Aviation Dinner well supported...

Kudos to Dave and Lois Tisdale for another excellent Kingston Aviation Dinner. Hosted, as tradition dictates, at the Italo-Canadian Club, where guests enjoy the warmest of hospitality and a delicious meal, the event passed very smoothly. An interesting slide show, prepared by Mike Tisdale, opened the evening. The meal, which offered Turkey or Roast Beef, was first class. After dinner, the usual insights into the 'state of the industry' were delivered by various speakers. Notable amongst these, was the National President and CEO of the Canadian Owners' and Pilots' Association, Kevin Psutka, whose brief address was a model of brevity and clarity. For the record books, one hundred guests attended the Dinner this year.

The after dinner address, by retired Canadian Navy Lt Col D. Glenn Cook gave an interesting first-hand glimpse, from the operational perspective of a Sea King pilot on scene at the time, into the Cuban Missile Crisis. Glenn revealed much about the preamble to the crisis, including privileged information culled from later discussions with Russian submarine commanders by American naval staff studying the period.

Club members interested in aviation history may like to note two upcoming events. On December 30th, in the afternoon, a talk at the Aviation Museum in Ottawa, and in mid January, the Kingston chapter of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society will be meeting. Details will be published here when they are available.

Club Newsletter (DRAFT) up for consideration..

An initiative to produce an occasional newsletter for the Club has resulted in the posting of a mock-up on the Club website in time for the annual Aviation Dinner this coming Saturday. Everyone's encouraged to have a look and let us have comments (on this weblog will do fine..)

We'd be particularly interested to know if there are areas of interest you'd like to see addressed in a newsletter. For example; aviation book reviews, articles about aircraft types, local aviation history and so on. The choice is yours...

Ground School in full swing..

This season's ground school has been underway for several weeks. Last night, Al Baldry introduced the class to flight preparations for a cross country trip as part of his navigation component. Completion of the ground school is a key element of the full package of requirements for certification as a pilot. The Club is fortunate to have very experienced instructors who are willing to give their time and share their knowledge with those who seek to become pilots. Al is one of many Club members who provide instruction on the various essential areas of study.

Early Aviation History described..

Members interested in learning the origins of the Royal Canadian Air Force, and much else besides that relates to Canadian Aviation History, will likely enjoy a book by C.W. Hunt - Dancing in the Sky, the Royal Flying Corps in Canada. Hunt is a Belleville man with 6 earlier books on Canadian history under his belt. Dancing in the Sky tells a tale in which any Canadian can take great pride. Excellent research, the use of contemporary accounts and the rich range of local stories make this a great read for any Club member. Highly recommended and available from Amazon and other good booksellers.

Ice Pilots..? Yes, really !

If you aren't already aware, check out the information online relating to the new History Channel reality series about Buffalo Airways, a company flying a mix of DC-3, DC-4 and C-46 cargo planes around the North West Territories. There will be 13 episodes, so if you missed the first one, which introduced the owning McBryan family and key aircrew and other figures, there's lots more to come. Before you bemoan the business of using the Herman Nelson to pre-warm our aircraft and the check for icing in Winter time, watch these guys clean a cargo aircraft of snow, balancing on a slippery wing 15 feet off the ground. The adventure starts long before they leave the ground. Conversations among members who saw episode 1 suggest that everyone with an interest in aviation will love this series and its characters. This link will take you to the History Channel's page describing the series and providing the schedule.

Club Pilot supports TV Coverage of Napanee Solar Farm

The Club's involvement with the media in its 80th year is not always obvious. This week, Sushee, one of our charter pilots, took a news crew from Global TV in Toronto on a trip to observe and record the massive solar farm near Napanee. If you haven't heard about this project, here's a link to an October Reuters News article. This is a major undertaking of some importance.

The results of the filming will be on air on Sunday, November 8th on the Global News (Cogeco Channels 3 / 715) on their evening news bulletins at 6 and 11 pm.

Vintage Aircraft has an outing...

This morning, Mark, who has authorization to fly the Tiger Moth kept at the Club, decided to take it up for a few circuits. Dave was a very happy passenger. The only drawback to flying this lovely machine is the open cockpit. After a while in the air at this time of year, just below the cloud base (somewhere between 2 and 3 thousand feet today), the portions of the face that are unprotected become extremely cold, Mark reported, and significantly reduce the pleasure to be extracted from flying the biplane. But this is a pilot who's been seen to take the old kite up in mid Winter, with snow on the ground and frost in the air. Expect to see the familiar silhouette of the Moth in Kingston's skies again before long.

A Picture speaks a thousand words...

The picture of Kaitlyn is telling everyone that she's thrilled to have her flight test and other obstacles to certification behind her. Matt, her very proud instructor, had been trying to catch up with Kaitlyn for a picture ever since she passed her Flight Test on October 18th. Today, he finally did so - in flying conditions that were absolutely great. Can you tell it's just a little cold though - check out Kaitlyn's mittens.

Matt is still trying to get his trio of successful pilots, Kaitlyn, Steve and Scott, together for a group picture. Recording their achievement over the same weekend would be quite something.

Veteran pilot takes to the air..

I had the privilege this morning of taking an aviator back into the air, who saw his first flying, in postwar Germany, in the 1950s. Hans spent more than 400 recreational hours in a variety of aircraft, including Tiger Moths, the J-3 Cub and the very British Auster, which he didn't like at all. His last flight at the controls was in 1963, but this morning, as a treat from his son-in-law, he sat in the right-hand seat and enjoyed the sensation of flight in a light aircraft again - in near perfect conditions. His delight at the experience is evident...

By the way, we showed him our resident Moth, which he remarked differed only a little from the ones he'd flown in that it has a tail wheel rather than a skid.