Vintage Wings Attends COPA AGM

Last weekend, Vintage Wings was proud to support our good friends at COPA with our Hurricane, Spitfire and P40 at their Annual General Meeting in Hanover, Ont.

Of special note was the attendance of WWII Spitfire pilot Ian McKay.

Vintage Wings Spitfire Pilot John Aitken (L) and WWII pilot Ian McKay stand in front of Spitfire C-GVZB in Hanover, ON.

 

Blue skies and smiles – what could be better? From L Vintage Wings pilots John Aitken, Dave Hadfield, and Rob Erdos.

 

From front to back, Vintage Wings’ P40 Kittyhawk, Supermarine Spitfire, and Hawker Hurricane.

 

Photos courtesy of Kevin Psutka.

A Special Blog from a Special Cadet: Introducing Zeke Ruddy

Zeke (rear cockpit) and pilot Peter Ashwood-Smith taxi for take-off.

By Zeke Ruddy

My name is Zeke Ruddy and I have always dreamt of becoming a pilot. Last Saturday was one of my best days ever. I flew in Vintage Wings' Fleet Finch from their Gatineau hangar to the Aviation Museum and back. It was awesome!

The Finch is a 2-seat open cockpit biplane trainer from WW2. It's one of the famous yellow airplanes that were used in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Sometimes these planes were known as the "yellow peril" because of the many inexperienced pilots who flew them. But on Saturday, the Finch was in the expert hands of Peter Ashwood-Smith.

Peter and I took off on a beautiful sunny morning. We used the few small clouds in the sky as pylons and as targets for our machine guns (rat-tat-tat -- just kidding!). It was completely different from flying in a closed cockpit plane. It's just hard to explain the feeling of freedom and wind you get in an open cockpit. I loved it.

We spent the day at the Wings and Wheels show with lots of other vintage airplanes and cars. My family met me there and my Mom was glad to see me still alive and well.

On the return flight, we did some touch and goes. We were lucky enough to fly alongside Vintage Wings' Spitfire while flight-testing her new engine. What a beautiful sight.

After landing, Peter and I cleaned down the airplane. Even my brothers got in on the act. My Dad took pictures "as proof that we had actually cleaned something".

Zeke “actually cleaning something.”

The flight was awarded to me by Vintage Wings president Rob Fleck for my recent accomplishments in Air Cadets. I want to thank all my friends at Vintage Wings, especially Rob Fleck, Robert Kostecka, Peter Ashwood-Smith, and Alison Slack.

A clean airplane and big smiles all around!

What else is going on at Vintage Wings?

We all know that the Mustang has left the building, but what else is going on at Vintage Wings?

Lots! First off, our brand-new Events Calendar is up and running. It shows all of our flying activities, plus special events and volunteer opportunities. You can see details of the flying, in addition to being able to sign up for events and volunteering.

If it looks like we are really busy, well we are. Eighteen airplanes + beautiful weather = a busy time for all.

Check it out! http://www.vintagewingsmembers.ca/eventCalendar.cfm

Last Monday afternoon, the Hawker Hurricane put her wheels in the well for Toronto Pearson and the CBAA convention.

This past Wednesday the Spitfire, with her freshly-overhauled original engine, underwent a maintenance flight before being ferried to Toronto Pearson for the CBAA convention, followed by Hamilton this weekend. There were originally some oil pressure fluctuations, but bleeding the lines to allow trapped air to escape solved that problem.

Keith Sabiston, Beaver driver, and Andre Laviolette, AME, prepare the Beaver for flight while the Spit awaits her turn in the background.

A favourite of many, the deHavilland Beaver was out flying on Wednesday as well, as pilots performed their annual proficiency check.

As I type this, our talented Aircraft Maintenance Engineers are wrestling with the starter on the Lysander in an effort to get it serviceable. This afternoon should hopefully yield a maintenance flight, and if all goes well, the Lysander will depart for Hamilton as well.

Why are all of our aircraft headed to Hamilton, you ask? This weekend is Canadian Warplane Heritage’s (CWH) big 40th anniversary air show. As our close partners, Vintage Wings is supporting CWH with our Mustang, Spitfire MkXVI, Hawker Hurricane, P40 Kittyhawk, FG-1D Corsair, Westland Lysander and Hawk One F86 Sabre. There will be individual aerobatic shows by the Corsair and Sabre, as well as the ever-popular formation Heritage Flight. Visit http://www.hamiltonairshow.com/ for more details.

We also have several sponsored rides taking place today and tomorrow, one for a veteran’s 90th birthday! Just a note that the Yellow Wings aircraft (Harvard, Fleet Finch, Cornell and Tiger Moth) will be departing for their Down Home, Down East tour of the Maritimes July 9th. They will not be returning until the Wings Over Gatineau-Ottawa en vol air show in September, so if you were thinking of sponsoring one of these aircraft, don’t delay or you’ll miss the boat (so to speak).

Out west, the Stearman is now home in Alberta, tucked away in a cozy hangar at the Springbank airport, just outside of Calgary. It is available for sponsored rides, and after a team-effort cleaning, is sparkling and raring to go!

Coming up on Thurs, June 21, Vintage Wings is holding our First Annual Spitfire Classic Golf Tournament. Come out and celebrate the solstice with 12 cylinders and 18 holes! Details can be found on our spiffy new Events Calendar.

Next weekend, June 23-24, is the Canadian Owners and Pilots Associations’ (COPA) fly-in AGM and annual conference in Hanover, ON. Vintage Wings is sending our Spitfire, Hurricane, and P40 to support our good friends at COPA. A highlight will be the honouring of one of a handful of living Malta veterans – a perfect fit for our Warbirds of the Med theme. See http://www.copanational.org/ for more information.

For sponsored rides out of Gatineau, contact Alison or Amber at 819-669-9603.

For sponsored rides out of Springbank, contact Todd at info@vintagewingswest.ca.

Cheers all and have a great weekend!

Mustang Leaves YND

Vintage Wings’ P51D Mustang has officially left Gatineau. Amid blue skies and a stiff crosswind, Vintage Wings pilots Rob Fleck and Joe Cosmano took off and headed west. The end goal is Calgary, with stops in Buttonville, Toronto, Hamilton, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Brandon, and Regina along the way. Each leg has been sponsored by a member of Vintage Wings who will experience the thrill of a lifetime as they transit in (noisy) style across our vast and beautiful country. The Mustang will then spend the summer around the Alberta region. For more information, or to sponsor a ride in the Mustang, please contact Vintage Wings West Director Todd at info@vintagewingswest.ca.

 

Aircraft Maintenance Engineer Xavier Simard fuels the “Robillard Brothers” Mustang before departure.

 

Vintage Wings pilots Rob Fleck (L) and Joe Cosmano (R) stand ready and eager to go.

 

Rob Fleck looks “SPOT” on sitting in cockpit. To follow the Mustangs progress online via its SPOT locating device, go to: http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0p6PK9nCxkcEzJr33iAdbZzftk0dc5v3T.

Capital Classic Wings & Wheels 2012

By B. Reid

For the last several years, the historic Rockliffe Airport has had a display of classic aircraft, along with vintage cars and historic military hardware. In the past it was known as the Classic Air Rallye but this year it was changed to Capital Classic Wings & Wheels 2012.

With Rockliffe Airport only about 7 miles from our home base in Gatineau, Vintage Wings has been participating for several years now. The weather was incredible with light winds and blue skies as all the yellow birds from Gatineau made the short hop across the Ottawa River. Our participants were all the Yellow birds and the P-51 Mustang. When combined with a visit to the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum, this was truly the place to be on a beautiful Saturday. We look forward to participating next year. 

Getting ready to head over to the Rockliffe Airport for the to Capital Classic Wings & Wheels 2012, the P-51 Mustang does a runup at the Gatineau Airport. At 3300 feet, the runway at Rockliffe is quite short. No doubt the pilot was wishing for a nice wind down the runway but it was not to be as they were calm all day.

Arriving at Rockliffe Airport which is now dominated by the two large buildings of the

Canadian Aviation and Space Museum. What was once a crosswind runway now serves as the museum parking lot at the southwest end.

What would a fly-in be without a few high speed passes from the sleek Yellow Wings elementary trainers to burn up the field. All within the limitations of our SFOC of course.

Some other friendly visitors included the Canadian Warplane Heritage DC-3 and the Air Canada operated Lockheed 10.

Another view of the Rockliffe Airport with the City of Ottawa in the background. An “Air Station” was created here in 1920 that also accommodated an air harbour. RCAF operations at Rockliffe ceased in 1964.

Each of our two seat trainer aircraft carried a sponsor to and from Rockliffe. The Fleet Finch carried air Cadet Zeke Ruddy who shows his approval after a very enjoyable day.

Vintage Kittens Swarm the Hangar at Gatineau

 

Hawker, the hangar cat

 

A few weeks ago, Vintage Wings staff and volunteers discovered some new friends hanging out behind the hangar: a mother cat and her four young kittens had recently moved to the area. Obviously not wild, as they adore attention, the cats quickly worked their way into our hearts. We decided to keep Hawker as a hangar cat, but are currently looking for loving homes for the mother and her other kittens.

For more information, please contact Amber at apotvin@vintagewings.ca.

The mom, currently nameless, is a complete sweetheart.

 

Merlin, cute as can be and always up to no good.

 

Gizmo is extremely shy.

 

Mink has come out of her shell and loves to play, especially with her brother Merlin.

All photos by  Wayne Giles.

Follow them West!

As many of you know, Vintage Wings’ P51 Mustang and Boeing Stearman are headed west this summer.

To follow their progress via their SPOT tracking devices, check out:

Mustang: http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0p6PK9nCxkcEzJr33iAdbZzftk0dc5v3T

Stearman: http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0XjBxMuACjgDoSR00FiBJQM7oDBjf1QfP

The Stearman has already started her journey west, and the Mustang starts her journey June 18.

 

HF.

Stearman works its way across the country

By B. Reid

Summer is gearing up and it is sponsorship season for those of you fortunate enough to have a two seat Vintage Wings aircraft pass through your neck of the woods. There are a large variety of types that can be sponsored and these days the busiest airplane is our Stearman. There is something known as the Stearman smile that virtually all sponsors wear for quite a while after a flight in this aircraft. We never seem to run short of them.

This aircraft is not any old Stearman but one of the few left that actually flew in the BCATP. While over 10,000 Stearmans were manufactured(including spares), only 300 were delivered to Canada. They had the army designation of  PT-27 and the Boeing model type as a D75N1.

In fact, the BCATP Stearman story was one of great frustration for the RCAF. Like the Cornell, Tiger Moth and Harvard, significant modifications were requested, many of them in order to cope with the bitter Canadian winters. These modifications included a canopy, heater, blind flying hood, night flying equipment, a landing light, and an engine baffle to keep the cylinder temperatures up on the uncowled engine. But despite repeated prompting from the RCAF’s representative in Wichita, only the very last Stearman was delivered with the extra equipment. As well, none of the night flying equipment was installed which meant that the three Stearman equipped RAF flying schools had to retain a number of properly equipped Tiger Moths.

By the fall of 1942, Stearman flying had come to a halt due to the cold weather. With no short term solution in sight, the 287 surviving Stearmans were flown back to the US in the dead of winter. They were exchanged for Cornells with the USAAF. This closed the short chapter of Stearman history in the BCATP.

While the type did not last very long Canada, it still did train many pilots in Alberta(along with a few based at a flying instructor school in Arnprior). It seems only fitting that the Vintage Wings PT-27 is returning to Alberta in order to make a new home for at least the medium term. It will be taken on strength by Vintage Wings West at the Springbank Airport in the City of Calgary. The very same city where it was taken on strength just over 70 years ago on May 27th 1942.

But first it has to get there, and while this could be done over several long sunny days, it just wouldn’t be right to pass by all those cities and towns enroute without offering up the chance for the public to get a first hand look. So it will be making frequent stops with smiles available to anyone willing to sponsor a flight.

Meanwhile you can follow it's progress on the Yellow Wings Blog at http://www.yellowwings.ca/?page_id=13

Here is a list of location we will be visiting:

Regina June 1-3
Moose Jaw June 4,5
Swift Current June 6,7
Medicine Hat June 8,9
Calgary June 13-28
Edmonton Muni July 1,2
Red Deer July 3-18
Calgary July 20-permanent

Last week I visited Winnipeg to help Dave Maric and Ron DuJohn fly lucky sponsors over Winnipeg and Brandon. The weather made things difficult but we were able to do 11 rides on Saturday. Here is a nice look at the Manitoba legislature for one of our smiling sponsors and pilot.

A close-up of downtown with the airport in the background just above the javelin.

Portage and Main lie just off the lower wingtip while the Red River lies just off the upper wingtip. All of my passengers were able to either fly over their home or their work.

Vintage Wings pilot Ron DuJohn gets ready to take another sponsor overhead Winnipeg from the International Airport. Earlier in the week, the nearby Starbuck Airport was visited as well. Special thanks to Calm Air for helping support our operation.

Back among BCATP friends at the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum in Brandon, Manitoba. In the background is a Crane, Harvard, Cornell, and Stinson L-5. This fascinating museum focuses exclusively on the BCATP in Canada and is a worthwhile visit for any aviation enthusiast or those curious to learn about the greatest industrial project in Canadian history. The museum was kind enough to let us stay for two nights.