Breakfast

The Iroquois Flying Club will hold their 49th Annual Fly-In Breakfast on 19 July 2015 at the Iroquois Municipal Airpark and everyone is invited to fly or drive in.

Here are the details:

• Date: 19 July 2015
• Time: 0800-1130 hrs
• Location: Iroquois Municipal Airpark (CNP7)
• Frequency: Unicom 122.8 MHz
• Information: 613-657-1646
• Menu: Eggs, Ham, Baked Beans, Roll, Coffee and Juice.
• Price: $6.00, Children 6 and under $3.00
• Note: There is a separate breakfast line for pilots and their passengers

Canada Day Fly-In 2015

by Brenda Reid

On 01 July 2015 Canada Day, The Rockcliffe Flying Club will host its Annual Fly-In Breakfast from 0730-1100 hrs. Cost for breakfast is $6.00/per person. This year we are serving pancakes and sausages, baked beans, rolls, coffee, tea and juice. We will be serving bacon and eggs for those who prefer the traditional RFC breakfast.

Sightseeing flights in a Cessna 172 will be available from 0930-1630 for $35/per person. Registration is based at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum. The flights will be based at the RFC. The customers will be shuttled back and forth from the Museum to the RFC.

If you have any questions you can contact Brenda Reid or call 613-746-4425.

External links

• Club announcement

Book Review: Air Canada - The History

• Air Canada - The History
• by Peter Pigott
• Published by Dundurn Press, Toronto, Ontario, 1 March 2014
• 10" X 7" soft cover, also available in PDF and ePub digital formats
• 328 pages, including notes, further reading and index
• $35.00 in hard copy and PDF, $16.99 in ePub

Peter Pigott's recently published history of Air Canada is surprisingly readable, and while not as gripping as a mystery story whose ending is unknown, this book will keep you reading right to the end.

Pigott has researched his subject well from original sources, archives, interviews and papers and presents it in chronological fashion, starting from the formation of Trans Canada Airlines in 1937. Not a commercial enterprise when it was conceived, the fledgling national air carrier was created as a part of Canadian National Railway and as a policy instrument to establish something that Canada lacked, a national airline. In those days there were lots of small air carriers, but none provided more than local service; no one was flying passengers or freight coast to coast.

It had actually been the short-lived Conservative government under RB Bennett that started the construction of a national series of airfields and navigation facilities as a Great Depression relief effort, to provide work for unemployed men. The Trans Canada Airway was inherited by the Liberal Mackenzie King government in 1935, almost complete. All it lacked was an air service to use it. TCA was born as a result and given a monopoly on the airway. It was to be a "social instrument - an essential service like the provincially owned electricity companies or the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, designed to bind the country together...." The first minister responsible was the irrepressible CD Howe. The first flight was flown from Vancouver airport in a Lockheed 10A Electra to Seattle, on 1 September 1937.

The airline went on to fly a wide variety of aircraft including the Avro Lancastrian, Canadair North Star, Vickers Vanguard and Viscount and the jets, the Douglas DC-8 and DC-9, the Lockheed L-1011, the Boeing 747 and 727 and the Airbus A320, A340 and A319.

Pigott goes on to detail the airline's life in a good level of detail, including the decisions made in the executive suite, the political interference suffered, the aircraft purchased and sold, the organization, uniforms, the strikes and other challenges. Much of the tale is told with the spectre of privatization hanging over the whole endeavour, something wholeheartedly supported by most of the leadership over the years and only completely achieved in July 1989.

The author divides the story up by company president, with chapters on the years dominated by Gordon McGregor, Yves Pratte, Claude Taylor, Pierre Jeanniot, and finally the Americans, Hollis Harris, Lamar Durrett and Robert Milton. The book ends in 2002, leaving the newer tales for a future volume.

Pigott includes pretty much everything, the crashes (including the "Gimli Glider" incident), the national and regional politics and the politics of routes, the early computer reservation systems, finances, cabotage and rights granted, competition with Canadian Pacific, Pacific Western, Wardair and WestJet, customer complaints about poor service, the takeover of the ailing Canadian Airlines, even the "Airbus Scandal" of the Mulroney years. The book is illustrated with many photos of the aircraft, the designer uniforms, aircraft paint schemes and the key people involved. He also covers the regional and budget air services Air Canada started: Air Canada Connector, Jazz, Tango, Zip and even AeroPlan, the customer loyalty "points" system. Even though he shows obvious keen interest in the subject, Pigott is a consummate historian and the reader never feels like this is a "fan" work, but always a passionate, but unbiased history.

I have to admit when I picked this book up I thought, "how interesting can a history of Air Canada really be?" But the author tells a story worth relating and he makes it engaging, if not gripping. I think this is a book that anyone interested in aviation or just general Canadian history will enjoy and find hard to put down.

The book's publisher, Dundurn Press of Toronto, is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.

External links

• The book publisher's website
• The book's web-page

COPA Announces New President & CEO

By Trekker Armstrong, Chairman, Canadian Owners and Pilots Association

June 15, 2015

COPA’s Board of Directors today announced that Mr. Bernard Gervais has been appointed as the next President and CEO of the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association. He will officially begin his term on July 1st, 2015.

The Succession Committee of the COPA Board, went through a structured and disciplined recruitment process and was fortunate to have attracted numerous qualified applicants. We wish to thank and acknowledge those applicants who sought to contribute to the success of the Association.

Mr. Gervais is the Past Chairman of the Board of the APBQ (The Quebec Aviators and Bush Pilots Association) and is an outspoken advocate for personal aviation. He has actively collaborated with Transport Canada, NAV CANADA and Community stakeholders on numerous cases. Mr. Gervais has been instrumental in organizing air rallies and provincial air tours to promote general aviation and flight safety. He holds a Private Pilot’s license with a Night and Seaplane endorsement. He flies a 2008 Maule MX-7 on wheels, floats and skis.

As President and CEO, Mr. Gervais’ duties and responsibilities are wide ranging. Mr. Gervais will be responsible for providing valuable membership services, contributing to the corporate strategy and business plan, leading and integrating corporate goals and deliverables, while influencing government bodies. He will be the liaison and primary contact person for entities such as Transport Canada, NAV CANADA, other Canadian Aviation Associations, AOPA and EAA, as well as US and Canadian border agencies. Mr. Gervais will work with the COPA Board regarding corporate governance, while leading and managing a small team of dedicated professionals at COPA's national office in Ottawa.

Mr. Gervais will attend COPA’s Annual General Meeting on Saturday, June the 20 th at St. Andrews Airport (CYAV) in Manitoba. He welcomes the opportunity to meet with COPA members and with others in the broader aviation community.

External links

• Video address by Mr. Gervais
• Official announcement
• Article on AVweb

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Fly-in - 09 August 2015

The L'Association des Pilotes et Propriétaires de Hangar de St-Jean-sur-Richelieu (COPA Flight 160) are holding their 11th annual fly-in on Sunday 09 August 2015 and everyone is invited to come!

The event features free hotdogs, corn on the cob and soft drinks plus a one day pass for all pilots and passengers to the International Hot-Air Balloon Festival which is held at the same time and place.

Pilots can check for NOTAMs on the club web site for last minute updates.

Details

• Location: St-Jean Airport (CYJN)
• Date: Sunday, 09 August 2015
• Time: All day, except runways closed 1800-1900 hrs for balloons
• Frequencies: Tower 118.2 MHz, Ground 121.7 MHz
• Contact: Nicole Legault

External links

• L'Association des Pilotes et Propriétaires de Hangar de St-Jean-sur-Richelieu web site

COPA Annual General Meeting Coming Up

By COPA HQ

Join COPA in Winnipeg on 20 June 2015, at our Annual General Meeting. A host of activities are planned in connection with the COPA business session. Friday evening there will be a barbeque meet and greet at Lyncrest Airport and participants will be able to take part in a progressive fly-out dinner on Saturday. Tours are being arranged to visit Nav Canada's Area Control Centre, CYAV Tower, Canadian Propeller, AeroRecip,the Western Canada Aviation Museum, the Museum for Human Rights and the Polar Bear Exhibit at the Winnipeg Zoo.

For more information and to register visit www.copawinnipeg2015.ca.

See you in Winnipeg!