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November 20, 1997

Jeff Rochon, President
Bernie Strotmann, Vice-President
Ken Buck, Treasurer
Glenn Ursel, Secretary

Mail to: Pacific Ultralight Flying Association
102-16071 82 Avenue
Surrey, B.C. V3S 2L6

PUFA Newsletter published by Glenn Ursel

The next meeting of PUFA on November 26th will be our annual General Meeting. All executive seats are concluding their second and therefore last terms. PUFAS Constitution holds that no executive seat shall be held for longer than two one year terms. The purpose of this regulation is to bring a fresh group of individuals with new ideas to the forefront.  At the last meeting nominations for all four seats were accepted and further nominations can be put forward up to and including the November 26th meeting.  It is my hope that a good membership turnout will occur. If a member finds it impossible to attend, remember that voting by proxy is acceptable.  Call Secretary Glenn Ursel to register your nomination or vote.

My airfield (Apex) is still in existence despite someone buying the property last year.  For a while I thought my residency was terminated, especially when the new owner attempted to get permits to build a large house smack dab in the middle of the runway. I watched anxiously as various services and engineers did their thing.  I mowed the grass and steered round the ten or so holes drilled on the side of the runway.  The results of the water perculator holes would decide whether the owner could go on with building.  Not long ago the word came down. The owner was abandoning building and was also listing the property for sale.  My reprieve could be short.   The next owner might want to grow blueberries.  Any ultralighters out there interested in twenty acres?  All it takes is money.  Asking price in the low nines___thats with five zeros!

Due to the Canada Post mail strike, I will be delivering copies of this last PUFA Newsletter for 1997 to the members who arrive for the November monthly and Annual General Meeting at the Surrey Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, November 26th.  When the mail resumes, I will mail out copies to those not attending the meeting.

To continue the theme of last months newsletter, I am devoting this issue once again to the passenger carrying privelege for the Pilot Permit - Ultralight Aeroplane.  I have included the report of the committee appointed at the October monthly meeting - Daryl Hegyi, myself and Fred Glasbergen.  The recommendations conform to the ICOA proposals presented at the COPA meeting in September.

While some of our membership may still resist the additional training and examination requirements, it was the committees view that the benefits of official sanctioning of passenger carrying priveleges in an advanced ultralight aeroplane outweighed these perceived negatives.

I have also included an email note I received recently from Kathy Lubitz, President of UPAC, in which she has asked our organization to gather some statistics on ultralight pilot annual hours of flying time, type of pilot permit/licence and numbers of accidents/incidents and their causes.  The information is apparently needed for her discussions with COPA on the passenger carrying issue.  We can discuss our response at the meeting.

Finally, I include the annual notice for the Parsons PUFA Christmas party.  Hope to see many of you there!

PUFA Committee Report on Passenger Issue

The committee recommends that PUFA endorse the following requirements for the Ultralight Pilot Permit endorsement for carrying passengers in an advanced ultralight aeroplane:

Ultralight Pilot Permit Passenger Endorsement

(1) Age

        An applicant shall be a minimum of sixteen years of  age.

(2) Medical Fitness and Validity
 

(a) An applicant shall hold a Category 4 Medical  Certificate valid for a Pilot Permit - Ultralight Aeroplane.

(b) An applicant who meets the medical conditions specified on the Civil Aviation Medical Declaration and has signed it shall be deemed to have met the Category 4 Medical Standards, providing a physician licensed to practise medicine in Canada has signed Part C of the declaration.

(c) The medical validity period for the permit holder under 40 years of age is 60 months and for a permit holder 40 years or over, is 24 months.

(d) The permit is maintained by a valid Category 1, 3 or 4 Medical Certificate.

An applicant shall have obtained a minimum of 60% in each of the following four mandatory areas as well as in the overall written examination to the standard of that for the Pilot Permit - Recreational Aeroplane:

(a) Air Law - regulations, rules and orders, air traffic services, practices and procedures and licensing requirements relevant to the permit;

(b) Navigation - navigation, radio aids and electronic theory;

(c) Meteorology;

(d) Aeronautics - General Knowledge - airframes, engines and systems, theory of flight, flight instruments, flight operations and human factors.

(a) An applicant shall have completed a minimum of 25 hours recreational pilot flight training under the direction and supervision of the holder of a flight instructor rating for advanced ultralight aeroplanes.

(b) The flight training shall include a minimum of:
 

(i) 15 hours dual instruction flight time,  including a minimum of 2 hours cross-country  flight time with a cross country flight of two legs of a minimum of 30 minutes each, and

(ii) 5 hours solo flight time.

An applicant shall complete a flight test to the standard outlined in the Flight Test Standard - Recreational Pilot Permit - Aeroplane (TP12475E).

Flight Instructor Rating - Ultralight Aeroplane

No change with present regulations.

Flight Instructor Rating - Ultralight Aeroplane Authorization to Conduct Passenger Carrying

(1) Prerequisite

        An applicant shall hold a valid Flight Instructor Rating - Ultralight Aeroplane.

(2) Medical Fitness

        An applicant shall hold a Category 3 Medical Certificate.

(3) Knowledge

        If they have not already done so, an applicant shall have passed, with success, a General Aviation Ground School Course or a written examination to the standard for the Pilot Permit - Recreational Aeroplane.

(4) Experience

        The applicant shall have acquired no less then 200 hours of flight experience aboard ultralight  aeroplanes.

5) Skill

        An applicant shall have his logbook certified by the  holder of a Flight Instructor Rating - Ultralight Aeroplane authorized to conduct passenger carrying  endorsement certifying that the applicant has demonstrated the ability to perform and instruct both normal and emergency manoeuvres appropriate to  the passenger carrying endorsement on the Pilot Permit - Ultralight Aeroplane.

(6) Credits

(a) The knowledge requirement shall be deemed to have been met if the applicant holds, or has held  within the preceding 5 years, a permit or licence in any other category of aircraft

(b) The knowledge and experience requirements shall be deemed to have been met if the applicant holds, or has held within the preceding 5 years, a  Pilot Licence - Aeroplane or Helicopter and has a minimum of 50 hours of flight time in ultralight aeroplanes..

(c) The knowledge, experience and skill requirements shall be deemed to have been met if  the applicant holds, or has held within the preceding 2 years, a Flight Instructor Rating - Aeroplane or Helicopter and has a minimum of 20 hours of flight time in ultralight aeroplanes,  including a minimum of 2 hours dual instruction flight time and a minimum of 10 hours solo flight time.

(a) The authorization to conduct passenger carrying endorsement is maintained by a valid Instructor Rating - Ultralight Aeroplane.

(b) The requirement for a letter of recommendation for renewal of the Instructor Rating - Ultralight Aeroplane can be satisfied by a successful instructor renewal flight test in the aeroplane or helicopter category aircraft.

To: gursel@direct.ca
 Subject: UL activity poll
 Date: Sunday, November 23, 1997 4:53 AM

Glenn,

I have a favour to ask.  I am now the President of the Ultralight Pilots Association of Canada.  As you know, we are presently working to get passenger carrying on Ultralight aeroplanes by Ultralight pilots.  The discussions have stalled because there is a difference of opinion between the ultralight pilots we have polled and the rest of the aviation community about the amount of risk that the passenger would be in.

Part of the problem is that there are no statistics for ul activity.  In general aviation, the pilot reports his hours flown on his medical renewal application. The hours on the aircraft are reported on the annual airworthiness report filled out by the owner of the aircraft.  There is no such reporting for UL aircraft or pilots.

I am trying to get an idea of the amount of activity in all areas across the country.  I am sending this request to you in hope that you can help me out.  I do not need names or registration numbers.  The information would be used in a general way as a compilation of activity.

I would like answers to the following questions.

What province are you in?
How many UL aeroplanes are flying in your area?
How many are registered and not flying?
How many are not registered, but are flying?
How many hours did the pilots fly in the last 12 months?
What is the licence type of the pilots flying ULs in your area?  Private Pilot, Commercial, or UL permit, no licence?
How many accidents were there ("accidents" involve structural damage)?
What was the cause (engine quit, pilot error, ...) ?
How many incidents (incidents are forced or precautionary landings where there was minimal or no damage)?
What was the cause?

The answers should be as accurate as possible.  Answer the ones you can, any info would help.  We need to convince the government we are safe and that we will not hurt the passenger entrusted to our care.  We are trying to keep the regulations to a minimum.

If you are not already a member, please consider joining UPAC, the higher our membership numbers, the more the government pays attention to us. But we are trying to represent the whole UL community, not just our members.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Kathy  Lubitz
Email  elubitz@ionline.net