Yukon Flying . com
A web page dedicated to Northern pilots and flying, but one everyone interested in aviation can enjoy. You will find flight planning information, technical stuff, legal stuff, and just plain fun.
Looking for COPA Flight # 106, Check out www.copayukon.com
COPA FlIght # 106 is a group of low-key local aviators dedicated to COPA objectives. They meet on the second Wednesday of every month unless they are out flying. Contact the web-master here or e mail ; copayukon@hotmail.com to get on the meeting notification list, find articles of interest, planned flight information or reports on events. A summary of activities will be posted here, pending the completion of their own web page.
Flight # 106 held COPA FOR KIDS event in Whitehorse on June 5, 2010. We flew 89 kids in 6 hours. Congradulations to all those who helped out, we are recieving many words of appreciation from the public who attended.
Flying Around Yukon This Week
John Lovelace and his Cross Canada flight arrived here July 17. Some wonderful people and 100 + great aircraft spent the week exploring the Yukon.
Some of us locals flew out to Braeburn on Saturday for breakfast, and it was a beautiful flight. We ate well, laughed, ellected a new government, and filled in the gopher holes. Any suggestions for our next venture? Let me know....
A photo of Ken returning from Braeburn in his RV-4
Richard and Carol, not as fast, classy, or exciting as a good RV, but a nice production airplane all the same.
Whitehorse (Eric Nielson International) Airport news;
The Terminal Expansion is complete. Pardon me while I rant a bit here;
The whole $ 15+ million dollar expansion was to provide seats for 4 customs officers to meet one Condor flight from Germany, per week, four months of the year. Customs felt their people were previously "crowded". The cost did not include a ramp or jet-way, passengers still disembark on the tarmac and walk in.
Now that that priority has been met maybe some money can be spent on maintenance of the airport. There are many signs appearing now of the problems that lurk just under the tarmac. During the COPA for kids event one poor American flying a Cessna 180 dropped his tail into a hole and ripped it off, (the locals knew to go around that hole). While going to and fro with kids I witnessed two handfuls of pea-sized gravel in the cowl of each engine on the 737-400 parked there for the week. That can't be good. The deteriorating concrete gets fractured and picked up and moved by fixed and rotary wing movements. A nice Bell 212 landed for fuel, and as I chatted with the pilot we noticed that, once full with the added weight, his skids actually sunk about an inch into the pavement.
The maintenance people try sweeping the stuff but the sweeper tears more up. They try patching but that lasts a very short time and then breaks out to add to the mess. In many places the fences are falling over, gates don't close, and some can't be opened. Facilities are being removed, services discontinued, and fees raised. A parking lot for cars and a new work-place for more government officials does not an airport make.
"Security" staff at CYXY out-number the Maintenance staff ....7 to 1 .....by my count.
If you disagree with the priority setting by the Yukon Government for the $ 7.5 Million transferred annually to the Yukon for airports, I suggest you Call or e mail Minister Archie Lang at 667-8643 or 393-2724 .
Interested in Yukon Flying History?
Make sure you check out the excellent story about flying helicopters in Northern Yukon in 1962 written by Kit Cain who brings alive the experience of mosquitos, engine failures, and isolation in the pioneering days of Northern aviation. Look at our "History" page for the links.
Yukon Transportation Museum Action;
Yukon Transportation Museum ..... wel worth a visit = (l to r) Fairchild, Skis and Engines, Ryan Monoplane.
Yukon Flying - Editorials & Issues
The fight for the survivial of General Aviation continues. The actions of one person to protect our right to fly can be accessed HERE.
I still recommend the SPOT beacon in any event. If you are using a SPOT Beacon check out how my alerting is set up at SPOT Beacon.pdf.
If you have news of importance, an issue to raise, advice, or an article of interest please send it along and we will include it.
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