The Aero Club of BC Story CYPK Tenants Meeting October 3, 2018 - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The Aero Club of BC Story CYPK Tenant’s Meeting October 3, 2018 Presented by Tom Heise President, Aero Club of BC

Aero Club of BC History The Aero Club’s story is all about flying, people and airplanes. Our history is one of continuous change driven by two questions: • What do we need • How can we help

Our Beginnings – Duty Calls ‐‐ 1910 1915 The informal beginning of the Aero Club goes back Minoru ‐‐ 1920 1916 to around 1912. It started as a patriotic effort by a ‐‐ 1930 1917 few people to support Britain in WW1 ‐‐ 1940 1918 The Aero Club’s official beginning was 1915 when ‐‐ 1950 1919 the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) of 1920 ‐‐ 1960 France granted the club a charter 1021 ‐‐ 1970 1922 ‐‐ 1980 We were one of two Aero Clubs in Canada to train 1923 ‐‐ 1990 WW1 pilots for the Royal Flying Corps of Britain (the 1924 other was the Curtis Aviation School in Toronto) ‐‐ 2000 1925 ‐‐ 2010 1926 Operations were set up in Minoru Park, Richmond ‐‐ 2020 1927 1928

Curtis Pusher at Minoru Park ‐‐ 1910 1915 Minoru ‐‐ 1920 1916 ‐‐ 1930 1917 ‐‐ 1940 1918 ‐‐ 1950 1919 1920 ‐‐ 1960 1021 ‐‐ 1970 1922 ‐‐ 1980 1923 ‐‐ 1990 1924 ‐‐ 2000 1925 ‐‐ 2010 1926 ‐‐ 2020 1927 1928

Billy Stark – Our 1 st Instructor ‐‐ 1910 In 1912 Billy Stark went to San Diego and learned to 1915 Minoru ‐‐ 1920 fly at the Curtis Aviation school. He graduated and 1916 returned to Vancouver with a new Curtis biplane ‐‐ 1930 1917 ‐‐ 1940 1918 In 1915 the Aero Club bought the airplane from Billy ‐‐ 1950 1919 Stark, hired him as our first instructor and 15 1920 ‐‐ 1960 students paid $200 each for flight training 1021 ‐‐ 1970 Since the plane was a single‐seater, Billy would sit 1922 ‐‐ 1980 on the wing and shout instructions to his students 1923 ‐‐ 1990 1924 With only 1 plane, flight training was impractical ‐‐ 2000 1925 and ended that winter when the plane, now on ‐‐ 2010 1926 floats, hit a log and sank ‐‐ 2020 1927 1928

Let’s try this again ‐‐ 1910 1915 Minoru ‐‐ 1920 1916 The Aero Club reorganized as the British Columbia ‐‐ 1930 1917 Aviation School Ltd., a non‐profit venture that could ‐‐ 1940 1918 sell stock to raise money ‐‐ 1950 1919 1920 They bought two new Curtis 2‐seater tractor aircraft ‐‐ 1960 1021 that were built in Vancouver ‐‐ 1970 1922 ‐‐ 1980 Training operations were set up in Pitt Meadows 1923 ‐‐ 1990 but were again short lived. They scared cows onto 1924 ‐‐ 2000 the runway and crashed while trying not to hit them 1925 ‐‐ 2010 1926 ‐‐ 2020 1927 1928

Third Time Lucky ‐‐ 1910 The post war years were lean for aviation 1915 Minoru ‐‐ 1920 1916 The club languished until 1927 at which time the ‐‐ 1930 1917 Gov’t, alarmed about the lack of progress in civilian ‐‐ 1940 1918 flying, offered Canadian Flying Clubs a free aircraft ‐‐ 1950 1919 for every one they bought 1920 ‐‐ 1960 WW1 veterans reorganized us as the Aero Club of 1021 ‐‐ 1970 BC (Vancouver Branch), a non‐profit society, and 1922 ‐‐ 1980 bought several Fleets and DH Gypsy Moths 1923 ‐‐ 1990 1924 In 1930, to further encourage training for war ‐‐ 2000 1925 reserves, the Gov’t offered Canadian Flying Clubs a ‐‐ 2010 1926 bonus of $100 for each pilot trained ‐‐ 2020 1927 1928

1021 1922 Our Constitution 1923 1924 1925 ‐‐ 1910 1926 Minoru ‐‐ 1920 1927 ‐‐ 1930 The club objectives were to “ bring together persons 1928 of either sex who are interested in aviation ” ‐‐ 1940 1929 ‐‐ 1950 Our constitution allowed the club to “properly ‐‐ 1960 provide, equip, maintain, own and control ‐‐ 1970 aerodromes, landing grounds, air ports, seaplane ‐‐ 1980 bases, hangars, workshops, aeronautical schools, club houses, libraries, and all things necessary and ‐‐ 1990 conducive to carrying the objectives of the club” . ‐‐ 2000 ‐‐ 2010 ‐‐ 2020

1021 1922 We Need a Real Airport 1923 1924 1925 ‐‐ 1910 In 1931 the Aero Club lobbied Vancouver City 1926 Minoru ‐‐ 1920 Council to get an airport and convinced local 1927 farmers to sell their land for the project ‐‐ 1930 1928 ‐‐ 1940 Sea Island 1929 The rallying cry was “If you build a mile of road, you ‐‐ 1950 1930 have a mile of road; if you build a mile of runway ‐‐ 1960 1931 you have a gateway to the world.” Vancouver Sun 1981 1932 ‐‐ 1970 Sea Island Airport was built in 1933 and the Aero 1933 ‐‐ 1980 Club became its first tenant. That year Club 1934 ‐‐ 1990 members logged 754 dual and 1858 solo flights 1935 ‐‐ 2000 1936 In 1948 Sea Island Airport changed its name and ‐‐ 2010 1937 became “Vancouver International Airport (YVR)” ‐‐ 2020 1938 1939

1926 1927 Duty Calls Again – WW2 1928 1929 1930 We were part of the British Commonwealth Air ‐‐ 1910 1931 Training Plan during WW2. The government Minoru ‐‐ 1920 1932 entrusted Canadian flying clubs with setting up and ‐‐ 1930 1933 running the Elementary Flying Training Schools (EFTS) ‐‐ 1940 1934 Sea Island The Aero Club set up the Vancouver Air Training Co. ‐‐ 1950 1935 Ltd. and ran four flight schools (Vancouver, Boundary 1936 ‐‐ 1960 Bay, Abbotsford, Victoria) 1937 ‐‐ 1970 1938 We were No. 8 EFTS and we were taken over intact ‐‐ 1980 1939 on a civilian basis with a liability basis of $0.5M ‐‐ 1990 1940 ‐‐ 2000 During the crucial period between Jul‘40 and Dec’42 1941 ‐‐ 2010 we graduated almost 1,000 student pilots. Canada’s 1942 20 flying clubs produced 41,000 flyers for the RCAF ‐‐ 2020 1943 1944

1931 1932 A Little Down Time 1933 1934 1935 ‐‐ 1910 1936 Minoru 1937 ‐‐ 1920 1938 ‐‐ 1930 1939 ‐‐ 1940 Sea Island 1940 ‐‐ 1950 1941 ‐‐ 1960 1942 ‐‐ 1970 1943 ‐‐ 1980 1944 ‐‐ 1990 1945 1946 ‐‐ 2000 ‐‐ 2010 ‐‐ 2020

1931 1932 People and Connections 1933 1934 1935 ‐‐ 1910 1936 Terry Finney was associated with the Aero Club for 40 Minoru 1937 years as an instructor and then General Manager. He ‐‐ 1920 1938 was a serious student of weather who would steer ‐‐ 1930 any conversation over to this, his favourite subject. 1939 ‐‐ 1940 Sea Island 1940 ‐‐ 1950 In 1945 Terry bought 14 war‐surplus DH Tiger Moths 1941 for $1,417.88 (roughly $100 each). These planes ‐‐ 1960 1942 became the nucleus of our flying program ‐‐ 1970 1943 ‐‐ 1980 1944 The Duke of Hamilton (Lord Clydesdale) was one of ‐‐ 1990 1945 Terry’s ground school students. In 1933 the Duke become the first person to fly over Mount Everest. 1946 ‐‐ 2000 Later, in 1941, Rudolf Hess landed on the Duke’s ‐‐ 2010 estate in Scotland to negotiate peace with the U.K. ‐‐ 2020

1937 Traditions Continue 1938 1939 1940 1941 ‐‐ 1910 1942 Minoru ‐‐ 1920 1943 ‐‐ 1930 1944 ‐‐ 1940 Sea Island 1945 ‐‐ 1950 1946 ‐‐ 1960 ‐‐ 1970 ‐‐ 1980 ‐‐ 1990 ‐‐ 2000 ‐‐ 2010 ‐‐ 2020

Our Facilities ‐‐ 1910 Minoru ‐‐ 1920 ‐‐ 1930 By 1948 we had a “fine club house with office, ‐‐ 1940 Sea Island coffee shop, dining room and spacious lounge, 1945 ‐‐ 1950 where flying enthusiasts of all ages and both sexes 1946 ‐‐ 1960 may be found “hangar flying” almost any 1947 afternoon or evening. They have parties and ‐‐ 1970 1948 dances and their latest venture is their own 1946 ‐‐ 1980 orchestra, now in the cacophony stage.” 1947 ‐‐ 1990 1948 ‐‐ 2000 Vancouver Sun, May 15, 1948 ‐‐ 2010 ‐‐ 2020

Our Dinner Parties 1940 1941 ‐‐ 1910 1942 Minoru ‐‐ 1920 1943 1944 ‐‐ 1930 1945 ‐‐ 1940 Sea Island 1948 ‐‐ 1950 ‐‐ 1960 ‐‐ 1970 ‐‐ 1980 ‐‐ 1990 ‐‐ 2000 ‐‐ 2010 ‐‐ 2020

Got to Move ‐‐ 1910 By the early 60’s we needed to find a new home Minoru ‐‐ 1920 (YVR had grown too big for us) 1946 ‐‐ 1930 1947 Together with the local Chamber of Commerce we ‐‐ 1940 Sea Island convinced Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge to let 1948 ‐‐ 1950 Transport Canada build Pitt Meadows Airport 1949 ‐‐ 1960 1950 History repeats itself. The Aero Club builds a hangar ‐‐ 1970 1951 and becomes Pitt Meadows Airport’s first tenant ‐‐ 1980 1952 Pitt Meadows ‐‐ 1990 1953 That year we had 37 members and operated six ‐‐ 2000 1954 Cessna 150’s, three Cessna 172’s, twelve Fleet 1955 ‐‐ 2010 Canucks, two Piper Apaches, and a DH Chipmunk 1956 was available for aerobatics. ‐‐ 2020 1957 1958

Open House in Pitt Meadows 1957 ‐‐ 1910 1958 Minoru ‐‐ 1920 1959 ‐‐ 1930 1960 ‐‐ 1940 Sea Island 1961 ‐‐ 1950 1962 ‐‐ 1960 1963 ‐‐ 1970 ‐‐ 1980 Pitt Meadows ‐‐ 1990 ‐‐ 2000 ‐‐ 2010 ‐‐ 2020