General Meeting Minutes – 2021-01-13

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General Meeting Minutes – 2021-01-13
ABBOTSFORD FLYING CLUB
GENERAL MEETING

Members attending via Zoom teleconference 53 attendees

Guests

  • None

Presentations

Agenda:

1. Call to order.
2. Welcome to the January 13 th club meeting
3. Guest speaker: Mischa and Ruben Dias helicopter circumnavigation of the globe
4. Questions
5. Committee reports:
VP
Treasurer
Safety Committee
Aircraft Maintenance
Membership
Good and welfare
Other
6. Announcements
7. Questions
8. Next meeting: February 10th
9. Adjourn

Call to Order – 19:38

Presentation: Mischa Gelb and Reuben Dias

Committee report

  • President: Ken: Welcome to the new year, not much flying, perhaps 12 hours considering the weather. Did have an extraordinary board meeting talking about the COVID restrictions and this will continue on for the time being. Some Seminars are coming soon, PDM, weather Human Factors etc, with Warren Legrice and also COPA to support continuous learning.
  • VP: Mark: Super enjoyed their presentation and they have a book that may be worth the read. Next meeting will be Greg Reeder will speak about Mission Aviation Fellowship. March will be an F4 Phantom pilot will be Jimmy Spentzas talking about the Hellenic Airforce and flying the Phantom
  • Treasurer: Not much to report. Bills are being paid.
  • Flight Safety Committee In going forward for safety in the club education is the main topic. Warren Le Gris, if everyone has seen the email, is putting on safety seminars on Saturdays at 09:30 – 10:30. Check the dates. At the same time COPA is putting on safety seminars via zoom at 08:30 – 11:00.
    It is a strong recommendation from the safety committee that all members attend these seminars to keep your head in the game.To say that you don’t need them is like saying your personality is in Charge not Pilot in Command.
    To attend Warren’s you need to send him an email to get the code for linking up. For COPA you will have to register for that one.
    Both will be a benefit, but it is good to support our own productions.Second thing.Since the amount of CADORS the club has had and the last three we had in the fall. The safety committee is looking into a SMS and SOP’s for club operation by suggestion from TC. This will be our focus for this term.

    That is all for now.
    Remember your flight is only as good as your planning from start to finish.
    Safe flights all.

  • Aircraft Maintenance: Taylor: GMA had it’s Annual in December with our new AME and that went well. IUK is having an avionics issue being looked at. Any questions or concerns Taylor will stick around after the meeting.
  • Membership
    • Want to wish everyone a happy New Year on behalf of myself and the Membership Committee. I think like most we are glad 2020 is over.The Board has approved 11 applicants for membership this includes 6 returning members. Official introductions will be made at the next general meeting.
      • Skylar Pridham: Returning Member
      • Jayden Wolfe: Returning Member
      • Warren Legrice: Returning Member
      • Kyle Warkentin: Returning Member
      • Luke Peters: Returning Member
      • Brian Bartley: New Member
      • Nicholas Cooper: New Member
      • Jason Sebastian: New Member
      • Yann Mazzocchin: New Member
      • Dan Renaud: New Member
      • Dean Bryan : Returning Member

      Some new and returning members are currently still deciding on when they will officially join our club pending of course COVID-19 restrictions.

      Some new and returning members will also be featured in our newsletter. Along with photos and a small paragraph about them. This is a great way to learn a little more about them.

      The membership committee is continuing the process of interviewing new applicants and meeting regularly.

Good and Welfare of the Club

Pat Ulicki had recent surgery. Bob is on the mend.

Old Business

  • None

New Business

  • Warren:
    • First half of the sessions are being delivered starting this weekend will be this Saturday or perhaps another time will work? Stay tuned for upcoming seminars that will be announced. wlegrice@gmail.com
  • Randy Kelley:
    • Thanks to Ken for his leadership on the board and he respects that as a past-president.
  • Tom Timm:
    • Tom asks about the recurrent training plans. Bob Leroux does indicate that the quiz in the Aviation Safety Letter does count for the two year recurrency. There are other seminars online, just have to find them.
    • Ken has asked Warren to see if some of these seminars could be approved by TC for recurrency.
    • Mark: COPA is releasing some sessions that will qualify for the 2 year, so stay tuned.
  • Luciano Nisi:
    • Question for Ken:  is there any specific plans for the club for the year with respect to COVID?
      • Ken says we are doing the best we can under the circumstances.
    • Luciano is questioning the $4000 being spent on upgrading the security system that we *just* upgraded.
      • Kevin spoke that it is a better system being offered by donation. The offer is from a club member that is better than what we have. There has been no decision yet by the board. There are more features available than what we  have at the moment.
      • Luciano asked for five quotes but only got four and walked them through. FV Alarm did not respond at the time.
    • Luciano asks if there are there any consideration for fixing the radios in GMA and it also does not have ADSB and cannot fly into the USA.
      • Ken indicates it has not yet come before the board
    • Luciano asks why club pilots can not have checkouts or instruction in club aircraft but can do so in a flying school aircraft?
      • Ken indicates we have COVID restrictions and they must be respected, otherwise we open everything up and that is not acceptable at the moment. Many members cannot fly with other members and COVID does not discriminate who is in the passenger seat.
  • Steve Stewart:
    • Steve would like to get some clarity on what’s happening with the publication of the minutes of Board meetings.We have a by-law that requires the minutes of board meetings to be shared with members before the next General Meeting.This has never caused any problems or been an issue in the past. But I believe that there is some opposition to this at the moment.

      For example : the Dec Board minutes were only posted to the website last night.  And that was after they had been approved by an extraordinary board meeting last night.  The same thing happened with the Nov board minutes.

      Each time, they have only been posted after there was an additional board meeting just before the GM.

      Does the Board plan to have an extraordinary meeting every month?

      What will happen if the Board doesn’t have an extra meeting?

      How will the Board ensure that its minutes do get shared with Members before the GM, as is required by our by-law?

    • Bylaw 5.21 requires the minutes to be published before the next general meeting. Steve indicates that the incorrect bylaw is being considered.
    • Ken indicates that minutes are only published once officially approved by the board at a duly constituted meeting, and that is the way it should be done.
    • Randy: Point of order: This argument needs to happen in the board meeting.

Adjourn – 21:22 by Millie

Next club general meeting:  10 February 2021 @ 19:30 via Zoom
Next scheduled Board meeting: 27 January 2021 @19:30 via Zoom

President’s Column – January 2021

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In keeping with a positive theme, I am pleased to share with you good news regarding the giving spirit of the club and the generosity of our members during the Christmas season. 

Thanks to Taylor Belich for organizing a food drive, which resulted in a large amount of groceries being delivered to the Archway Food Bank.  Secondly, thanks to Adrian and Barbara Renkers for reaching out to establish a fund in which $1350 was raised, again for the Archway Food Bank.  This is a testament to the caring and generosity of our club members and a special thanks to all for the outpouring of support for our community.

COVID protocols continue to remain in effect certainly for the foreseeable future.  However, with the vaccines that are slowly becoming available we could see a return to more normal conditions sometime mid-year.  So we ask for your patience as we work through the day to day difficulties.

In order to promote safety within our club, a battery of seminars are being offered to our pilots via zoom meetings.  Take advantage of this opportunity as we are blessed to have one of our members, Warren Le Grice, leading these courses.  Contact Warren if you would like to be added to the list of invitees.  Further to these seminars, there is a wealth of information available on YouTube which can be tapped into for learning from the experiences of others.

That’s all for this month so here is wishing you all a very Happy New Year and hoping the year ahead will be filled with good health and many hours of flying enjoyment.

Ken Funk
President
Abbotsford Flying Club

GHW 2021 Coast to Coast National Fundraiser

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Dear 99s and AFC members,

Hope Air and the Expedition Captains have been hard at work planning our GHW 2021 Coast to Coast National Fundraiser and best adventure yet! All this information is on the website but here are the links for easy reference.

It’s going to be fun, but it’s also going to be work and very rewarding to fly any of the legs or even shorter routes within the legs.

Have a look to see how YOU can best help us raise awareness and funding for Hope Air while having a bucket list trip of a lifetime.

The current version of the GHW 2021 website  https://givehopewings.ca/2021-expedition
Brochure for Expedition Supporting Pilots https://givehopewings.ca/images/2021/Expedition_Supporting_Pilot_Opportunity-_GHW-2021-Oct_1_2020-V4.pdf
Brochure for VFC Volunteer Fight Crew  https://givehopewings.ca/images/2021/Volunteer_Flight_Crew_Opportunities-GHW-2021-Oct_1_2020-Final.pdf

Come join us June 2021!

Warmly,
~lise ash~

President’s Column – December 2020

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There is enough bad news going around these days and I think we are entitled to some positive information as we navigate our way through the hurdles placed before us.

To our pilots who are finding ways to safely get in some flying time, congratulations.  Of course, right now it is limited to flying with family members only.  However, I am optimistic that there will be better times ahead.  

There are several ways to keep in touch with our aviation community through the various “zoom” meetings being hosted by club supporters.  Wednesday Dutch Lunch and TGIF, hosted by Devin Campbell, are available to all interested parties.  IMC meetings are also a good way to stay involved and to talk about the myriad of issues relating to flight safety.  Warren Le Grice hosts these meetings and would be happy to add you to his list of regular visitors. Contact Devin if you wish to be added to the list of invitees for either of these options (messenger@webex.com).

Someone once said they manage by “walking around”.  It’s amazing what you learn by doing so.  I discovered that there is an active community in our hangars which I wish I had known when I still had my Mooney.  The amateur-built aircraft guys have a lot to share and you would learn a lot by visiting them as they engage in plying their craft.  They are there most evenings but certainly on weekends.  See what they have to offer.

I am pleased to announce that the vacant SBS hangar slip has been walled off and leased out by YXX Hangars on a 90-day notice to vacate.  We are now receiving revenue from this lease that produced nothing in the past.

That’s all for now.  In the meantime, stay safe and healthy and keep positive when it seems such a challenge these days.

Ken Funk
President
Abbotsford Flying Club

Lise Ash is Giving Hope Wings

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Give Hope Wings

The idea of circumnavigating the state of Alaska, British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories in a single-engine aircraft is the last thing I imagined doing when I started working on my pilot’s licence five years ago.

The Give Hope Wings Northwest Expedition I joined was made up of eight pilots in three aircraft. We took off from Pitt Meadows on June 15th, 2019.  Over the next three-weeks we visited thirty-six remote towns and villages and raised $250,000 which funded one thousand flights for Canadian families in need.

Some of my highlights were:

  • – Virginia Falls: where we discovered waterfalls twice the height of Niagara’s.
  • – In Inuvialuktun, N.W.T.: the mayor Natasha presented each of us with an honorary Arctic Circle Certificate of Passage.
  • – Denali National Park: where we witnessed an avalanche for the first time.
  • – The day we flew out into the Bering Sea. We went as close to the Russian boarder as we

could—without causing an international incident. The snow-capped Siberian mountains were visible in the distance. Below us were two small islands, Little Diomede—in Alaska and Big Diomede—in Russia. Only 2.5 miles apart they straddle the dateline, creating a twenty-four-hour time difference.

While the expedition was an adventure it was the warm-hearted people I remember the most. In one remote outpost a radio operator shared her deep sadness over the sudden loss of her young nephew. She asked me for a hug. Deeply touched, I obliged.

Along the way we received countless words of thanks and appreciation from people who have used Hope Air’s services before. On our last night in the little town of Sandspit, on Moresby Island, a waitress wouldn’t take our money when she found out who we were and what we were doing. Her family and several friends had used Hope Air a number of times.

            All Canadians enjoy universal health care. However, many people living in remote communities cannot afford access to that care. Hope Air bridges the gap between home and hospital.

Give Hope Wings Coast to Coast 2021

Next June a fleet of fifty planes will fly across Canada—twice—and raise $1 Million as a part of the Give Hope Wings Coast to Coast Expedition. The money we raise will fund four thousand flights for families in need. This expedition will be broken up into three separate tours; Southern, Eastern, and Northern. You can fly one, or all of them, the choice is yours.

Hope Air’s services are always needed but have become especially necessary during the COVID-19 crisis. Mark your calendar and join the team now.

For more information feel free to contact me, or Hope Air directly –

https://give.hopeair.ca/campaign/give-hope-wings-canada-coast-to-coast-expedition-2021/c268173

Tailwinds,

Lise Ash