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( For retirees of the new Air Canada family)
Number 515 Aug 28th, 2000, We first Published in October 1995
Chief Pilot - Vesta Stevenson - Co-pilot - Terry Baker
email address is
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. We welcome -
Vaughn Madill Baggage Services Supervisor living in Tottenham, Ont.
email is
Reg Woodcock lives in Deseronto, Ont email is
Gabe Andrei pilot living in Chute-A-Blondeau, Ont email is
Fred Spriggs email
Fred is an Interior Furnishings Engineering Manager, lives in Kanata, Ont.
living in Brampton Ontario works at Flt Sked YYZ AC
Montreal QC Sales for Canadian.
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. Nice to know.
Schedule highlights include three new routes:
Vancouver-New York (JFK);
Calgary-Honolulu, with on-line connections to Sydney, Australia;
Toronto-Manchester (NH).
Effective September 6, Royal Airlines will become a partner in the Aeroplan
program. Many of you may be wondering why we’ve allowed Royal Airlines to
participate in the Aeroplan program—the answer is simple. One of the conditions
placed on us in December 1999 by the Competition Bureau was that we would
allow eligible Canadian air carriers to participate in our frequent flyer program.
Mileage accrual and redemption only applies to Royal Airlines’ scheduled flights
within Canada, between Canada-Florida, and Canada-Hawaii.
Charter flights and flights between Canada-Europe are excluded from this agreement.
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. Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome
An item of aviation interest from Don Demeza - A "must see" for aviation buffs are the
museum hangars and air shows at Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. A few years ago
Al Blackwood and I flew down in Al's 172 - the airport is at Kingston, NY and the
Old Aerodrome is about a 20 minute drive on the other side of the Hudson River.
I'm looking forward to another visit and if the weather is okay June and I hope to go
for the September 9th event. This is a special week-end for radio controlled aircraft in
that the mornings feature displays and competition between World War 1 model
aircraft and then in the afternoon you'll see their regular air show.
Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome is about a six hour drive from Belleville or Montreal and a
couple of hours longer from Toronto. The runway is more like a golf fairway,
including a dog leg so the action is very close.
If you're interested, have a look at the following website: <http://www.oldrhinebeck.org/>http://www.oldrhinebeck.org/
Don Demeza
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. News from the districts -
Subject: Vancouver Island Pionairs Picnic
On August 15th,a perfect, sunny day,the annual Vancouver Island Pionairs
picnic was held at Mt. Douglas park. 31 Pionairs complete with their
picnic lunches spent 4 hours engaged in skill testing games and a high
degree of socializing. The event was closed off with a balloon toss
organized by Barb and Saville Hambleton.The event had a high level of
participation with some contestants getting quite wet. Leo Goulet
relieved of his pension responsibilities found a leaking balloon and
managed to add to the water level of several of the Pionairs! Thanks to
all of the Pionairs who attended and a special thanks to those members
who ran the several games.
John Jeffrey, District Director
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. Len Kruller thought this would interest us -
Subject: Synthetic Vision
The following is an excerpt and highlight of an article which was published in the
Independent News Weekly for the SFO Peninsula on August 16, 2000.
This article is in regard of a new airline navigational aid called "Synthetic Vision" which
I found very interesting and thought that you may want to share it with the membership.
RESEARCHERS CLAIM "SYNTHETIC VISION" WILL REVOLUTIONIZE WORLDWIDE
AIR TRAVEL.
A revolutionary new aviation technology could dramatically reduce airline delays and
increase capacity and safety by allowing pilots to fly in stormy weather as if the skies were
cloudless.
The technology, dubbed "Synthetic Vision" is targeted at commercial airlines but is already
being tested in small, private aircraft and cargo planes.
The system works by combining air-traffic information from a variety of surveillance
sources then an onboard computer takes that information and with a virtual image on a
cockpit television monitor, recreates the outside world including nearby planes and shows
pilots their exact flight path. Essentially, synthetic vision means pilots may never have to
look out the window to fly or land a plane. "It certainly would solve some of the delays
such as operational problems with bad weather landings" said Russ Parrish, chief of
research at NASA Langley in Hampton, VA. Parrish and researchers at Stanford University -
working independently from one another - say synthetic vision could double the capacity
of every airport in the world. Pilots would also have heightened awareness of the outside
world at all times.
Parrish claims synthetic vision could be implemented around the world within five years
but aviation experts say it could take up to 20 years because obtaining Federal Aviation Administration approval is such an extensive and often exhaustive process.
Dave Witchey, a United Airlines pilot and aviation consultant is excited with synthetic vision
which he calls the third big breakthrough in aviation after radio in the 30s and radar in the 50s.
According to a source at the FAA who did not want to be identified, one critical component
of the synthetic vision program is a surveillance mechanism called Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) which has already been tested on 150 airplanes in the
Alaska- based "Capstone Project" Cargo airlines are leading the way in testing the components needed to make the new system a reality.
Comment: The SFO airport, which is located on the SFO Peninsula, could benefit greatly
from this new navigational concept due to an insufficient runway separation (750 Ft.) which causes havoc and delays with inclement weather conditions.
PS For those interested in the entire article, I will be able to do an e-mail attachment of the news print. Best regards, Len Kruller
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. Tom Martin sends this memory -
Reading about the ex Air Lanka L1011-500s in NL 513 brought back a flood of memories
for me and perhaps for a number of NL subscribers. The Air Lanka Technical Services
contract (Mtce people thought it was a Mtce. contract but we P&S and Flt Ops people knew
better) was the toughest and most demanding contract in my experience.
Even tougher than the Aero Peru contract where Larry Bernard, Don Wiley and I had to fly
to Miami once a month to try to placate them over delays. They were flying 3 different dash
numbered DC8s on lease from Air Jamaica and we were trying to maintain them in
MIA - Ugh!. But Air Lanka with our two L1011s - on lease and
based in Colombo meant a long spares pipeline from Dorval. The number of times we had
to lease a Hercules to fly an engine from YUL to CMB sure ruined my budget as did
unexpectedly having to send John McKee to live in Colombo for the duration of the contract.
We helped Air Lanka with their -500 introduction by doing their spares provisioning and
buying in YUL and saved them a lot of money. Unfortunately the long distance from their operation was the straw that broke the contract, despite the fact that a team of us, headed originally by Slim Munson, then Jean Duville who left AC to become president of Nordair,and finally Bill Ramage had to fly to CMB regularly to try to convince them we could do a
good job. I believe they lost a -500 likely to a terrorist bomb on the ramp at CMB.
Tom Martin
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. From the In-box of Chief pilot Vesta -
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPED FOR SWISSAIR INVESTIGATION MAY BE USED IN
COURTS
RCMP officers in Nova Scotia hope new technology developed during the investigation
of the 1998 Swissair crash will soon be accepted in the courts.
FUEL-AIR EXPLOSION CAUSED TWA CRASH - INVESTIGATOR
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board opened a two-day hearing into the
1996 crash of TWA 800 on Tuesday. 230 people died when the Boeing 747 crashed
soon after takeoff from New York City.
PUBLIC HAS NO PROBLEM COMPLAINING ABOUT AIR TRAVEL
The complaints are pouring in. By fax. By mail. Over the Internet. More
than 350 written grievances since July, when the government announced it
was setting up a special office for air travel complaints.
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. Terry's travel tips.
ANTIGUA Hawksbill Beach Resort (Semi All-Inclusive) $95 ppdo for 4 days/3 nights.
Regularly $189!
CANCUN Villas Tacul $60 ppdo for 4 days/3 nights. Regularly $119!
ISLA MARGARITA, VENEZUELA Perla Palace (All-Inclusive)
$63 ppdo for 4 days/3 nights. Regularly $125!
LISBON, PORTUGAL Hotel Avenida $83 ppdo for 4 days/3 nights. Regularly $165!
LONDON Sheraton Park Lane Hotel $288 ppdo for 4 days/3 nights. Regularly $575!
SANTA FE Villas de Santa Fe $69 ppdo for 4 days/3 nights. Regularly $185!
ST. CROIX Club St. Croix $98 ppdo for 4 days/3 nights. Regularly $195!
And for this week's featured cruise...
Costa Cruise Line COSTA ATLANTICA
Eastern Caribbean 7-night cruise
Departs from Fort Lauderdale
Dec. 3 Inside Cabin $499 Outside Cabin $599 3rd/4th Passenger $249
Dec. 17 Inside Cabin $449 Outside Cabin $549 3rd/4th Passenger $149
Alaska
Royal Caribbean aboard the Vision of the Seas 6-night Alaska, Vancouver round trip
Sept. 24 Inside $799 Outside $799 Deluxe $1349
Bahamas
Carnival Cruise Line aboard the Ecstasy 3-night Bahamas, Miami round trip
Sept. 8, 15, 22 from $269
Sept. 29 from $259
Carnival Cruises aboard the Fantasy 3-night, Port Canaveral round trip
Aug. 31 Inside $249
Royal Caribbean aboard the Majesty of the Seas 4-night Bahamas, Miami round trip
Oct. 2 - 30 Inside $249
Oct. 9 - 30 Outside $299
Christmas Cruises
Norwegian Cruise Line aboard the Norway 7-night Eastern Caribbean, Miami round trip
Dec. 23 Inside $699 Outside $799 Upper/Lower $599
Norwegian Cruise Line aboard the Norwegian Dream14-night Chilean Fjords
Dec. 23 Inside $1199 Outside $1399
Norwegian Cruise Line aboard the Norwegian Majesty 7-night Southern Caribbean,
San Juan round trip
Dec. 24 Inside $699 Outside $899
Rates in US$.
Call 800-209-0424 for more information
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