The BC General Aviation Association is proud to be working with COPA, Transport Canada and other Aviation Associations from across the country on a new Canadian General Aviation Safety Campaign. By sharing knowledge and resources from across the country the hope is to create a modern campaign that speaks to pilots about issues that have been identified as recurring safety concerns from mountain flying and pilot decision making to adherence to aircraft maintenance schedules and  pilot safety culture.

BCGA delegates to this nation wide committee are Jonathan Davis and Ryan Van Haren. Jonathan is currently completing his own General Aviation Safety Study  as part of his education at Thompson Rivers University. We welcome your feedback and hope to represent our members as the safety campaign moves forward.

NOTE: For the purposes of this article "Spot Tracker" refers to any GPS tracking device.

Many pilots are now flying with SPOT Trackers to allow their friends and family to follow along in their adventures. The biggest benefit of having a SPOT Tracker is to assist search and rescue in the event that you are in danger or require rescue.

 Furthermore if you use Nav Canada's CFPS page for online flight planning you can insert your spot tracking link into your master flight plan. It is important to note that the entries in this part of the flight plan form, along with Fuel on board, survival equipment, lifejackets etc., are primarily for the use of Search and Rescue. The RCC will access the Spot Tracker information provided in the flight plan and use that information for their operations. The FIC does not access Spot information, or use it in any operational capacity.

It is important to note that a tracking device is only useful if it is turned on for the duration of your flight and the batteries are in good health. Consider making turning on and off your tracker part of your aircraft checklist.

In your SPOT account you can customize the SOS message that will be sent to the command centre in the event that you activate the SOS feature on the tracker.

Here is an idea of a customized message that you might consider putting into this feature to assist in your own rescue:

(Feel free to copy it with your relevant info)

***
This SPOT is used in an aircraft. When SOS is received from this unit, call the Victoria Joint Rescue Coordination Centre 250-363-2333 or 800-567-5111 and tell them this is an aircraft distress call for (INSERT AIRCRAFT IDENT)

Aircraft Info:(INSERT AIRCRAFT TYPE) Colour: (INSERT AIRCRAFT COLOUR)

The pilot of this aircraft will be:
(INSERT PILOT NAME) Cell: XXX-XXX-XXXX (Not allergic to any meds, Blood Type X+)

The emergency contact is (INSERT EMERGENCY CONTACT NAME) Cell: XXX-XXX-XXXX) 
***

The BC General Aviation Association website also has a dedicated page were you can share your SPOT tracking link with other members to share your adventure. Sharing your SPOT link on the BCGA page also gives us a place to look and possibly assist if you are reported overdue.

A pilot license allows us to take to the sky and explore new horizons in the literal sense of the term. There are many trips a flights that we want to take but many pilots feel overwhelmed, unsure or uncomfortable at the thought of flying somewhere that they haven gone before. Be it terrain, airspace or just the thought of doing something new it is important that we do our part to make pilots feel more comfortable and prepared to experience these new flights and destinations.

It is with this in mind that BCGA members Augie Rinz & Bruce Burley suggested that we begin creating and collecting a series of trip sheets that give pilots the relevant information to de-mystify these flights that to some may seem daunting.

BCGA Members now have the ability to access and contribute to a library of trip sheets that with a little help from everyone will grow into a valuable resource for our community and enable pilots of all experience levels to feel comfortable trying out new destinations and flights. The success of this resource relies on you the members contributing your knowledge and expertise. 

By: Russ Niles
Link To Original Article on COPA Website

Alpha Aviation, the operators of the Boundary Bay Airport in Delta, B.C., is at least temporarily suspending implementation of a controversial schedule of landing fees that were to have become effective Jan. 1. The schedule of fees was posted to Alpha Aviation’s website on Dec. 19th, 2017 but has since been taken down in the face of quick and vigourous opposition from the local flying community and consultation with COPA.

The Web posting announced a minimum fee of $25.00 for aircraft and helicopters under 6,600lbs or 3,000kg and $50.00 for aircraft and helicopters between 6,600lbs and 12,500lbs (5,669kgs) and said the fees “can be waived with a set amount of fuel purchase”.

COPA President Bernard Gervais spoke with Marcello Garofalo Friday about the fee proposal and was told the plans are under review until further notice. Gervais said he discussed, in particular, waiving the landing fees for transient recreational and private aircraft, citing the economic benefits of visiting aircraft to airports as detailed in COPA’s GA economic impact study released earlier this year.

Gervais said he’s hopeful any future discussions about landing fees at Boundary Bay will include an exemption for transient private and recreational aircraft. Aircraft based at Boundary Bay were already exempt under the fee schedule. Gervais said Garofalo pledged to keep COPA and other interested groups well informed about developments on implementation of the fees.

COPA has long-advocated airport operators seek out numerous, alternative avenues available to fund operations and improvements without imposing costly tariffs and charges on the general aviation community. Several airports in Canada have experimented with landing fees and in all cases have discovered it drives away business. The average revenue generated by one visiting aircraft in fuel, food, local transportation, lodging and tourism often eclipses the revenue forgone by charging pilots to land and this number multiplies as aircraft return to those airports known to be friendly to general aviation. Earlier this year, COPA released an economic study of the impact of General Aviation in Canada that showed GA operations in Canada contribute $9.3 billion in economic output nationally and account for almost 36,000 full-time jobs in communities across the country. The report also highlights the benefits that General Aviation operations bring to communities in terms of tax revenues, direct, and indirect employment.

COPA represents over 16,000 pilots and aircraft owners across the country and is the national voice for General Aviation in Canada. Through the mission of advancing, promoting, and preserving the Canadian Freedom to Fly, COPA is at the forefront on issues that affect pilots, aircraft and airports in communities across Canada and is an active partner with all levels of government in ensuring a bright future for General Aviation. For more information, visit: copanational.org.

Early this morning it became known that Alpha Aviation the company that operates Boundary Bay Regional Airport introduced a landing fee of $25 for all transient aircraft using Boundary Bay Airport. The rumor quickly expanded to include Pitt Meadows, Abbotsford and Langley airports.

Today we spent the better part of the day on the telephone with members and airport managers to get to the bottom of the rumours.

We can confirm that Langley, Pitt Meadows and Abbotsford Airports ARE NOT charging landing fees to general aviation aircraft.

We spoke with the Boundary Bay Airport Manager who confirmed the $25 fee which would be waived with a minimum 50L fuel purchase or top up and for airport tenants. We discussed the implications of such a fee and the excessive cost to general aviation pilots. The fee would essentially put the Boundary Bay's landing fee on par with Vancouver International Airport. It would also lead to lengthy delays for pilots as they wait their turn for a fuel top up. In our opinion this $25 landing fee sends a message that Boundary Bay Airport is not interested in general aviation. Not to mention the adverse effects on businesses at the airport the rely on aircraft flying in.

The Boundary Bay Airport manager has expressed that he has heard our points and those of COPA and other stakeholders and the proposed $25 landing fee will be put on hold pending further review by the board. The page on the ZBB website outlining fees has since been removed.

The BCGA is not a lobby group, our focus is to promote safe and enjoyable flying throughout British Columbia. We rely on COPA (Canadian Owners & Pilots Association)  to advocate on our behalf which is why we encourage every pilot in Canada to become a COPA member. Below this article you will find a letter that was sent to Boundary Bay Airport and Delta City council by COPA on all of its members' behalf.

If you wish to express your thoughts on this matter directly to the management at Boundary Bay Airport you can contact them at info@alpha-aviation.ca . They are aware as the displeasure of the community so please keep your letters cordial and to the point.  

Furthermore you can also contact the Mayor of Delta at mayor@delta.ca .

In an effort to quell rumors we have built a page for the BCGA website that outlines landing fees at common airports in British Columbia

UPDATE (December 22, 2017): The landing fee has been put on hold and is under review after discussions with the local flying community and COPA.  (COPA ARTICLE)

On January 2nd two high-performance experimental aircraft will depart Kelowna's YLW Airport on a 20,000 mile flight around the Americas to raise at least $500,000 for Hope Air.

One of these pilots is none other than BCGA Director and President of the Kelowna Flying Club Dave McElroy. Dave has previously completed a flight around the world for another medical charity.

This innovative flying project will fund at least 2,000 free medical flights in 2018. The project warrants national coverage because it is

a national story about a high profile mission for an organization which serves less fortunate Canadians from coast to coast.

The Kelowna Flying Club is hosting a launch ceremony for Give Hope Wings/Hope Air. Hope Air is an iconic charity which provides free medical flights to financially challenged Canadians who must get to healthcare far from home. Last year Hope Air provided 11,500 flights - from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island, and everywhere in between. Over 1,400 of these were from YLW alone.

Visit www.givehopewings.ca to learn more.

December 7th, 2017

The British Columbia Aviation Council (BCAC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dave Frank as the organization’s new Executive Director.  

Frank spent five years as the Director - Marketing and Public Relations for St. John Ambulance, arguably the leading not-for-profit charitable enterprise in the province, playing the leadership role in modernizing St. John’s brand and products to the benefit of almost 120,000 students a year, 2000 volunteers and 125 employees. He was a longtime Board Member (and past Chair) of Canada’s leading campus-based community radio station CiTR; recently on the Board of DOXA: Vancouver’s Documentary Film Festival and Society; and, is currently the Chair of the Richmond Community Foundation.

“We are very pleased that Dave has agreed to join our Team,” said Heather Bell, Chair of the Council.  “His extensive experience in the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors is exactly what we need at this stage in the BCAC’s growth.”

Frank founded a substantial international transportation and economic development consulting company as well as the ICC International Commercial Centre, at the time Canada’s foremost multimodal freight gateway trade zone. He constructed and managed two major research teams in the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Sauder School of Business, one examining industry productivity and (roughly twenty years later) the application of intelligent transportation systems to freight security; has been a senior executive member of a regional cargo and air ambulance airline; was elected two terms to the UBC Board of Governors; and, once as President of the UBC Student Society.

“I look forward to helping the BCAC get to the next level, building on the hard work of outgoing Executive Director Candace McKibbon and Administrator Donna Farquhar,” said Frank.  “It is going to be extremely rewarding working with and supporting the membership.”

The aviation and aerospace sector is critical to growing the BC economy, supporting all British Columbians. It is the role of the BCAC, in partnership with members, stakeholders, and the community, to positively influence the well-being of the aviation and aerospace sector to the benefit of the Province’s social and economic development.

For additional information, please contact:

Dave Frank
Executive Director
BC Aviation Council

Dave.Frank@me.com
1-604-644-6426


About the British Columbia Aviation Council
The British Columbia Aviation Council, established in 1938, is a member‐driven organization that represents and promotes the shared interests of the aviation and aerospace community. It is a charitable organization established under the BC Society Act to ensure the province has an aviation and aerospace industry that is visible, connected and thriving.

By JC Audet
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COPA has successfully lobbied Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) to remove an arbitrary, bureaucratic hurdle that required aircraft used for IFR check rides (IPC) to be equipped with approved GNSS capability (IFR Flight Test Guide 02/2017). TCCA has revised this requirement to be applicable on the initial IFR test ride only – recognizing that numerous IFR-rated private pilots own aircraft not equipped with GNSS who would not be able to maintain their IFR ratings without undertaking significant avionics upgrades or renting aircraft from flight schools solely for the purpose of their IPC.  With this announcement now formalized by Transport Canada, these pilots will continue to be able to renew their IFR rating on their own aircraft, in its current configuration.

Several important aspects have changed with respect to our IFR rating in the last year or so. The first major change is that the IFR rating does not expire anymore. Once it is on our license, it is there for life, like the license itself, and we will not have to rewrite the INRAT if our rating has lapsed beyond a certain date. We still have to do an Instrument Proficiency Check (IPC) every two years, on or before the anniversary of our rating. Does this sound like anything major or significant for the GA pilot in Canada? Probably not. On the other hand, we must recognize that these changes are legitimate in that they do address numerous issues in other areas of our licensing system.

Along with these changes, we also have the IFR currency requirement: 6 hours and 6 approaches to published minima in the last 6 months, or 6-6-6. This means that on the day we plan to fly IFR in IMC, we must have met this currency requirement. The onus is on us, as pilots, to keep track in our logbook of all our flights that qualify toward that currency requirement. When a flight addresses the 6-6-6, simply make a note to that effect with the logbook entry. It is also much wiser and safer to have this currency flying spread over time instead of cramming the day before the intended flight.

The recency requirement provides pilots flying in IMC (IFR of course) a means to ensure they are not rusty to the point of being unsafe. It does not invalidate your IFR rating if the 6-6-6 is not satisfied. The 6-6-6 is effective on the 1st day of the 13th month following your instrument rating flight test or your IPC.  If your 6-6-6 has expired, you do not meet the recency requirement to fly IFR. In this case, you have two easy options to revive your IFR recency:

VMC – You get in your IFR equipped and approved aircraft and you go fly off the 6-6-6 requirement in VMC. You can do this by flying simulated published approaches down to the published minimum. You can do this at a controlled airport when the controller authorizes you, or at an uncontrolled aerodrome if this is more practical for you. The intent of this currency requirement is to ensure that you are current on the procedures, that you still remember how to read and interpret the plates for instance and can fly the approach with accuracy and safely, respecting all limitations and relevant guidance.  The regulation does not mandate that a qualified person must be with you. It is however a wise and safe practice to have a knowledgeable and reliable person in the right hand seat to act as a security lookout. You will be flying with your head down in the cockpit, in VFR conditions. You are always responsible for your own traffic avoidance and aircraft separation; or
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IMC – You get in your IFR equipped and approved aircraft and you go renew your 6-6-6 by flying IFR in IMC, on a flight plan. In this case, you most definitely must have a qualified person in the right hand seat. Since you cannot file IFR, that flight plan will have to be on that person’s IFR ticket. That qualified person can be a Flight Instructor with valid IFR and 6-6-6, a CPL with valid IFR and 6-6-6, an ATPL with valid IFR and 6-6-6, or you can go all the way to a TCCA authorized and qualified examiner.