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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGoderich Signal Star, 2017-06-14, Page 182017 Interprovincial Air Tour Courtesy of Carol Cooke There were 40 aircraft that were registered for this years' IPAT and so when Thursday June 1 dawned with sunny skies, all pilots headed to Elmhirst Resort CPS2 for the 10th annual air tour. Some landed at Peterbor- ough (10 miles north) - to clear customs; to have lunch, or to get fuel. As the afternoon wore on, the wind increased to such an extent that 4 aircraft opted to tie down overnite at Peterborough rather than face the strong crosswind at Elmhirst. There are some interesting pictures of the aircraft land- ing on the beautifully mani- cured grass strip at Elmhirst. The staff and owners of Elmhirst were really wel- coming and excited to see the aircraft arrive. After registration and get- ting settled into cottages, a scrumptious bbq buffet din- ner was consumed and the registrants enjoyed an even- ing of sharing flying stories and getting caught up on events over the past winter months. During dinner, Carol Cooke reminisced over how the Interprovincial Air Tour came to be - 5 aircraft from North Bay and Timmins went on the Michigan Air Tour in 2006 and started thinking - we could do this in Ontario / Quebec - and as they say "the rest is history" Carol spent some time reviewing the registrations from previous years and was amazed to discover that 22 pilots had been on 8 or more of the 10 tours. These pilots were recog- nized with gift certificates from Aircraft. Spruce (10 year) and Home Repot (8 and 9 year), as Carol and Ron thought the IPAT bank balance shouldcontinue to be kept at a minimal level and those who had contrib- uted most should get some return of the unused contin- gency fund 10 year attendance: John Beimers; Fred/Marilyn Bru- insma; Marc Charron; Ron/ Carol Cooke; Ron/ Sherry Dube Two couples from Michi- gan registered for all 10 Tours Dick/Nicki Acker; Nancy/Ron Walters -but. • CLASSI What if one company could solve all your business needs? iit fractured arm, parent having stroke; flooded basement kept them home a couple years; Mike Woodley attended 8 tours. Nine year attendance: John/Anne Donkers; Jim/ Jane Farrell; Dave Frayne; Gary Grainger; Don Jones; Henri/Ginette Monnin; Les- ley/Jeff Page; Adrian/Ilort- ense Verburg. Eight year attendance: Steve Greenwell, Chris/Anne McCullough; Kevin Psutka; Larry Waldie This year Aircraft Spruce donated 2 - $50 gift cards - won by Mike Ash and Bill Smith Complimentary room in Brockville - won by Gary Todd; Complimentary room in Oshawa- won by Larry Waldie (COPA 45) To add to the excitement, poker hands were added this year; two cards drawn at Elmhirst, one at Brockville, and two at Oshawa. Steve McDowell big win- ner with 3 of a kind ($100); Jamie McCague second best hand with 2 pr ($75), and Bob Burns 3rd took home $50. • Carol summarized the monies spent in the past 10 years on these Air Tours. Municipalities with airports have realized well over half a million dollars. Carol also announced that this would he her last year of organizing - after 10 years its time to get some other folks involved with their fresh ideas. Before dinner Jeff Page provided a detailed safety briefing, and because of the wet conditions at Morris - burg, it was decided aircraft would park totally on the pavement, and that we .could probably only park 25 safely. The next morning dawned sunny and still windy and 24 aircraft flew into Morrisburg and walked over to Upper Canada Village. If you haven't been - it's well worth the visit. Heritage houses depict life as it was in 1860's complete with work- ing sawmill and grist mill. Then it was off to Brock- ville where the volunteers from the local COPA Flight, lead by Mike Bowen and Kent Wharton from Brock Air welcomed us and directed us to fuel and parking. Wednesday, June 14, 2017 • Signal Star 19 Those that skipped Mor- risburg had a leisurely departure from Elmhirst and enjoyed coffee and donuts in the Brockville Flying Club building while waiting for the rest to arrive. After the plaque presenta- tion to Mayor Henderson, it was on the bus to the Com- fort Inn and then down to the waterfront for dinner cruise of 1000 Island's. Because of the recent flooding, our reserved boat was still in dry dock, but the smaller SeaFox 11 accom- modated all 85 of us. Scenic boat cruises are always popular with the group, and this was no exception. It could have been warmer - but there were no bugs, and it wasn't raining. A delicious catered dinner was enjoyed by all. The next morning dawned sunny (three days in a row - almost a record this spring) so it was off to Oshawa for the last stop of this years' IPAT. Airport Manager Steve Wilcox was on hand to per- sonally welcome each pilot, as they pulled into the park- ing spots reserved for the group. By 12:15 all were on buses heading to Parkdale Estate - the heritage museum where Sam McLaughlin (founder of McLaughlin Buick) lived. McLaughlin basically founded the City of Oshawa with the GM plantand the McLaughlin name is every- where in the City. A scrumptious catered lunch - provided by the Oshawa Airport was enjoyed by all and we leisurely strolled through the gardens after lunch. The rest of the afternoon was on your own to visit the Automotive Museum, Art Gallery, or enjoy a brew in local pub. At 4:00 the first bus arrived at the hotel to take the group back to the airport but to the other side where the 420 Wing is located. Tours of the tank museum and Tower tours, which are both adjacent to the Wing, had also been arranged. Thanks to Jeff and Lesley Page for making all these arrange- ments, as well as co-ordinat- ing with the airport all the parking arrangements. CONTINUED ON PAGE 28 FIND STUFF HERE! • * * 1 9•1 POSTMEDIA We can connect all the pieces in more ways than ever before. 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