Captain's Message

The South River Airport is celebrating its 90th Anniversary of operations on 08-09 July 2023. This airport was part of the original Trans Canada Airway Network and was instrumental in the origins of commercial aviation in Canada. Amongst other things and events taking place that weekend, Gary Blanchett says that as a fund raiser, they will have an auction. He has asked that we might go through our closets/hangars/bookshelves, etc. for aviation memorabilia that he can use for the auction. I am sure that we can all find some items that he can use, particularly given the age demographic of our membership!  

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                                                                                                                                                           03-May-2023

Flight 23 Captain’s Spring 2023 Newsletter

Good day folks. I hope that everyone had a safe and enjoyable Winter season. Now that the snow is gone and the ice is (almost) off the lake, I wanted to bring you all up to date with plans for the coming active flying season.

As I sit here this morning, I can barely see the house across the street because of the rain and fog, along with +4C temperatures. This stretch of miserable weather is not conducive to flying, but it is the perfect conditions for a quiet review of your POH, Normal and Abnormal Procedures, Aircraft documents, updating technology software, inspecting the aircraft, etc. and just basically getting mentally ready to fly. I intend to do that as soon as I finish this newsletter!

Speaking of review and getting ready to go flying, you may be interested in this.  One of our members, Andy Smith is a resident Class 3 Instructor (soon to be Class 2!). He has constructed a quite sophisticated Simulator and installed it in his basement Office area. It is available for a nominal fee – certainly much less that the cost of fuel. You may wish to try it out as a means of doing a review before, like me,  stumbling around the circuit trying to remember checklists, power settings, etc. He can programme many different aircraft types and the simulator responds accordingly. It has an excellent visual system as well. I spent an hour or so with him and found it to be excellent value. It also is capable of night and instrument Flight training with an auto pilot that is capable of coupling RNAV and ILS approaches. Imagine,  you can get your navigation and approach “switchology” selections sorted out before you start burning that precious 100LL fuel! 

You can contact Andy directly at: asmith119@cogeco.ca  to discuss your wants and needs. 

            Your Directors had a meeting last evening to review Flight 23 business and plan some social events. For your calendars, please make note of the following activities:

A.    From a business perspective, the flight is in good shape financially. As such, and in view of the current economic circumstances that we are under, it was decided that the local Flight 23 membership fees will be waived for the current year. We do have to maintain a membership roster so please advise Luc Beauchamp lucandrebeauchamp@yahoo.ca of your particulars so that he can keep our local membership list up to date. In addition, there will be no charge for the steaks at the Spring Pot Luck get together (more on that below);

B.    The Spring BBQ will take place on Saturday, 24 June. As you may know, the Trout Lake Air Base has been sold and. We are grateful that Ron Miller has offered for us to use his hangar as a venue for the BBQ, so mark your calendars. More details to follow;

C.    THIS IS A BIG ONE for us! Sundridge/South River Air Park CPE6 90^th anniversary fly in on 08-09 July. Flight 23 is one of the co-sponsors for this event. This airport was part of the Trans Canada airport network during the early days of Commercial Aviation. The South River Flying Club will be looking for volunteers to help with a number of events that are planned so keep the weekend open and join in the fun. More details to follow shortly;

D.    Discover Aviation, formerly COPA for Kids, will be available at the usual two venues being, Mattawa Voyageur Days 28-30 July and the Sundridge Sunflower Festival 12 August. These are always wonderful events and it is great to see that “smile” on the kids faces. Pilots, ground crew, and aircraft will be required; and,

E.    Fall Pot Luck will be held in Late September/early October. Details TBD.

    Should you encounter Jeff Beath or Don Houston in your travels, shaketheir hands and give them a pat on the back for successfully doing their first solo flight! In addition, Joanna Sanchez is doing her cross country flights in preparation for her Private Pilot Licence Flight Test. That is worthy of a pat on the back as well, so wish her all the best on her ride.            

            Lastly, I will be stepping down as your Flight 23 Captain in the Fall and we are looking for someone to fill this, and other Flight 23 Director positions. This has been a rewarding and enjoyable 12 years and I know whoever takes the position(s) on will find their service similarly satisfying. We are anxious to get some younger people involved, new pilots included. Please send me an E-mail bill.carswell@sympatico.ca if you have questions or are interested.

 Safe Landings everyone. 

 Cheers,

 Captain Bill

                                                                                                                            July 5-2022.

May 25-2022

Good day everyone,

Your Directors met recently and with the reductions in the COVID protocols that restricted our Flight activities, we have decided to try and run a few of our regular events where we can still meet the COVID recommended practices. Please mark your calendars for the following events:

c. COPA for Kids - now called Discovery Aviation - Voyageur Days Saturday 23 July 2022. With the reduction in COVID mandates, we have decided to support Voyageur days with a limited number of Discovery Flights and see how it goes. We will need pilots and ground support in order to run the program so, for now, mark your calendars and keep it in mind. You will be happy to see that the dreaded Vulnerable Sector Check has been changed to an on-line application of some kind. There will be more to follow on this. We hope that if the Mattawa event is successful, Discovery Flights at the Sunflower Festival will also be on their program. As I said, more to follow;

d. Fall Pot Luck - We are hoping to have this a bit earlier in the Fall, before Thanksgiving. Planning is in it's infancy at the moment, but the Fall Pot Luck is a "GO" for 2022; and,

e. Flight 23 Dues. As you know, due to the pandemic mandates, we suspended the collection of Flight 23 membership dues for the year. These dues provide for social events like the Spring BBQ, coffee and snacks at Flight meetings, etc. As we get our program. running again, we ask for your understanding in that we request that payment of Flight 23 Dues are now being accepted by Luc Beauchamp. The two easiest means of paying the dues are in person at the Spring BBQ, or by e-Transfer to Luc at lucandrebeauchamp@yahoo.ca. For the e-Transfer, the question would be "the usual" and the answer is "Flight23". Thanks for your understanding and support.

Please feel free to offer suggestions for any other events/guest speakers/fly in destinations, etc. that might be of interest to us all.

Safe landing and, we'll see you on the Airways!

Cheers,

Captain Bill"

On behalf of COPA National President and CEO Christine Gervais, on Thursday 07 October COPA Flight 23 North Bay took advantage of the glorious Fall weather to present the Neil J. Armstrong Scholarship Award to our own Emilie Perron.

By way of introduction for those of you who have not met Emilie, she is an Algonquin Secondary School student and is an avid flyer. Emilie excels in her grade 12 academic studies in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) program. She is also an accomplished all-round athlete both on the field, court, and at the rink. Her passion for aviation was recognized early by those of us who conducted familiarization flights with her; she demonstrated skill with the controls, and an eagerness to learn more. For these reasons, we are pleased that this Scholarship will afford her the opportunity to pursue her aviation ambitions.

 Emilie has her sights set, quite literally, on the stars. Her post-Secondary School plans are   to further engage in STEM-type Aviation courses and we expect that one day you will hear   Emilie on the radio flying for an Airline, or see her in orbit on the International Space Station!

 Good luck Emilie. We are all very proud of you!

 Cheers, Captain Bill

     Former Northern Ontario COPA Director Ron Cooke presents Neil J. Armstrong Scholarship plaque to Emilie Perron of         North Bay,Ontario.

         Photo courtesy Grant Bailey”

       Mary Norman, representing the Ninety Nines, is shown here offering her congratulations and making a presentation to         Emilie.           

     COPA Flight 23 North Bay members and friends of Emilie Perron gather around a few classic aircraft based at YYB                  to celebrate her winning the prestigious Neil Armstrong Award. Photo courtesy Grant Bailey.

       Thanks to Ron Miller for use of his Sky Genie.