yvesg

Got the answer this morning from the TC delegated examiner: Hi Yves, Happy New Year! The short answer is no. You need a night rating to fly at night period. The transition to landing would be at night so as per CAR 401;

I am returning from a week going to Florida and after we I put the aircraft back in a snow bank I asked my buddy who was with me all this trip: "Did you at any time for the trip feel unsafe?" His answer was "no". This is how I evaluate the trip. We had some bad weather conditions that could have made this trip bad but always acted the right way. Yves

Was nice seeing you again. We almost stopped at Herlong on the way back but ended up in St. Augustine. Thanks again. Hope to see you again in Oshkosh. Yves

I agree with you that the regulation does not say you cannot do this. Just to make sure, I sent an email asking my local TC examiner. He could confirm this. Regards, Yves

Steve, I just searched for this in the regs and having difficulty finding direct references to night while IFR however the night rating is clear... look at the last sentence. It refers to the licence: may exercise the privileges of the licence by night. SOR/2002-111, s. 2. Division XII — Night Rating Rating 401.42 The Minister shall endorse the following permits and licences with a night rating if the applicant for the rating meets the requirements referred to in section 401.06: (a) private pilot licence — aeroplane; (b) private pilot licence — helicopter; (c) pilot licence — balloon; and (d) pilot permit — gyroplane. Privileges 401.43 The holder of a permit or licence that has been endorsed with a night rating may exercise the privileges of the permit or licence by night.

We have it in Canada. Actually it is not a "VFR night rating", it is a "Night Rating". This is the first thing I did after I got my private many years ago. One of the requirements is to have 10 instrument hours (5 more than private). I believe even someone with Canadian IFR rating cannot land at night unless he has the night rating. Yves

I am IFR rated and refuse to go through clouds when there is any risk of encountering ice. Returning from Florida yesterday morning I was VFR (because of the above) and encountered marginal conditions 30 minutes out of my home base. It was 2500 ceilings with 3 miles visibility and daytime. As I was navigating through this shit I was telling my copilot how fortunate we were that I was IFR rated and could keep the sunny side up and find my way in these worsening conditions. I knew things were worsening and I was all set on an emergency RNAV approach if needed. I could not imagine a VFR pilot going through this and not worry... and it was daytime with no mountains. At night in VFR, without 5 miles visibility and 2000 feet ceilings I think the risk is too high... but each have their own personal limits. The poor fellow who crashed probably had the wrong limits set for him. Prayers for families. Yves

Joyeux Noël et bonne année!

Love those natural ones. Cannot stand the silicones! Yves

I guess they figured lots of folks would like to go down around this time of the year...

I checked them out of curiosity and with the flights and dates available it would cost $500 USD per person for return tickets. Still planning to fly down with the Mooney, will probably depart the 25th. Yves

Thanks aggie... I found the issue myself.... I was using the older Garmin Express utility. I realized I had to use flyGarmin for Windows. Managed to get the work done. Thanks again. Yves

Good day folks. Wanted to download a new navdata from Garmin for my aera 500 (I do it every few years since I have a GNS430W which is always up to date) and it looks like I needed to update all kinds of things... when I finally get to the install part, I get the following error. This is with Firefox. I get a web page cannot be found on IE. Spent 2 hours on this so far and getting fed up! Anyone knows what the issue could be? Tried updating the Plugin to latest, re-booted computer, updated firmware on GPS... running out of options. It tries to access this URL: gmnadu://update/?v=2&id=f039..... Thanks. Yves

Many years before I fully owned my M20, I was on a partnership that has I think the best system. We used a "virtual" account which had entries made in a book staying in the aircraft. Detail on who owns what to whom were added to the book when for example, one would fill the aircraft to 52 gallons. Air time was used to split the amounts each were accountable for. FBO fixed costs were also entered in the book. Annuals and insurance costs were splitted equally. Engine overhaul reserve was virtual too, essentially when one would sell his share or the engine needed overhaul, this would trigger a settlement where the pilot who flew the most hours would pay $X dollars to the other(s) for the hour difference. The nice thing about this is that you do not need to leave money in a bank account... you pay when payment is required. The negative aspect is that you need to trust your partner(s) because if he bails out you could be stuck with all that is due however a strong partnership agreement can mitigate this. Yves

We do get that high in the summer and here and there in the spring and fall but rarely for stretches longer than a few weeks. Next time we have this will probably be in May 2017... this is in 5 months. Yves

When I searched for the right way to write tabarnak on Google, I fell on this page. I read it all and ended up rolling on the floor laughing. I swear, this page is all true. Yves

Thanks Anthony for the offer. When I did this 2 years ago we were in a hurry to get south ASAP... might be worse this year. I'll get in touch if we can do this. Regards, Yves

There you go: minus 30 Celcius right now! OTTAWA/GATINEAU/QC LWIS CYND 161100Z AUTO 00000KT M30/M33 A3031= LWIS CYND 161000Z AUTO 00000KT M28/M31 A3030= LWIS CYND 160900Z AUTO 26004KT 260V350 M29/M32 A3028= This is the coldest I have ever flew the Mooney at many years ago. On takeoff, 3-4 dials were erratics but settled within 10 minutes. Wife said: never again. Yves

Just wear a thick winter coat and a tuque. As soon as I sit in the plane I open the small window and keep the door open until I start the engine otherwise the breathing fumes will completely frost the windows inside. I am telling you, I am heading for Florida tabarnak! Yves P.S. For the meaning of the last word in the sentence above, refer to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_French_profanity

Marauder, you think it will get cold where you live? Try getting METAR for my home airport CYND. At 10 PM it was minus 23 Celcius. It will reach around minus 27 I think and it is not Christmas yet. There is a foot of snow already on the ground... yeah... next week I pack all my stuff in the Mooney and will head for south Florida! Global warming... right... not over here! Yves

I use a 35000 BTU propane heater I can take with me anywhere. The 120 AC volts fan was replaced by a 12V one and the battery pack I carry can also be used to boost the airplane. They now have similar heaters with integrated batteries. Yves

That is not Clarence!

At 6'1" I am the tallest of all my family. What do Americans eat different than us French Canadian to be that tall? Yves

I got one free at Oshkosh from a sponsor of the Mooney Caravan. It is quite small and orange in color. It works fine and got it for free. Anyone from the Caravan got a picture? If not I will take one this week-end and post here. Yves

I preheat my C model as soon as it is 32 F or less. I had some situations here and there where it would not start without pre-heat around that temperature. For around 20 F is would be worse. Yves