It’s done! My multi-engine ride was a success this morning. I can now fly airplanes with more than one engine!

Take a look at this one. It’s called the boomerang.

The top down view is more impressive

Which do you think is the critical engine?!

My test started with a ground briefing at 9am. So naturally I was at the airport at 8am to ensure the paperwork was all done. Aircraft was airworthy and I took care of my weight and balance. I calculated our landing weight based on two hours at cruise.

We went …

When doing some research on what are some of the factors that affect Vmc, I came across this excellent document.

The multi-engine instructor quick reference by Ryan Ferguson is just what I was looking for.

That said. What are some of the factors affecting Vmc and why?

I was made aware at Toronto Airways dispatch of a small procedure change when requesting taxi instructions.

Most (if not all TAL pilots) perform their run up on the main apron, which is uncontrolled. Once the run-up is complete, then the pilot calls up Buttonville Ground requesting taxi instructions.

The problem here is that the the controller must look through the entire main apron searching for the location of your airplane. During busy hours this can take time.

The memo directs pilots to proceed to the proper taxi way for the active runway …

Here are the details about the photo I posted earlier. It actually happened on June 24, 1918, and not June 18th as I originally stated.

Click for larger

This was the first ever Air Mail flight in Canada. It consisted of 120 letters to the “T. Eaton Company” from Montreal to Toronto. The airplane landed at Leaside Aerodrome, which would have been located on the present day Downsview Subway station. The airport was in operation from 1931 to 1939, until the Malton Airport (now YYZ) became fully operational.

Originally, the pilots were approached …

This photo was taken on June 18, 1918, somewhere in Toronto.

Click for larger

What was this event? Who was the pilot? Which airport was this photograph taken at? And what was their cargo?

I’ll give you a few hints: The airport no longer exists, but was in Toronto. The cargo was flown from Montreal (you can see it in the photograph).

I’ll give the answer in a few days.

Planning a trip to Brantford? Guess again. The main runway 05/23 and 17/35 is closed this summer for repaving.

Update: Keep in mind the airport is still open with runway 11/29 as is the restaurant. See comments for more details.

Here is the NOTAM:

080043 CYFD BRANTFORD

CYFD

RWY 05/23 AND 17/35, TWY A,

TWY E FM RWY 17/35 TO TWY D,

TWY D FM TWY E TO TWY A, AND

TWY C FM RWY 17/35 TO TWY E,

CLSD DUE CONST

0805201100 TIL 0808081200

This just leaves 11/29 open, along with Taxiways E, B, and parts of C, and D.

Areas …

My latest flight on Friday took me to Tillsonburg, a little airport east of London International. As with every flight, I try to do something different, this time I decided to head back to Buttonville north of YYZ instead of taking the normal “follow shoreline [of lake ontario]” route south of YYZ. More on that later.

I met a fellow classmate at dispatch. We chatted for a bit — he was heading to Brantford in an Warrior with another classmate. We had a brief discussion about using GPS for navigation before …

My Multi-Engine flight test is being booked for May 28th!

Had a flight in the Seminole last night, practiced circuit work. I was having a tough time of keeping the airplane lined up with the centre line, I got that all sorted out yesterday.

Over the course of the lesson, the active runway switched twice, flipping back and forth between 33 and 03. 03/21 is the short runway at 2600′. This was the first time I used the short runway at Buttonville in the Seminole.

Did two circuits there, then switched to 33. …

Todays lesson involved some more upper air work. Today we headed to the east to the Claremont Training Area.

As previously mentioned, this training area has its own frequency (I’m too lazy to dig up the old blog entry). This frequency is not noted on any charts (VTA or VNC). You have to dig into the special “dangers to aircraft” section of the CFS. You would think in the interest of safety, they would publish this frequency on the VTA at least.

For the record, its 122.9Mhz.

We practiced some slow flight with …

There has been talk in the news recently of commercial aircraft reducing their speeds in order to save on fuel costs. Over the course of a year the savings can be in the million of dollars.

As the costs of fuel rises, everyone from commercial airlines to the GA pilot is looking for ways to save fuel. Toronto Airways is no exception. In a recent email to all students/customers:

We all have been feeling the pinch of the increased fuel costs lately, and aviation fuel is no exception, so anything that can …