SUSIE QUINN / Alberni Valley News
Link To Original Article
Aug. 25, 2020 6:00 p.m.

The Alberni Valley Regional Airport was a busy place on Sunday, Aug. 16, as pilots with the B.C. General Aviation Association visited the airport as part of a province-wide “Brown Bag Fly-Out.”

“The goal behind the Brown Bag Fly-Out was to give people a reason to fly, and bring them to some airports they may not have gone to before,” said Warwick Patterson, who organized the event. Patterson is president of the Squamish Flying Club and a new member of the Alberni Flying Club. He produces a podcast and video series called Flying BC, and is a director with the B.C. General Aviation Association.


Patterson purchased property in the Alberni Valley recently and is promoting general aviation to the area.


“Alberni Valley Regional Airport (AVRA) is an excellent facility, but not many people fly there,” he said. “I am also in the process of designing and building a house in Port Alberni so I wanted an excuse to meet some of the local club members.”


Port Alberni was the first stop in the series, which will see pilots visit various airports in B.C., bringing their own picnic lunch and following COVID-19 restrictions. Pilots are encouraged to support the local airport by purchasing fuel, and Patterson also provided the number for the Vancouver Island Soaring Centre in case anyone wanted to go for a glider flight while they were at the airport.


The event drew 25 small planes from around Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland in a three-hour period. One Vancouver-based pilot flew from Airdrie, Alta., where he had spent the weekend, and came specifically to Port Alberni—an airport he has flown to on several other occasions over the past couple of years.


The next Brown Bag Fly-Out event is planned for Sunday, Aug. 30 in Merritt, B.C. More information is available online at bcaviation.ca/brownbagflyout.


The Alberni Flying Club has a clubhouse and hangar that they lease near the west end of the runway, between Coulson Aviation’s hangar and the Port Alberni Thunderbirds’ firefighting compound. The club has one Cessna 172 single-engine four-seater plane that members may rent; other members own their own planes and lease hangar space.


“It’s been fairly busy,” ACRD airport superintendent Mark Fortune said of the airport. The Vancouver Island Soaring Centre has generated a lot of glider traffic this summer, and general aviation or private aircraft are using the facility as well.


“We’ve had a big run on lease lots at the airfield,” Fortune noted. “At the last board meeting we had three lease lots that were rented out and two more (people) looking at them.”


The regional district has had some interest from a business wanting to relocate a fixed base operation from Alberta as well as hangars. “We don’t even have a fixed base operator (FBO) in Tofino.”


He said he has also chatted with someone about what it would take to open a flight school at the airport. 


The facility has been utilized by the air cadet gliding program out of Nanaimo in the past, and a number of years ago an air cadet power program used the runway as one of their training areas for a summer.

susie.quinn@albernivalleynews.com

We are pleased to announce that the BCGA Board of directors has appointed Anne Stevens to the BCGA board to fill a recently vacated position. Anne's appointment will allow her to get a feel for the role before being nominated for election at the next annual general meeting. 

Anne is a very active member of the association, she has become the heart and soul of the Vanderhoof Airport and has a passion for aviation and community that is hard to beat. Anne was also the recipient of the BCGA Onkarbir Singh Toor Memorial Bursary in 2018 which recognizes a pilot who has overcome adversity in pursuing their passion for flight. Lastly we would like to acknowledge that we are long overdue in welcoming our first female member to the BCGA leadership team. 

A Message from Anne:
"As a kid living on the coast in Alert Bay and Shearwater, I was fascinated with the float planes and amphibians that shared the docks and harbours. One never forgets the sound of a Beaver roaring to life on a misty morning. Forty years later after a few careers and raising two daughters with my husband Rick, a chance conversation with a pilot at an airshow inspired me to take an introductory flight and life was never the same! Four years later I am a student pilot, Secretary of the Vanderhoof International Airshow and active member of the Vanderhoof Flying Club. "

A welcome maintenance schedule relief for small, private aircraft owners impacted by the pandemic. Hearing industry and owners’ concerns, Transport Canada is providing interim policy changes to help affected aircraft owners and operators during these COVID-19 times. In collaboration with your Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME), you can apply certain tolerances and deviations to your maintenance schedule, such as: 1) inspections performed every 12 months in accordance with STD 625 Appendix B; no greater than 15% and 2) Out of phase task intervals performed in accordance with STD 625 Appendix C; no greater than 10%.


For example, where a 12 month inspection is carried out at 13.8 months (12m +15%) based on an applied 15% tolerance, the next inspection is due 12 months from the date of the inspection was completed.


Should you not go through an AME, you can do through your TCCA office. Please see attached industry notice for details.

Recognizing that many Civil Aviation Medical Examiners (CAMEs) are not seeing patients or those seeking medical certificates in their offices or clinics on a face-to-face basis due to the ongoing pandemic, Transport Canada has announced temporary provisions for the renewal of medical certificates permitting the use of virtual visits instead.
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The temporary measure is not applicable for those seeking their first medical certificate. Furthermore, if the CAME cannot determine with certainty the fitness of the applicant, a traditional face-to-face examination will be necessary.

Also exempt from the new measures are applicants whose medical condition has changed, those whose current medical certificate has any of the following limitations or restrictions:

1. Licence restricted;
2. Permit restricted;
3. 3 months only;
4. 6 months only;
5. 9 months only;
6. 12 months only;
7. 24 months only;
8. Subject to letter dated;
9. Private Pilot Licence (PPL) privileges – 12 months only;
10. Valid only when another air traffic controller available and competent to assume your duties;
11. With an accompanying pilot;
12. Not valid for Civil Aviation Medical Examiner (CAME) renewal.

The new measure is valid until either March 31, 2021 or when the Minister of Transport cancels it, whichever occurs first.

Follow this link for more details.

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Bill Mahoney, Interim Chair of COPA’s Board of Directors, is pleased to announce that Christine Gervais (no relation to Bernard) has been appointed its new President and CEO. Christine brings with her over 20 years of experience in the field of aviation as a commercial pilot, an air traffic controller and, more recently, a manager in airspace and level of service management.

Christine holds a current commercial pilot licence which she earned with the Ottawa Flying Club’s Professional Pilot Development Program over 20 years ago. A follow up float endorsement lead to the start of her professional aviation career. She has flown the great de Havilland Beaver in Northern Ontario, a Grand Caravan from Africa to South America (and many more flights and aircraft in between). She completed her final professional landing as a corporate pilot.

Following the birth of her son, she successfully trained and joined Nav Canada as an air traffic controller and worked in the Ottawa control tower for nearly a decade. Fluently bilingual in English and French, for the last four years Christine has been dedicated to management at Nav Canada, with her most recent role in Level of Service. During this time, she gained comprehensive experience as a leader in a high-performance team and advanced her education in project management.

She has maintained her pilot licence recency requirements, both on floats and on wheels.

Christine brings with her not only significant experience in the field of aviation, but also professionalism and leadership skills. Her network has prepared her well to successfully assume the role of COPA’s President and CEO. In addition, her ambition, combined with her professional ethics, exemplifies that she is ready and capable of undertaking new challenges.

Her sustained passion for the wild blue yonder will serve her well as COPA’s advocate to advance, promote and preserve the freedom to fly for all of General Aviation in Canada.

Christine will be starting on June 22 and transition with Bernard for a few weeks.

Sincerely,
Canadian Owners and Pilots Association 
75 Albert Street, Suite 903
Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 5E7
Tel: 613.236.4901

On Sunday May 17th 2020, the Canadian Forces Snowbirds experienced a tragic accident in Kamloops which claimed the life of Capt. Jenn Casey and injured Capt. Rich McDougall. The Snowbirds were nearing the end of Operation Inspiration which had the team flying over many Canadian cities from coast to coast to lift the morale of Canadians during the COVID19 crisis. As a result of the accident in Kamloops it became clear that the team would be unable to complete the mission as the team dealt with the accident. 
 
Aviation is a small community. Whether civilian or military, we are a family and we are all Canadians. On the evening of the accident, the BC General Aviation Association (BCGA) reached out to its members to gauge interest in conducting a mass single file fly over of the Vancouver area the next day, in an effort to pay respect to the fallen Snowbird and to do our part as an aviation family to complete their mission in an effort to raise the spirits of Canadians.

On Monday May 18th 3 flights of BC aviators took off to pay tribute to the Snowbirds and to do their part to finish the team's mission. Ten aircraft flew over Kelowna lead by Trevor Jones. Another ten aircraft paid tribute over the Sea to Sky corridor lead by Colette Morin and Alexis Thind. Lastly, a group of thirty-one aircraft lead by Ryan Van Haren, Fred Carey and Henry Ilg departed Abbotsford and toured the Lower Mainland.

It is important note that this act of solidarity and  respect was not about the pilots that took part but rather about recognizing the Canadian Snowbirds, remembering Capt. Jenn Casey and uplifting Canadians. 

Response of the media and the public was overwhelming. It is apparent by the coverage that it received as well as the hundreds of posts on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter with the hashtag #operationbackupinspiration. 

On behalf of all the pilot in the BC General Aviation Association I wish to give my condolences, gratitude and respect to all those that took part, those that supported the mission and most importantly to the Snowbirds, Capt. McDougall and to the family of Capt. Casey. 

With humble gratitude, 
Ryan Van Haren
President BCGA