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PUFA NEWSLETTER
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October 23, 2002
Fred Glasbergen, President
Walter Klatt, Vice-President
Sandra Clark, Treasurer
Daryl Hegyi, Secretary
Mail to: Pacific Ultralight Flying Association
102-16071 82 Avenue
Surrey, B.C. V3S 2L6
PUFA Newsletter published by Glenn Ursel
PUFA Website Version edited by Walter Klatt
From The President
by Fred Glasbergen
When ultralights first came on the scene it didn't take Transport Canada
long to regulating them with registration and pilot licensing. Soon
after they came up with an ultralight symbol to put on aeronautical charts
to identify where ultralight activity could be encountered.
Today we have reached another milestone where at last the King George Airpark has been listed in the Canada Flight Supplement. It has only taken twenty years!
Editorial Note
by Glenn Ursel
I recently returned from a most interesting and enjoyable holiday in
Portugal and learned, to my dismay, of an Ultralight Seaplane accident
on the Fraser River that occurred late in the afternoon of Friday, October
11th. The landing near the Surrey Docks in New Westminster resulted
in the plane’s sudden sinking in the river and concomitant flooding of
the cockpit.
While the pilot was struggling to undo his seatbelt, his passenger
managed to get out before him where she was struck by the still turning
propeller and fatally injured. From discussions with experienced
ultralight pilots, it appears there is a need for a safety switch that
would automatically shut off the engine before anyone exits the cockpit
similar to the mechanism already in use on the so-called seadoos or jetskis.
To prevent a possible future re-occurrence of this tragic fatality, this
suggestion sounds like a good one...
I received a copy of a notice from Adam Hunt of COPA that the Surrey Practice Area is being discontinued as an alert area on the chart maps. I have included the message in the newsletter for your information.
I also include Gordon Brogan’s masterfully told story of the scattering of the ashes of a very dear and prominent former ultralight pilot member of PUFA who passed away on February 4th, 1999. It seems so appropriate that his ashes were dispersed from a Lazair in flight over the mouth of the Serpentine River as it empties into the great Pacific Ocean.
Finally, as PUFA members will note in the Minutes of the last meeting
held on September 25th, 2002, a decision was made to discontinue mailing
of the PUFA Newsletter to those members who have an email address and,
therefore, access to the Internet. A Notice of Meeting with the Minutes
of the previous meeting will be emailed to each such member with a link
to the PUFA Web Page where the newsletter will be displayed. PUFA
members who do not have access to the Internet will still receive hard
copies in the snail mail.
From: Adam Hunt
Sent: Thursday, October 03, 2002 1:26 PM
Subject: The Training Area near Surrey BC
Dear COPA Flight Captains,
I received a call today from Transport Canada, Pacific Region's Jeff Graham, asking me to pass this along to you. The information is already in the latest CFS and will appear on the VNCs shortly.
Due to decisions made during the recent Vancouver airspace study, the decision was made to remove the Surrey Training Area, CYA 125(T). This area is still available for flying in and conducting maneuvers, but it is no longer an Alert Area as of today.
Transport Canada have been letting all the schools know, but since the CFS has been amended it won't be also broadcast as a NOTAM. Please do let your COPA Flight members know about this airspace change! Ask them to be careful flying out there, too!
Adam
July 10th this year was one of those wonderful hot calm days; there were so many this summer, but this day was special.
It was late afternoon and I had just got back after enjoying a great flight in my Subaru powered amphibious Beaver, C-IDQS. Larry White and Glenn Ursel had joined me to fly to Gary Letreau's home beside the sea on Saltspring Island. We ate our lunches there and were treated to coffee and tasty snacks that Gary's wife Rosalee had so kindly laid out for us. After lunch we flew into St Mary's lake to see Olaf's rare twin C.B. amphibian aircraft.
Now, I was back home and it was 5pm; it had been a long day filled with sights of seascapes and islands only a float plane pilot could really understand....yet, I thought , the flight that lay before me was to be one of the most memorable and unique.
The hangar doors slowly roll open with their usual metallic clanking sounds and the sunlight falls on my trusty nineteen year old Lazair, C-IDAZ. I realize next year she will no longer be a teenager and I wonder where all those years have gone. She awakens to remind me of so many memories. There are the early ones from her infancy, those long ago days when a short flight around the King George field was like travelling to another universe. There were the flights to Craig Smith's field near Yarrow where in 1983 she had arrived in a packing case; a jumble of aluminium parts, like atoms without form. It took a caring person to give her shape and life. I am glad it's been me. The memories of nineteen years of flying flood out. I wonder at all the places I have been taken and the people I have met through her, some still here and sadly some long gone.... I reflect on the flight to come and how it will be remembered years from now.
After pre-flight, and as usual, I find nothing out of order....I muse to myself , how little she has aged over the nineteen years. In the polished wing, I catch a reflection of myself and realize how different it has been for me. This flight has put me in a melancholy mood and I need to snap out of it and pay attention to the matter at hand. A few pulls, and the two nine horse Rolls Royce engines come to life. I taxi to the end of the strip and turn around heading into the wind, a quick control check and we are rolling, moments later she is airborne and together we head to the King George field in the warm afternoon air.
Flying a Lazair at 27 mph to King George gives me ample time to contemplate. To the smooth drone of the engines my thoughts turn to a friend we all knew so well. Terry Parsons was such a unique person. He and his wife Marilyn had hosted so many PUFA parties for us over the years that we all came to know them well. I recall how we would look forward to going to the Christmas party at their home. Terry would mount an enormous Christmas tree above their roof. We all wondered how on earth he got it up there! He was a very inventive person; there was the suspended TV set on counter weights and the closet lights that automatically came on when the doors opened, and a burglar alarm system that he invented himself. This, together with many other innovative ideas, filled their home. Terry was a dentist by profession, but he had talents in so many other fields that he excelled in whatever he did.
Dr. Terry Parsons
As soon as the Parsons welcomed you at the door, you were in for a treat. Terry would organize a puzzle of some kind, or there would be the games he invented for us all to play. I recall one year having to identify strange looking objects; the winner would receive a prize and a good laugh was had by all. Yes, I thought.... he was a great guy. Sadly, he had passed away a few years ago, and we were left to continue without him. I wondered about the next few hours and how it would unfold, what would Terry say? I was sure he would make light of it all and laugh; he was so practical and down to earth, yet he had a wonderful imagination - how unusual I thought, to have both those qualities in one person.
As the King George field grew near, my thoughts turned from him to landing.
After a short final, I was down and taxiing towards the sun deck.
I waved at the group of friends who had made a special trip for this occasion.
My Lazair fell silent as the engines came to a stop, her job now safely
done, she could rest awhile. I exited the plane and walked over to the
gathering. Talk was about everything except the reason for us being
there; a few grabbed a coffee and wondered when Terry's wife, Marilyn,
would arrive. A few minutes later, there she was with her daughter
Marj. They were dressed beautifully. Marj looked
lovely in a bright floral patterned dress and they both stood
out from the casually dressed group. Marilyn had a tense look when
she greeted us but it quickly turned to a happy smile when Marie White
so thoughtfully handed her a bouquet of roses together with a big hug.
The rest of the fellows looked on in awkward silence - you know, like only
guys can do!
Dorothy, my wife, had come by car and had brought our video camera. We decided to tape the flight and Larry White offered to do the camera work from his plane. After chatting a while, I realized the difficult moment had arrived. Marilyn handed me the special bag she had made. It was as if she was reluctantly letting go of part of herself. I felt strange and awed by the responsibility. Walking over to my Lazair, I tied it on in a convenient position to release in flight, all the while thinking of the practical aspects of proper deployment. Thankfully, these details relieved me of any sad thoughts I might have.
My attention turned to the flight at hand. Engines started, Larry White and I taxied to position and in a few moments we were off! Strange I thought, this was the first time my single seater Lazair had carried two people. I smiled to myself, thinking how my passenger, Terry, would get a great laugh out of that irony! Marilyn had decided some place by a river bank would be nice and I headed for the mouth of the Serpentine, just west of the Deas freeway. After clearing the wires, I cut back the power and descended towards the river. On the south bank, there was a colourful patch of purple wild flowers, that would be a great spot I thought....Terry would like that!
I radioed to Larry, flying above me to begin video taping as I headed for the low bank of purple to my left. At about ten feet altitude the flowers swept by beneath me, and I pulled the release string on the bag...a white cloud formed behind me and slowly fell to the ground. I looked back to see it cover the flowers, some of it hung in the air like a mist as the Lazair quickly flew on, leaving Terry and the flowers far behind me.
Strange thoughts went through my mind; had I abandoned him? Leaving him far behind on some lonely river bank? ...and was that just dust or was that Terry? Humbly, I realized that it's all one of the same. Terry's moment in time and space had passed, and in the great circle of life and death, Terry would in turn become the flowers and live on. I knew he would have the same thoughts on the subject, so I felt a little more relaxed. Fortunately, the Lazair took a while to get back to the field, which gave me time to reflect on my own mortality and dry my watery vision before landing.
Dorothy and I decided to invite the group back to our place for a campfire. Marilyn and Marj brought a bottle of champagne which we drank in Terry's honour. We certainly had a good time that evening and really cheered up....just like Terry would have wanted.
So my friends, next time you fly over the Serpentine River west of the freeway, towards the railway trestle, give a thought to Terry Parsons, a wonderful person.... and don't forget to check out the flowers.
Thank you Marilyn for the honour of flying with Terry on his last flight.
Gordon Brogan