Flying BC - Pilot Stories and Aviation Adventures

If you’re like me, anything aviation related on TV will attract my attention. When a show combines classic cars and vintage taildraggers…I’m doubly hooked! On this new episode of Flying BC I speak with Jessica James, co-star and pilot on History Channels’ Lost Car Rescue TV show. Jessica flies a bushwheel-clad Stinson on the show as they search for and recover classic cars around rural Canada. We also talk about how her career path changed just as she was stepping into a job with Harbour Air. It’s always fun to hear about unique jobs in aviation, and having a starring role in a TV show has got to be up there on the list of cool opportunities! Be sure to catch Lost Car Rescue on History Canada, and streaming on StackTV which you can find on Amazon. You can also find Season 1 on Hulu and Apple TV. Jessica's clothing line, Over Yonder can be found at www.overyonder.ca If you’re a fan of the Flying BC podcast, one of the best ways to show your support is to leave a comment or review on Apple podcasts or Spotify or wherever you listen…it all helps spread the word and work the algorithms! Follow me on Instagram @flyingbritishcolumbia and feel free to send me a message - podcast@flyingbc.com I'm excited to work with the podcast editors at https://podfathercreative.com/ to bring you more regular episodes of the show.

The 5 members of the Porter family are going to fly around-the-world in a single engine aircraft and raise $1 million for the global charity SOS Children's Villages. Flying BC caught up with them right before they departed Vancouver for the first leg. You can find out more information and donate to their charity on their website www.5inthesky.com Sign up for the Flying BC mailing list at www.flyingbc.com

"I heard a big crunch and then the scenery disappeared! I couldn't figure out why everything was gone all of a sudden, and it took me a while to realize I was looking at the bottom of the lake!" Dominique Prinet was a bush pilot in the late 60’s, flying everything from Cessna 180’s to Single Otters and Beech 18’s into some very remote places in Canada's far North. Later in his career he became a Vice President at Nordair and Canadian Airlines. He’s written a great book called Flying to Extremes, full of well-written stories packed with vivid details and photos. There was no GPS or Sat phones in those days…if you got lost or in trouble it was all on you to come up with a solution, and he definitely had some close calls and miraculous adventures! ---- As mentioned in the intro, COPA elections for BC & Yukon Regional Directors are open for voting on April 4th. I'd appreciate your vote so I can continue in the role for a full term and serve the BC & Yukon community! You can read the nomination bios and cast your vote on the COPA Elections webpage. ---- SIGN UP for the Flying BC mailing list and you'll be first in line to hear the latest episodes and other sneak peaks. www.flyingbc.com/mailing-list Follow Flying BC on Instagram @flyingbritishcolumbia and Facebook

"Your decision-making skills, everything, it benefits drastically by making the step into the float plane world." Peter Grimm is the President and Chief Pilot at Van City Seaplanes in Vancouver, BC. If you've ever wondered what it takes to be a float plane pilot on the West Coast, this episode is for you. Peter dives into how to get the experience and training you need, the intricacies of coastal weather and flight planning, the differences between lake and salt-water operations, and why the Dehavilland Beaver is still the workhorse of choice. ---- SIGN UP for the Flying BC mailing list and you'll be first in line to hear the latest episodes and other sneak peaks. www.flyingbc.com/mailing-list Follow Flying BC on Instagram @flyingbritishcolumbia and Facebook

"People don't necessarily know that this doesn't have to be a career. This can be something that is an add-on to your life...a fantastic add-on to your life." In North America, we enjoy a freedom of the skies that is the envy of the rest of the world. And a lot of that is due to strength in numbers, and advocacy efforts from organizations like COPA – the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association. There’s a lot of change and new faces coming into COPA head office in the past few months, and as a member and regional director, I’m excited to see the organization revitalized. So, I asked COPA’s new President and CEO, Christine Gervais, to come on the show to talk about what COPA has up it’s sleeve for the future, and what she sees as the organization’s strengths and opportunities. Find out more about COPA at www.copanational.orgStudent Pilots get a free 1-year membership! ---- SIGN UP for the Flying BC mailing list and you'll be first in line for the Aviation Adventure Camp, July 31-August 2nd! www.flyingbc.com/mailing-list Follow Flying BC on Instagram @flyingbritishcolumbia and Facebook

"One of the things we recommend for all clients if you're going to purchase in the US, is to send a Canadian Maintenance Engineer down across the border to view the aircraft and do your pre-buy for you." Michael Wilton is the President of FlightSimple Aircraft Sales, and his job is to help pilots navigate the world of buying and selling an aircraft. On this episode, Micheal walks us through the steps people should take when buying a plane, the pitfalls to avoid, and answers some of the listener questions about importing from the USA, and whether purchasing for time building or in a partnership is a good idea. --- Patreon Supporters receive a regular stream of exclusives, extended cuts, and early previews…plus a chance to get your questions in front of our guests. I just got some new Flying BC flight suit patches, and for a limited time I’ll send one out to everyone who joins at any level. http://www.patreon.com/flyingbc Please send feedback, show ideas, and your questions for the guests to podcast@flyingbc.com Join me on Instagram @flyingbritishcolumbiaor on Facebook. Videos on YouTube

"The ideal candidate is someone who's got some Tiger Moth time or Stearman. Those two airplanes are exceptional initial experience trainers because they tend to amplify your faults without killing you." Dave Hadfield is the Chief Pilot at Vintage Wings of Canada, home of the Michael Potter Collection. Dave grew up around airplanes, and after a career with Air Canada he found himself in the right spot, with the right experience, to start flying warbirds. We discuss what it's like to fly the Spitfire, Hurricane, Kittyhawk, and Mustang, and the quirky characteristics of the Westland Lysander - one of only three left flying in the World. He also had the honour of flying the Y2K Spitfire over 5000 miles across North America to a homecoming back at the Comox Air Force Museum. Dave is also an accomplished musician, and he tells us the backstory of one of his favourite aviation-related songs he's written. Watch Dave Hadfield's YouTube channel.Listen to Dave's music at hadfield.ca Photo by Peter Handley ----A new Flying BC episode comes out every second Tuesday. Patreon Supporters receive a regular stream of exclusives, extended cuts, and early previews…plus a chance to get your questions in front of our guests. I just got some new Flying BC flight suit patches, and for a limited time I’ll send one out to everyone who joins at any level. http://www.patreon.com/flyingbc Please send feedback, show ideas, and your questions for the guests to podcast@flyingbc.com Join me on Instagram @flyingbritishcolumbiaor on Facebook. Videos on YouTube

"So if you have the love of aviation and you want to spread it among youngsters, and have people come into aviation, I don't think there's a better place to start than in schools. One person joins and then all of a sudden you have a huge class." Vignesh Rajasekar has already accomplished a lot in Aviation at the age of 23, and he’s not slowing down. He’s a Class 1 instructor, Chief Flight Instructor at McMurray Aviation, Founder of his own aviation consulting business, and just recently co-founded a new Flight School in Kamloops. At McMurray he has developed a successful high school aviation program, which now leads to a College program. We talk about inspiring young people into aviation, and what makes a good student and instructor. You can find Vignesh at https://www.bluejayaviation.ca/ A new Flying BC episode comes out every second Tuesday. Patreon Supporters receive a regular stream of exclusives, extended cuts, and early previews…plus a chance to get your questions in front of our guests. I just got some new Flying BC flight suit patches, and for a limited time I’ll send one out to everyone who joins at any level. http://www.patreon.com/flyingbc Please send feedback, show ideas, and your questions for the guests to podcast@flyingbc.com Join me on Instagram @flyingbritishcolumbiaor on Facebook. Videos on YouTube

“It’s pretty intimidating for an Ontario farm boy to be out there saying, holy mackerel I’m just about at the tip of mainland North America and everything rests on this big ol’ round engine.” W.T. (Tim) Cole takes us on a journey through his aviation career starting in the 60’s at the legendary bush operation, Laurentian Air Services, all the way through to his various roles in Transport Canada on the West Coast, and his flying adventures post-retirement in his Cessna 172. His career is a great example of the sort of interesting and fulfilling jobs you can find as a pilot. With over 13,000 hours in his logbook, half of which is on floats, skis, and in the bush, Tim has a treasure trove of stories, and he’s published a lot of them in his new memoir “Tight Floats and Tailwinds” - it's well worth the read. We touch on some of those stories, and more in this episode. You can buy his book on the BCGA store: https://www.bcaviation.ca/store/p52/tightfloats.html I hope these full length episodes are entertaining and worthwhile for you – fire me a message or an email and let me know! Do you want shorter episodes, or do you like the in-depth long format shows? You can reach me on Instagram @flyingbritishcolumbia or email me through the website at http://www.flyingbc.com

"This is one of only a few planes that I've flown where it has such a high degree of thrust to weight that you can do a maneuver like a tail slide; decide you don't like the tail slide, apply power, and fly out of the tail slide while going backwards." Part 2 of our discussion with Geoff Latter, airline captain and airshow pilot, where he explains the origins of the aerobatic Yak-50, his quest to get one to Canada, and the process of learning to fly an obscure single seat aircraft. Geoff even taught himself Russian so he could read the operating handbook! Geoff Latter Airshows website VIDEO: Complete Yak-50 practice flight walkthrough www.flyingbc.comInstagram @flyingbritishcolumbiaFacebook: Flying BC

"You know, it would be embarassing to get out of an upside-down SuperCub with a bent-up prop and a scuff on my helmet. But it would be better than not getting out and having to pull me out and waking up three months later with a brain injury." - Steve Thorne, Flight Chops If you're a fan of Flight Chops on YouTube, you may have recently seen an episode about helmets and his first flight in the Harvard wearing one. On this episode of Flying BC I catch up with Steve for a follow-up now that he's flown with it a few more times. And I also bring Kevin Maher and Ryan Van Haren on board to expand on the idea of whether we should be wearing helmets while flying. Even if you don't think you'll ever wear one, this episode has some great discussion about safety and survival that is worth a listen. This is just the start of a discussion, so please send your comments and feedback about what we talk about in this episode. www.flyingbc.comInstagram @flyingbritishcolumbiaFacebook: Flying BC

Special bonus episode with former Snowbirds Lead and CF-18 Demo Pilot, Rob "Scratch" Mitchell. He answers listener questions about how the Snowbirds create their show routine, how aerobatic pilots adapt to new airports, whether he prefers solo or team flying, and how they deal with turbulence while in tight formation. This is an example of the sort of exclusive bonus content you will experience as a supporter on Patreon. Among other benefits, patrons will have an opportunity to get their questions in front of future guests. Patreon.com/FlyingBC As always, the main podcast and videos will remain available to all, and if you feel like supporting the cause I’d love to have you on board for the journey. I hope you enjoy this extra session with Scratch Mitchell. Instagram: @FlyingBritishColumbiaFacebook: FlyingBritishColumbia www.FlyingBC.com

"I could feel the trees smacking the bottom of the airplane. It was like a machine gun sound. And then, all of a sudden, they went back into the cloud." 178 seconds to live. Just under three minutes. If you're a pilot you've no doubt heard the statistic. Continued visual flight into instrument conditions claims a disproportionate number of general aviation pilots every year. It's easy to think, "I'll never do that." And yet, it keeps happening. James Marasa is an IFR Air Traffic Controller in Vancouver, but he was once a young flight instructor who used up a LOT of those seconds. He lived to tell the tale, and this is his story. Book: Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All The Facts by Annie Duke. Find James at www.JamesMarasa.com Follow Flying BC on Instagram / Facebook / YouTube www.flyingbc.com