March meeting presented by Dr. Geoff Steeves

The March COPA Flight 6 meeting was a presentation by Dr. Geoff Steeves.

Most people will likely never meet someone who wants to be an astronaut or even a physicist. If you become a physicist, you will spend your life conducting scientific research. Dr. Steeves specializes in ultrafast microscopy at the University of Victoria. If you're not sure what this is, I encourage you to look it up on the internet.

Now back to the astronaut part. Geoff had a dream of flying airplanes at a very young age. Taken by the science fiction character, Han Solo and Star Wars movies, Geoff's dream was to leave the lower atmosphere and head to outer space.

Back in the year 2009, the Canada Space Agency put out an advertisement looking for Canada's next astronaut. Geoff completed his commercial pilot licence on the final day that CSA was accepting applications. After his application was accepted, a year long process of paring down the list for Canada's top pilot began. The process started with 5000 applications and was quickly dropped to 1000, then to about 40. The remaining candidates consisted of pilots, doctors, scientists and even an Olympic athlete. These 40 candidates were taken to CSA headquarters in Montreal PQ for aptitude testing.

From there, much of the process revolved around health and fitness testing, and the highlight was the Canadarm2 training. Each candidate was given the opportunity to move this integral part of the Space Station, albeit a facsimile on earth. Next, it was off to Halifax for dunker practice (think helicopter egress training over and over) along with firefighting training, HAZMAT training, and trying to seal burst pipes with virtual duct tape, not quite but almost the same result when something is under considerable pressure. Working in assigned teams, this chaotic exercise is being performed above your head while very cold water is spraying on your face and entire body. No pressure here and no pun intended. As Geoff commented, "The hardest part of these exercises was having to evaluate your fellow team members once it was all over as to how well they performed." Should something catastrophic happen 400 kilometers above earth, you want the best team members on your side.

After Halifax it was off to Toronto for more medical and psychological exams. Once this testing was over it was time to introduce the final 16 candidates to the media. As Geoff says, "This is when it really started to sink in that you had pretty good odds of making the final cut of two."

Geoff was born in Halifax, raised in Edmonton, and calls Victoria home. From television reporters to radio and print reporters, everyone was at the unveiling having any connection to Geoff’s past, all laying claim to this young fellow wanting to blast off into outer space one day. Although Geoff wasn't chosen in the final selection, it was a most rewarding experience and one he will cherish for the rest of his life. Geoff has a love of flying and has fond memories of the process and keeps in touch with many of the people he met during the year long journey. He continues to be involved with human space exploration and tele-robotics. Thanks Geoff for sharing your amazing story.

COPA Flight 6 meets the first Tuesday of the month at 7:00 PM at the Victoria Flying Club, and the next COPA Flight 6 meeting will be Tuesday, April 3rd. Captain Rob Shemilt is away this month, but in his absence, Co-Captain Allan Rempel will talk about the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA) and the Western Canada SAR Exercise that was held in La Ronge, SK in August 2017, including the eventful trips there and back. The SAREX was a large-scale 11-plane exercise which made extensive use of Foreflight, and the transits through the mountains were challenging because of both smoke and weather.

March 6 Meeting - Dr. Geoff Steeves, Astronaut Candidate

The March 6 meeting will be a presentation by Dr. Geoff Steeves.

Dr.Steeves is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Victoria. He teaches mechanics, electronics, optics and the advanced laboratory. His research focuses on ultrafast microscopy.

In 2009, Geoff was a finalist in the selection process for the Canadian astronaut recruitment campaign. As one of 16 finalists in the process, Geoff will speak about the rigorous tests and challenges the candidates faced in the selection process. In addition to his work at the Univeristy of Victoria, Geoff is currently in the prcocess of completing his instructors rating at the Victoria Flying Club.

Please join us to hear Dr. Steeves share his love of aviation and interesting life story.

As usual, the March 6 meeting will take place at 7:00 in the Victoria Flying Club lounge.  You do not need to be a member of COPA or the VFC to attend.

February Meeting: Ask the Doc.

The February COPA Flight 6 meeting was a presentation by Dr. Jonathan Wallace and a review of the Canadian Aviation Medical Examiners Regulations (CAME). Jonathan touched on the most common health problems people encounter: heart attacks and strokes. These two health issues are of greatest concern to pilots who are concerned about retaining their licence or have been grounded for a period of time.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, getting ample rest, sticking to a proper diet, and generally looking after yourself will help. Obesity is a major factor in contributing to both heart and stroke issues. Should you think you are experiencing a heart attack, immediately take an aspirin. In the first hour, this can help to lessen the severity. Always seek professional medical assistance ASAP. A stroke may be caused by a blocked artery (ischemic stroke) or the leaking or bursting of a blood vessel (hemorrhagic stroke). If you think you are experiencing symptoms of stroke, the F.A.S.T. signs and symptoms of stroke are Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty. After that, it is then Time to call 911. Other symptoms and signs include confusion, weakness or paralysis on one side of the body, double vision, and speech and comprehension difficulties.

Jonathan also talked about cancer. Cancer is a catch-all word as it encompasses many types. There are three types of treatment for cancer: cut out, chemotherapy, and radiation. Regarding flying an airplane when you have cancer, with all types of treatment, it is best to consult with an aviation medical doctor as they know best the rules and regulations which may or may not result in grounding your ability to keep flying when treating cancer and all types of medical issues.

Next, blood pressure was discussed. Your ideal blood pressure should be 120 over 80 (this is your resting blood pressure) and less than 140 over 90. If you experience higher numbers during your annual pilot physical, wait some time as you might be anxious of the test or maybe you just ran or biked to the examination.

Finally, be cautious if you're thinking of having laser eye surgery as it can result in complications, especially with night flying.

In closing, COPA Flight 6 would like to thank Dr. Wallace for his presentation and Dr. Walter Salmaniw (Dr. Salmaniw is a current CAME) for attending the meeting and adding additional advice.

February 6 Meeting - Ask the Doc.

This month's COPA Flight 6 meeting follows on the heels of a very successful January meeting. Approximately 30 members and guests turned out to discuss the recent BC Assessment Authority's, property assessments of airport hangers in British Columbia. Most hanger owners received substantial hikes in assessments from the previous year and a plan of action has been formulated to address the situation. The Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) head office in Ottawa has offered its help through Government Affairs specialist Carter Mann. Stay tuned as things unfold.

The next COPA Flight 6 meeting will be Tuesday, February 6th. from 7:00-9:00 PM at the Victoria Flying Club pilots' lounge. This month's meeting will feature Dr. Jonathan Wallace, a former CAME medical examiner. Dr. Wallace has many hours in the left hand seat on a few types of single engine aircraft and has extensive flying coverage in North America and beyond. Jonathan has offered to answer general medical questions any pilot might have that may or may not result in keeping one's license current.  As more and more pilots are aging and still retaining an active license, this is your opportunity to gain insight into staying healthy. Also for the younger pilots, it's an opportunity to make sure you're medically doing all the right things to keep your license current as well.

Dr. Wallace has requested that questions be sent to him prior to the meeting so he has time to prepare himself to answer all questions you might have. In respecting your privacy, you can send your questions directly to Jonathan at jwallace250@gmail.com

You neither need to be a member of COPA National nor the Victoria Flying Club to attend the meeting. As your local voice for the freedom to fly in Canada, we encourage your participation and membership.

January 2018 COPA meeting rescheduled to January 9

I hope everyone had a great holiday.  Maybe you received something aviation related and were able to take advantage of the recent crisp, clear, cold weather we've been having and were able to bore some holes in the sky?

The next COPA Flight 6 meeting will be postponed until Tuesday, January 9th as the usual meeting date of Tuesday, January 2nd. is too close to New Year's. 

This month's meeting topic has proved challenging to arrange as a couple of guest speakers were unavailable for this date. Having said this, an important situation has popped up on the field at CYYJ. Some of you may have heard the news that if you are a hanger owner BC Assessment has notified you of massive jumps in assessed value on both land and building. The valuation is being increased by 2.5x this year 10% on land, but 533% on buildings. Essentially, what has happened is that between the two years, they have changed the hangar classification from a Cost Valuation, with depreciating buildings, to an Income Valuation, whereby hangars are taxed based on square footage, rent per square foot, and a CAP rate.

If you are an owner or are an expert in this area, I urge you to attend the meeting to discuss this situation.

As always, we meet in the pilots' lounge at the Victoria Flying Club starting at 7:00 PM and you neither need to be a member of the Victoria Flying Club nor COPA Flight 6 to attend.

December COPA Flight 6 meeting

The December COPA Flight 6 meeting took place at Mary’s Bleue Moon Café. This might become a COPA Flight 6 annual event to kick off the busy festive season and wrap up of the year’s events for our group. It was an evening of camaraderie amongst GA pilots and friends.

Surprisingly, a few in attendance had never been to Mary’s. A total of 16 members, guests and spouses attended the dinner, and as one member commented, we had a better turn out than our Annual General Meeting in November. Another member commented that 'that was because there was no election happening.' Thanks Rob P.

The evening started at 6:15 PM with drinks and general conversation and then into a selection of Mary’s fine dinner offerings. Many stories were recited about this past year's fly-in or fly-out destinations and how many hours everyone logged. Quite a few members in attendance are aircraft owners and shared stories about their planes and why they fly the types they do. As the evening progressed we were entertained by “The Cliffes” who played a great selection of 60’s & 70’s classic rock tunes. After conversing for over 2.5 hours, festive greetings were exchanged and we disbanded. Thank you to those who were able to join us in what was a fun evening talking about what we all are passionate about, airplanes and flying.

Please note the January COPA Flight 6 meeting will be Tuesday, January 9th. We normally meet the second Tuesday of the month, but being right after New Year’s, it was decided to move a week following. At press time we are still securing a guest speaker and more details will follow.

As always you neither need to be a member of the Victoria Flying Club nor COPA Flight 6 to attend. All pilots and aircraft owners are encouraged to attend COPA Flight 6 meetings as we are the voice of General Aviation in Canada.

December meeting at Mary's Blue Moon Cafe

Season's Greetings fellow aviators,

Due to a scheduling conflict, this month's COPA Flight 6 meeting has been changed to THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7th. We will be meeting at Mary's Blue Moon Cafe 9535 Canora Rd. Sidney, BC starting at 6:15 PM. for dinner and drinks.  We hope you can join your fellow pilots as we celebrate the season and exchange aviation stories of past, present and future.

If you are planning on attending, please email copaflight6@gmail.com, as we must confirm how many will be joining us.