News and Comment

Ted Horton and his wife Hanne operate an orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya. Ted is currently flying his C-182 "48 F" from Ottawa to Nairobi in support of the orphanage and the Hanne Howard Fund.

Ted has been a member of The Ottawa Flying Club for over 5 years. He completed his PPL with Gerry Thompson and since buying his C-182 has been flying with John Porter.

Follow Ted's "excellent adventure" from Ottawa through Europe to Africa in his blog: www.cessnaottawa2nairobi.islandnet.com.

We are excited that one of our members has taken on such a personal and challenging flight!

On Wednesday, September 7th, 2011, Marcel Seguin celebrated 65 years as an OFC Club Member. He started joined the club in 1946 and completed his commercial license with OFC. He remembers those yearly years fondly and recalls the excitement and joy of just being around the planes. There were a wide variety of aircraft available - J3s, Tiger Moths, Fleet Canucks and others. With him were some fantastic people that went on to careers in aviation. Marcel was headed in that direction but started working with the early version of Transport Canada and ended up working on the Canada Air Pilot and enroute charts.

Marcel recently passed his aviation medical and may be the oldest licensed pilot in Canada.
Marcel Seguin: Marcel following his Commercial Flight test at the age of 19.

Peter Goodman, an Algonquin College student in the September class flew solo today for the first time. While the September class just started today, Peter has been flying since early August and managed to solo with 17.3 hours of dual flight training.

With the runway under construction, Peter's solo flight took place at the Carp airport. With his instructor, Morgan Ross, Peter flew to Carp and then left Morgan on the ground while he made his first circuit.

On his return, we took a few photos of the event.

First Solo: Peter Goodman after flying solo in FXL on 6 September 2011.
I'm a Pilot now!: Peter Goodman, following his first solo on 6 September 2011.
Hero Shot: Peter with his instructor Morgan Ross. Instructors can get rather proud of their student's accomplishments.
Peter and Simon showing some attitude.: Simon Auger shows Peter the proper way to attract attention. Simon has significant experience in this area. Having traveled the world, he has left his impression on many and you will often see flashes of the same bravado in the signature moves of several celebrities, including Usain Bolt. Peter, having just flew solo, obviously needs more practice to reach the same level of inhibition.

Ted Bates: Ted Bates died on a rescue mission over Lake Muskoka, Dec. 13, 1940. (See http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1029839--71-years-later-missing-plan...)A recent story in the Ottawa Citizen caught my eye as it described the short career of a past OFC member. Tomas Bates was a musician and Club member in the late 1930s, having moved to Ottawa from Guelph Ontario. Shortly after the war broke out, he was recruited by the Air Force and started training at Camp Borden. After several months in training, he received his wings on 12 December 1940. He died the next day in a collision during a search and rescue operation.

Despite the fact that witnesses saw the collision, no one actually saw the planes crash in Lake Muskoka. Only one plane was recovered at the time. Tom's aircraft, a Northrup A-17 Nomad was recently found through the diligent efforts of the Lost Airmen in Muskoka Project (LAMP).

Also of interest is the second pilot in Tom's aircraft, a 24 year old Lieutenant named Peter Campbell.

Congrats Glen

Glen

Glen and instructor Jason

Here is another story about why we tie things down.
On 18 July, the National Capital region experienced some severe hurricane force winds due to a strong storm front which swept through the area. We were ready for the storm which had many of the aircraft bouncing on their tie-downs.

Mark O'Connor's 182 was one of them. In a tail-dragger configuration, Mark's plane was tied down and chocked in place. After the storm, he found the plane had skipped its chocks and the carabiners on the tie downs had bent into hooks. A See the picture below.Carabiner bent by wind force.

A plane, such as the 182, will lift off the ground with full useful load of 1,140 lbs at around 91 km/h or 41 knots. With the aircraft empty, that entire force is applied to the tie down ropes. Its no surprise then that the simple carabiner nearly failed.

Carabiners are popular tie-down tools. They are quick and convenient method of attaching the ropes to the tie-down points. However, they have their limits in strength. A carabiner is designed to lock closed and, in the locked position, it will absorb the force of a fall which can be many times the actual body weight of the climber. The strength ratings of good mountain equipment is around 25kN (equivalent to the weight of 2,500Kg) when closed. However, when open, the device is only a quarter as strong - about 7kN or 700Kg. A cheap carabiner that doesn't lock closed may only support a few hundred pounds.

Lesson learned, ensure your tie-downs are up to the task. They should be able to withstand at least double the useful load of the aircraft. With lift increasing as the square of the speed, a wind speed of 57.4 knots (1.4 times the stall) will generate twice the lift force. A locking carabiner would be well worth the few extra seconds it takes to secure it.

If the wind is too strong, tie-downs will not protect the plane. When a tornado struck Rockcliffe two years ago, several planes remained held in place by good tie downs but had their wings bent because the wind was so strong. Still, prudent planning and precautions will help protect your aircraft in most wind conditions.

Mike.

Marie-Eve 1

After the perfect landing. Well played!

Marie-Eve 2

Get ready for some water

Marie-Eve 3

Luckily for you half of the water in the bucket actually missed.

Meghan Hawkins Solos: Meghan and her instructor Simon Auger following Meghan&amp's first solo flight.Meghan Hawkins soloed on Thursday Afternoon. It was a gorgeous and warm day for the first flight. Meghan is a student in the Private Pilot Program working towards her Private Pilot License. Congratulations to Meghan and her instructor Simon Auger.