Canadian Aircraft at the AirVenture Canadian Tent

As was mentioned last month, two aircraft will be honoured in a display at the Canadian tent at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh this year: We thought you’d like to know more about them – C-FLUG and C-GGLU.

C-FLUG is a 1959 Cessna 150 donated by Bill Vandenberg to the RAA-Winnipeg chapter for the Ninety-Nines to build hours so women can more readily earn their commercial certificates and IFR rating. Approximately 12 women with their private pilot certificates have flown more than 250 hours in the first year of operation. Several women have now gone on to complete their commercial certificates; one woman is now working on her multi-IFR, and one woman has begun flying her uncle’s beautifully built, brand-new airplane.

This winter, C-FLUG will be flown on skis at Lyncrest Airport on the outskirts of Winnipeg, Manitoba. EAA members Bert Elam, Mark Odegard, Karolina Utko, Jessica Biggs, Donna Prowse, and Jill Oakes, and volunteer AME Leon Woychuk manage C-FLUG, the only club plane in North America that women can borrow for $20/hour, thanks to the generous support of local, national, and international organizations and individuals determined to increase the number of women in aviation!

A few of our sponsors include ICOM, Air Parts, Aero Recip, Gregorash, Goulet Aircraft Supply, Woychuk Maintenance, Keystone Avionics, Midwest Avionics, and senior pilots who generously support this unique initiative.

C-GGLU is a Pietenpol designed in 1928 and beautifully handcrafted by Lloyd Stamp from Ontario in the early 1980s. It was refurbished by Adrian Meilleur several years ago. This mint homebuilt is built entirely from wood, covered with fabric, and is powered by a Continental A75-8 engine. The fuselage flexes with the air currents, a totally different feel when flying and similar to the difference between paddling a wooden canoe versus an aluminum canoe.

C-GGLU only weighs about 600 pounds. Flying this Pietenpol with a lighter pilot and no passenger increases the cruise speed to about 90 mph indicated on the authentic Johnson’s Air Speed indicator built by Vic Prefontaine and Meilleur. Fully loaded, she cruises around 75 mph.