Pacific Perspective - January 2005

	Big Jerry Janes hunting Spitfires in darkest British Columbia, with his trusty Harvard ‘Honeysuckle’, some years ago.
	The D.H. Comet at the old Strathallan Aviation Museum, Scotland.
	Some Strathallan two place Spits, 1979
	Rare find! Spitfire power plant pod at Lord Roberts’ place!
	‘Laddie with a Lamp’ picking a Spitfire up off the floor at Strathallan.
	English Turbi at Sunderland Airport.
	Canadian Turbi at Delta 1979. RAF WW 2 Ace, Ginger Lacey contemplates his flight with check pilot Mark Scott, far left, Kevin Maher, Ginger, and Bruce Prior on right.
	Hawker Tempest spotted at Duxford, U.K.
	The CAA Test Pilot arrives at the pumps with the restored Lysander, after a successful first flight at High Wycombe, near London.
	Tony Swain returns from seeking Spitfires in a Jodel Stuka at Swansea Airport, Wales, sometime in the olden days.
	Friends, Peter Marshall, left, and Hammy McClymont, right, wish Viggo Petersen ‘Bon Voyage’ on his return to Denmark last December.
	Photo courtesy Delta’s Photo Collection

Into the new year yonder…

So what’d you get for Christmas, or other recent festive occasion? You did! Lucky you… I don’t know yet, because as I write, it’s still last year!

I’m hoping to get that new confuser software they’re raving about down at the Nut House. ‘Magic Word,’ for writers. Simply punch in stuff like the ‘Who, what, where, why, and when’, and it’ll fizz up a suitable story as you watch T.V. with a cup of tea! Way to go!

But, sigh, there’s always a hitch. The Mary says “Why waste the money? …’Cos that’s all you do now!” Anyway.

In Canada, winter has its just rewards, and we enjoy snow. It is the ‘way of life.’ Canadian pilots are so well prepared, with their cozy winter gear, dry footwear, and ear-muffs. Fortunately however, here in La La Land, we don’t need such things, because we don’t get snow.

 Our balmy temperate conditions allow local persons to frolic with nature in the park across the street. (I know this, we have binoculars) and we bask in the glow from the weather channel that you guys are happily snow blowing. Whereas we, “yawn”, can go flying.

Oh happy days! Float around at 5,000 feet or so betwixt the dazzling mountain peaks, stretching from here to where-ever… Recover the Cub wings in the driveway. Go to Chilliwack for pie - that sort of thing.

For airplane people here, the slight flaw in this is the known random glitch. Rare tis true, about every 12 months or so. But because it is random, and so may not happen, there is obviously no need to prepare. One simply worries. 

The occasional freezing rain, sleet or blowing snow is met by the well-known Pacific Panic. “Who’s got snow tires?” Anyway, shovelling wet snow provides more exercise. Burns off more calories, or so those I watch seem to do. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

LANGLEY AERO CLUB…

I was delighted last November when Linda Todd, Langley Aero Club president, invited The Mary and I to their AGM banquet in exchange for an update on COPA‘s current ‘goings-on’, and some old airplane tales.

Held at the Canadian Museum of Flight, Langley, we dined amid the magical bygone era of ‘The Old Planes.’ Tiger Moths, Waco’s, Replica SE5, Lysander and wonderful vintage displays in glass cabinets, all imaginatively set in a fabulous aviation Aladdin’s Cave. It doesn’t come any better.

The club’s new caterers, ‘Maries Catering’, prepared a delectable choice of beef or chicken, with an indescribably scrumptious gravy sauce, and… (Though The Mary tutt-tutted a bit) …plenty of it. Even proper tea was on tap! No fussing with paper bags.

At the AGM, the directors had done such a good job, that Nomination guy, Don Souter, had a tough time getting new blood to have a go. It’s a frustratingly common situation with well-run groups. Why upset a good thing?

But people do get tired, and it’s prudent for one or two new faces to step up once in a while. Anyway, after some argy-bargy, a new executive was found, and the ever-efficient Linda agreed to stay on for another term.

Linda then announced the season’s winner of the club’s prestigious Ed Batchelor Trophy, for generosity to local pilots and their various engine problems, was the popular Valley Aero Engines chief, Don Nikkel.

Don was overwhelmed and found it hard to speak.  He said this was totally out of the blue, he thought he’d just got lucky with a free dinner! He simply treated customers as friends, and did the job as best he knew.

Finding no further words, he thanked everyone warmly, and sat down amid tumultuous applause. Langley is fortunate to have such a friendly engine shop on the field.

COPA TALK TALK…

Anyway, Your Copaguy got to update everyone on the latest concerns down at COPA HQ in Ottawa. Our staff beaver away on this stuff all week, all year. We’re really fortunate to have them, they must be paid.

Thus we need all the members we can get. So talk it up to new pilots, and to any who think ‘Those guys’ should ‘do’ something. Those guys are doing something. These modern days, we need as many members, (read funding,) as we can get.

COPA president/CEO Kevin Psutka has been busy busy addressing such things as which Standard English, or French in Quebec, ICAO will expect us to use and who will pay for the testing.

Banff and Jasper Airstrips versus Parks Canada. (If they close them, what they gonna do there? And will the animals like it?). B.C. Parks Access.  Ontario’s Tegami Living Legacy lands. Sensitive Altimeter changes. 406 ELT’s. VFR Transponder Codes. Nav Canada reasonable fees, chart prices…  Ad infinitum!

I impressed on those present the importance of reading all the political and bureaucratic stuff in our COPA Flight News. That’s why we print it! Hopefully some insightful letters will result after my little speech. Sigh!

After a short break, I was on, and my old Kodak Carousel actually worked. At home earlier, it had seized up, causing panic. The ‘lifetime’ grease in the fan had gone solid. Nothing that a total dismantle couldn’t fix however, after a few judicial drops of ‘3-In-1’ magic oil, even if initially a few oil drops sprayed on the slides. Adds realism.

BIG JERRY’S SPITFIRE…

Many years ago my sister called from Scotland to suggest I go see my old Mum before she forgot what I looked like. As, apparently, I haven’t changed much since 1934, she could check against old photos.

Anyway, Big Jerry Janes got wind of this and asked if we would find him a Spitfire, to complete his set of  Chipmunk, Harvard, Beech SNB-1, Mustang, and sexy B-25 Mitchell.

Any Spit would do, but this bloke Lord Roberts of Strathallan apparently had a few.

After the initial buzz, I figured we’d soon run out of family chat. Sisters must work, and Mom would fall asleep. So roaring round the countryside in a tiny English car seeking Spits would be fun.

Jerry’s friend, Ormand, was as far south as Duxford, and vague other phantom Sassenach Spitfires down there might be suss outable. So why not.

1979 was the worst winter ‘Up North’ in living memory. Blizzards howled around the houses, and older people were dying of exposure in their own homes. I was appalled to find it ‘The thing’ to leave windows open for ‘fresh air.’

Sue had removed their central heating deeming it ‘unhealthy’! They made do with portable kerosene Radiants, and small electric plug-ins. I froze a lot. But there were Spitfires to find.

First stop was Strathallan, which was a ramshackle Air Museum in the early Brit tradition. A tired old Shackleton and a dear old Comet sat out in the cold with an amazing old Junkers 52.

However, inside impressed with a Harvard, Hurricane, Magister, Lysander, ex Red Deer Café Lancaster and oodles of other stuff.

SERIOUS BUSINESS…

But as a chap on serious business, I was herded into the office to meet the chief engineer, a bunch of other chaps, and some guy called Bill.

“A Spitfire aye? Yep, got a bunch. Just pop down to the storage hangar and pick one! Just choose one you fancy, and pick up all the bits you need off the floor.”

”How do I know what I’ll need?” says I.

”You can always come back if you miss a bit. There’s a chap in there doing that right now.”

In the hangar I discovered four two place airframes! …As well as a guy wandering about in the gloom filling a cardboard box. There was no parts list provided. You had to know!

Wings? Not to worry, they’re down south in Kent someplace. You can pick them up later! …Not as yet authorized by Big Jerry to ‘pick up bits’, I took lots of gloomy pics, of spit bits and other things, and headed south. Lord Bill said to decide soon, as there was lots of interest.

At a four-way intersection half way through Edinburgh, the car quit cold. This happened to my 1939 Dodge in Calgary in 1953, enroute for my flight test, so I had some ideas. After a bit of dismayed poking about I found the battery ground cable had pulled out under hard braking. Sheesh.

The weather got worse as I headed south, and in Tow Law, the snow was up to the second story. A double-decker bus was even frozen into the side of a house, and people were going in and out through upstairs windows.

In a huge hangar at Sunderland, I spotted a Brit DruineTurbi with an inverted in line engine.

Finally at Duxford, I called Ormand’s brother, who arranged for me to get in, even though they were closed for winter. The back buildings were packed with fascinating stuff, but no spare Spitfires. All in boxes apparently, somewhere in Kent.

On the way, I stopped off at High Wycombe to see a Replica SE5 I’d heard about, and peeked into Personal Plane Services that ‘did’ Spits. They had a couple in the works, but they asked I not take flash photos, as it degrades the paint. …Hokay.

THE BIG TEST FLIGHT…

Out on the hardstanding, (a Brit ramp), was a beautiful restored Lysander, awaiting the test flight. The man from the C.A.A. was there to do it, and ceremoniously clambered up into the cockpit. Very grand!

In the UK, only the CAA designate can do such flights. So there’s this occasional anomaly with a test pilot unfamiliar operating older round engines. He has the book, but no-one feels it their place to make suggestions.

The cold engine backfired repeatedly, and the pilot descended to request they adjust the carburetor. I mentioned to the engineer, it sounded to me like the throttle was set a little wide.

True, he said, but who’s going to tell him?  So they fiddled a bit, and the engine slowly warmed, and finally, the CAA man was away for his fabulous test flight.

I was so lucky to be there to see this grand old plane soar off into the blue, and be there on its safe return.

Everyone was really pleased, and the delighted pilot got the traditional subdued hero’s welcome. “Jolly good show, Sir!” and so on. Shortly thereafter I left to visit my old RAF chum Fred in Wales, then back to Scotland, to chat up my Mum, and flew home.

I reported to Big Jerry, and showed him all my gloomy Spit Bit pics.

“It don’t matter,” said he… “I tried one out, and I don’t fit!”

Thus ended the Great Big Jerry Spit Saga. Too bad, I’d ’ave flown it for him, if he’d asked me nice!

VIGGO GOES HOME…

Long time Delta AME Viggo Petersen finally hung up his tools last November, and with help from his friends, returned home to Denmark.

Viggo was last of a breed who worked magic on vintage wood and fabric airplanes. A sometime recluse, he cared for the needs of numerous local owner pilots with older aircraft, and lived in a small caravan at the Airpark for longer than any can remember.

A curmudgeon at times, his stories of ‘The old days’ were fascinating. As a mechanic in Denmark during WW 2, he had no choice but to work on  Luftwaffe aircraft, but in his spare time he did some freedom fighting.

He built a Bucker Jungmeister for Neil Holmes, and looked after renowned artist, the late Toni Onley’s Wilga and Lake Buccaneer.

Now in his mid eighties, in recent months, he’d become extremely deaf, and somewhat forgetful, and so reluctantly, and after much procrastination, he decided to return to family in his Old Country, where he hopes to enjoy favourite old traditional foods.

A farewell Open House was held for him at Delta’s Old Coffee Shop, where, his old friends and clients wished him well over traditional Canadian cake and goodies. And so the world turns.

We’ll miss him, hobbling about, with his carved stick, special leather hat and wheezy old cars. Good luck old friend. May your retirement be long and peaceful.

SO THAT’S ALL…

Don’t forget to ponder local aviation persons who deserve a COPA Award. Did you remember to write Parks Canada to support retention of Banff and Jasper relief airfields. If not, write to your MP, your MLA, The Minister, and the Prime Minister NOW.

This is after all, a political game.

Support your local COPA Flight, or better, start one! Remember the Young Eagles! Make up business like cards with a contact number to register for the next Y.E. Day.

Simply use the address label function on your computer. Print it on paper, not card, so you can get more in your wallet. Just needs to say… “YOUNG EAGLES FLIGHTS with COPA Flight ?? at Podunk Airport. For kids ages 8 to 17. Call Tish and Tosh Pumpernickle at ??? ??? ????.

Next planned date, _____ Give them away to friends and people you meet at work.

Fly Safe… Have a great 2005 …

Tony Swain COPA director for BC & Yukon. Tony has been a COPA member for more than 20 years and has been an active participant in many aviation groups. He flies many types of aircraft and is concerned about the rights of sport pilots.