Yesterday was supposed to be my second flight in training for my pilot’s license. The instructor called me at 6am to say the weather conditions were too crummy so we had to cancel.
I’d been waiting all week for this and I’m incredibly disappointed that we couldn’t get up. Of course, the weather changed and the rest of the day was perfect.
Crap!
Ok, so it’s a corny headline. Heck it works. High above the Rockies from seat 12F on a Air Canada A320. I’d forgotten just how majestic they were. I’ve seen the Alps and, yes, they’re beautiful too but there’s something about the Rocky Mountains that makes the Canadian heart stir.
A normal economy flight - no meal (unless you buy it) but I was in a good seat. Watched the movie “Cloverfield” and you should save your money. The same jerky camera style that made “The Blair Witch Project” so hard to watch. Bargain basement CGI monster but at least it wasted and hour and a half.
I’ve made it as far as the Richmond Inn and so far all I see is construction. It’s almost as if they were preparing for something. Oh yeah, the Olympics. After work tomorrow, I hope to make it over to my old stomping grounds of West Vancouver and North Vancouver. Lots of places to see.
Of course, no trip to Vancouver would be complete without a trip to White Spot for one of their Triple “O” hamburgers. Those things have been clogging my arteries since 1967 when we moved out here. They don’t taste as good as I remember but at least I made my pilgrimage.
2300 feet above Georgetown Ontario in control(?) of a Cessna 172R, registration C-GGTJ.
The weather cleared enough for me to get my introductory flight at the Brampton Flying Club. My instructor, Steve Havlin, is a very brave man. I thought I might get a chance to handle the aircraft in level flight but Steve had other ideas. I taxied, I took off, I climbed, I turned and I cruised. It was the best 1/2 hour of my life and the most terrifying as well!
The taxi was the hardest part of the whole experience. Steering is accomplished by use of the rudder pedals and the brakes. You have to forget about everything you’ve learned while driving a car. I’m wildly turning the wheel which does nothing until you’re in the air. Instead you have to finesse the plane by using the pedals correctly. Of course, we looked like drunken sailors staggering back towards their ship but I finally started to get the hang of it. Take off was fairly straight forward – line it up, give it some power, watch the speed and at 65 knots pull back smoothly on the controls. I was flying!
There are so many things to concentrate on when flying. Altitude, angle, speed and don’t forget to keep an eye out for other aircraft. Turning and banking took a little work but it really wasn’t difficult. Keeping a steady altitude and level flight was difficult because the air was filled with thermals. I know it will come to me with practice but I felt like I was fighting the winds all the time. When Steve took over, it was like we were flying through calm air. Lots to learn.
I’m hooked!! Before I left the flying club, I’d signed up for ground school and picked up my kit.
And here’s the aircraft that put up with me.
It’s time for me to get off my ass and take the plunge. I’ve decided that I’m going to begin the process of getting my private pilot’s license. Of course this would have been easier, and a whole lot cheaper, if I’d done it 40 years ago but I’m not getting any younger.
My passion for aviation is out of control. Working at the Toronto Aerospace Museum, attending aviation society meetings and just generally loving being in the air lead to one conclusion. I need to learn how to fly.
The poor suckers who are going to be tasked with teaching this old dog a neat trick are the unlucky instructors at the Brampton Flying Club. Located about 1/2 hour from home, they’re a long established operation so they must know what they’re doing.
The process isn’t cheap and probably isn’t that easy. Basically, it’s 15 week ground school through 45 hours of both instruction and solo flight plus a medical and finally an exam. At the end of it all hopefully I’ll end up the proud owner of a license. No plane, just the license. I don’t want to know what even a very basic Cessna would cost. Renting one costs just over $100 for every hour that the prop is turning.
Ground school starts in July. I hope to take the introductory flight this weekend. Wish me luck!
UPDATE: 1pm tomorrow and it’s off into the wild blue yonder!!
Pilot Tim Leslie heads out for a little fun in a North American Mustang Mk IV at Vintage Wings of Canada.
Standing this close, you feel the thunder of the Packard built Rolls Royce Merlin engine.
Had a great evening last night at the Canadian Aviation Museum. We were treated to an empty museum and we even got a tour of the storage hanger.
I didn’t shoot all 250 pictures - only 233. I’ve got lots of processing to do when I get back home but here’s a little teaser.
RL-206 was the last Avro CF-105 “Arrow” and was still under construction when the project was scrapped and all aircraft ordered destroyed. Some enterprising Avro employees hid the nose section from the wrecking bar and it now sits as a sad tribute to this dark time for the Canadian aviation industry.
The weather this morning is crappy. Guess I’ll attend the sessions instead of going downtown.
Greetings from Ottawa, Canada’s Capital. Air Canada got me here briskly on one of their little Embraer E190’s and the 2008 Dodge Charger that Thrifty rented me finally found it’s way to the Chimo Hotel. It would have been a lot easier if they hadn’t closed the onramp to the highway. Unfortunately, my GPS doesn’t have a live update feature to warn you of construction.
The Canadian Aircraft Historical Society meetings have started but nothing on the agenda excites me this afternoon so I’ll wait until our excursion to the National Aviation Museum gets underway in a couple of hours.
I’m looking forward to seeing the collection of classics. They dropped a brochure in the welcome package and they certainly have a few I’m looking forward to seeing:
Another treat will be to see the largest remaining piece of an Avro CF-105 Arrow. The nose is the biggest thing to survive the wrecking ball.
I’ve got enough digital cards for 250 pictures and I’ll probably run out before the night is over!
Tomorrow morning, I plan on getting up beaucoup early to take drive downtown and walk around Parliament Hill and Sparks Street. It’s about 20 years since I’ve been back in Ottawa.
As I took a break before contemplating the commute home tonight, I came across this article in the Globe and Mail.
Air Canada pays $68,948 in fuel costs to get one of their efficient Boeing 777’s from Toronto to London’s Heathrow Airport. Even if the aircraft was completely full (349 seats), it would still cost $197.56 per person.
Even with fuel surcharges, the rising cost of oil is squeezing any profit out of the airline industry. Players like AC can probably weather this storm but you’ve got to wonder how the low cost, no frills charter companies are going to survive. Hell, even some of the debt and cost laden big US carriers likely won’t survive this for very long.
Air travel started off as an adventure, worked it’s way up to a rich man’s mode of travel and finally became an option for the masses to see the world. How long before we slide backwards and only the rich or business people in a hurry will be able to afford it?
The trusty suitcase has hardly had time to air out but it’s time to hit the road again. This time, however, it’s for fun - not business.
I’m off to Ottawa Thursday morning to attend the Canadian Aviation Heritage Society annual general meetings. CAHS is the oldest and largest organization in the world dedicated to the celebration and documentation of Canada’s flying heritage.
This year’s meetings have some really special events that I’m looking forward to attending. Thursday night, we’re off to the Canadian Aviation Museum for a BBQ and behind the scenes tour. Saturday, it’s on the bus to Vintage Wings of Canada in Gatineau Quebec to see the country’s largest collection of privately owned classic and warbird aircraft.
We got a sneak peek at one of the aircraft when they flew their De Havilland Fox Moth into Downsview for the Wings and Wheels Festival.
It’s nice to be flying for fun for a change.
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