Team Update #10 - RCAA Comox Valley rocks!!

The great RC community has come together to help support one of our team members. Michi Akimoto had been delt a brutal hand, first by the loss of the exemption and subsequent implementation of Transport Canada's rules governing RPAS which in turn caused the complete loss of flying privileges at his local club in Victoria. 

Not to be outdone by this impediment, he contacted the PDQ flyers, became a member & arranged for weekend accommodation. For a brief period, this allowed him to continue to practice but sadly, due to heat and the heightened fire situation in the area, the PDQ field was recently shut down. Not to be deterred again, he contacted the folks up in Comox and paid them a visit to see the club setup (it’s actually a dual purpose RC and full scale aerodrome!). After some back and forth messages between myself and Mike McCrindle, the club exec of the RCAA Comox Valley offered Michi full access to their facility in order to practice for the upcoming Worlds in Australia!!! 

 It will require some local orientation and training of procedures but this small gesture on the clubs part, means a great deal to Michi, the team and highlights the brotherhood of the rc community in which we live. Simply fantastic! 

 I suspect that some demonstrations of precision aerobatics will be coming soon the the Comox Valley! Maybe even get some guys out for the Sportsman level!

Please take some time and check out their web page at  https://rcaa.ca/

 

Team Update #9 - Boise/Comox

 In late June, Michi headed off to Boise, Idaho for the Treasure Valley Pattern Contest in NSRCA's District 8. He went by himself as he is trying to get as much flying in as possible. He had a good time with the boys down there and enjoyed the trip. 

 

 With his local club shut down due to airspace issues and his back up club, the Parksville District and Qualicum Flyers (PDQ) field, also forced to close due to a heightened fire threat, he has stretched his drive time to include the folks up in Comox, BC at the RCAA Flying site.  Website here.... https://rcaa.ca/

 

Michi at RCAA

 

It has certainly been a tough go for him on the island. With a little more than a month until departure to Australia, he is doing his best to prepare. Both Chad and Henry have been able to use their home fields to facilitate practice.

 

Storm about to chase Chad home!

Team Update #8

 Preparations continue as team member practice (as best they can) under the (new to us) limitations set by Transport Canada for RPAS operations.  Both Michi and Henry managed to get some much needed competition flying in Redmond, Oregon and Chad has been practicing in the Red Deer area where his family's "summer retreat" is located. It must be good because his neighbor is Will Gross & family!

As we wrap up our fundraising efforts, we would like to thank all those that helped out in the endeavor. It is greatly appreciated. We will be taking down the donation links and archiving the auction site shortly.

Entry paperwork is all completed, flights booked, rental cars done, accommodation arranged and we just submitted our team clothing order to our supplier. We will be looking sharp!

Looks like more downward pressure on our F3A flying as Australia is introducing Remote ID to their country's airspace along with it's accompanying "limitations".  Look to the USA and their airspace restrictions/requirements as a guide to the new world we will operating in. Hard to say what the impact will be on our "operations" but sadly, it is not looking promising.

Just in!!! A huge shout out to Dan Venables for his monetary donation to the team! Thanks for the support Dan!

Team Update #7 - Entry Complete!

 The deadline for submitting entries has now passed for the upcoming World Championships in Australia.
To date, according to the official website, we have 19 countries represented by 51 competitors. This is a bit light compared to previous World Championships but I am quite certain that those attending will be giving every effort.

After some issues with our wire transfer, Team Canada successfully submitted the entry & payment.  I have also sent along our team members & helpers bios and pictures (well most of them anyway!)

For those interested, the main website for the event is at https://f3a.com.au/2023wch/  and looks to feature live scoring and updates... this will be a great way for those folks unable to attend to follow along with the action. Might even be some live streams?? 

With Michi's home RC field closed due to airspace restrictions, both he and Henry headed off to the States for the High Desert Pattern Classic in Redmond, OR. This is a great opportunity to get some decent practice and competition under their belts.... besides the District 8 guys are always great to fly with!  Hopefully I'll get some pictures at some point.

Uniform's are next on my list of To Do items. That is it for now.

Team Update #6 - Final Auction

Hi folks

As mentioned on our team’s Facebook page, we wrapped up our monthly fundraising auction in Victoria last night.  Congratulations to Wayne Powell on winning the Corsair Print donated by the PDQ Flyers and to Paul Nazaroff for his winning bid on the 88” Yak 55 donated by former Canadian F3A Team Pilot Mark Byrne.  

Some additional items were up for grabs by “open donation” and the team would like to thank Lawrence Lewis and Al Vandergroot for their donations!   New club member Allen Paul made a cash donation as well. Thanks guys!!!.

We are still awaiting Bulletin #2 from the organizers but planning is ongoing. Several of us have booked flights and accommodations in Warwick and we are preparing to get some uniform plans into place over the next few weeks. I have all the aircraft documents and elusive FAI stickers in my hands now!!

Henry has been busy with his Apollo build https://www.facebook.com/henry.piorun and has managed to get out flying as well. Not sure what he is planning to use as his primary & backup just yet… proof is in the pudding I suspect.

Michi has been up to PDQ in Parksville and had some flights on his Akuma. He has also received a second VLV unit for his backup Excess Bipe. With the shutdown of our VRCMS field, Michi has been piling on the kilometers with numerous trips up island. Have to do it!  

Chad has booked flights and is bring along the whole family for this trip. With Will also bring his family along it should be a lot of fun for the kids… I hope… because we will be at the practice field most of the time lol  

Almost forgot… in keeping with the spirit of support for our National F3A Team, the Victoria Radio Control Modelers Society (VRCMS) has made a donation towards the teams expenses. These funds were previously raised and held since 2019 for the promotion and running of future Precision Aerobatic events but with that not happening anytime soon, the funds were repurposed as a donation from both the Fathers Day VRCMS Contest and the BC Precision Aerobatics Contest.
   

More news when it happens!..

Team Update #5 - Fundraising Continues

 The teams fundraising efforts continue with yet another auction on the horizon. April 4th will see the Sukhio SU35 and Timber Float plane go on the block and this will be followed by a Gold Wing Yak 55M and a framed print of a Corsair in action. Full details will be available at https://rcplanesforsale.ca/

 

The team would like to thank OneFeather Mobile Technologies for their generous donation to the team. They kindly matched auctioned items over the past few months.

I've managed to source the Class F Model Aircraft Specification Certificates from the Aero Club of Canada as well as the FAI stickers from the FAI - World Air Sports Federation.  

Following the recent requests for preliminary entry to the World's event, the organizers have published a list of countries and competitors that are now registered. I expect a few more late entries as well... you can see the various teams here   Not as large as past Championships but still a very strong field.  

There is a lot of great information on the Worlds Web Site and I also see "Live Scores" so this will be a great portal to real time action.

We now await Bulletin #2 from the organizers.  

MAAC RPAS Exemption Issues

 Due to recent events pertaining to the loss of MAAC’s exemption governing RPAS, the team has taken the proverbial half full view of the glass and continues to plan and prepare for the World Championships.

For those unfamiliar, RPAS stands for Remotely Piloted Aircraft System and incorporates any unmanned aircraft operating within Canadian Domestic airspace. It provides guidance on certification, registration and rules governing the operation of RPAS.  Where you are located and what type of flying you are doing will determine the level of compliance required. 

Since 2019, MAAC had an exemption from these limitations, based on the longstanding safety record and governance in the modelling community.  That exemption was removed by Transport Canada.

For most flyers in Canada you will now need 1) a Basic RPAS Pilot Certificate 2) registration of your aircraft 3) permission from the land owner and 4) a record log for both the pilot & aircraft.  You can now fly up to 400' AGL. 

If your flying site is located within 3nm of an airport, 1.5nm within a heliport or in Controlled Airspace, you are even more restricted with higher qualifying criteria to operate your aircraft.

Both Chad and Henry are flying/practicing in this Basic category but unfortunately our local club, the VRCMS, is located within controlled airspace. Michi's only work around is to travel to another field (a two hour drive each way!)  The biggest restriction at this point is with the altitude limit of 400' but, in consultation amongst the team members, we feel it is well worth continuing to practice and prepare. Is it ideal? Far from it but we will do our best.

We are hopeful that negotiations between Transport Canada and MAAC will soon have us back under the exemption and we can return to more normal, less restrictive operations.  

 On to other news... the team has submitted the preliminary entry form to the organizing folks and is now awaiting Bulletin #2. 

We also ran another auction for a couple planes last night and would like to congratulate Mitchell St George as the winning bidder on the Big Stick ARF. Unfortunately the Sukhoi kit did not meet the reserve so it will be auctioned off next month.  There were also several other donated items (engines etc) that garnered funds towards the trip.