briankizner
2010-02-28, 07:50 PM
As many of you know, I am a long time active member of WIMAC who has been less active the last year and a half since moving to Forteau, Newfoundland. I think I miss the people at WIMAC more than anything else in Montreal and still try to visit the club whenever I am in the area. I was there in early January but no members were there that day. Oh well, maybe next time.
Forteau is in the Southeast corner of Labrador, just a few minutes drive from the Easternmost point of Quebec (also the most Eastern part of mainland North America), Blanc Sablon. 25 kilometres across the Labrador Strait is the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland.
One of my first priorities here was to find a site where I could safely fly my planes. I received permission from the owner of an airstrip 6 km from home to fly there. He runs a business flying Medevacs, ferrying people to Newfoundland (11 minute flight), and taking people to other areas of Labrador for fishing. One of the attached photos shows my Tango in front of his Beaver. The runway surface is gravel, a bit bumpy for our planes but OK. The view from the field is great as it is on a plateau overlooking the strait and the Point Amour lighthouse- one of the tallest and oldest lighthouses in Atlantic Canada. On a clear day, you can see across to the island of Newfoundland. We often see icebergs, whales, and seals. I still marvel at the view. Locals barely notice.
My next priority was to find flying buddies. Luckily, a few guys who have seen my planes decided that they wanted to try. Pictured are Frank Buckle, Cecil Davis, Gaius Trimm¸me, and our aircraft. Great Hobbies should send me a commission.
This has been an unusual winter here, almost no snow and unseasonally warm. Most of February has been 0 to +5 degrees C. The winds the last few days have been light- ideal for model airplanes. The pictures of the boys show them after their first flights today. I got in a few trainer-cord flights with each of them today. All did well with no unexpected meetings with the ground.
As for me, I am still flying Stephane`s old coroplast combat Mig. It looks even rougher now than a couple of years ago but still flies beautifully, and fast.
I don`t know if Krish Blake reads these threads, but I finally got his old Atlanta ready to fly. I suspect Bob Forest may also be familiar with this aircraft. It is an old pattern plane, all fibreglass construction, tricycle mechanical retracts, and OS.61 with tuned pipe. I wanted to fly it yesterday but the motor threw the prop and I now need to find a prop-nut with the correct thread. (Safety note- I was glad that I always stand behind a running prop. The propellor landed 15 feet in front of the plane).
A lesson in Newfoundlandese. English here is unique. Airplanes, cars, boats, snowmobiles, ATV`s, are always female. A typical comment about a nice flying plane would be `She flies some good`. Interestingly, troublesome things are often masculine. In my profession (dentistry), someone might say to me `My tooth is tormenting me and I wants to haul him out`. B`y (ie boy) is an all purpose space filler in conversation, much the way people elsewhere use `like`. People in casual conversation will routinely call you `my son`or `my love`or, of course, `b`y`.
I also include a photo of the newest members of my family. In white, Coco, 10 months, and ,in black, Mimi, 3 months old. They are Bichon-Shitsu mix and absolutely delightful company for my wife and me.
All in all, the last few days have been filled with RC activity up here. I hope to see some of you on my next visit.
Forteau is in the Southeast corner of Labrador, just a few minutes drive from the Easternmost point of Quebec (also the most Eastern part of mainland North America), Blanc Sablon. 25 kilometres across the Labrador Strait is the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland.
One of my first priorities here was to find a site where I could safely fly my planes. I received permission from the owner of an airstrip 6 km from home to fly there. He runs a business flying Medevacs, ferrying people to Newfoundland (11 minute flight), and taking people to other areas of Labrador for fishing. One of the attached photos shows my Tango in front of his Beaver. The runway surface is gravel, a bit bumpy for our planes but OK. The view from the field is great as it is on a plateau overlooking the strait and the Point Amour lighthouse- one of the tallest and oldest lighthouses in Atlantic Canada. On a clear day, you can see across to the island of Newfoundland. We often see icebergs, whales, and seals. I still marvel at the view. Locals barely notice.
My next priority was to find flying buddies. Luckily, a few guys who have seen my planes decided that they wanted to try. Pictured are Frank Buckle, Cecil Davis, Gaius Trimm¸me, and our aircraft. Great Hobbies should send me a commission.
This has been an unusual winter here, almost no snow and unseasonally warm. Most of February has been 0 to +5 degrees C. The winds the last few days have been light- ideal for model airplanes. The pictures of the boys show them after their first flights today. I got in a few trainer-cord flights with each of them today. All did well with no unexpected meetings with the ground.
As for me, I am still flying Stephane`s old coroplast combat Mig. It looks even rougher now than a couple of years ago but still flies beautifully, and fast.
I don`t know if Krish Blake reads these threads, but I finally got his old Atlanta ready to fly. I suspect Bob Forest may also be familiar with this aircraft. It is an old pattern plane, all fibreglass construction, tricycle mechanical retracts, and OS.61 with tuned pipe. I wanted to fly it yesterday but the motor threw the prop and I now need to find a prop-nut with the correct thread. (Safety note- I was glad that I always stand behind a running prop. The propellor landed 15 feet in front of the plane).
A lesson in Newfoundlandese. English here is unique. Airplanes, cars, boats, snowmobiles, ATV`s, are always female. A typical comment about a nice flying plane would be `She flies some good`. Interestingly, troublesome things are often masculine. In my profession (dentistry), someone might say to me `My tooth is tormenting me and I wants to haul him out`. B`y (ie boy) is an all purpose space filler in conversation, much the way people elsewhere use `like`. People in casual conversation will routinely call you `my son`or `my love`or, of course, `b`y`.
I also include a photo of the newest members of my family. In white, Coco, 10 months, and ,in black, Mimi, 3 months old. They are Bichon-Shitsu mix and absolutely delightful company for my wife and me.
All in all, the last few days have been filled with RC activity up here. I hope to see some of you on my next visit.