Pacific Rim Aviation Open House and BBQ on June 15th!!!

Hello Friends!  Although the sunshine hasn’t been constant for us this spring, we have still had many days of fantastic flying.  It’s always during winter and early spring months that we tend to forget how amazing our summers are on the west coast!  And Summer is right around the corner again!!!

 

To help welcome the sunshine, Pacific Rim Aviation is having an Open House and BBQ on June 15th starting at 11:00am.  We would like to extend an invitation to the whole Pacific Rim family of students and renters as an appreciation for your business throughout the year.  We would also like to welcome your friends and family who may be interested in visiting our school.  We’ll be grilling up some hot dogs and boiling corn, but we have room on the grill for anything else you want to bring.  There will also be a vegetarian option plus cake, chips and pop.

Come join us for some games, a chance to win prizes, and simply to hang out with others that share a passion for flying.  Here’s hoping for a big turnout, and of course for that amazing sunshine!  See you there!

If you’re busy on the 15th but would like to stop by the school on another day, feel free to give us a call at 604-465-3594.  We’d love to see you.

Congratulations Steve Voros!

Congratulations to Steve Voros for completing the PPL Flight Test on his privately owned Cessna 182. Steve was successful on his flight test due to his knowledge on every nut and bolt of his plane, and his familiarity with the aircraft’s handling capabilities. A week preceding the flight test, Steve passed his written exam and has now submitted the paper work for his Private Pilots License. Great work Steve!

Congratulations to Our Recent Solo Flyers and Flight Test Candidates

With our weather keeping us all grounded more often than not over the last few months, many students have jumped into the cockpit at any opportunity they can to get ready for their first solo. Over the past few weeks there have been many first solo flights and therefore many thrilled student pilots around the school. Congratulations to Bill Bird, Madhav Sankhyan, Joe Holubar, Mike MacDonald, Ken Matsubara, Kacy Fehr, and Conor Darke on their first solo circuits!  Excellent job everyone!

After months of waiting, and many postponements, we’d like to also congratulate Andi Mae Warner and Stefan van Gelderen on their successful Commercial flight tests.  Also, a big congratulations to Jamal Ismail and Patrick Lewis on successfully completing their Private Pilot flight tests.

Congratulations Paolo!

Our very own Paolo Gigliotti has taken the next step in his aviation career and accepted a position of First Officer at Carson Air! We couldn’t be any more proud of him, but will miss him greatly as this position will take him to Calgary flying Metros.

Paolo started his aviation journey with us 7 years ago as a PPL candidate flying FHUT. He is a perfect example of what one can achieve with hard work, dedication and a true passion for aviation.

Best of luck Paolo! We’ll miss your expertise and sense of humour at the school.

Thank you for your years of coaching, teaching and inspiring.

Just after his first solo!

Passing the Torch

Alex Denham on left with student Stephan after sending him for his first solo.

After five years at Pacific Rim Aviation Academy and almost four years as chief flight instructor, I’m moving on and handing off my responsibilities to Masa Tsujino. I’m excited to have been given the chance to make the next logical step in my career by moving on to a position with a regional airline. However, I’m sad to be leaving a place at which I’ve had so many great experiences and I’ll carry many memories with me as I go.

Thanks to Chris Georgas who has provided me with every opportunity to progress within the organization and backed me every step of the way as I progressed to my Class 1 instructor rating and the position of CFI. Chris was also instrumental in developing my relationship with Transport Canada, in turn earning me the position of Pilot Examiner, a privilege which I have truly enjoyed and appreciated. While working at this great flight school I’ve gained 1800 hours of experience behind the controls and had the chance to fly a Cirrus SR22 to Pheonix AZ., to make regular trips to spots in the USA such as Boeing Field and Friday Harbour, and fly our fleet of Cessna aircraft in beautiful surroundings with the peace of mind that the aircraft are well taken care of. For this and so much more, Thanks Chris!

I’m also thankful for the hundreds of friends that I’ve made, from all walks of life, while working as a flight instructor at Pacific Rim. Whether you’re one of my great colleagues who have made my life as a supervisor so much fun, or a student who I’ve had the privilege to fly with, THANK YOU! While the flying itself is interesting and exciting, I’ve always maintained that its the people whom I get to spend my days with that have kept me dedicated to my work as a flight instructor for so long.

Masafumi Tsujino officially took on the position of Chief Flight Instructor as of Monday and brings his vast instructional experience to his new responsibilities. Masa’s calm and mature voice has been of huge benefit to the instructional staff and his depth of knowledge and excellent flight skills make him perfect person to assume the role of CFI. I’d like to congratulate Masafumi and wish him all the best in his new role at the school.

New Chief Flight Instructor Masafumi Tsujino with Taiping Li and family after Taiping's first solo.

Memorial Service for Jim

 

Dear Friends,

 

We would like to extend our love, comfort, and the full support to the family of James “Jim” Stevens at this very difficult time.

We ask for all friends and colleagues of Jim to join us with his family as we come together to celebrate his life. We invite you to a special memorial service to be held on Saturday, November 3, 2012 from 1:30pm to 4:00pm at Pacific Rim Aviation Academy, Pitt Meadows Regional Airport, 393-18799 Airport Way, Pitt Meadows, BC

 

Please be there.

 

Sincerely,
Masa Tsujino (Assistant Chief Flight Instructor)

“Arizona Jim”

Usually when the flash from a lightning bolt passes through the lower atmosphere there is a momentary quiet while we count the seconds between the light and the rumble of the thunder allowing us to gauge just how distant or how far removed from our ground zero that strike may have been.   It was without warning, of course, but on this occasion, the split second between the two allowed no one a moment to reflect.  This time it was upon us and the surge of electrical energy was immeasurable.

It took our friend James Stevens with it and the thunder hasn’t ceased.  “Arizona Jim” we called him at the Flight Centre, because of his yearly excursions as a true Canadian Snow Bird, left early this year.  He simply left early this year and there is not one of us left behind in his slipstream who does not wish to be by his side. Not one of us.  James Stevens was a man among men and a gentle giant whose instructional capabilities, were beyond exception.  He loved to fly.

It has taken these past few days for all of us to come to grips with the fact that he won’t be showing up at the Fraser River Float Ramp.  What a smile our Jim has.  Standing there in his tilley hat, black jacket, life vest and lunch box and those “god awful” rubber gum boots  he always wore when one of his Float Plane students was about to solo in that shiny, bright Cessna 172 office he loved to fly.

It goes without saying that our aviation related family is a tight knit community of caring, spiritually convicted individuals whose appreciation of the social and human condition is paramount.  James Stevens, was a respected colleague, dedicated co-worker and ATPL Pilot Instructor whose diligence, pre-flight planning, quiet and decisive cockpit management skills and general knowledge of his “water world” environment could easily be described as being without equal. He loved to fly.

 

 The National Transportation Safety Board’s capable crew of technicians are doing their due diligence in terms of the aircraft inspection.  Our Transport Canada friends, advisors and associates have continued their support with the myriad of considerations associated when a flying machine falls from the sky.  Make no mistake, James Stevens was a prince whose earthly absence will be felt by us all.  To his immediate family of wife, sons and daughters and grandchildren who knew and loved him as “Grandpa Jim”, our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time.  To the group of youthful, highly trained and caring Instructors who are struggling with the loss of a dear friend and respected colleague, the lesson is not over by a longshot.  For me, the smell of ozone is still crisp in the early morning dawn, the flash of light brilliant and the thunder is deafening.

He loved to fly. 

Christopher Georgas ( Owner / Operator of Pacific Rim Aviation Academy Inc. )

Seaplane & Jim

 

Jim Stevens – Bush Pilot

Jim taxiing to the dock at his base camp with 2 hunters, moose meat, their camping gear and the trophy set of moose horns.

Before joining us as our Seaplane Instructor, Jim Stevens lived the life of a Bush Pilot.

He gained over 2200 hours of real-world seaplane experience at a time and place where all you had in the cockpit was “a clock, a compass, and a map”. Jim veteran of 10 years of flying passengers and cargo around North-Eastern BC and the North-West Territories. In a way, Jim’s career has come full-circle; Before moving into seaplane bush operations, he gave countless pilots their start in aviation while working as a flight instructor here in Pitt Meadows. With over 2500 hours of instructional experience and 700 hours on taildraggers, Jim has a wealth of experience to draw from and we value his tremendous ability as an instructor.

Jim recently dug out some his old photos and we thought they were worth sharing. I asked Jim to talk a little about his bush-flying experience and his commentary starts below with the photos.

Fishing

This photo shows a "Porta-Bote" sitting along side the C-185.

The "Porta-Bote" with a pair of passengers. This boat could be assembled/disassembled in 10 minutes or less. It was made of flexible plastic which was very durable. When the 2 wooden seats and the aluminum transom were removed the boat folded in half length-wise and we would lash it to the float struts on the pilot side of the aircraft. The 2 seats, transom and 3 hp outboard motor would be carried inside the cabin and the fuel for the engine was carried inside the fish compartment of the float.

As you can see, fishing was very successful!

Of course someone had to fillet all those fish. In all the years up north we never had one barber that took a fly-fishing trip. The only time we could get a hair cut was when we went to town and as you can see that wasn't very often.

The hat, beard and flight suit was my protective gear when the black flies and mosquitos were bad.

Hunting

Shows a close-up of the moose horns. The drag from these horns would take 15 knots off my cruising speed.

A nested pair of cariboo horns. The drag from these horns would take 25 knots off my cruising speed.

Canoeing

4 am fueling for the first flight of the day to the headwaters of the Nahanni River with 2 people, camping gear, food and canoe.

The aircraft is heavy and doesn't really want to leave the water. A one-float takeoff is mandatory.

Buzzing the base camp after returning from 250 miles up river where I dropped off my canoeing party.

I return to my humble abode looking forward to a hot dinner and a shower.

But first I have to refill the gravity fed water system before we have running water.

Thanks for the photos Jim! For more information about float plane training visit our Seaplane Rating page or call Chris at 604-657-7359.

Video: Wingsuits

Quoted from The Sun:

“Daredevil wingsuit skydivers fell to earth in a diamond formation during a world record attempt 13,000ft up in the sky. The 100-man team of specially-qualified skydivers set a Guinness World Record for Wingsuit Formation Skydiving – flying at more than two miles at speeds of up to 80MPH. The winged wonders – whose members come from 21 different countries – jumped out of five separate planes above Perris Valley in Southern California on Monday. It is the first ever wingsuit formation to be submitted to Guinness.”

Click Here if the video does not appear above.

The skydiving world is waiting with great anticipation for Felix Baumgartner’s Red Bull Stratos jump from 120,000 ft that has been postponed due to poor weather conditions but may happen on Thurday. Check the link for information about the jump and the live feed that will be available during the event.