John's Blog

News on Aviation and Rural & Wilderness Canada

If you have any news or comments please email me at john@johnlovelace.com
or call 604 -681-6867

May 12 /2008: The state of the current aircraft market

Steve Assaly of C and S Enterprises and Joe Kane of Springbank Aero are two of the leading aircraft brokers in Ontario and I talked with them both about the sate of the current aircraft market. It should come as no surprise that with rising fuel costs and the strong Canadian dollar that the sales of Canadian aircraft are soft. But aircraft owners usually are not in a panic to sell so what Joe and Steve are finding is that there is no rush to drop price. So as a result, good aircraft that are well maintained, are still selling and the prices are holding. But all and all, I think this is probably a good time to look at an airplane after the inflated prices people were paying a couple of years back. As far as fuel prices are concerned in a decade or so we will look back and think anything under $2.00 a liter was a bargain for airplanes or cars.

May 6 /2008: Sad News from Savary Island, Georgia Straight

Jean dropped by to visit with Nancy and I to get caught up with the Savary Island News. I was sorry to learn that Haida Henning recently passed away suddenly at his home on Savery. The cause of his passing is not known but Haida was a wonderful character full of life and passion. His dream was to expand his Tea Room restaurant to serve thick steaks and have a honkytonk piano play in the background. Jean runs the Savery Island Lodge and the beachfront view from her home is more than worth the trip to Savary.

April 30/2008: Float Training resumes at Fort Langley Airport

Just talked to John Ferguson, President of Fort Langley Air and he is proud to say their Cessna 180 CDQ is back in the air. It suffered a training accident a few weeks ago but its been returned to service with a new paint job, rebuilt wing and a rebuilt engine. The plane did not suffer water damage so that probably contributed to the quick turnaround.

April 26/2008: New schedule service at Boundary Bay Airport

Alpha Aviation threw a great launch party for their new schedule service flying to Victoria. Alpha Executive Air is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alpha Aviation, Inc, who operate the Boundary Bay Airport on behalf of the Corporation of Delta. They will be using the same King Air 100 twin engine, pressurized, turboprop aircraft that I hired with Al Newfield to take video of the Air Canada A340 for the Celine Dion commercial. They will be charging an incredibly low rate of 89.00 one way!

April 26/2008: Construction for a fly-in subdivision at the Carp Airport to begin this fall

My spies tell me that John Phillips, president of West Capital Developments, has finally got out of the bureaucratic log jamb that has been holding back the unique fly-in community at Carp. Legislative rule changes, in Ontario provincial laws on water and sewer systems, have been causing delays over the past 6 years. The solution the company has chosen is to draw in local water for use by the community, treat it fully on site, then recycle it back into the environment. John thinks that the first residents of the relatively unique community will be moving into their homes as early as 2009. Don't be surprised if you see Kevin Psutka president of the 18,000 member strong COPA be one of the first to move in.

April 11/2008: Coroners report released on fatal crash last summer in Mayo, Yukon

The plane crash that killed pilot Richard Rodger, 39 in Mayo, Yukon, last summer was an accident caused by a shifting load of lumber, according to the coroners report just released Friday. The plane, a single Otter carrying a load of lumber, crashed shortly after takeoff from the Mayo airport on June 2, 2007. Investigators with the coroner's office found the lumber did not exceed the weight limit for the aircraft, but too much of its weight was behind the plane's centre of gravity. Also, the load was tied down only with a single strap, according to the report and could have shifted when the plane took off . In her report, chief coroner Sharon Hanley concluded that Rodger's death was an accident. No signs of alcohol or drugs were found in the pilot, she added.

April 6/2008: Pierre Moving

Talked with Pierre Landry today of Pierre's Bay BC fame and he told me that he and his wife, Tove have purchased /partnered with Jerome and Lucy Rose in the historical Echo Bay Resort! He stressed everything will be the same at the new location with Lady Di's famous bakery and the pig roasts. They are leaving the float homes at the old location. This is good news for float plane owners on the coast as I have been into Echo Bay and it is very sheltered for Float planes plus they will have some neat rental units available. His contacts are info@pierresbay.com www.pierresbay.com 1-250-713-6415.