John Speaks
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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
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November 17/2008: "Three new aviation documentaries in the work!"
Steeping away from the grind of a weekly TV series has freed me up to concentrate on prime time documentaries and in 2009, three of the six productions will involve my favorite subject ..... aviation !
"Inside the Century of Flight" is a behind the scenes documentary of the 12 days in July 2009 when the country comes together to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of flight . This project is well underway and will be shot in July 2009.
"Canada 100 year of flying" is a historical look at 100 years of flying that looks at many of the untold stories of Canadian aviation ". Later in 2009 we will be filming "Aviation Tomorrow " an in depth look at the aviation industry as fossil fuels supplies dwindle .
Special thanks to all the sponsors and production people who are getting behind the productions. Broadcasters in Canada and the USA are getting on board with broadcasts in the fall of 2009 and the winter of 2010.
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October 17/2008: "AV Gas shortage on BC Coast and John's Navajo in a gale!"
I just flew my Navajo up to Massett on the Queen Charlottes and
discovered there is a very real shortage of AV gas in coastal BC! Before I left Boundary Bay with a plane load of people I had checked
the supplement and Notams and I knew gas would be a challenge
especially in my alternate of Prince Rupert. As it turned out,it was
more challenging then I thought. I also knew
there was no AV gas at Sandspit either; but when I landed at Massett
I found out there was no AV gas there either. So the operator there
had to drive down to Port Clemets and truck a couple of barrels up to
me and kindly lent me his hand pump to transfer the gas into the
Navajo.
It was the most expensive AV gas I have ever bought
with a VISA charge of $1100.00 for two barrels of fuel. So if you are
planning to fly up in that area with anything that doesn't burn kerosene,
make sure you plan things out carefully for a refueling stop. My
suggestion would be to top off in Port Hardy before venturing up coast
and check for fuel availability in Bella Coola and Terrace .
The return flight to Vancouver the next day was interesting as I had
the Navajo pointed into an honest to goodness gale. The visibility
was VFR with 5 miles in light rain but the weather stations were
recording 60 knots. According to the Navajo's GPS the head winds
were at one time as high as 68 knots on my nose. This exceeded my
previous highest recorded winds on a flight which was coincidently on
the other coast, in Newfoundland in a Found Bush Hawk Amphibian. On that day we experienced 62 knots. The only redeeming factor on my
run down the Queen Charlotte Sound was that it was relatively smooth
for the passengers.
But if you ever find yourself with 68 knot
headwinds make sure you don't venture too far out over the water and
that you have lots of fuel. In fact I was very happy that I had
pumped a couple of barrels into the wings at Massett regardless of
the cost. |
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July 28/2008: "Lovelace Films New Listings at Burns Lake"
I just came back from two days in Burns Lake area researching and filming some of my new listings with the Niho/Landquest team. We will be marketing several thousand acres of prime land in several parcels up there including two private lakes and waterfrontage on Francois Lake. Properties range from vacant land, to a waterfront lodge, to one of the largest ranches in Northern BC with prices from $69,000 and up. Check the Landquest site soon for the listings for John Lovelace and or Clifford Stone.
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Photo courtesy of Clifford Stone
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July 16/2008: "COPA Convention Trip"
Dave Fitzpatrick and I just returned from a whirlwind 4 day cross-Canada return flight to the COPA (Canadian Owners and Pilots Association) convention in St Thomas Ontario in his Cirrus SR 20.The
banquet
was fantastic with 250 guests, and I got a chance to get caught up
with
the old gang from eastern Canada.
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Kudos to the St.Thomas COPA flight for a great event. Sunday morning we got down to business for a planning session on next year's Cross Canada Century Flight 2009, a 100th year celebration flight.
We will begin releasing information on the flight here on the news page in the next few days starting with a preliminary list of stop over airports. |
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July 3/2008: " Big Changes "
Over the next days and weeks you will notice there will be some
exciting changes on this web site.
I have partnered with Landquest Realty and also Rudy Nielson's Niho
group and will be working with them marketing one of the largest
rural and wilderness portfolios in Western Canada . To finance these
properties I will be joining the Verico Paragon group who placed
close to a half a billion dollars in mortgages last year. Also we
have begun filming the properties so you will be able to do virtual
tours of wilderness Realestate from the comfort of your home. So
check back here soon and often for updates on the latest on Rural and
wilderness Real estate in Western Canada by clicking the realestate
button on the front page of the website . Right now I am
concentrating on a retirement portfolio for pilots that are close to
airstrips or have good dockage for floatplane . You can always give
me a call at my Vancouver office at 604-681-6867 or my cell at
604-970-5449.
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June 3/2008: "
Tim Luck dies in accident"
Former ATV ltd. Business Manager and Wings Over Canada Associate
Producer was killed in a tragic cycling accident last week in the
Okanogan. On Monday, June 2/08 at 6:00 PM Pacific Time he veered off
a bike trail on a mountain ridge just east of Penticton and plunged
down a 300 foot bank into the ravine below.
Tim who worked as the VP
at ATV ltd. in 2007 and had recently relocated to the Okanogan to be
nearer his family. He was a lawyer and not given to taking risks and
he was on a well used trail used by both hikers and cyclists. Although Tim was just 29, he could hold his own in business
dealings with others who were far older and more experienced. But in
the end Tim hadn't even started to live and he was taken far too
young before he was able to stretch his own wings.
I will miss him
greatly as Tim and I worked closely together not only on Wings Over
Canada but also on many other productions including Raid the Northand Targa Newfoundland, as well as the Canadian Rally Championships
and Drivers Seat TV.
Our condolences to his family and all those who
loved him.
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May 28 /2008: "Quotsino Sound. " My pick for best salt water fishing on the South Coast
Flew up to the North Island last week to do some crabbing with
good friend Blair Mclean . Many people will know Blair from his
thirty years running the floating lodge at Knights Inlet Lodge.
Anyway Blair has settled into a more relaxed life of running a
guiding business from terra ferma in his magnificent two story lodge
in Port Alice on the shores of Neorotosis Inlet of Quotsino Sound.
Peter was a favorite guide for fourteen years at Knights Inlet and he
is Blairs guide at the new lodge. Bottom fishing for cod, snapper
and halibut is always good and salmon runs are starting right now
(last week of May) and continue into the fall. The fishing grounds
here still produce great quality and quantity. Guiding Prices are
reasonable in their 25 foot covered craft and they also offer bed
and breakfast . To Book call 250-286-6016
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May 14 /2008: Louis Theriault drops by John Lovelace Corporation offices
I was honored when Louis Theriault, past Chairman of the
Accident Classification Work Group (Flight Safety) for IATA , www.iata.org dropped by this morning to our new Corporate Office at 890 West Pender St. in Vancouver. Louis and Joanne have been good friends for 25 years, since the old days when we used to hang out at Bobs Lake, Ontario when I had the Cessna 206 Amphib . He now flys for Air Canada and he was actually taking a flight over to London on the Air Bus A 330 later. Louis will be our Ottawa coordinator for the documentary on the Cross Canada Century Flight 2009 with four associations: The Canadian Aviation Historical Society, The Canadian Aviation Museum, The Air Force Association of Canada and our good friends with COPA. I was also pleased to visit with a new pilot Brian Hagen who also dropped in to say hi. Congratulations on the new 6 day old baby Brian!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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