Last Month's Meeting
 For our meeting last month the club hosted author, journalist and broadcaster Ted Barris, the author of Behind the Glory: The Plan that Won the Allied Air War which details the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP).
Prior to the meeting, a dozen club members joined Ted for dinner at Edenvale's new restaurant, Fud Grill. If you have yet to have dinner at Fud Grill, then you really do need to treat yourself to a night out. And be sure to bring the family too.
This was our first meeting since the new restaurant opened and if there was a common theme to the evening it could best be described as WOW! Danielle and the staff at FUD Grill setup for us what was the classroom but now is a banquet room. They laid on pastries and soft drinks plus had water glasses at each chair which they topped up throughout the evening. We're talking real linen here my friends. Borden Flying Club/COPA Flight 84 has gone upscale.
The facilities were only outdone by our guest's presentation. Ted held the room's undivided attention for 90 minutes as he spoke to the personal dedication and sacrifice of the men & women who made up the BCATP. He briefly mentioned the scope of the plan: 2 billion dollars spent, 250,000 people trained; but it was the stories of the people - the instructors - that he emphasized. He really brought home how critical to the war effort those airmen's travails were.
In attendance were several gentlemen that flew in WW II including longtime member John Lewis and our PRM, Tom Stiff's father. Ted Barris had a selection of his books for sale, including his latest, Breaking the Silence, Veterans' Untold Stories and did a brisk business.
June Meeting
As is traditional with the club, this month's meeting will be a hangar BBQ.
Join us at Hangar H7 at 7 pm on Thursday June 17th and bring the whole family with you. Heck, bring the neighbours along too! The club will be serving up hamburgers but you are welcome to bring your favourite items and throw them on the barbie if you prefer. We will have a couple of salads but we wouldn't be upset if you brought your grandmother's world famous Three Bean Salad or even a dessert. Oh, and while we are talking of bringing things, don't forget a lawn chair or two.
This will be our last meeting till August as we typically take July off so be sure to come on out. If you have any questions contact Sam at events@bordenflyingclub.com. Sam, if you haven't already heard, is the club's new events coordinator. And to kick things off right he plans on being somewhere over the Pacific ocean Thursday. Fear not as he assures us that he has everything under control as only an ATP can - apparently George is cooking.
100 Hour Inspection
A 100 hour inspection was completed on June 4th at Orillia Aviation and CMQ is running like the finely tuned machine she is.
Not operating a flying school, the club's aircraft is not subject to commercial standards. Strictly speaking, this means that 100 hour inspections are not required but we do them anyway because it is just plane (sorry I couldn't help myself) good business. During this latest inspection the landing light was repaired and we found a Cam Lock on the lower cowl that was worn. We have order several and they will be replaced as soon as they arrive.
There is some excessive wear on the left main tire which is typically caused by landing with your toes on the brakes. As was emphasized on every check ride you have ever taken with the club - keep your toes off the brakes and your heels on the floor - when landing.
Its been a busy spring
The weather has cooperated and the plane is in great shape which means that people want to fly which is a good thing. What could there possibly be to gripe about then?
Well, since you asked, we have noticed that the length of the average booking has increased by 20% over last year yet the length of the average flight has remained the same. The effect of this is that its getting harder to find an available time slot to book the plane.
I have stressed many times that the key to our success is that we are a bunch of courteous fliers. So courteous in fact that the club has very few rules on booking the plane. We ask that, unless the weather is really bad, you cancel your booking if you cannot make it and that you post a notice on the club's message board.
We also ask that your booking time not exceed two times the Hobbs time that you log on your flight. We are one of the very few club's that encourages our pilots to stop somewhere for lunch. We do not insist that the prop is swinging the entire time that you have the plane. But let's be fair to the other members and not book the plane for 6 hours and log less than 3 hours Hobbs time which is, regrettably, becoming the norm.
Without coming up with a long list of do's and don'ts, suffice it to say that you need to be aware of how your booking affects everyone else.
Fly safe and be courteous.
G8 and G20 Flight Restrictions
Don't forget that the G8 and G20 meetings of world leaders are this month. An Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) Supplement has been released by Nav Canada. Please check this official source and be sure to check NOTAMs before you fly for any updates that may occur due to changing threat levels.
The G8 restrictions will be in place June 24, 25 and 26, are centered on the Deerhurst Resort, near Huntsville ON. The G20 restrictions will be in place June 26, 27 and 28. They are centered on YYZ VORTAC 097 radial @ 5.2 NM
At both locations the restricted areas will consist of two rings, both from the ground up to 18,000 feet. Within 15 nm there will be no GA flights permitted. From 15 to 30 nm, special procedures will permit flights to and from arrival and departure airports and direct point-to point flights in this area.
As well as being familiar with the procedures outlined in AIP Supplement 11/10 and any applicable NOTAMs, all pilots should review the Canada Flight Supplement (CFS), Section F—Emergency Procedures—Interception of Civil Aircraft to ensure they know and understand their responsibilities if intercepted.
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