HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2006-06-15, Page 11CORPORATION
OF THE
TOWNSHIP OF
NORTH HURON
TAXES DUE
The 2nd tax installment for the
Township of North Huron is due
on Tuesday, June 27, 2006.
Interest at 1 1/4% per month, or
any part thereof will be charged
on unpaid accounts as of June
28, 2006 and the first day of
each month thereafter.
NOTE: Persons who have
acquired properties and have
not received a tax bill should
contact the Municipal Office.
Failure to receive a tax bill does
not relieve a taxpayer from
responsibility for payment of
taxes, nor from penalty for late
payment.
Please contact the Treasury
Department in regards to the
various payment options
available. A drop box is
available for after hours use at
the Township office.
Donna White
Director of Finance
ARMSTR NG AER
Up up and away
Just before taking off for an inaugural flight, Robert Armstrong (right) stands in front of the
Pietenpol plane Robert began building when he was 14. Brother Bruce (left) and father Jim
helped him complete the plane's construction. (Carol Burns photo)
Three million Canadians have a hearing loss.
I'm one of them. tht
hearing foundation
Of ;AN OA
To learn more about our medical
and how you can help,
call 1-866 HEAR YOU, toll. free.
research and public education programs
rondotion canadienne
----
de rouie
Don I lar-ron
i G ittelini Friends ‘A T- fir EEill FARM!
Celebrating 25 Years
in 2006
Home of Distinctive Annuals!
A Wonderful Line of Premium Selected Plants
IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO PLANT!
FATHER'S DAY SPECIAL
Hanging Baskets or
hanging bags
Buy 1 & receive 2nd of equal
or lesser value for 1/2 price
June 17 - 18
Pick your own or
ready picked STRAWBERRIES.
Crop & weather permitting.
Pick in your own containers as
we sell by weight. Supervised
children welcome. No pets.
SPEND AN HOUR OR SPEND THE DAY!
IN HOUSE SPECIALS
Now Ready - Asparagus and Rhubarb
Home'of Ted's Tasty Tomatoes!
482-3020 77688 Orchard Line, R.R.1 Bayfield
HOURS__
Mon-Fri 8-8
Sat. - Sun 9-6
THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 2006. PAGE 11.
Father, sons reach for the skies with hobby
By Carol Burns
Citizen staff
Imagine being a young child, and
as you wait for the school bus,
watching your dad fly .over your
head on his way to work.
As weather permitted. every
spring and fall for 25 years, James
Armstrong commuted from his farm
just outside Brussels to teach high
school in Mitchell in his home-built
plane, a two-seater Pietenpol.
Recently one of his children.
Robert Armstrong of Colborne. near
Trenton, took the Pietenpol plane he
started to build when he was 13 or 14
tor its first flight
The Pietenpol plane, initially
designed in 1929 by Bernie
Pietenpol. is made out of wood. The
upper part of the cockpit is open, and
only the wings protect the pilot from
the weather. The plane is able to
carry a passenger seated in the
cockpit in front of the pilot.
"The high wing doesn't really
protect you from the weather. We
avoid flying in the rain. We are
really lair weather pilots and don't
have the instruments to fly in had
weather. Rain can damage the
'wooden propeller.- stated Jim. The
original plane used a water-cooled
Model A Ford -engine. Armstrong's
plane. which took him seven and a
half years to build, uses an air-
cooled Continental engine. hut the
rest of the plane is identical to
Bernie's 1929 model. The wooden
structure of the plane is- glued
together and covered with a •
It is possible to enjoy healthy
outdoor activities while in the sun:
1 Reduce sun .6. Keep babies under
exposure between one year out of the
11 a.m. and 4 p.m. direct sun.
Seek shade or T. Tanning parlours
create your own and sunlamps are not
shade. a sate way to tan.
on clothing In cadet to reduce you,
to cover your arms risk of skin cancer the
and legs.. Canadian Cancer Society
recommends teal you and
on a your children practice
wide brimmed hat. these SunSense Guidelines
on a
sunscreen with
SPF Sit or higher
For more information all the Canadian Cancer Society
at 1 898 9393333 or take our Surdense quiz at
www.caricecca..
on.A.,theatiorr.
and gives his students the
opportunity to work on different
types of airplanes
Brother Brian is an Air Ontario
maintenance mechanic.
Robert works for Hydro One in
Darlington. Every chance he -gets he
enjoys coming home and flying the
Pietenpols.
Sister Leanne, a speech language
pathologist. enjoys going up as a
passenger with her Dad or brothers.
Recently, as Jim sat at his kitchen
table and shared his memories of
flying with his sons and working on
planes together with them, tears
welled up in -his eyes.
He explained that it had been a
special time for him to see Robert
test fly the airplane he started
building at. such a young age.
SOns Robert and Bruce shared the
experience of going to Toronto with
their father and choosing the lumber
for Robert's plane. "We picked
through three piles - in Toronto,
looking for the right pieces,"
laughed Robert.
"Sitka spruce from B.C. is used
because it is very strong and has a
straight grain," added Jim.
For Robert, the experience of
building the plane was a natural
progression. As a young child he
began building models from a kit,
then progressed to balsa models and
radio-controlled models.
Building the plane connected him
not only with his father, but also with
his grandmother.
"It took me a year to cut out the
ribs in the wing. There was lots of
cutting. I had them all laid out on
Grandma's dining room table and
kept her company as I worked."
Robert reminisced.
Throughout his teens, Robert
worked on his plane, but he didn't
get it finished. Eventually, with a
wife, children and a demanding
-career, he came to the difficult
decision to sell the plane.
He put a FOR SALE sign on it at a
• local fly-in. He had the basic frame
of the fuselage, wings and tail, all
made of wood. completed.
But sister Leanne stepped in.
Jim's wife Leona smiles as she
remembers her daughter putting her
foot down. "She said that Robert
could not sell the plane. It was part
of the family heritage. The family
would finish the plane."
And they did.
Jim and Bruce worked in their
spare time over the next several
years to complete the dozens of
small and large jobs. required to
finish the project.
Bruce welded the undercarriage,
motor mount and lift struts, which
are made of hollow steel tubing.
Then it was assembled for the pre-
cover inspection.
Then it was dismantled for the
covering process. Jim glued the
fabric onto the wooden framework
and, using a hot iron, ironed it to the
correct tightness.
Bruce sprayed on the various
chemicals required, 14 coats in total.
The final paint job is identical to the
original with a black stripe down
each side of the fuselage.
In April 2006 Robert's plane
passed its final inspection. Jim
mused that his initial plane had cost
about $1,500, including the
inspection. The inspection for
Robert's plane cost almost $1,500.
Once the final inspection has
occurred, for the first 25 hours of
flight the pilot has to keep within 25
miles of home base, flying solo.
A climb, test report has to be sent
in to Transport Canada for every
amateur built aircraft.
"It has to be able to climb at least
1,180 feet in three minutes in
standard sea-level atmosphere
conditions at the maximum
approved weight." Jim explained.
For a period of time, Jim could not
fly. He had a hip replacement and
could not climb into the plane. Now
he has adapted his plane with a step
giving him the freedom to continue
flying.
Every Father's Day for the past 1(1
years the Armstrong family has
hosted their own fly in of Pietenpol
enthusiasts.
"Some years. when the weather is
not good, we just have a few
families, others, we have 'over 200.-
Leona stated,
"In good weather there might he
25 planes of different makes fly in.
including four or five Pietenpols.
Some people who are building
Pietenpols drive in to get ideas on
building one,- Jim added.
This year will be no different. The
skies around Brussels will buzz with
the sound of small aircraft.
And the Armstrong family will
come together once again. James,
Armstrong will have his family
around him, sharing their memories.
their love of planes and each other.
synthetic fabric.
The final step is the painting. The
Armstrongs' planes are a brilliant
yellow with a black stnp down each
side.
The Armstrong children, three
sons and a daughter, did not have to
satisfy themselves with watching
their dad fly. Whenever possible, he
took them up in the plane. At early
ages they had the experience of
handling the controls under Dad's
watchful eye and guidance.
Flying and working on planes was
a bonding experience for Jim.
Armstrong and his children. It is one
which has had a lasting impression
on their lives.
Bruce teaches transportation at
F.E. Madill High School. Wingham,
:I; . otaaost Vitae