Spring Has Sprung, the Clocks Have Changed

April 2020 - Considering current events, I'll focus this newsletter on some much needed relief. Let's talk about flying, building, and just having fun.

Here we are, well into 2020 and pumped up for the flying season. The current healthcare crisis puts us in a frame of mind that we weren't expecting at the start of the year. What impact is it having on your flying plans? Mine were fairly dramatically affected. Our planned Caribbean Air Rally trip has been postponed to November 30, SUN 'n FUN has been cancelled outside of some digital aspects, and my local airport administrative building has been shut down. The good news is that we can still go hangar flying!

You might be interested in this really interesting website I came across. It's a collection of self-published aviation books by Canadian authors, including our very own Mike Davenport. Sitting at home with nothing to do but listen to endless news reports full of disaster predictions is not good for health or sanity. Why not pick up a book from here? The price of the books includes shipping. There are titles relating to women in aviation, unsolved mysteries, the Peggy's Cove Swissair disaster, and lots more.

I was fortunate enough to be selected as one of the beta testers of the uAvionix TailBeacon EXP ADS-B Out product, as I said last month. I mentioned the biggest challenge, pulling wire the length of the fuselage, in our March issue. As a beta tester, you can expect wrinkles and I've seen some of those, but the device itself looks very promising. Apparently, that chest injury I induced through overstretching to remove the baggage area screws was actually a broken rib. As you may know, the treatment for that is basically time. No strapping, meds, or whatever, but the treatment worked. Healing nicely, thank you.

Our chapter president, Dennis King, sent me a fascinating link to a weather web site. Windy.com has a really dynamic weather map. It has all you'd expect, but the one thing that seems to be really useful to pilots is that you can scroll forward nine days. You can look at cloud bases, cloud tops, precip, storms, etc., and if you're flight planning this is a great way to get a feel for what the weather is going to be doing for the foreseeable future.

ICON Aircraft recently announced it shipped its 100th ICON A5 amphibious light-sport aircraft. A quick check of the Canadian Registry shows three of these based in Canada. I've reached out to one of the owners to see if we can get an article. It really is an ideal aircraft for our Canadian geography.

A similar aircraft — the Borey amphibian produced by AeroVolga and marketed in North America by Canadian company Flight Simple Inc. — was to have been on display at SUN 'n FUN. This looks like an interesting competitor in the light aircraft amphibian marketplace. Patrick Gilligan, a frequent contributor to this newsletter and Canadian Council member, will be flying the aircraft to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, and you can meet him somewhere near the aircraft where he intends to give rides.

ICON A5

Are you doing anything differently because of the current situation? Let us hear about it. Maybe you're spending more time in a hangar than you predicted. Check out the 16 new webinars scheduled for April and May! It's a great way to get involved when you're otherwise isolated. And be sure to tell us what you're up to!