President`s Thoughts.

Duncan Flying Club
Monthly meetings held the first Sunday of each month
No meetings in July and August
If meeting date is a holiday or long weekend, it’s the following Sunday
**NEXT MEETING SUNDAY, Sept. 11th at 19:30 hours**
Mailing address:
Duncan Flying Club - 5100 Langtry Road - Duncan, B.C. V9L 6R8
Executive:
Officers:
President
V. President
Secretary
Treasurer
Past President
Entertainment
Fuel/Accounts
Grounds
Tie-downs
Kevin Maher
John Langelo
John Tanner
Sean Heard
Keith Price
250-746-0362
250-746-4352
250-748-9473
250-748-4036
250-746-5445
Jane Parmeter
Ken Hart
Bob Decker
250-746-1567
250-743-3832
250-743-2349
Safety Officer
HDZ C-172
250Mike Williams
250-748-0203
Bill McGowan
250-748-7200
Dave Morgan
250-746-6556
Gary O’Brien
250-216-8001
Ray Carr
250-743-2384
Dave Morgan
250-746-6556
Ulla Williams
250-748-0203
Rick Kennedy 250-715-1855
www.aircraftclubs.com
Clubhouse
Membership
Historians:
Long Term Planning:
Newsletter:
Security:
HDZ Booking:
Dues & Fees:
Initiation Fee
Membership dues
st
Due May 1
$75.00
$120 yearly w $20
rebate if paid before
May 1st
Associate member dues $50 for one year, then
initiation and regular
membership fees to be
paid as listed above
Transient Parking $5.00 per night
Pay Phone: 250-746-9054
Issue 20, Sept. 2011
Bill McGowan
Dave Morgan
Dev Salkeld
Gary O’Brien
Mike Williams
Directors:
Tim Brenton
250-743-5901
Bruce Matthews
250-709-2050
Brian Valentine
250-746-9212
Leo Gervais
250-743-2191
[email protected]
[email protected]
Tie-down & Power:
Tie-down
Hanger Power Fee
st
Due June 1
$1,000/yearly or $1,050
if not paid by July 1st
$35.00/yearly
Web cams at the Duncan Airport and the Duncan Flying Clubs web site
http://www.duncanflyingclub.org/
President's Thoughts....
While this was one of the shortest summers on record, I hope that you all made the most of the
warm weeks and got to do a little flying. I was fortunate to cram a lot into a few short weeks
including making it to the Concrete antique airplane fly in. If you like old airplanes this is THE
one to get to – see Robert’s article elsewhere in the newsletter. The club was well represented
with John Tanner, John Howroyd, Cliff Finlay, Sean Heard, and Robert Stitt joining me for a
week-end immersed in old flying machines, cars, and pilot stories.
When teaching aerobatics, a common result of a goofed manoeuvre is the departure from
controlled flight into some sort of spin. In light of this, a few weeks ago I travelled to Arizona to
undertake a course in advanced spins and recovery techniques. Wow, what an eye opener. The
course was taught in a 2 seat Pitts and I had no idea that an airplane could whirl around so fast
in so many different attitudes. At times it was hard to hold on to my cookies and stay oriented
but it was an amazing learning experience. Even more instructive and sobering was the groundschool and pre-flight briefings that accompanied the flights. There are so many myths and
misunderstandings out there, even among instructors. If there is any interest, I would be happy
to share some of the knowledge, especially about recovery techniques, as a winter evening
―entertainment‖ session. The wing mounted video camera footage will ensure that we all
remember our previous meal!
While we do not hold regular meetings during the summer, a number of things have been
happening that have kept your executive busy. Bob Decker, Gary O’Brien, and Dave Morgan
have spent many hours measuring dirt and have found places to build 3 new hangers. Hopefully
we will see construction starting soon. Once they are built we are going to try and greatly
increase the amount of electrical power available to the airport. The last issue I am writing about
below surfaced last June and developed over the summer. That issue is the personal liabilities
of the club executive and directors for actions arising out of their duties within the club.
History and background: Society directors are liable for the actions of the society by virtue of the
fact that they have control of the societies’ activities. Members are not because they don't.
Below is a link to the BC Societies Act and Section 30 deals with directors’ liability. I have also
run all this by my neighbour/lawyer friend and he concurs.
http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/00_96433_01#section5
Because we don't deal with Revenue Canada or have employees, our liabilities are pretty much
limited to the operation of the airport, sale of fuel, operation of the club owned airplane, and our
lease with Butlers. With the exception of the lease, all the other potential liabilities would most
likely involve property damage or personal injury - i.e. they are insurable items or risks. Many
societies take out Directors Insurance to insulate the directors from liability. Sean looked into
this. It is expensive (about $5K/year) and our insurance broker pointed out that so long as we
carried adequate liability insurance on our activities, it was unlikely (but not impossible) that the
club directors would be exposed to legal liability. In the pursuit of risk management, I think that
we all agree that this is a reasonable approach. There is however one additional thing that we
as a club could do. We could pass a motion at a general meeting indemnifying the directors and
executive. What this means is that should any executive or director be sued for their actions as
a result of being a director, the club would use its resources to defend the director(s). Section 30
of the Act details this and specifically allows it. I think that it is only fair that the club be willing to
do this for its volunteers, even though it could only do it to the extent of its assets. (about $80K)
This is something that I would like to move forward at the Sept. meeting. So just as we all
became comfortable with assuming a reasonably minor degree of liability in connection with our
roles within the club, and knowing that the major risks were well insured, a new wrinkle has
emerged. Mike recently renewed the insurance on HDZ. The airplane carried $1,000,000/seat
and $3,000,000 total liability coverage. This year, no underwriter is willing to supply more than
$1,000,000 total coverage. Apparently the biggest issue is the flying experience in general, and
the currency in particular, of the pilots who fly, or might fly HDZ. For a 3 passenger aircraft, this
coverage is grossly underinsured. To put it into perspective, the legal costs alone, not counting
the settlement costs, of the local helicopter crash several years ago exceeded $2,000,000! And
this accident only killed one passenger, not 3! Or picture this; HDZ has a mechanical failure
landing in YYJ and departs the side of the runway hitting a Dash 8 waiting for take-off. We get
lucky and there are no injuries. The Dash 8 engine and propeller are worth way north of
$1,000,000, not counting the lost revenue claim! The point is that HDZ is now grossly
underinsured and that the executive and directors are personally responsible for any damages
or legal costs that exceed $1,000,000. The executives and directors are essentially forced to act
as the secondary insurers of the club airplane using their houses and other assets as collateral.
This is clearly not a workable situation and it is unreasonable for volunteers to have to put
themselves, and their family’s financial future at such direct risk. After discussing numerous
options, the following 4 have emerged (to date) as possibilities:
1) Do nothing. Of all the possible options discussed, I view this as the worst. The club is going
to face a number of very challenging issues in the years to come and it is vital that the club
attract volunteers who are forward thinking, high calibre individuals for its executives and
directors. Allowing this liability situation to stand, even if some of the current executive is ok with
it, is going to really screw up the club going forward. We have a small pool of talent to draw from
and it will be impossible to get some of the best people to stand for executive positions. In fact, I
would suspect that if this issue isn't dealt with soon, we will soon see mass executive
resignations.
2) Up the pilot experience and currency requirements to satisfy the insurance company. This
may result in a slight increase in available coverage but will cause two other problems. Firstly, a
number of people will stop flying HDZ, making the operation questionably viable financially.
Secondly, the whole point of the club airplane is to allow new pilots access to an airplane based
in the Cowichan Valley.
3) Divest HDZ from the club. The idea would be to allow the current pilots to form a separate
club and sell the airplane and hanger to them at very attractive terms. While this would just pass
the liability from the DFC executive to the new owners, there is considerable merit in this idea.
Apart from insulating a club of 90+ from the potential actions of 12 or so, the new group could
probably get better insurance by using pilots who are part owners, rather than the current
blanket but inadequate coverage. It would not affect club membership as all pilots would still
have to be members of DFC. Lastly, it would finally put an end to some fairly divisive internal
club politics.
4) Convert the club from a society to a limited liability company. The appeal of this idea is that it
would supposedly insulate the club directors from all risks, insurable or not. It would also
prevent them from being blanket sued for an already insured risk. The current members would
now somehow become shareholders and our annual AGM would instead become a
shareholders’ meeting. The downside to this idea is the massive administrative burden it would
place on the club. Annual tax filings, PST/GST registration, legal costs to dissolve the society
and form the company, etc. etc. etc. Keith Price and Sean Heard are currently investigating the
viability of this option further.
Please make every effort to attend the next few general meetings as these and other important
issues that have developed over the summer are going to be discussed and voted on.
Cheers Kevin.
Concrete Fly-In Thank you Robert! Sounds like an amazing weekend..
It was billed as ‘The Greatest Little Fly-In in the Pacific Northwest’... and that’s just what the July 22-24
event at Concrete, Washington, proved to be.
Tucked away in a beautiful valley among the foothills of Mt Baker, Concrete has a population of just over
700 and was officially incorporated on May 8, 1909, with the merging of two small towns following
construction of a Portland Cement Company plant. According to residents, in its heyday the entire town
was covered with a layer of limestone dust from the processing at the mine above the town.
Four aircraft with connections to the Club flew in to Concrete: Kevin Maher and Cliff Finlay in Stearman
UCC, John Tanner and family in 172
KAT, Sean Heard in a borrowed 172
and myself in HDZ. The Stearman
arrived on opening day on Friday
while I trailed KAT via Bellingham to
Concrete’s Mears Field on Saturday
morning.
The airfield was surrounded by lush
green slopes and with snow still
capping the surrounding peaks.
On arrival, the non-classic types were
directed to the right for tie-down and
camping while the more exotic types
– HDZ didn’t quite make the cut –
were marshalled towards the
hangars to go on display.
This year’s Featured Aircraft was ‘all
models of Stinson’ and there were some
beautiful specimens among the pristine
Pipers, Cessnas, Seabees, Luscombes,
Swifts and many others including an
array of homebuilts.
Some of the restored classics – like the
Piper Colts and Tripacers – looked in
better condition than when they were
first manufactured, with immaculate
interiors and glass-like finishes on their
fabric skins.
Highlight for many was the incredible
reproduction of a 1934-era Stinson
Model ‘O’ parasol monoplane, first flown
in March 2010 and up from Sacramento, California.
And if the visiting aircraft weren’t enough to savour
there was the amazing Skagit Aero Education
Museum collection of around 20 classics, all lovingly
restored and maintained in airworthy condition at
Concrete and worth a visit in their own right.
http://skagitaero.com
Then there were antique motorcycles, cars and
trucks – at one point a parade classic Porches
cruised between the hangars – while Charles
Lindbergh’s grandson gave a presentation about his
aviation-focused youth foundation and the progress
being made with electrically-powered light aircraft.
Somehow, though, the yellow Stearman seemed to
dominate the field. Its numerous takeoffs were
gloriously noisy and Kevin was forever hoisting boys and
girls into the rear cockpit, pouring fuel into the centre
section tank, or taking some beaming individual for a
ride. There’s no fuel at Mears Field but a kind individual
maintained a shuttle into town to keep the cache of gas
cans full.
And so my turn came to fly in the Stearman. With 450hp
up front, the take-off seemed pretty much vertical and
after a few minutes of my poling the big biplane around the valley it was time to tighten all straps,
including our parachutes, and plunge towards Earth
before pulling up for the first Cuban Eight. It had been
a while since I had watched the sun arc through the
sky from top to bottom but by the second manoeuvre
I had managed to pry my hands off the bottom of the
seat and just go with it. Just INCREDIBLE!
About mid-afternoon a rumour that had been
circulating all day proved to be true and the
unmistakable sound of a Rolls-Royce Merlin, no, two
Rolls-Royce Merlins, could be heard approaching
from the West.
For the next several minutes everyone at Mears Field
stood in awe as a Spitfire chased a Mustang along the
valley bottom and up along the southern ridge.
Enough excitement for one day? Not a chance. Kevin needed some air-to-air shots of the Stearman for
an upcoming magazine article so Cliff and I headed towards Mt Baker in HDZ with Stearman in tow for a
40-minute photo session against some fabulous Pacific Northwest scenery.
Concrete: Great place, great planes, great people... what a weekend!
Postscript: Although border procedures make visits to the US more complicated these days, there are
some wonderful aviation destinations within an hour or so flight from Duncan. I’ve created a check
sheet that I use to plan my arrival and departure plus record essential information along the way. Happy
to email to anyone if they contact me at: [email protected]
Hi Folks. Welcome September, it turned out to be a pretty darn nice August and we’re all
hoping for more yet to come. The children are back to school, Thanksgiving is around the
corner, and fishing should be good right about now. For those of you heading to the Reno Air
Races have fun, take earplugs and a roll for the casinos. A big thank you to Robert Stitt for a
terrific write-up and accompanying photos, to Keith for a few more pieces from our Archives,
and Roy’s in this case, and Joe Howse sent an interesting old story of a Vancouver incident.
You may have to put on your specs to read a few letters but you won’t be sorry you did. Your
contributions are greatly appreciated and entertaining – a reminder that a few members made
promises and I know there are stories yet to be told. Take care, Ulla
This is a work in progress. If you have any comments, suggestions or links you think would be nice to have e-mail
Mike Williams
Mike’s List of Web sites
Upcoming Flying Events
Club Events
Govt Sites
Other Sites
Pacific Flying Club
Boundary Bay
Upcoming Events
Nanaimo Flying Pig
Poker Run Sept
10th,2011
Club Meetings
1st Sunday of the
month. 19:30 hrs
Canada Weather
Wildlife
Migration
GA News
Flying the Seattle Area
Sky Vector
Airport Web Cams
Planning Tools
Aviation Links
Air Highways
Air & Space
Code One
Official Time
Time and Date
YVR Flights
Flightaware
160 knots
Pilotgeek
Airnav
Weekly Pilot Tips
Windfinder
Nanaimo Flying Club
Nav Canada
CARS
Abbotsford Flying Club
Aero Club of B.C Pitt
Meadows
Hood River Fly-In Sept
10/11
Reno Air Races Sept
14-18
Qualicum Flying Club
Victoria Flying Club
Prosser Balloon Rally
Sept 23/24/25
Aim
U.S Customs
Washington
State Aviation
Drive B.C
Delta Airpark
NOAA
Aircraft Photos
eAPIS Training Tutorial
COPA
Pilot Licence Booklet
AOPA
Action-Ultralights
Duncan Flying Club

Application for License
booklet
Series of images shows the path of Bill Phipps' plane as it crashed at the Nanaimo air show on June 4.
Photograph by: Aaron Hamilton, Special to the Daily News, timescolonist.com
NANAIMO, B.C. — The Wings and Wheels air show crowd hushed instantly on June 4 when a plane lost
altitude and crashed during a performance east of a runway at the Nanaimo Airport.
After the spectacular crash, the stunned crowd watched a B.C. Ambulance chopper lift off, carrying
amateur pilot Dr. Bill Phipps, 71, to Victoria General Hospital, not knowing if Phipps would live or die.
Phipps, a general practitioner in Campbell River, B.C., arrived home from hospital on the weekend. He
has no recollection of the crash of his homemade Steen Skybolt biplane at the airshow, sponsored by the
Nanaimo Flying Club. The incident brought the first Nanaimo air show in 40 years to an early end.
Speaking from his home in Campbell River on Monday, Phipps said he's doing well but still has "a way to
go."
The crash fractured one of his vertebrae and he received multiple other injuries both internal and external.
John DeVries, who witnessed the crash, told the Nanaimo Daily News that Phipps had been attempting a
quarter barrel roll before he had to correct his path and try to regain control.
"His right wing clipped the ground and he did a cartwheel. There was just dust and no explosion, smoke
or fire," DeVries said following the crash.
"It was pretty traumatic," Nanaimo RCMP media spokesman Const. Gary O'Brien said at the time.
Fellow air show pilot Sigmund Sort of Qualicum Beach, B.C., said he was surprised Phipps was involved
in the crash.
Sort acknowledged Phipps' skill in the cockpit, saying he is highly experienced and had built the plane
that bore his name in the call sign, C-FIPS.
"He affectionately called his plane Rag Bags," Sort said. "It's a kit plane made of white fabric and a
wooden frame."
For much of his time in hospital in Victoria, Phipps' jaw was wired shut as he had numerous facial
fractures due to the crash. Phipps said he's been performing at air shows for 17 years in the biplane he
built with a friend.
"Frankly, I'm still unaware as to what actually happened. I don't know if it was my mistake or if something
was wrong with the airplane," he said Monday.
"I can't even recall flying at the air show. I remember arriving in Nanaimo and looking at a number of the
other planes and vehicles there."
He's been in contact with officials with the Transportation Safety Board, who visited him while he was in
hospital, but has heard nothing from them regarding the cause of the crash.
Phipps is adamant that age was not a contributing factor to the crash.
"I've got a private pilot licence and I have to pass a complete medical exam every year. I passed my last
one in March. On top of that, if I want to perform in air shows, I have to pass an air show competency
exam, which I did last April," he said.
Because of the fracture of his vertebrae, his mobility is limited. He also has to undergo future surgeries on
his elbow and perhaps his back.
"Right now, my elbow looks like a TV antenna because of all the metal surrounding it and holding it
together," Phipps said.
He tires easily and can't climb the stairs in his own home but says he's lucky to be alive.
Phipps has resigned himself to remain earthbound once he has recovered, at least as far as air shows
are concerned.
"I don't think this accident should in any way stop the Nanaimo Flying Club from holding future shows, but
I have to admit, it's not the way I wanted to finish my career as an airshow pilot," he said.
The flying club has said it plans future air shows in Nanaimo, the next scheduled for 2013.
August 30, 2011 Edmonton Journal