Fly With Blake | Fly With Blake |
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IMG_0015Date: 04/08/2007
At: Sep 09 2010 14:00Z
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March 2009 ArchivesTuesday, March 31, 2009 - 11:13:03 ET
I did some cleaning up on the website today. Fixed some broken links, etc... I also did some cleaning up at home and still have a crap load of old CFSs. If anyone wants a few (for training, starting a camp fire, toilet paper) please let me know! Make sure you leave an email address so that I can get your address to ship them to. Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Site News
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 21:06:48 ET
I hear this callsign on Toronto Centre every now and then. I assumed it was a Q-400, I didn't think it was a jet! The caption says that it's at Buttonville. Not sure if they were testing the Localizer there. Its been U/S for a while now.  © Tom Podolec Pretty neat looking aircraft. I have a flight booked for Sunday. If anyone out there would like to come up with me, let me know. The flight is at 12, lets hope the weather holds. Comments (5) | Permalink | Category:
Thursday, March 19, 2009 - 12:16:45 ET
My all time favourite airline (and I haven't even flown them yet) is now flying to Thunder Bay. Flights will begin in June and is a welcome addition to Thunder Bay: "Porter's choice of Thunder Bay as its newest destination is an exciting boost for the region's travelers, as well as our tourism and economic development growth plans," said Ed Schmidtke, manager, business development of Thunder Bay International Airports Authority. "Toronto is the number one destination from Thunder Bay and this new connection to Toronto City Centre Airport makes the trip easier than ever." You can read the press release at Porter's website. Comments (1) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things
Monday, March 16, 2009 - 23:09:26 ET
Well... the original plan was to head up to Sudbury with Matt. Scratch that! I backed my girlfriends car into a pole and now have to pay to get it fixed. boourns! So, we headed up to Wiarton (CYVV) instead. Shorter flight, less $$! Wiarton is famous for Wiarton Willie. The groundhog that predicts if we will have another 6 weeks of winter or not. We didn't see any groundhogs scurry across the runway. The airport is also home to an Environment Canada weather station and office. CYVV is a location where you can get upper winds. So I suspect that they launch weather balloons every so often. Can anyone confirm this? You can see some weather instruments up close if you head up to the second floor patio. There is a sunshine recorder as well as an instrument to measure clouds. I cant remember what it was called, but it almost looked like a sextant. The Unicom guy was super nice. I think it was him that offered us a ride into town for a bite to eat, but we had to decline. The flight was pretty uneventful. We flew direct to YVV. Had to get used to the new frequencies that were being used for position reports. It seems that everyone was using them like they were supposed to. I did notice some pilots still making calls on 126.7 in areas that were covered by the common frequency areas (CFA). On the way back, London FIC warned us of reports of migratory birds (read: canada geese) in the vicinity of Buttonville. I've been keeping a close eye out for birds all throughout the flight... nothing but the odd seagull. I forgot to bring my camera, so no photos. Comments (2) | Permalink | Category: Training
Friday, March 13, 2009 - 17:13:44 ET
Poor passenger. FAA Hand Prop Aircraft Accident Video Comments (1) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things
Thursday, March 12, 2009 - 22:18:32 ET
Plans are in the works to fly up to Sudbury with a fellow pilot. The kicker is that he's going to have his own plane and he will be departing from CNB9. I'm currently working out the logistics of the trip. I'm still not sure if I'm going to do it as it is quite far. About 1.5 hours each way. However it will be so fun to go up with Matt. He's had some experience formation flying which could be beneficial for the trip. It's been a long time since I've gone on a x-country so I'm excited! Stay tuned for more details. Matt is also using a Bendix AV8OR (yes that says "aviator"). I've never heard of the product, so I took a look on the Bendix website. This thing is pretty pimp. It's cheap, plus the database updates are free! The interface is the best: no buttons or joysticks! Everything is done on the touch screen. It looks like accessing the functions and using the device is much more intuitive than the Garmin products. It includes both a wall adaptor, built in battery, and a "cigarette" plug adaptor. Plus it includes an external antenna, if the internal antenna isn't sufficient. It is the perfect VFR GPS unit. Because its portable, its not certified for IFR. Plus the database doesn't contain IFR approaches. Comments (1) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things
Thursday, March 12, 2009 - 13:56:34 ET
Speculation of what will happen to Buttonville Airport if it closes was the focus of a recent article in the Georgina Advocate. According to the article, which quotes Mr. Sifton, the airport land is actually zoned Commercial (I have yet to confirm this). The 165 acres that the Siftons own, and which the airport sits on, is worth an estimated $165M. It is possible, but highly unlikely, that the airport could be torn down and be replaced by a mall or other commercial space. Personally I suspect the land is worth more than $165M as it is prime real estate. Especially if it is zoned Commercial. The article spends some time discussing how residents are complaining about the noise from the airport. What most people don't realize is that the airport was there before them. Which in my mind makes all of their complaints moot. [Mr. Sifton] indicates he's encouraged a resolution will be found and reassures that Buttonville isn't closing today and that they "still plan on being here tomorrow and beyond providing it makes business sense for us to do so". It all comes down to money. With the lack of GTAA funding it might be more worthwhile (ie, make more money) for the Siftons to demolish the airport and lease/sell the land to commercial developers. Remember: Buttonville is a private airport on private lands. It is not run by the government or available for public use. The Siftons have generously allowed the public to use the airport during operating hours. The bottom line: If the airport continues to make money, then its staying. Otherwise runway 33 might turn into a Walmart. Comments (2) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things
Wednesday, March 11, 2009 - 21:07:45 ET
Toronto's new airspace is in effect tomorrow! I've been assured by a Nav Canada rep that the new VNCs and VTAs will be available next week. In the mean time, you will have to use the information found in your CFS! Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things
Wednesday, March 4, 2009 - 16:25:20 ET
This clip is scary. The aircraft is out of control and the pilot is slurring his speech due to hypoxia. It's not clear until later in the clip that the other pilot is unconscious (as he chimes in as the aircraft descends). The clip is available from the NATCA website and has been nominated for an Archie Award. Listen to it here. This clip demonstrates the dangers of hypoxia. During the exchange between pilot and controller the pilot tells the controller that other than losing control of the aircraft, everything is ok: Unable to control altitude. Unable to control airspeed. Unable to control heading. Kalitta six six. Other than that, everything A-OK. His perception of the situation is altered due to the lack of oxygen available to his brain. When asked by the controller if he would like to land at the nearest airport, the pilot replies: Prefer to land aircraft at destination airport as the aircraft is (unintelligible). No possible damage to any part of the aircraft (unintelligible). So we're slowly, ever so slowly, regaining control the airspeed and the aircraft if we are given the time to slowly reengage. I'm sure that made sense to him, but really it doesn't make any sense at all. You can also download the transcript. Comments (5) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things
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