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Vol. 2, No.
5 MAY 2009
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| Welcome
to Bits and Pieces,
EAA's e-newsletter and monthly information digest for
builders and fliers in Canada. We encourage you to
forward your copy to your aviation friends and invite
them to subscribe.
 With spring's arrival and
the promise of longer, warmer days ahead, many of us are
seeing a significant increase in the number of hours
spent in and around our airplanes. This month we touch
on several timely topics, such as a new development in
the pending new ELT regulations and what effect they'll
have on your ability to legally fly. For those who
venture into the U.S., we trust you're up to speed on
the new U.S. regulations for general aviation aircraft
crossing the border. But just in case, read the story
below. Other stories: There's a great new benefit for
Young Eagles (and yes, it's applicable to Canada as
well!); a reactivated chapter that's prompted two others
to organize a three-chapter fly-out next month; and of
course, AirVenture Oshkosh and EAA's planned activities
for celebrating the 100th anniversary of Canadian
flight. All this and more, including a look back at
"The Dean of Canadian Amateur Builders," in Bits
and Pieces. - Jack Dueck, Editor
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MHZ ELT REQUIREMENT PUT IN 'HOLDING PATTERN' |
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Those of us who were worried
that not having an installed 406 MHz emergency locator
transmitter
(ELT) on their airplanes would prevent them from flying
legally can rest a little easier, as Minister of
Transport John Baird put implementation of the new rule
in a holding pattern earlier this month. Transport
Canada was moving forward with the new rule to require
406 MHz units on board within two years of February 1,
2009. Exemptions to allow for a transition period were
in the works. Instead the Minister sent the rule back to
the CARAC (Canadian Aviation Regulatory Advisory
Council) for revision to address lingering concerns. Read
more
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| NEW
U.S. BORDER CROSSING REQUIREMENTS IN EFFECT MAY 18 |
| We've
been hearing the word, "eAPIS" a lot lately,
and so have those pilots who fly into the U.S. regularly
or occasionally. So what is eAPIS? It's an acronym
(aviation loves its acronyms) that stands for Electronic
Advance Passenger Information System, and beginning
Monday, May 18, anyone flying into or out of the U.S.
will have to use it to gain clearance to cross the
border. It's all part of the "Advance Information
on Private Aircraft Arriving and Departing the United
States" final rule issued late last year by the
U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP),
which requires private aircraft operators or their
designees to electronically transmit advance notice and
passenger/crew manifest information through the eAPIS no
later than 60 minutes before departure. It's very
important that those of us planning to fly into the U.S.
- to AirVenture Oshkosh this year, for example -
become fully educated on the new border crossing
requirements. Failure to comply with the new regulations
could result in a fine of $5,000 for a first offense,
and a $10,000 fine and/or jail time for subsequent
violations. Read more |
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| EAA,
SPORTY'S PARTNERSHIP ENHANCES EAA YOUNG EAGLES'
INTRODUCTION TO FLIGHT |
| With
EAA, more than 1.4 million youths around the world have
gotten their first taste of flying through a Young
Eagles flight. Now Sporty's Pilot Shop is partnering
with EAA to provide the tools they'll need to take the
next steps in pursuing their interest in aviation.
Through this partnership, new Young Eagles will receive
a special logbook for recording this and subsequent
aviation experiences, plus they'll receive an access
code to the Sporty's Online Complete Pilot Training
Course. Both the logbook and the entire flight-training
course will be free of charge to Young Eagles. Read more
Editor's Note:
Canadian Young Eagles qualify for this program. The
Ground School is based on the FAA curriculum, which is
not the same, but has a strong similarity to our
Canadian syllabus. |
Tom Poberezny and Hal
Shevers
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| SEVERAL
AIRCRAFT SEVERELY DAMAGED BY 'WEAK' TORNADO |
| Nearly
two-dozen airplanes suffered damage - half of them total
losses - at Rockcliffe Airport in the Ottawa region when
what Environment Canada determined was a "weak
tornado" lashed through the area on the evening of
April 26. Members of the Rockcliffe Flying Club, who
were attending an annual event at the airport during the
storm, worked together to cleaned up the mess the next
day. See photos of the
wreckage. |
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CANADIAN PLANE THIEF
UNDERGOING EVALUATION
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Adam Dylan Leon, the
31-year-old flight student who in early April stole a
Cessna 172 from his Thunder Bay, Ontario, flight school
and illegally flew the aircraft into the United States, is
currently undergoing psychiatric evaluation to determine
if he's fit to stand trial. The Thunder Bay resident was
reportedly hoping to be shot down by the American military
in a bizarre suicide-by-fighter-jet attempt, but could
face up to 10 years in a U.S. federal prison for his
unauthorized flight. Wisconsin Air National Guard F-16s
pursued the plane after it crossed the border on April 7,
but soon determined the wayward Cessna to not be a
terrorist threat. Leon eventually made an off-airport
landing on a road near Elsinore, Missouri. He was
apprehended and charged with interstate transportation of
a stolen aircraft and illegal entry to the U.S. in federal
court in St. Louis. The evaluation could take a month or
more.
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CRASH CLAIMS LIFE OF LSA
COMPANY PRESIDENT
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Explorer Aeronautique, maker
of the Ecoflyer and Private Explorer aircraft, suffered a
tremendous loss on April 27 when company President Bernard
LaFerriere, 56, was killed in a crash during his flight
back from Sun 'n Fun to Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. According
to the Syracuse Post-Standard, Laferriere had stopped at
the Norwich, New York, airport that afternoon to wait for
the heavy winds to subside. He left Norwich at around 4:30
p.m. and was later reported missing by aviation workers at
a Boston area airport. A landowner discovered LaFerriere's
remains and the plane wreckage on Tuesday afternoon in a
remote, wooded area. The company debuted the Ecoflyer last
year at AirVenture and the airplane was profiled in the
October 2008 edition of EAA Sport Pilot & Light-Sport
Aircraft magazine. We send our condolences to Bernard's
family and friends.
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The Ecoflyer on display at
AirVenture 2008
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THE DUTCH-CANADIAN
CONNECTION: COURAGE AND TULIPS
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We said it last month and
we'll say it again: If you have not yet subscribed to the
Vintage Wings newsletter, Vintage News, you should do
so without delay. In the latest issue, editor Dave
O'Malley pays tribute to WWII Flying Officer George
Langille of St. John, New Brunswick, but not in a way you
might expect. Langille was shot down and killed while
flying a dangerous attack mission in his Hawker Typhoon
over an area in Holland known as the Gelderland. O'Malley
tells the fascinating story of how a group of Dutch
citizens have remembered his ultimate sacrifice - and how
the nation remains ever grateful for Canada's providing
sanctuary to the Royal Family of the Netherlands during
the war, and for the sacrifice of thousands of Canadian
lives during its liberation from Nazi tyranny. Read
the story
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JOINT FLYOUT PLANNED FOR
EAA CHAPTERS' 63, 154, 1410
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With the rebirth of EAA
Winnipeg (Lyncrest) Chapter 63, its members were eager to
begin flying activities under their new banner. So Greg
MacGillivray of chapters 63 (Lyncrest) and 1410 (High
River) got together with his Winnipeg and Regina (Chapter
154) friends to plan a suitable kick-off to the 2009
flying season: A joint chapter event midway between
Winnipeg and Calgary. Following a flurry of e-mails
between Jack Niema of Lyncrest, Perry Casson of Regina,
and Greg, plans came together quickly. Regina was the
approximate midway point, and Vic Zubot's private strip at
Disley, Saskatchewan, came up. Read more |
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OSHKOSH ACTIVITIES INCLUDE BILLY
BISHOP GOES TO WAR
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Further progress has been made
on activities to commemorate the centennial of Canadian
aviation at AirVenture 2009, since the outline
schedule was published in the last issue of Bits
& Pieces. We can now confirm that several aircraft
are expected to attend from Vintage Wings Canada,
including the stunning
P-40 Kittyhawk that recently joined the collection
from New Zealand, and an amphibious de
Havilland Canada Beaver.
Details are also available
of an invitation for our Canadian visitors to attend an
exclusive performance of the Canadian musical play, Billy
Bishop Goes to War. This will take place on the
evening of Monday, July 27, in fine surroundings of the
Eagle Hangar of the EAA AirVenture Museum.
Written by John MacLachlan
Gray and Eric Peterson, Billy Bishop Goes to War is
one of the most famous and widely-produced plays in
Canadian theatre, dramatizing the life of Canadian World
War I fighter pilot Billy Bishop. The one-night-only
performance will star David Cescarini of Milwaukee’s
Next Act Theater Company, who performed the play to rave
reviews at Oshkosh in 2002. Doors will open at 7 p.m. and
the performance will begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are available
at no charge, but seating is limited. To reserve your
seat, please e-mail Jane Smith at jsmith@eaa.org.
and include how many seats you need.
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OUR CANADIAN AVIATION
HERITAGE: HAROLD MARQUETTE
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From the EAA Sport Aviation
published in July, 1966 comes the story of Harold
Marquette, EAA 16073, Kitchener, Ontario - "The Dean
of Canadian Amateur Builders." While Harold was a
self-taught master aircraft builder, what was
interesting is he never became a pilot himself. "His
joy is in watching a set of plans transformed gradually
into an aircraft that will fly." Read the story
EAA members can access any
issue of their organization's past magazines (1953-2006).
To do your own searches, or browse through a back issue,
visit http://members.eaa.org
(log-in required) and click on the Sport Aviation Archive
image like the one at right. EAA has also recently
launched Sport
Aviation-Digital Edition - an electronic version of
the magazine.
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