Being a pilot is great. You have the freedom to fly where ever you like. So once  you’ve got a few $300 hamburgers (when was the last time it was $100?) under you belt, you’re looking for something new.

Here are a list of some things you can do after getting that licence.

Join an Organization
There are two main organizations you can join in Canada:

EAA is probably most famous for setting up Airventure in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. However, they do have a Canadian presence. EAA is all about sharing the passion for flying …

The federal government has evicted the Canadian Air & Space Museum from Downsview Park this past weekend.

The museum is over $100,000 in arrears.

The museum is asking for your help to reverse the eviction and keep the museum in operation.

NavCanada will be changing the Control Zone class around CYTZ from class “D” to class “C”. This upgrade in the class means a few things for those of us in/around Toronto, Ontario:

Because the control zone extends over the entire downtown core, this will affect pilots who like to do city tours.
All flights in the zone must now have a Mode C transponder.
The change takes effect October 20, 2011.

This is good news for everyone as it increases the safety of operating in the downtown area. There have been times where I’ve …

Starting November 15, 2012, ICAO will support an updated ICAO Flight Plan.

The changes to the flight plan allow you to specify items like longer registrations, different types of equipment, and new rules for submitting and amending the plan.

Some highlights:

Flight plans are not to be submitted more than 120 hours (5 days) before departure.
Updated Equipment codes such as:

“A” for GBAS landing system
“M1″ for an Inmarsat phone
“Y” for a VHF radio with 8.33Khz spacing

The letter “S” for equipment code no longer includes the ADF as “standard” equipment. The new list is: VHF Radio, ILS, …

I’m currently looking for a new airport to fly out of. So this weekend I plan on checking out Brampton Airport (CNC3).

Buttonville (CYKZ) is the closest airport to where I live, and I’ve flown out of there for the past 4 years or so. A few issues have made me decide to explore other options:

Rental currency rules
Costs
Eventual closing of the airport
Eventual purchasing of my own aircraft

Toronto Airways has a 30 days rental currency rule. That means you have to act as pilot in command (PIC) 1 hour every 30 days …

Now that the dust has settled on the announcement of the closure of Buttonville Airport. I decided to see what new news or plans surfaced for the lands.

Derek Sifton, the current owner/manager of YKZ has been quoted as saying:

The airport could close anytime in the next three to 10 years, Mr. Sifton said, adding more likely in three to five years. (Source)
He said there is an average of 170,000 aircraft movements at Buttonville every year and that Pickering would be an “easy transfer” for the outgoing airport. (Source)

The idea being …

I just want to give a shout-out to Matt, who just got his CPL yesterday. It’s been a long road buddy, but you finally made it!

Matt did his training up in Barrie, ON where he got his float rating as well.

The Department of National Defence (DND) and Nav Canada are decommissioning approx 30 VORTACs and TACANs over the next two years. The ones being turned off in 2011 are:

Sydney  25 April 2011
Moncton  2 May 2011
Gander  6 June 2011
Stephenville  13 June 2011
Fredericton  August 2011
Sioux Narrows  5 September 2011
London  3 October 2011
Mansfield  10 October 2011

The VORTACs will be replaced with a VOR/DME installation, and the TACAN will be replaced with DME only.

This may affect you if you use these military navigational aids. Be sure to check the NOTAMs before you fly.

AIC 21/11 has more …

The CBC has reported on a Goodyear blimp crash in Germany this past week. The item that caught my attention was the following fact:

The pilot yelled “We had an accident!” followed by “I crashed the airship!” as the smell of fire crept through the blimp, Storch told the DAPD news agency on Monday.

Storch and two other passengers, a man and woman from a TV crew, leapt two metres to safety.

The sudden loss of weight caused the ship to shoot into the air, where it burst into flames, killing the pilot …

I think I finally found my perfect aviator watch! Almost 5 years ago I posted a “must have” list for my flying watch. I have yet to find one… until today.

The 4-bit Chrono watch by Cadence displays time in both UTC and local time on the same dial face. It’s a chronometer too, so great for timing those legs, and doing ground speed estimations, etc.. Plus, the binary numerals tailors to my geeky-ness.

It also doesn’t cost $8,000! Put that in your pipe Breitling and smoke it!

Sara: hint-hint Birthday Present! hint-hint