Plans for a New Year of Flying

January 2019 - Well, January is upon us, with lengthening daylight, cold days ahead of us, resolutions to break, and flying to learn from. Don’t you think that we learn continuously from flying? Part of the aim of this newsletter is to share what we think we’ve learned, whether it’s about flying or building an aircraft or some other aspect.

Speaking of planning, you may remember our article from seven years ago on the Canadian Air and Space Museum in Downsview, Ontario. They were hopeful they’d be able to defeat the proposal to shut down the historic site of the de Havilland Canada factory at Downsview. Unfortunately, they failed in that attempt, and the exhibit contents, including a full-size mock-up of the Avro Arrow, have all been in storage at a facility at Pearson International Airport. A plan has finally taken shape to move the exhibits to Edenvale Airport (CNV8) in north central Ontario. We have someone writing an article about the move and the hopes for the museum display at Edenvale, which we hope to publish next month. The new organization has been named the Canadian Air and Space Conservancy. If you are unfamiliar with Edenvale Airport and its entrepreneurial owner, Milan Kroupa, you will certainly enjoy this uplifting video about the rebirth of this airport. In the video, he expresses all the best sentiments about getting the community involved, and especially the young and those interested in preserving our aviation heritage. Milan is also investing in a runway extension in the hope of encouraging some smaller jet aircraft to visit. Edenvale is only half an hour from Barrie, Ontario, which is itself only an hour north of Toronto (but in rush hour you have to take your chances).

The start of this massive undertaking involved moving the replica Avro Arrow to Edenvale, which actually took place overnight, with the aircraft arriving at CNV8 early in the morning of December 4. The collection has been housed in 44 40-foot trailers on the grounds of Pearson since the museum was evicted from Downsview in 2011. The collection also includes a replica of the Alouette satellite. Did you know that Canada was third into the space race, after Russia and the United States, with the first satellite that was able to communicate bi-directionally? You might also be surprised to learn that the follow-on satellite launches were called ISIS I and II. Not a popular choice of name today, but in 1968 International Satellites for Ionospheric Studies (ISIS I) was welcomed internationally.

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We are hoping to feature a series on Canadian aviation museums this year, and if you are connected with one, you may like to put a bug in someone’s ear about writing an article. There are some fascinating collections out there.

If you had not heard before, the name of our newsletter came from the name of the second homebuilt aircraft to be registered in Canada by Gus Chisholm. It was a Corben Baby Ace made of Canadian “bits and pieces,” and that’s pretty much what our newsletter is made of too.

Feel free to forward Bits and Pieces to your flying friends and encourage them to subscribe. Lastly, we are always on the lookout for contributors, either for full articles or items relating to electronics, a builder’s tip, or a trip you made. Please feel free to communicate with us using the Contact Us tab at the top of this newsletter. If your friends are interested in what you are up to, maybe our readership would also be intrigued.