Through The Mist Darkly

Busy couple of weeks with travelling, election watching and just general “work is a bitch”’ stuff. 

I really hope that I’ve finished the last business trips for 2008. By the calculations over at FlightMemory, I’ve flown 24 times (not counting the flying lessons) and I’ve logged:

• 39,263 miles (63,188 kilometres)
• 106 hours in the air

This makes 2008 my busiest year yet.

Speaking of flying lessons, the travelling put a real damper on my time so I’ve just cracked the 10 hour threshold which leaves me at least another 10 hours before I can solo and a total of 35 to go until I can go for my license.  I also got way out of sync with the groundschool schedule so I restarted the entire course this last Thursday night.  Hopefully I can go all the way through this time without a break.  Luckily the Brampton Flying Club allows you to take the course as often as you want.

The economy may be tanking but that only means that my company becomes much more aggressive in the pursuit of new business.  I then get called on more often to provide product support for presentations and tenders and that’s on top of the day-to-day problems that require my attention.  Very tired at the end of the day.  Today (Saturday), for instance, I’m working on a system upgrade from home.

I’ve only been to the Toronto Aerospace Museum a couple of times in the last few months so projects are starting to build up.  I should be there today but no such luck.  Next week for sure.

The historic US elections this week kept me glued to CNN and the net when time permitted.  You all know which way I was leaning and I’m still overjoyed at the outcome.  Watching the Republican party bring out their knives afterwards has been fun as well.

Now comes the long slide into winter.  Lots of things to keep me occupied so I don’t think I’ll be suffering from cabin fever.

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I dropped into the Toronto Aerospace Museum today just to see what was going on and to see if any projects had been planned for me while I’ve been travelling.  Luckily, I brought my camera.

Today we took possession of a 1956 de Havilland DH87B Hornet Moth that has been purchased from George Neal, a member of the museum.

Mr. Neal (middle) flew his airplane in for the handover and it was truly a special and bittersweet day.  Here, he poses with Claude Sherwood (museum CEO, left) and Paul Cabot (curator). The Moth may never fly again as it’s scheduled to go on permanent display.  Mr. Neal, at the tender age of 90, sold the aircraft to finance a project where he’s building a Hawker Fury.  He’s a member of the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame (inducted in 1995) and holds the distinction of being one of the first Canadian pilots to be qualified to fly the RCAF Vampire, our first jet fighter.  Neal’s testing and demonstrations of aircraft such as the Beaver, the Otter, and the Caribou, allowed them to be successful around the world . He retired in 1983 as Director of Flight Operations of de Havilland Canada.

The day was superb, the winds were light and George performed a perfect landing in a perfect example of this rare airplane.

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I loved this picture as soon as I saw it in the viewfinder.  Vintage Wings of Canada’s WACO Taperwing watching the sun come up in the hanger at the Toronto Aerospace Museum.  One of the best parts of being a volunteer there is the chance to roam around before the public shows up.

I’m honoured that Vintage Wings of Canada saw fit to include this their online article “Eye of the Beholder”.

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As NASA looks to replacing the aging shuttle fleet, there appears that they might have a serious weight issue.

Their new Ares V cargo launch system will (when combined with the transporter and launch tower)  weigh in at a hefty  10.9 million kg.  The problem is that the crawler road may not take the load.  The shuttle in comparison is "only" 7.7 million kg.

I took this picture when I visited the Kennedy Space Center a few years ago and we’re talking a serious piece of road work here.  6.8 km long and 40 m wide and made up of special river rock, any work to make it capable of bearing a higher load would be very expensive indeed.

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NOTAM : Notice to Airmen. A notice containing information (not known sufficiently in advance to publicize by other means) concerning the establishment, condition, or change in any component (facility, service, or procedure of, or hazard in the National Airspace System) the timely knowledge of which is essential to personnel concerned with flight operations.

NOTAMs will be in force to keep aircraft away from the upcoming Democratic and Republican conventions.  Ignore them and you might just have some company.

(found at at the always excellent PointNiner blog)

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The Rollout of Virgin Galactic’s White Knight 2 which will carry the reusable space module into orbit.  Sir Richard Branson and Burt Rutan are seen under the right empenage.

Sometimes technology is particularly beautiful.

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Busy week in the Private Pilot License training.

Flight Instruction

Spent an hour in the air on Thursday morning.  The day dawned rainy and overcast but it cleared up just a few minutes before we took off.  Steve let me handle the entire taxi and takeoff which gave me a chance to really feel how the steering and rudder control works.  In flight, I concentrated on the rudder and started to get good control.  Just like driving a car, the secret is small corrections all the time.  Once established in the training area, we worked on climbs and descents.  Every airplane has optimum speeds, power setting and attitudes for different scenarios.  I have to know everyone of them for the exams and the goal of this flight was for Steve to demonstrate, me to practice and try to get a feeling for each one.  For those keeping count, that gets me up to 3.7 hours out of the minimum 45 required.

Ground School

Thursday evening was Class 3 in Ground School.  Information about types of airspace, radio procedures and flying in different weather and altitude conditions.  Lots more things to memorize.

Serious Fun

Installed Microsoft’s Flight Simulator X yesterday.  Along with 747’s, floatplanes and fighters, they also have the Cessna 172 like I fly at the club.  Amazingly realistic!  The instruments are identical and the characteristics appear to be authentic.  Only problem is, controlling the airplane using the keyboard is nothing like the real thing.  A solution is at hand by purchasing and installing a controller that looks and acts like the control column in the Cessna.  I’ll try and pick one up this week.  It’s so easy to get engrossed with this program.  I’ve already “flown” a number of circuits from Brampton Airport and I even accomplished a take-off from Downsview ending with a landing at Pearson International.  Ok, that’s not really realistic because the chances of me landing at YYZ in anything but an emergency situation are really, really slim.  Landing is where you really run into the limitations of keyboard control but I hope the new controller will take care of that.

Busy, busy, busy.

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Bombardier announces the official launch of the new CSeries with a Letter Of Intent from Germany’s Lufthansa for 60 aircraft.  The plane will be built in China (fuselage), Northern Ireland (wings) and Mirabel and St. Laurent Quebec (cockpit, aft fuselage and final assembly).

The CSeries is positioned to fill the need for smaller, fuel efficient aircraft in the 110-130 seat range.  It will be powered by the revolutionary Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan engine.

Initially announced in 2004 as a concept, this announcement moves it from the drawing board to the manufacturing floor with the attendant creation of more jobs in a sector that is going through some very rough times.  The CSeries promises to be the right airplane for these times of high fuel prices and lowered expectation for airline load factors.  Airbus, Boeing and Embraer will have some catching up to do.

Quotes from the release:

“Today is a great day for Bombardier, our customers, our employees, our shareholders and our suppliers. I am proud to say that we have met our business plan objectives: a technologically advanced aircraft family, a strong pipeline of orders and repayable investments with governments and agreements with key suppliers. With the latest in system technologies and aerodynamics, the CSeries family of aircraft will revolutionize the economics and network strategies for airline operations in the 100- to 149-seat commercial market. It is another example of our commitment to designing and manufacturing innovative aircraft that will ensure our continued industry leadership,” said Pierre Beaudoin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bombardier Inc.

“At Lufthansa, we are committed to a balance between commercial success, environment and business policies oriented toward sustainability,” said Nico Buchholz, Senior Vice President, Corporate Fleet, Lufthansa. “Our initial evaluations of the CSeries family of aircraft and discussions with Bombardier over the last few months have evolved and made us believe that the CSeries family of aircraft clearly meets our stringent requirements for sustainable fleet development, both in terms of environmental and commercial requirements, and flexibility for the future. We are proud to be a part of its launch.”

Both the announcement of the launch and the decision that a significant amount of manufacturing and assembly will be done in Canada bodes very well for the future of aviation in Canada.  Bombardier Aerospace is truly a Canadian success story built on the de Havilland Canada company which was formed 80 years ago.

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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!!

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Off on vacation this week but it’s hardly a rest.  For the last 2 days I’ve been hard at work helping prepare for this weekend’s 3rd annual Wings and Wheels Festival at Downsview Park in Toronto.  This is the major fundraiser for the Toronto Aerospace Museum.

Lots of displays of classic and modern aircraft, automobiles and motorcycles.  Today was media day and the professional photographers asked for a grouping to show the idea behind the festival without the need for words.

While walking from the museum to the main display hanger, I heard a semi rumble up behind me.  Imagine my surprise when I turned to see this.

A Canadair CT-144 “Tutor” jet in the distinctive Snowbirds colours.  Seems the Canadian Armed Forces sent this trainer down from Camp Borden with a crew to put it together for display.  The Snowbirds are known the world over for their incredible aerobatic displays performed in aircraft that were built in the mid 60’s.

The crew of 5 along with a local crane operator spent all day unloading and assembling the Tutor inside the museum and they were still at it when I left this afternoon.

Tomorrow (Friday) will be just as busy as more aircraft arrive including the massive C-177 Globemaster transport.

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Damm this is sad news.  Science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke died in his adopted country of Sri Lanka.

I used to read a lot of Sci-Fi and Clarke, along with Issac Asimov and Ray Bradbury were my favorites.  Best known for “2001: A Space Odyssey”, Clarke also wrote “Childhood’s End” which is most definitely in my top 10 reads of all time.

Clarke’s writings fortold our journeys to the Moon and the deployment of satellites to aid communication.  Geosynchronous orbits, which keep satellites in a fixed position realitive to the ground, are known as “Clarke orbits”.

Thanks to J-Walk for bringing this to my attention.

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CNN carries the report that a large US spy satellite has gone dead and could reenter the atmosphere in late February or early March.  It’s too early to tell where and exactly when it will come down.  It’s too bad that the US doesn’t have a system to protect the Earth from objects in space falling to the ground.  Oh wait! Isn’t that what the Missile Shield was designed to do?

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A collection of memorabilia once owned by a A. V. Roe employee was sold by auction today to an undisclosed private buyer. Story

Containing company documents, photos, telegrams and models, the collection was purchased by a Canadian who said,

“This is a collection that belongs in Canada. All items will remain in
Canada. In due time, after study and inspection, interested
parties (reporters, historians) will be contacted.”

At least one museum was expected to take part in the bidding, possibly the Toronto Aerospace Museum where I work part-time. The artifacts would have made a nice display alongside our full-size replica.

From my collection, here’s a shot of the first Arrow in flight over Toronto.

It’s great news that this collection will stay in Canada. 

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We celebrate all those who went to war.  Especially those who did not return or have passed on from illness or old age.

I attended the Remembrance Day ceremony in the park by the house this morning.  The participants get younger every year.  From Vimy Ridge all the way to Afghanistan, we gather to thank all those who fought and still fight under the Canadian flag.

A grandfather plays with his grandson waiting for the ceremony to begin.  It is vitally important that the old teach the young why we come together once a year in memory and celebration of the contribution that so many men and women have made.

Canada has such a proud military history that we need to cherish.  The thousands that died in the First and Second War reach out from their graves to welcome those who are still dying today in the defense of freedom.

I guess my work at the Toronto Aerospace Museum is responsible for how different I feel about Remembrance Day than in years gone past.  Being surrounded by reminders of how fragile the aircraft were has made me realize just how brave these men and women were.  The tail gunner’s turret from the old Lancaster bomber sits at the entrance to the restoration room.  I wouldn’t be able to fit in it and a brave young man sat in it for hours on end - cold, cramped and alone.  He could see the fighters diving at him, he could feel the flak bursting all around him.  To think that he not only did this once but day after day is amazing.

So, we gather and we remember.  We bring our children out in the cold and ask them to stand quietly.  They stare at the young cadets who form the honour guard with their ancient rifles barrel down.  They listen to the chaplain read the prayers.  They sing the National Anthem.  What is going through their young minds?  What questions do they ask their parents and what answers do they have to give?

They shall not grow old

As we that are left, grow old

Age shall not weary them

Nor the years condemn

At the going down of the sun

And in the morning

We will remember them

More pictures are available here

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Robert Bogash, dedicated volunteer of the Museum of Flight in Seattle has been a driving force in the transfer of the Super Constellation 1049G from Toronto to the West Coast.  Bob and I have exchanged emails off and on for over a year and he’s been sending me updates on the progress of the Connie.

A detailed assessment of the condition of the airframe has taken place in Rome New York.  Pictures of the process are available here. Also of interest are details of the move.

The battle for ownership got very heated in the final stages and, as a volunteer at the Toronto Aerospace Museum, I felt some personal involvement in the whole process.    However, now that the Connie is on her way to restoration and display, I really wish Bob and the Museum Of Flight good luck and success.

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38 years ago today, man set foot on the moon.  For the first time, this tribe of hairless apes  got its act together enough to accomplish something that brought them all together for a brief shining moment.  We all took a minute to stand in aw of the sheer magnitude of the event before we returned to killing each other, raping the Earth and chasing the almighty dollar.

“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” said Neil Armstrong as he floated off the last step of the lunar lander.  Never have a few words said so much.

I watched Walter Cronkite introduce the grainy black and white image.  I saw him wipe away a tear.  The universe got just a little smaller.  We had taken a small step towards a bright future.  And then we stopped.

The shuttle is getting old.  The International Space Station is a fraction of what it was supposed to be.  We have a couple of tinker toy rovers still trundling on Mars long after they should have died.  What’s the future?  Bush wants to send a manned mission to Mars but NASA doesn’t even have a concrete idea of what will replace the shuttle.

So, Happy Moon Landing Day!  A good day to reflect on what might have been.

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Actual sign at the Kennedy Space Center.  Notice anything wrong?  The shuttle’s name is actually Endeavour.  The British spelling comes from the fact that it’s named after the HM Bark Endeavour, the ship commanded by 18th century explorer James Cook; the name also honored Endeavour, the Command Module of Apollo 15. 

This is the best picture I could find, NASA has replaced the sign.  Hopefully they’ve spent all their money on making sure the Shuttle keeps flying safely and didn’t have anything left to hire a proofreader.

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Good news I guess Space station computers partially restored .  Problems aboard the ISS appear to be on the way to resolution.  Failure of all 3 Russian built computers that handle oxygen generating and station-keeping chores caused quite the stir yesterday.  In the worst case scenario, the three semi-permanent residents would have had to return to Earth when Atlantis leaves next week.

Atlantis, of course, has its own problem with a torn protective heat shielding blanket that is going to be sewn back together during an added EVA. 

So here’s where we stand.  An aging reusable launch vehicle which should have been retired years ago is propping up a space station, that is far from perfect and light years away from what it was supposed to be, which was in danger of becoming uninhabitable while its orbit decayed because the computers do not provide the necessary reliable redundancy. It may indeed be rocket science, but c’mon boys and girls, is the best we can do?

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I’m tired, dead tired.  For the last two days I’ve been working as a volunteer at the 2007 Wings and Wheels Heritage Festival put on by the Toronto Aerospace Museum at Downsview Airport in Toronto.

That’s me on Saturday where I spent the day helping on the flightline.  My main job was to sit at the edge of the taxiway to runway 15/33 and remind the pilots that they had to contact the tower before departure.

This year’s festival celebrated the 60th aniversary of the de Havilland Beaver and few, like this old beauty from North Carolina, flew in to be part of the festivities.

Sunday, I got drafted to manage one of the admission booths which was not nearly as much fun as breathing aviation exhaust.  We had some fun joking with the visitors and I got away once in a while.

Best part of the day was the pairing of a Canadian Armed Forces CF-18 Hornet along with the museum’s CF-105 Arrow replica.  You finally get a chance to see the Arrow outside showing exactly how big it is.  The crowd went wild even though the skies were just about to bust open and drench everyone.

The entire set is available for viewing over at Flicker by clicking here.

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Another day, another batch of treasures in the mail.  Three more aviation ashtrays for the collection.

The second TWA item.  Well used but still a great little piece.  Probably sat on a travel agent’s desk where it “subtly” reminded him or her to “SELL TWA CONECTIONS”.

Can’t get a picture that shows the delicate etching that announces that this advertises Scandinavian Airlines Systems (SAS).  Quite scratched on the base, it’s still a beauty.

This one fell into my hands.  I didn’t win the original auction because the reserve price hadn’t been met.  The seller contacted me and let me have it for my bid price.  A true historical treasure celebrating 5 years of NASA.  He also sent 2 old pens reading “NASA MANNED SPACEFLIGHT CENTER”.  From the golden days of space exploration.  1963 marked the last flight of the Mercury program and preparations for the first Gemini mission.  I was 11 years old.

Still more to come.

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