This Website...

My IT is in trouble... The iPad dates from 2014 and can no longer display many websites as it's Safari browser can not be updated to the latest version.
I still have my 2005 BenQ Joybook running Windows XP and this MSI Notebook running Windows 7 which can both update this website using MS FrontPage 97.
Now I am told that my website is no longer accepable to Google and that I need to update it to the new standard, and FrontPage will not be capable of doing this. I thought that the correction to these problems was to buy a new Asus computer running Windows 11, and find a website editing program so that I could update this website!
So I looked for a new program to be able to do this myself, but it seems everything such as 123, Dreamweaver, etc has a monthly subscription which on my very limited resources would be too much for me to cope with.
I am sure these program providers do a very good job, but this is not a revenue producing site.
My subscription to mpaviation.com ends next year.

Aircoupe

Finally the Aircoupe is flying though I have not flown it myself since the one flight when I had a jammed elevator trimmer. This took a furth five weeks to fix.
"Just in time" really means 'Just too late' when it comes to obtaining parts!
A lot of work was required to bring the aeroplane up to an acceptable standard, the aeroplane is sixty four years old, and the past few Annual checks have not been carried out to my satisfaction.
Rectifications accumulate, they don't go away, and when people go cheap on the maintenance, someone has to pay in the future. That someone in this case is me.
The rate is now £150 an hour wet, takeoff to landing.

Flying

In the last week of May I flew the Sling 2 twice more. It is having a nose job at the moment to allow more cooling air to enter and flow around the UL Power engine cylinders.
There was one flight with John in the Tiger Moth all the way to Popham and back to White Waltham.

Amanda Harrison proffers her book about an epic flight in her Tiger Moth, with John and Paul.
Amanda autographed a book which I delivered to Colette of the 99's at Squamish.
Amanda now flies a Dragon Rapide, lucky girl.

Last year I flew to the Manston Fly-In... This year I was offered a lift there with my landlord Paul.
Driving there was easy, but the return journey involved many closed major roads and so we wondered whether we'd ever find our way out of East Kent.
As for the Fly-In there was an excellent turn-out on a bright sunny day, a lot of friendly people in a myriad of types including a D-Day Dakota.

Jane Delamaine gave a nice talk about Amy Johnson at the RAF Manston History Museum

Last day of the month, time to give the Chipmunk a flight before it's insurance ran out.

I took the Chipmunk solo for a run past the usual scenic places.

Marilyne did some of her CPL training with me and she now flies for WestJet as a Pilot. Previously she was a Flight Attendant with them.
She very kindly supplied me with a buddy pass to enable me to fly to Vancouver economically. This was 'Standby', but I got on the first flight without a problem.
At Calgary however, I had to wait three flights before I could catch the second flight and arrive in Vancouver late in the evening.

Flying in British Columbia is fantastic, but driving to the aerodromes is awful, bloody awful.

How a modern city can get their road system so badly wrong... Being cheap of course.
Like the aeroplane, a lot of rectification to be done at huge expense if they ever want an efficient road system.

Archie needed some advice on his flying, this could not be instruction as I had to renew my Category 1 Medical.

We flew up to the Pitt Lake Practice area to do some upper air exercises, steep turns, and stalls.

I renewed my medical at Ultima for a cost of $373.80 which included an ecg. This was my second ecg in a month as I renewed my UK Category 2 medical before.
Then I also renewed my UK Class Rating Instructor rating on the 23rd of May, though I wonder at the expense against return for this one.
My Class 2 Canadian Instructor Rating is a much higher qualification that enables me to teach most things including the CPL in Canada, and I am well known and in demand there.
Living in Vancouver is however, very expensive, and driving between aerodromes on those roads is simply too much trouble.

Behind the warehouses at the east end of Boundary Bay Airport there are green houses.
These greenhouses stink in more ways than one, they are used to grow Cannabis to feed Canada's addictions.
They used to be used to grow vegetables to feed the people nutricious food, until Marijuana was legalised.

On the 7th, Archie and I did seven circuits at Abbotsford Airport in the Tomahawk.

I visited Pitt Meadows Airport a few times, and had tea at Amy's Flying School.
Amy is from India and operates her own friendly school/club with a Cessna 150 and a Cherokee.
It's no coincidence that her name is Amy.

As for the Hatz, I test flew this aeroplane a few years ago. Unfortunately after landing the tail spring detatched from the corroded bottom rear fuselage tubes.

Actually this was still the 10th June... My camera, like my wrist watch, is set to GMT!

Again I borrowed the BMW Mini from Alice.
Alice still looks after a car maintenance garage as well as its cats.

Here in England I am often on the Flyer Forum, and so when Howard asked about flying in British Columbia I was able to respond.
The result was that Howard who has a Cirrus SR20 ended up doing tailwheel training with me in the Citabria at Glacier Air, Squamish.

Teaching tailwheel was something I had hoped to do here in England with my CRI, before Covid put paid to that idea.
Dunkeswell had a Citabria, and I had my eyes on it... They said they had enough instructors for it, but eventually the aeroplane was gone.

Last year I went to Creston to look at the Pelican PL, but it suffered from severe nosewheel shimmy and so it was rejected.
The shimmy was rectified and Roel went and picked it up and brought it back to Squamish.
This trip I had the pleasure of flying with Roel twice. First to do Practice Forced Landings, and then to do circuits and landings.

I also flew with Howard in the Citabria on the 17th, two circuits in the gusty wind, and then up to Lake Lovely Water, 5,500 feet, then a two turn spin and descent back again..

Johnny owned a DA40-180, the Wilga Floatplane, and the GA8 Airvan.

The school I started as a CFI is still going strong with the same aeroplanes.
I am pleased to see the success the Katanas have achieved over the past 16 years.

I think Diamond were foolish to not continue with this type which in my opinion is superior in the training role to many of the 'LSA' types on the market.
The Katana may be heavier, but this is because it is robust.

Myself and my brothers always carry out work above our qualifications.
In this case I was helping David with his instructor renewal in the Tomahawk we did a couple of flights together.

This work is Class 1 Instructor level.
Whereas I prepared Class 1 Instructor material and indeed I was a Class 1 Aerobatic Instructor - Instructor, the cost of upgrading my Class 2 rating was too much for me.
There was risk as well, as most candidates are failed the first time, and the thought of paying for two flight tests caused me to think twice.

20th June.

There was a Maule to check out near High River, and so after flying with David I was ready to go to Vancouver Airport to catch the flight to Calgary.
Johnny showed up at Boundary Bay to catch me before David gave me a lift to the airport... Johnny's daughter had booked our flight from Abbotsford!

Airborne from Abbotsford and enroute to Calgary.

The road system in the Lower Mainland around Vancouver consists of many junctions with traffic lights every five hundred metres or so.
This means a lot of 'stop and go traffic'. In particular there are large trucks, stopping, idling and then grinding through their gears when the green light finally shows whilst blowing smoke out of their exhaust pipes. These pollutants fill the air trapped by the inversion that exists most days over the Lower Mainland.
You never get the clarity of air that the westerly wind provides in Britain.

Simon kindly picked us up from Calgary Airport and we spent the night in Okotoks.
The next morning he drove us out to a farm near High River where the Maule was based.
The aeroplane seemed alright for the money, but there were other factors... There was no hospitality offered, and logbooks were inspected outside.
The seam between the crankcase halves had been periodically sealed with a sealant to stop an oil leak... The aeroplane had averaged 16 hours per year.
We wanted a cyclinder removed to inspect the camshaft. Corrosion in the camshaft and the cam followers is a problem in Lycoming engines.
The engineer who maintains this aircraft at High River suggested the owner "look for another buyer".
A strip and rebuild would be in order for this engine.

We went to a High River 'Diner' for coffee and a chat with the Broker... I bought the coffees and two lemon slices.
Then Simon took us to see the Rock for which Okotoks was named, and then to the Black Diamond Gliding Field where he and I flew the Valentin Taifun 17E one time.
Then it was to Calgary Airport and the late return flight back to Abbotsford.

Still looking at possible aeroplane types, a Murphy conveniently
turned up at Squamish after Johnny and I had done a circuit detail.

Alice and I commuted to Squamish in the Tomahawk so I could do some circuits with Howard in the Citabria and then some refamiliarisation flying with Alice in the aeroplane as well.

Alice and I returned to Boundary Bay by the scenic route.

On to Part 2