News - Rockcliffe Flying Club - Rockcliffe Flying Club

IFR Groundschool update

2013-05-20T08:42:00-04:00

Interested in getting your IFR rating, or simply looking at expanding your knowledge and getting a great understanding of the theory behind Instrument Flying, great news. We're going to delay the IFR ground school by a few weeks, so now is your chance to sign-up and get a good understanding of approach plates, advanced weather and holds. Find out more at http://www.avinca.ca/ and sign-up at dispatch!

Rockcliffe Flying Club, Stratton Domey Memorial Scholarship Fund - Applications

2013-05-19T15:14:28-04:00

Congratulations to Catherine Ellis, who was the latest recipient of a Scholarship in the amount of $1940.00. Catherine was recognized at our Annual Wings Dinner on May 3rd.

Thanks to the efforts of Kathryn Buchan and Marie-Eve Richard, the silent auction held at the Wings Dinner realized over $2000. Therefore, our thanks to all who partcipated, and we are pleased to announce we have enough money in the Fund to award another Scholarship. The closing date for applications is July 1st.

For more information on the fund and application submission, please go to our website.

REMINDER - Next Avinca IFR groundschool - 23 May 2013

2013-05-15T11:36:39-04:00

Our unique IFR groundshool is starting a new session on May 23rd. Why is it unique? It is offered as a series of 18 internet-based interactive conferences, not canned Internet material, so you get a chance to interact with other students and the instructor. You also get to do it from the comfort of your home, or anywhere in the world, really, as long as you have an internet connection.

The classes are on Monday and Thursday evenings, 19:30 to 21:00. Cost is $295 for RFC current members. If you want to participate in this course, please register before Friday May 17th at Noon.

Aerobatic and Tail-wheel Training - New Instructor - Jean Rene Brunet

2013-05-15T11:27:43-04:00

In addition to Jonathan Rotondo (Class 1 Aerobatic Instructor), Tony Hunt (tailwheel) and Terry Peters (tailwheel), we are pleased to announce the recent hiring of Jean-Rene Brunet (Class 2 Aerobatic / Class 3 Instructor / Tailwheel Instructor) to the Aerobatic / Tailwheel team at the Rockcliffe Flying Club. Jean-Rene completed his PPL in France, CPL at CFAQ in Quebec City and his Instructor Rating at OAS in Ottawa. A Class 3 Instructor with over 1100 hours Instructing, Jean-Rene will be available weekdays and Sundays for aerobatic and tailwheel training.

Jonathan is available for aerobatic training Saturday's and Thursday afternoons and Tony is available for tailwheel training Monday to Friday mornings between 0630 and 0800 and from 1630 to 1830 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday evenings.

For those keen to try their hand at tailwheel and / or aerobatic flying, obtain a check-out in our Decathlon or secure an aerobatic certificate or rating, now is a great time to start. For more information and / or to make your first bookings, please check our website or contact Dispatch.

RFC Volunteer Opportunity: Scout/Cub Fly Day

2013-04-26T11:48:31-04:00

RFC will be hosting a Scout/Cub Fly Day, to be held on Saturday June 8 (rain date Sunday June 9). Our target is to provide a short flight to approximately 60 members of the Scouting movement.

The Scout Leaders will lead the passengers to/from the airplanes (“boarding”), and otherwise occupy the scouts during the day. RFC will supply all other services.

There are three “shifts” during the day, roughly 9-11, 11-13, and 13-15. The following volunteers are required:

Unicom Operator – because of the increased radio traffic, operate the RFC Unicom station for a 2 hour shift. Training is provided at the start of your shift,
Photographer – document the joy and happiness of the day, for the RFC archives, website, Facebook, Crosswinds, and perhaps for the COPA Flight newspaper.
Ground School Instructor – In a light and lively manner over 20 minutes, provide a basic overview and instruction to our future passengers. You will cover the passenger briefing, basic flight controls, and otherwise set expectations about what to expect on the flight. The ground school will be taught once per hour, on the half hour (8:30, 9:30, …),
Plane Marshalls (2 marshalls per shift) – Loading and unloading will take place on Apron 2 (the long one which parallels the runway), between the gas tanks and the maintenance hangar. Using standard signals, the marshalls will guide aircraft when they are in this area,
Pilots (5 pilots/aircraft per shift) – You will supply your own aircraft (or rent an RFC aircraft), and fly the cubs/scouts in a 20-minute pre-defined sightseeing tour. If you cannot supply a headset for your passenger, RFC will provide one. Unfortunately, no allowance for fuel can be provided for this event.

RFC will make one or two aircraft available, per shift, for rental during the 0900-1500 timeframe.

Pilots and Marshalls are also expected to attend a 90 minute briefing session on Tuesday June 4, in the RFC classroom starting at 19:00, where we will discuss safety, the route of flight, ground taxi patterns, marshalling signals, expectations to make this the best possible flight experience for the passengers. Also, aircraft and pilot documents will be checked at this time, as well as currency and recency.

The RFC Pilot Coordinator for this event is Matt Lemay (matt@rfc.ca) – if you have any questions please contact Matt.

The Volunteer Coordinator for the event is Lina Masi (volunteer@rfc.ca) – all non-pilot questions should be directed to Lina.

Volunteer sign up will be via the Volunteer Management System, under Cub/Scout Fly Day:

If you sign up for Unicom Operator, Photographer, or Plane Marshall, the system will assign the shift immediately, and you will see the assignment on your “Assignments” web page, under Scheduled Activities. So that all members have a chance to volunteer, sign up for one shift only (if we are short of volunteers we can back-fill later),
In the same manner as previous years, Ground School Instructors and Pilots will be selected from the pool of applicants by the RFC Instructor staff. When you sign up, you will have “Applied” but not yet have been “Assigned” – so the activity will not (yet) be on the Assignments page. If you want to be a pilot and you can fly any of the three shifts, sign up for all three shifts and we will select one. Applicants will be reviewed and assigned weekly, until all shifts are filled.

IFR groundschool starts May 23rd

2013-04-13T09:34:56-04:00

Our unique IFR ground school is starting a new session on May 23rd. Why is it unique? It is offered as a series of 18 internet-based interactive conferences, not canned Internet material, so you get a chance to interact with other students and the instructor. You also get to do it from the comfort of your home, or anywhere in the world, really, as long as you have an internet connection.

The classes are on Monday and Thursday evenings, 19:30 to 21:00. Cost is $295 for RFC current members. To register, contact Marie-Eve at marie-eve@rfc.ca or 613-746 4425

In case you wish to pass on the information to others, you can find a poster here.

If you have any questions on the content, contact jean@rfc.ca

Schedule:

Introduction to IFR - May 23
A complete flight - May 27
Meteorology - May 30, June 3, 6
Navigation - Instruments - June 10, 13
Flight Planning - June 17, 20
Human Factors - June 24
Departure - June 27
En Route - July 4 and 8
Arrival - July 11
Approaches - July 15, 18, 22
A complete flight revisited - July 25

GKSK Cessna 172 S will be online soon

2013-04-06T13:17:00-04:00

We are pleased to announce our new arrival C-GKSK, a 2000 Cessna 172 S Model. C-GKSK is fuel injected, 180 HP and will primarily be used for Instrument Flying / Training and cross-country rentals. It will also be used for sight-seeing flights and dual cross-country flights to either Cornwall or Kingston. It is not intended to be used for ab-initio training, but under extenuating circumstances, approval may be given by the Chief Flight Instructor from time-to-time and only for specific exercises.

Instructors and Rental pilots checked out on the C182 or familiar with fuel injected aircraft shall complete the open book exam and are grandfathered for currency. Other instructors will be checked out over the next few days.

Rental pilots who are not familiar with fuel injected aircraft and the S Model, shall complete the open book exam, shall be briefed on the differences and shall take a short dual flight to Gatineau for a couple of circuits, a full flap overshoot and a simulated forced approach in the circuit. They shall also be briefed and shown how to do a hot start.

If you have any questions re the above guidelines, please e-mail Simon, Mark or Jean.

Spring clean-up is Saturday May 4, 2013

2013-04-02T11:09:52-04:00

This year’s spring clean-up will be held on Saturday May 4^th. Rain date is Sunday May 5^th.

Planning is underway – there will be a long list of jobs to be performed, both inside and outside the clubhouse, and across the full airport grounds.

As the jobs are defined and prioritized they will be posted to the Volunteer Management System, which will be used to perform all sign-ups. There will also be periodic notifications to all members via email.

Annual General Meeting April 13, 2013

2013-04-02T11:07:53-04:00

Please be advised that the Annual General Meeting of the Rockcliffe Flying Club (1961) will take place in the Main Theater at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum at 1:00 PM, Saturday, April 13, 2013. All Club members are invited to attend the meeting and all Sustaining Members and Life Members, in good standing, are entitled to vote at the meeting.

On the agenda will be:

an overview of the Club status and progress through 2012
a review of the 2012 financial statements
appointment of auditors,
presentation of the 2013 budget
update of the Club’s Strategic Plan
review of the results of the member survey
elections to the Board of Directors, and
such other business as may be brought before the meeting.

There will be elections for five (5) seats on the board of directors this year. All Sustaining members (licensed pilots who have been members for more than one year) and Life members, in good standing, are entitled to run for election to the Board. Should you wish to stand for election, or wish to nominate another qualified member, nominations must be emailed to marie-eve@rfc.ca no later than April 6, 2013.

We look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

Icing encounter

2013-04-01T21:48:57-04:00

“Well, that’s not what I expected!”

Have you ever heard yourself mutter these words while flying? I have! On numerous occasions I have heard and seen the “seasoned” pilot with 200 hours under his/her belt whip together a flight plan (based on guesstimate numbers) and thunder out the door to fly to a favorite airport, with the mindset of “get home-itis”.

Weather can be a strange thing, as most of us have discovered on our travels. What is forecast might not be what we encounter, as I found out recently on a trip from CYWG (Winnipeg) to CYND (Gatineau) in a pressurized twin. This encounter happened in winter on a domestic IFR flight plan. The trip took us from CYWG to YQT (Thunder Bay VOR), YSB (Sudbury VOR), YYB (North Bay VOR) V316 YOW and home, with “no forecast icing along the route.” Sounds like a pretty straightforward route, right? Wrong.

We learned that the route would take us out over Lake Superior for a bit and then back over land. Weather was forecast to be FEW 030 with tops to 050. Awesome, let’s go!

En route we were getting PIREPS (although there really is not much air traffic between CYWG and CYYB). No one was reporting anything significant, and Winnipeg Center was being very helpful in passing along visual observations of high level traffic (at FL180 and above). As we cruised along at 9,000 feet we noticed that the tops of the clouds were getting progressively higher and thicker. OK. We continued. Now we were over Lake Superior and the cloud tops were getting up to our flight level. OK, decision time. Climb up above. Good thought. The problem was that we were not pressurizing properly, a bad situation. We were limited to 10,000 feet and could get up to 13,000 feet for only 30 minutes, and were now in the cloud, picking up light icing.

As we continue along at 9,000 feet, just skimming the tops of the cloud, I watch the airspeed indicator start dropping fairly rapidly and eventually stop at 0. Oh my God, this is it! Why has this happened?We've had the pitot heat on during the trip! A look at the wing of our aircraft definitely shows signs of icing and glancing forward of the wing tells us that the pitot tubes have frozen over. This is unheard of, a dual pitot heat failure! What do we do now?

Well, the decision was made to start a descent down to get VFR and do the thing that no pilot wants to ever do: declare an emergency and squawk 7700. Winnipeg Center was in receipt of our transmission and asked all the information such as “souls on board, fuel on board as well as any dangerous goods.”

We continue down, flying partial panel and using ground speed as our saving grace. Now the big decision. Once we get out of the ice what then? The aircraft is flying OK with the ice on it, now in a descent with lots of air going over the wings, but what will happen when we level off in cruise? The controls are getting a bit sloppy but still controllable. OK, where are we going to? Let’s check Dryden. The AWOS is advertising IFR. Let’s check Marathon. IFR (all these were forecasted to be VFR with scattered cloud during our flight.). OK, let’s check CYQT (Thunder Bay 140nm away). Advertising BKN at 050. Perfect. Let’s go! GPS direct!

As we proceeded to CYQT we arrived at our MEA and were still in the cloud. Down to MOCA we went. At that point we were 2700’ASL and the MOCA was 2500’ASL. At 2600’ASL we picked up the ground but visibility was poor. Not just from the fact that our windshield was completely covered in ice but also from the fact that there was light to moderate snow falling. As we leveled off we were OK. The aircraft was sluggish, but we could maintain altitude and a consistent 160kts ground speed.

We tuned the ATIS in CYQT and they were now advertising 1200’ overcast in light snow. What could have changed the weather so drastically? A slight wind shift from the south west, apparently, which caused an on-shore flow of moist air over cold land: the lake effect. For a hundred nautical miles, all I could hear was Mike Masek’s voice, talking about lake effect.

The controller advised us that a Porter flight which had just landed in YQT was visual just after passing the Final Approach Fix (FAF) on the ILS 07. From the direction we were coming, the controller advised us that we would probably have to do a full procedure for the ILS 07. A quick answer followed: “UNABLE”. (As pilots, you always want to accommodate ATC, but in an emergency situation do not accept something that you are uncomfortable with, especially if you are iced up like we were. They are there to service the aircraft and pilots, not the other way around.) We received vectors to final and, sure enough, there was a runway in front of us which we could only see from either side of the aircraft.

We landed and taxied off the active and requested to shut down there for a few minutes while we examined the aircraft and cleared the windshield with a credit card.

All ended well, this time. But after looking at Nav Canada’s website and reading about flight around that region, it soon became clear that this is not uncommon.

So if you are ever taking a trip to an area of the country that you are not familiar with, be sure to read up on the weather patterns and peculiarities associated with it. It will save you stress and quite possibly your life, one day.

Mark Braithwaite

Assistant Chief Flight Instructor

Rockcliffe Flying Club

Keep exploring Canada

2013-04-01T21:38:33-04:00

The Canadian Tourism Commision has put together an exciting video featuring our very own Jonathan Rotondo. The video shows the exciting adventures we Canadians can enjoy in this magnificent country of ours. Check out the video below:

Wings Dinner 2013!

2013-03-21T00:00:00-04:00

Again this year, the Flying Club is celebrating the achievements of our club members under the wings of our national aeronautical collection. The evening includes a delicious buffet dinner catered by Bytown Catering, a silent auction and the presentation of the 2012-13 wings and awards. Please join us for:

52nd Anniversary Wings Dinner
of The Rockcliffe Flying Club

Hosted at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum
On Friday May 3, 2013

Cocktails 6:15 PM
Dinner 7:00 PM
Silent Auction*

Reservations required

Tickets: $45/per person ($5 less than last year!)
              purchase tickets at RFC Dispatch

RSVP:   by April 22, 2013
              Kathryn Buchan at kbuchan@rfc.ca
              or at RFC Dispatch

Dress:   Business suit & Women's equivalent

Again this year!
We are holding a Silent Auction to raise money for the RFC Scholarship Fund. Last year’s silent auction raised over $2,000!
To contribute items, contact Kathryn at kbuchan@rfc.ca.

New this year!
We are offering a children’s program in conjunction with the Canada Aviation and Space Museum. Children aged five to 12 will have their own party with pizza, a scavenger hunt and a movie at the museum. Cost per child is $5. Register at RFC dispatch.

We are also looking for nominations for our Spirit Award and Safety Award.
Please contact the respective email addresses to make a nomination or to ask questions.
For the Spirit Award contact spiritaward@rfc.ca and for the safety award contact safety@rfc.ca.

We hope you can join us,

Kathryn
Wings Dinner Coordinator
kbuchan@rfc.ca

New Edition of the Crosswinds newsletter!

2013-03-21T00:00:00-04:00

Check out the attachment below!

Planning a flight to the USA? Seminar on March 2nd

2013-02-25T00:00:00-05:00

Sun & Fun? The Bahamas? Oshkosh?

Saturday 02 March 0900 – 1100 at the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum, Rockcliffe Flying Club will hold a seminar to help you plan your next adventure.

A Seminar entitled “Planning a Flight to the USA?” will be presented by RFC members Tony Hunt and Chris Hobbs.

Subject areas:

Planning a flight to the USA?
Prerequisites – what you need to arrange before departure
Where to find the essential information
Flying into the USA
The border crossing, the first landing
Flight planning inside the US – how different is it?
Returning to Canada
Q&A – Discussion

Note that RFC members who wish to rent Club aircraft for a US flight are required to attend this presentation or a private briefing before a cross-border flight is authorized.

Pilots who have already flown to the US are welcome to join us and share their knowledge. The presentation will be informal, and we will have time for an open discussion of planning tips, destination ideas, and the recommendations of those who have already been.

Please contact Marie-Eve Richard to register for the event: Marie-Eve@rfc.ca or 613 746 4425. Cost of the seminar will be $10, payable at the door.

Rockcliffe hosts "Girls' Day at the Airport" March 9th (rain 10th)

2013-02-22T13:23:00-05:00

The Rockliffe Flying Club, the Eastern Ontario Chapter of the Ninety-Nines and the Canada Aviation and Space Museum welcome girls and women to the Rockcliffe Airport!

The Eastern Ontario Chapter of the Ninety-Nines and the Rockcliffe Flying Club volunteers will provide free flights to girls and women who have never flown in a small aircraft! Flights will depart from the Museum.

If you know a young woman/girl that would be a candidate, please pass on this link to the Women of Aviation Week website to register for the event. This is a worldwide event in which we are participating. Our goal is to offer flights to 150 participants.

Rockcliffe Flying Club Podcasts

2013-02-19T22:44:00-05:00

Welcome to the Rockcliffe Flying Club Podcast series (What's a "podcast" you say? Look it up in Wikipedia). These recordings will illustrate the radio communications used in different types of flights and different phases of these flights.

These two initial recordings represent a flight into and out of a Class C controlled airport, Ottawa MacDonald-Cartier International. Commentary is provided to explain the different phases of the dialogue.

The podcast recordings are provided in two formats: AAC/m4a (for iTunes and IPod) and MP3. Just click on the links below to download to your computer. To listen to the iTunes version, you can either download it to your iPod (if you have one, you probably know how to do this), or download ITunes from the Apple website. To listen to the mp3 version, you can use Windows Media Player, Real Audio, etc.

If you have iTunes on your computer, you can also subscribe to the entire podcast series.

Individual recordings (large files):

Arrival to a controlled airport

This first recording illustrates a flight coming from Burlington Vermont into Ottawa McDonald Cartier International (CYOW).

iTunes/iPod version: Download Arrival.m4a
MP3 version: Download Arrival.mp3

Departure from a controlled airport

This second recording illustrates a flight leaving Ottawa McDonald Cartier International (CYOW) for an uncontrolled airport Ottawa-Rockcliffe (CYRO).

iTunes/iPod version: Download Departure.m4a
MP3 version: Download Departure.mp3

Your comments on this initiative of the Rockcliffe Flying Club as well as your suggestions would be appreciated. Please direct them to webmaster@rfc.ca

Lazy Feet

2013-02-01T00:00:00-05:00

Whadda ya mean I have “lazy feet”?

Pilots look at us funny when we make that comment. They have probably heard us saying this before (I know I heard it a lot when I was in training!). They understand the concept, but don’t know how we can tell just by seeing how the airplane flies. So here are a few scenarios that can help you see if you have lazy feet or not.

First, let’s define what we mean by “lazy feet”: it means you are not reacting to adverse yaw and keeping the airplane coordinated using rudder. In other words, you are not using your feet enough: "lazy feet".

Since most of us fly tricycle gear aircraft what are the main causes of adverse yaw for these planes?

Slipstream and torque: both give us yaw to the left when we add power, to the right when we reduce power
Asymmetric thrust: gives us yaw to the left when we pitch the nose up, and to the right when we pitch down.
Aileron drag: a tendency to yaw to the left when we turn to the right, not so much to the right when we turn to the left (because of the two previous causes)

Most of us react quite correctly with right rudder while rolling for takeoff when we see the effect of slipstream as we add power. How do we tell? By looking outside and seeing the nose going to the left… Can we anticipate it will happen, and use right rudder so the nose stays straight? Sure and most of us have mastered that.

Next let’s see about asymmetric thrust. I would propose that you do the following: sit outside the club and watch people take off for a while. I bet you will notice that for many, if not most, aircraft the right wing will dip down as the airplane is climbing right after leaving the ground…

What is happening there? The pilot, looking outside as s/he should, sees the airplane going to the left and is correcting by banking to the right with ailerons. What’s wrong with that? Well, if you were in the airplane at that moment, you would see the ball going quite a bit to the right, meaning that the correct response to the left turn (yaw) would be right rudder. Think of the situation here: you are taking off, so your airspeed is low; if you have a crosswind from the right, you might need to be turning into the wind to stay on runways centerline; in addition, you are uncoordinated. Remember how you get into a spin?

Another asymmetric thrust situation: you are in the flare, coming in for a really slow touchdown: short field or soft field landing . As you are flaring, the aircraft yaws to the left. Of course! You are pitching the nose up. How do you compensate? Many don’t, so the airplane lands skewed to the left. Others compensate with aileron rather than rudder. So, again, why don’t weanticipate this and use rudder to keep the airplane straight on the runway centerline?

OK, how do we fix this? Well, I don’t suggest doing experiments while taking off or landing, unless you are with an instructor. However, you can test this at a safe altitude in the practice area. First practise transitioning to a climb, making sure you keep the airplane straight using rudder. Try to be conscious of whether your tendency is to use ailerons. Remember that you are getting both slipstream and asymmetric thrust effect so you may need a lot of right rudder.

Then do the same thing in slow flight. Practise transitioning to slow flight just using the correct rudder movements to keep the airplane straight, looking outside primarily and checking the Turn Coordinator ball every so often. Finally, transition to a power off stall – imagine it as doing flare at a given safe altitude, say 3000 feet – and keep the nose straight using rudder.

I think you will find after these exercises, that you have become more conscious of the adverse yaw caused by asymmetric thrust, and will naturally anticipate and correct. I am sure you can easily find an instructor who would be pleased to help you with these exercises.

Fly safe!

Jean René de Cotret

jean@rfc.ca

Assistant CFI – Rockcliffe Flying Club

Wings Dinner Children's Programming

2013-01-30T13:27:00-05:00

Members and Staff,

Looking for something to entertain your child (or grandchild) while you attend the Wings Dinner?

In conjunction with the Canada Aviation and Space Museum we are considering providing children's programming during the evening of the Wings Dinner.

The programming will include aviation related activities, a pizza dinner and a movie to round out the evening.

The cost to participate in the children's programming will be no greater than five dollars per child to cover a portion of the cost of food.

The target age group for this programming is ages five to twelve. If you have children outside this range we may consider including them as well.

This year's Wings Dinner will be held at Canada Aviation and Space Museum on Friday May 3, 2013.

If you would be interested in having your child (or children) participate in the evening events or have any questions please contact Kathryn Buchan at kbuchan@rfc.ca. In the email please provide the number of children and their ages.

Regards,

Kathryn

Precautionary landing

2013-01-15T00:00:00-05:00

There are times during flight training when I sense some students feel they are doing a lot of training for an incident that will probably never occur. This may be true and I hope that none of us have to experience a serious in-flight emergency. However, statistics show that an incident can happen to anyone at anytime. And, unfortunately incidents do not choose an ideal time to happen or the most experienced pilot. More often than not it is the weekend pilot out for an enjoyable morning or afternoon flight.

Until this past summer, I did not personally know anyone, other than myself who actually had to complete a real precautionary landing. When I say a real precautionary landing, I am not talking about the one we should do at all times when we are unsure of the surface conditions at an airport, lake (floats) or snow covered field (skis). But, one where we actually have to apply the procedures taught during training in the event of deteriorating weather, a medical or mechanical problem.

In my situation it was the weather. I was in a poker rally one summer, in the mid 1970's, en route from Smiths Falls to Carp. We were aware that rain was moving in from the west, however after a check with the weather office and consultation with other pilots, decided it was safe to depart. All looked fine initially. However, as we got closer to Perth, I started to question my decision to leave Smiths Falls. My co-flyer that day had just received his Private Licence the week before and when I suggested we turn back, he was quick to agree.

To make a long story short, the visibility dropped considerably in a very short period of time and it was getting rather dark. We knew there was an abandoned airfield close by and quickly proceeded towards it. After a pass to check things out we completed the circuit, turned onto final, opened the windows (the rain on the windshield made it impossible to see - something you don't usually have an opportunity to experience during training) and made a safe landing.

There was a farmhouse close by and as the storm passed, we spent an enjoyable couple of hours in front of the fireplace drinking coffee and chatting.

It is not unusual to see Club member Yves Gelinas flying his C150 (C-FJBN) on the weekends and evenings during the summer. On Father's day last year, Yves was en route to the Laurentide area and an in-flight situation arose. The result was a precautionary approach and landing on Regional Highway 125.

After the incident Yves made a point of telling me how surprised he was at the positive response he was receiving from the instructors at the Club and how we were all supporting the decisions he made that day. When I questioned Yves about this, he expected that we would rant on about how he should have done this or that, etc. etc. I pointed out that a major objective of each instructor is to instill good Pilot Decision-Making (PDM) abilities and trust that, when a student obtains his/her Licence, they are able to apply this along with the other skills they receive during training.

When we see or hear about a successful decision being made, we trust that somewhere along the way, we may have had an influence on that outcome. Therefore, how can we not support the practices we teach? Unfortunately, sometimes it does not turn out as positive as this incident and then we question why the pilot did not use the skills or apply the training that we know he/she was taught.

I thank Yves for sharing his experience with us and congratulate him on a job well done.

Safe Flying, Everyone!

Simon Garrett

The overhead arrival

2013-01-01T00:00:00-05:00

Straight in to downwind or overhead? Hmmm...

Yesterday, a pilot mentioned this situation after arriving at Rockcliffe: he was coming in to land from the South (upwind). He announced his position when released by Ottawa Tower and then again 2.4 NM away (GPS...), with his intentions to join overhead for mid-downwind for runway 27. Then he heard another pilot announcing his position as over the Gatineau River with intentions to join straight in downwind for 27. OK quickly now: has this ever happened to you?

This happens quite often at Rockcliffe and other uncontrolled airports. There are two different ways to join the circuit, overhead and straight in to downwind. Pilots will choose to use the two different ways, sometimes simultaneously. This can easily lead to dangerous conflict situations or at minimum an uncomfortable moment for pilots wondering where the others are. This situation can be complicated by additional traffic already in the circuit.

So how should we join the circuit?

Regulations say (AIM RAC 4.5.2 (a)(ii)):

"Unless otherwise specified or required by the applicable distance from cloud criteria, aircraft should approach the traffic circuit from the upwind side. Alternatively, once the pilot has ascertained without any doubt that there will be no conflict with other traffic entering the circuit or traffic established within the circuit, the pilot may also join the circuit on the downwind leg"

Isn't that simple and clear? From now on, our preferred method of entry for the circuit will be overhead from the inactive (upwind) side. We will only use the straight-in downwind if we have ascertained "without any doubt" that there will be no conflict... In the case above, was there potential conflict? Yes. Had the pilot entering straight into the downwind "ascertained without a doubt"... Obviously, no.

OK so we know what the regulations say, but beyond that, is there a good reason for doing it that way? Let's look at what we can see in both cases.

If there is an airplane at A, and you are a few miles behind it (at B), what do you see?

The near end of the runway
The aircraft at A from behind
Traffic taking off from the runway and turning crosswind.

What can’t you see?

Traffic about to takeoff
Runway conditions and vehicles on the runway

Now if you are on the upwind side of the runway, at C, what do you see:

Vehicles and traffic on the runway
Runway conditions
Any traffic on the downwind, base and final
Traffic taking off and on cross-wind.

What can’t you see? Traffic at B unless it is close enough. [particularly when flying a normal left-hand circuit since B is out of C's right-hand window, possibly obstructed by a passenger.]

Traffic which you see sideways on the downwind as in the second situation is much easier to spot than traffic ahead of you: it is presenting a larger surface; it is moving across your field of view from side to side, against the background. Traffic in front of you (A and B) is harder to see as it is presenting a smaller surface, is maintaining the same distance and is not moving much against the background.

Doesn’t it seem worthwhile to take the extra time to go to the upwind side and enter the circuit there?

What about traffic already in the circuit? Who has priority?

Traffic already in the circuit (for instance doing circuits) has fewer options to avoid other traffic, so if you are entering the circuit you should arrange your timing to merge into the pattern of other aircraft safely.

If I am arriving from the downwind side of the aerodrome, how should I enter?

Cross over the field at 500 feet above the circuit
Once on the upwind side, turn approximately 45 degrees in the same direction as the downwind to start a “tear drop” turn, and start your descent down to circuit altitude
Ensure you are at circuit altitude well before crossing back overhead. Remember there may be someone else coming behind you and crossing the field 500 feet above you.
Join mid-downwind.

Following this pattern allows you to scan the beginning of downwind sooner and compensate for any wind to arrange to cross over mid-field.

The airspace around the Ottawa Rockcliffe Airport is complex and the approach methods require careful attention by the pilot.

This article was produced as a result of a real-life situation. You probably encounter situations similar to these in the course of your flying. We would like to hear about them to allow us to think about how situations like these can be handled safely and learn from your experiences.

Please submit any ideas, questions and comments to instructors@rfc.ca

New online access interface for the booking system

2012-12-12T00:00:00-05:00

Genav Systems have (finally!) developed a non (PC/Internet Explorer/ActiveX exclusive) interface. It is based on html only, so it can be accessed from any PC/Mac/Linux/other machine and from Tablets, and Smart Phones. It can be accessed here or the link to access it is located in the online booking page.

I've used it with my iPhone, iPad, PC, etc. and it works well. If you have any problems to report, please advise jean@rfc.ca

IFR remote groundschool starts December 13th

2012-11-21T00:00:00-05:00

Our unique IFR ground school, offered as a series of 18 internet-based interactive conferences, is starting December 13th. The classes are on Monday and Thursday evenings starting at 19:30 to 21:00. Cost is $295 for RFC members. To register, contact Marie-Eve at marie-eve@rfc.ca or 613-746 4425. The detailed schedule is attached.

Winter Safety Seminar coming up Saturday November 17th 9AM to 12:00

2012-11-07T00:00:00-05:00

Coming up at the Bush Theater in the Canada Aviation and Space Museum on Saturday November 17th, from 9AM to Noon, our regular Winter Safety Seminar, AKA Frost Remover.

On the agenda, some very interesting subjects:

- Individual Pilot Factors and Flight Performance: Results from the Carleton University General Aviation Study.Kathleen Van Bentham.

- Airspace Incursions and how to avoid them, and the new Flight Plan format. - Nav Canada

- Update on Rockcliffe Flying Club organization, and some reminders re Winter procedures.

Please register with Marie-Eve Richard - Marie-Eve@rfc.ca or call 613 746 4425.

Fall Clean-up RESCHEDULED TO 9:00 am Sunday, October 28, 2012

2012-10-17T00:00:00-04:00

If you are planning on joining us for our Fall Clean-up, a breakfast of coffee and donuts will be provided to start the morning off right. We have complied a project list for the airport and the clubhouse. If you have your own work gloves, steel toe boots etc. it would help if you were able to bring them with you.

When you arrive please see me (Brenda) I will be at dispatch. A list of projects will be posted on the bulletin board near dispatch. Please choose a task and sign your name to it. The supplies needed for each project will be placed on a table in the clubhouse.

Sharing the skies with balloons - what novice pilots should know

2012-01-16T00:00:00-05:00

One of the amazing things about our Rockciffe aerodrome is that it offers so much of interest to the aviation enthusiast. We must have one of the most beautiful practice areas in the country. We have the museum for inspiration. We have such a wide variety of fields to fly to: grass in Embrun, another ex-military strip in Carp, a regional airport like Gatineau and a full blown international airport in Ottawa - all minutes away.

We also have another rarer aviation attraction - ballooning - with a major launch site, just on the edges of our circuit. I can’t forget that we also have sea planes operating right next door, as well as a VFR corridor which also keeps things interesting.. All in all, a pretty busy airspace.

Sharing the skies with our ballooning brethren is something that the novice pilot is perhaps less focussed on because we are looking out for the harder to see and faster moving types of aircraft. However, balloons are part of Rockcliffe life and we should expect to see these aircraft crossing the field, operating in our normal circuit airspace as well as landing at the field on occasion.

Thus, understanding the flight characteristics of a balloon is definitely worth a quick review and I suggest the reader consider the FAA’s Balloon Flying Handbook at http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/aircraft/media/faa-h-8083-11.pdf. There may be a Nav Can version but I was unable to find one.

With this in mind, I want to share a recent experience I had while flying solo circuits. That "learning opportunity" brought home to me that I should not assume I understand this aircraft type just because it is a familiar sight in our local skies.

In summary, the lessons I learned that day are the following:

1. Balloons are not necessarily slow. They can move very quickly.

2. Balloons can make erratic changes in direction and altitude. They do not necessarily fly straight. They have to be watched just as closely as you would another powered aircraft in order to avoid conflicts.

3. Communication of intent is essential for the safety of both pilots.

4. Just as with a normal takeoff, it is a good idea in a touch-and-go to do a circuit check at some stage on the base leg, to look for conflicting traffic in the area of the climb-out and crosswind leg in particular. On final, it is natural to focus on the approach and landing. Like me, you may be assuming that all traffic flies the circuit as well. That is not the case. This traffic check is now part of my touch and go procedure and will be done after landing as well, before aborting the takeoff is no longer an option open to me.

So now for the story...
________________

One fine evening summer, I was doing touch and go practice off of runway 27. After takeoff I noticed balloon traffic over the city to the south at an estimated 3 miles. Winds were light from the south west at five knots. The sun was low on the horizon and right in my eyes on final and for the climb out.

After three touch and go’s I noticed that the balloon was now over Vanier at about 2000 feet as I turned cross wind.   It was getting closer, but it’s slow, so I thought, "no problem." I went through my normal pre-landing checks.

I made my approach, landed, and powered up for takeoff, pleased with myself. My major concern was that there were now lots of birds on the runway. As they were getting out of my way, my eyes and attention were focussed on them. The sun in my eyes didn’t help either.

Just as I rotated, I heard the radio crackle - “Rockcliffe traffic, balloon xyz is west of the field and is descending.”

I looked up and there was that slow flying balloon now approaching my trajectory but at about 2000 feet, just over the pond in Rockcliffe park.   I immediately radioed, “Rockcliffe traffic, GWZA is airborne from 27, balloon traffic in sight, remaining in the circuit.”

Now I was faced with several options and an immediate decision was required to avoid a problem. I was at 300 feet, climbing, and could do three things - go left, go straight or go right. I could also continue to climb or level off at some higher altitude. Descending was not an option.

My first assumption - that balloons are slow, was rapidly being “deflated.” I knew he was descending, but how fast? He was also noticeably drifting into my 12 o’clock. He looked high, certainly higher than my normal flight path, but with me climbing and him descending, along with his 5 knot drift into my circuit flight path, what to do? As I made 500 feet, that balloon certainly seemed to be filling up my windscreen pretty quickly. I also noticed that he was dropping much faster than I thought balloons could go.

The FAA manual, mentioned above, states that normal rates of ascent and descent for balloons are usually between 200 to 300 feet per minute. However, balloons can easily do 700 to1000 feet per minute and in some cases, that is considered a normal rate of descent. One rule of thumb mentioned in the manual is that a normal rate of descent is proportional to altitude AGL. For example, at 7000 feet then 700 feet per minute, 6000 ft then 600 ft per minute, etc.   With my climb rate added to his descent rate, you can easily see that what seems to be slow can, in fact, be fast. In essence, we had a closing speed of approximately 70 knots in the horizontal and maybe 500 to1200 feet per minute in the vertical. This chews up time/space in a hurry.

My initial assumption that he was going to stay above my flight path was no longer valid. I then could go right or left or make a change in climb rate or both. Now in conflict situations, the book says pass on the right. However, given that he was drifting left to right, by turning right and continuing to climb, I was thinking that I would have to do a pretty steep turn at low altitude and low air speed to avoid a conflict. Not a happy combination.

So, could I level off and increase airspeed and fly under him? I felt that it was also not a good plan to have that big balloon come down on top of me. He was descending rapidly, as he too was trying to get out of the potential conflict as quickly as possible. There were also two other aircraft in the circuit at the time. Others may feel differently, but I will never consider flying under a balloon, for the rest of my flying days. The potential rate of descent is too hard to judge. Just better to give balloons the respect they deserve and make a heading change. They have the right-of-way in any case. Any collision is going to be my responsibility.

So my decision was to make a smooth turn to the left and decrease my rate of climb to almost level, in case I had misjudged our closing vector. This also gave me increased air speed (I was at about 800 feet elevation at this point). Thus, I went around the balloon with him still above me, but not directly above. After clearing the balloon, I re-established myself on the normal circuit flight path and made my crosswind turn just slightly further along than normal.

As I turned downwind, I looked back to see where the balloon was. To my surprise, he was perhaps 100 feet above the centre of the river.   His rate of descent must have been well above 500 feet per minute and his horizontal speed must have picked up as well. Balloons can move fast.

He then shot up and by the time I was on short final, he had popped up in the middle of the circuit to about 1700 feet and was drifting over the downwind leg. As I cleared the active after my landing, the balloon called that he was leaving the Rockcliffe frequency for Gatineau.

I hope my “learning opportunity” is of use to novice pilots who do not have much experience flying with balloons.   I learned that I need to have better anticipation of the future so as to minimize the need to resolve conflict situations and a greater situational awareness of the circuit airspace at all stages of flying the circuit. I can’t just be focussed on what is in front of me. I also learned that my assumptions about balloons - essentially just a fixed obstacle to be avoided - were wrong. It is a manoeuvring aircraft and judging its movement is not so easy or predictable. I am so thankful that the balloon pilot radioed his intent. It allowed me to make a better decision about what to do.

Best regards to all and safe journeys.

Mark Fletcher
Student Pilot