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PUFA NEWSLETTER
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April 22, 1998
Beverley Lawrence, President
Tobias Kreisz, Vice-President
Mario LeBel, Treasurer
Debbie Major, Secretary
Mail to: Pacific Ultralight Flying Association
102-16071 82 Avenue
Surrey, B.C. V3S 2L6
PUFA Newsletter published by Glenn Ursel
From The President
by Beverley Lawrence
We are fortunate to live in an age when Government consults with us, the public. But while this is wonderful progress, this also brings with it responsibilities. Unlike the days when decisions were made for us and we either accepted them or bitched, we can now be a part of the process and need to take a little time to think about what we would like. As you will see from Kevin Psutka’s report, the initial proposal for Passenger Carrying has been approved in principle and we are now asked by COPA and UPAC for our input in various areas.
When considering your response think about the following,
1). Safety
2). Relativity to ultralight flight
3). Simplicity
I believe that all PUFA members have valid responses to the questions asked and instead of a PUFA consensus would like to see all comments passed to UPAC and COPA for consideration. The consideration of financial assistance would be the only area where it would be important for members to take a vote. It appears that Transport Canada is underfunded and is passing on the work and financial responsibility to the community.
Please bring your views to the PUFA meeting, phone me at 856-4300 or email them to airflow@direct.ca
Editorial Note
by Glenn Ursel
I thought the list of flying events that Daryl Hegyi has posted on the PUFA Web Site might be of interest to those members who aren’t “third wavers” and haven’t seen the list and so I have included the list in this newsletter.
The Ultralight Passenger Carrying issue has popped back into the limelight and I have included the email notes of Kathy Lubitz and Kevin Psutka for your information and opportunity to provide your ideas and opinions either directly to UPAC and COPA or through our PUFA organization.
Finally, I have inserted the other article currently published by Andrew V. Douglas on his website noted at the end of his story. I hope you find his insight into ultralighting in Russia as interesting as I did. By the way, Andrew is as Russian as they get so you might be wondering how he comes by the English name. At the last PUFA meeting, he told me his grandfather was an English scientist who met Andrew’s Russian grandmother in Russia while working there.
1998 Flying Events*
Sunday, May 3
Delta Airpark, RAA Chapter 85
Monthly pancake breakfast
9:00 am to 11:15 am - $3.00
Listen to the pre-recorded arrival procedures for Delta Heritage Airpark
phone 878-9050
Saturday and Sunday, May 2-3 Qualicum Airport Appreciation Days
With the help of the town of Qualicum, the Parksville Qualicum Aero
Club is organizing and hosting Airport Appreciation Days on the weekend
of May 2nd and 3rd. A Chili Cookoff competition and Ice Sculpting contest
called "Fire and Ice" will be held in the town of Qualicum on Saturday
May 2nd. Details are still to be worked out on some events, but a
shuttle bus will be available to take people to the events in town. Here's
what's in the works, although details are sketchy as yet:
- fire bombers
- parachutists
- military A/C
- EAA homebuilt display
fly-in of many kinds
of aircraft
- young eagles (kids rides in Spam Cans
(that's
Cessnas))
- ultralights
- hot dogs, pancake breakfast, pop,
coffee
- flour bombing contest --- Sunday May
3rd
I will keep you informed as participation is confirmed. I would like to extend this invitation to PUFA and all it's members and friends to attend. Feel free to bring camping equipment and make a weekend of it. Perhaps this could be one of your weekend flyout destinations for the summer. Best wishes and safe flying.
Patrick Simpson
Parksville Qualicum Aero Club
Former PUFA Member
Sunday May 10
Fred Baron's Mother's Day pancake breakfast
To be held at Intergalactic Airport,
988 - 176th St, Surrey.
FREE to PUFA members.
Memberships can be purchased at the event ($25.00)
Saturday and Sunday, May 15-16
Concrete, Washington annual Old-Fashioned Fly-in
For information contact Ted Hednrickson
phone (206) 853-8947
Saturday, June 20
COPA Annual Meeting in Edmonton
Thursday to Monday, July 9-13
Arlington Airshow
Thetis Island Float Fly-in
Saturday and Sunday, August 8-9
Abbotsford Fly-in
Powell River Fly-in
September
Poker Run
St. Mary’s Lake Fly-in
*Information supplied by Gordon Denham
and Fred Glasbergen
UPAC/COPA Request for Input on Ultralight Passenger Carrying Regulations
From: Kathy Lubitz **To: Bob Baglow
cc: Wayne Winters; Gerry Weninger; Glenn Ursel; Allen Thompson; Adrian
Tessier; Kim Steiner; Jeff Penny; Ron Riley & Ed Dantoni
Subject: Results of Transport Meeting
Re: Passenger Carrying in Ultralights
Date: Friday, April 10, 1998
I thought you'd like to know this ASAP. This gives a green light to get working on the details.
Kathy Lubitz
President
Ultralight Pilots Association of Canada
14845-6 Yonge Street, Suite 180
Aurora, Ontario
L4G 6H8
Tel: 905-833-3467
Fax: 905-833-1336
**Kevin Psutka’s email note was forwarded attached
to this one from Kathy Lubitz.
From: Kevin Psutka
To: Bruce Carter; Herb Cunningham; Mike Fothergill; Marlene Gill; Dave
Loveman; Mike Ryer; Ralph Svendsen; Ray Rohr & Fred Glasbergen
cc: Kathy Lubitz; J. Snow & G. Wallace
Subject: Results of Transport Meeting
Re: Passenger Carrying in Ultralights
Date: Friday, April 10, 1998
The proposal for passenger carrying by ultralight pilots in approved aeroplanes developed by the ultralight community was and presented at the CARAC meetings of April 7 and 8 by Kevin Psutka of COPA and Kathy Lubitz of UPAC. The proposal was accepted as presented by the both the Part 6 and Part 4 technical committees.
This is a major step forward. But it is the beginning rather than the
end of the process. Now we need to flesh out the details. We appreciate
the effort and compromises that went into developing the proposal and would
like to thank you all for the time you took to read and respond to the
proposal drafts. Now, COPA and UPAC are asking for your help again
as we work through the details.
The first detail is the new exam. Transport Canada has indicated a willingness to consult with the ultralight community for input into the exam. (We may be invited to compile the question bank for the exam.) Kathy has volunteered to get input from the ultralight community about specific areas of meteorology, navigation, aerodynamics and maintenance that should be emphasized for ultralight activity. She would like to hear from students and pilots who also have definite ideas on specific material you 'should have had' in the course but didn't. This is your chance to get involved. Please do. Each instructor already uses a Transport Canada approved pre-solo test. If you can forward a copy of your pre-solo exam to Kathy, that would be a tremendous help.
Another detail is the requirements for the 'Instructor Authorized to give the Flight Test' must be determined. A course on how to assess skill and give flight test must be developed and delivered. Transport has indicated that they would like an industry organization to develop and deliver this course. To be a national course, it has to available in English and French. Do we have the ability to do this? Can we afford to do this? Can we afford not to do this? Should we rely on Transport Canada for the course and its delivery? We need to hear from the members of the organizations about their willingness and ability to commit resources and funds to implement this.
There will be discussion about the administration of the flight test report and the actual endorsement. Does Transport need to issue a document or will a log book entry suffice? If the industry delivers the above course, should it also track the results of the flight test and endorsements?
Transport officials Jim Dow of Flight Training, Arlo Speer of Recreational Aviation and Hank Hemming of Flight Crew Examinations are all working on this. Once the details are resolved, a notice of the proposed amendments to the CARs must be drafted and be accepted by the CARAC committee members at a future meeting (hopefully this fall). Then, because there are changes to the regulations, the proposed amendments must be gazetted and be approved by Parliament.
There has been no work done yet on what aircraft will be approved for passenger carrying. In the coming months, we will start the work with the goal of determining how to approve basic two place ultralights for passenger carrying. That is to say, if you do not wish to fly with passengers, there will be no change. If you wish to fly with passengers, there will be some sort of verification process for your aircraft.
Please contact:
Kathy Lubitz, UPAC by email at
elubitz@ionline.net or
Kevin Psutka, COPA by email at
kpsutka@copanational.org
with your comments as soon as possible. The sooner these details get decided, the sooner the approval process can begin.
Kevin Psutka
Executive Vice-President
Canadian Owners and Pilots Association
1001 - 75 Albert Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 5E7
Tel: 613-236-4901
Fax: 613-236-8646
Visit our website http://www.copanational.org
In The Heart Of Yakutia***
Three little country girls took their seats on the fence and intently observed our preparation for the flight. Of course, a passenger plane was usual for them. It arrived here to this small Yakut village almost every day but they saw a delta-wing ultralight for the first time.
Everything was ready at last. We started the engine, waved our hands to the little spectatresses and taxied to the runway of the village's aerodrome. My passenger, mechanic Alex Panov, sat behind me, not as usually with his face to forward and his legs under pilot's armpits, but sideways. We had found this way to sit a month ago when we worked with ecologists. This way was more comfortable for them to use their camera for making a video of pollution of the earth's surface and our passengers in this expedition, the topographers, liked to sit sideways for handy holding their maps and aerial photos on their knees.
Alex preferred this position too, because it gave him an opportunity to look at the engine in flight; that was very interesting for him as a mechanic. So the engine roared, the ultralight shortly took-off and the street with cows and villagers floated under us and then the boundless sea of taiga. We had before us two hours of the flight to a settlement where we had to continue our work. After one minute we were over the nearest forest glade with a round lake in the center.
Suddenly the engine's sound changed; the tachometer's pointer moved down and stopped at 3,000 rpm. What happened? Spending much time in flight, an UL pilot is always ready for any surprise and holds in his mind a probability of engine failure. I always thought that my first feeling in that situation would be a fright, a feverish search of a way out. But to my surprise, my first thought was not a fright at all but quite logical (as it seemed at that moment) explanation: probably my passenger did something with the engine, maybe adjusted the carburetor? So I turned to Alex intending to say him with irony: "Well, fellow, now is the time to adjust the carb!..." But I saw something different -- Alex sat still and inquiringly looked at me... It became clear that one of the engine's cylinder had broken down.
The UL began to descend at 1.5 m/sec, inevitably approaching the ground. I quickly turned the UL around 180°, hoping to come back the runway but saw it was impossible -- I wouldn't fly over the forest strip. I thought a second where to land -- it's soft landing on the forest maybe, but how much work to take down the UL from the trees! The field is very tussocky but better all the same! I turned to the passenger once more: "Hold on, Alex!" - "Come on, Andy!.." The grass flashes under the very wheels. Bang! The UL strikes against tussocks and turns over; the engine bellows momentarily and stops. Silence falls...
Two guys hang heads down, fastened with the belts to what was an aircraft just a moment ago... An old country graveyard with ramshackle crosses is twenty steps from them. Welcome!..
Are you all right, Andy? -- Yes, of course! And you? -- No problem!...
This was the end of our Expedition 92 in Kobiaj district of Central Yakutia, near the outfall of the Viluj river, a left tributary of the Lena river. This year our local geodesic enterprise received a government order to make the registration of agricultural lands in this region. Usually topographers use caterpillar vehicles as transport to reach far hayfields and pastures straggling in taiga on large area (some Yakutian collective farms are more than 10,000 sq. km). This way requires much time and is ecologically dangerous. A helicopter costs too much to carry only one man. So the enterprise engaged us to this expedition.
We got to the destination at first down the Lena, then up the Viluj by a barge behind a small motor ship. These were unforgettable days -- hot July sun, beautiful views and jovial fellow-travelers! They were experienced topographers, spending half of their lives in the fields but never saw an UL. Four of them had to be our passengers, so they discussed the future flights for hours, asking us about our aircraft. All four were quite big guys more than 85 kg each and we worried how our UL, with its weak 28 hp engine will carry them, but we didn't give a sign to alarm them.
After a few days we reached a small wharf on the bank of the Viluj,
where we got to unload and went to the Sajalyk village to base. Two
days later our UL was wheeled out to the village's aerodrome escorted by
a noisy crowd of children from the settlement. After the first test flight,
half of the adult inhabitants came on to the field. The men (as a
rule all of them were hunters) were interested only in two questions --
what the engine is and if it is possible to trace and kill an elk with
the help of the aircraft. (By the way, I took notice long ago that
whenever we were with our UL, onlookers showed keenest interest in just
this -- what is the engine? Nothing more, neither what speed the UL flies
nor how much cargo it can carry -- only what is the engine! Why? It is
just an enigma for me!) That day everyone was satisfied and pleased.
Workday flights became routine from the next day. We flew long and
short routes, sometimes up to two hours non-stop. Our passengers deciphered
aerial photos of agricultural lands, marked boundaries of hayfields,
types of grass, soil, etc., on the maps.
As in another taiga part of Yakutia, so-called "allases" are used for agriculture. They represent treeless fields among taiga, often with a lake in the center, and are the result of karst processes in permafrost. Allases are born, live and die like a creature. A young new allas looks like a hole in taiga -- just a lake among trees without land around. Several dozen years will pass and its lake will turn to swamp, then will disappear, get dry and only taiga will be there again. Flying over taiga, I met with another surprising natural phenomenon -- tukulans. These are spots in taiga occupied with ... a desert. Yes, quite like in the real Sahara -- clean white sand, barkhans treading on the trees. Some tukulans are vast. For example, the Big Northern Tukulan near the place where we flew, is 50 X 15 km and some are quite small -- a few hundred square meters. Sometimes I saw from above the forest Hercules -- an elk. Its brown back is rather imperceptible among trees, but swimming in a lake, the elk is seen from a distance -- it swims like a ship.
Taiga of this region is very various. Dry spots of sand soil overgrown with pines are met here and there. These places look like European forests -- the same high pines, narrow winding rivers with dog-rose thickets on the banks and willows weeping over silence water. But most of the local taiga is swamp with a sparse growth of larches. The brown lifeless colors prevail in these landscapes. To tell the truth, I was a little awe-struck to fly there. It seemed to me that evil spirits of taiga live exactly in such gloomy places. We could cover quite a few dozen kilometres and meet no road or human habitation. Only swamps, lakes and thin larches...
Almost a month passed thus. The topographers got accustomed to our UL and flew it in any case of slightest need. This collective farm was done; we had to go to the next one about 100 km from here. Everything was loaded on the vehicle and it went away; Alex and I were going to fly the UL. But you, dear reader, still know the rest of the story ...
***Orginally written by Andrew V. Douglas in 1993 and currently published at his Internet web site, http://mypage.direct.ca/v/vdouglas