In memory of Club members Barry Stratton and Jacques Domey, the Rockcliffe Flying Club Scholarship Fund will be renamed the Stratton-Domey Memorial Scholarship Fund.  Originally established in 2004 the fund is a mechanism by which individuals or corporations may contribute to the flight training costs of worthy, aviation career orientated student pilots.  Past recipients are: 

2004 Emily Coffey
2005 Miguel Lazaro and Mathieu Dumas
2006 Genevieve Millaire and Charles Olivier
2007 Adam Whitehorne and Alexander Hayes-Thibault
2008 Louis Bourque and Mathieu Dumas
2009 Not Awarded
2010 Ryan Thornton 

Applications for the 2011 Stratton - Domey Memorial Scholarship Fund are due January 31, 2012. Donations to the fund can be made to the Rockcliffe Flying Club, at anytime.  Please refer to the RFC website for additional information.

The Rockcliffe Flying Club thanks the Stratton and Domey families for allowing us to keep Barry and Jacques' memory alive through this fund.

Sincerely 
Simon Garrett 
Operations Manager & 
Chief Flight Instructor

[Update]: Melanie Ferrier of The Savant interviewed Kathy, see the interview here: http://www.ottawasavant.ca/?s=Rockcliffe+Flying+Club

It is with great pleasure that we announce that Kathy Fox was the chosen recipient of this year’s David Charles Abramson Memorial (DCAM) Award!  Simon and Brenda were on-hand to congratulate Kathy at the award presentation that took place at the ATAC conference in Montreal (Nov 13-15th). 

Rockcliffe is now the only flying club with two recipients of this prestigious award (Simon was the award’s fourth recipient in 2006).

The DCAM Award recognizes flight instructors who demonstrate both a passion for flight instruction and leadership in promoting safety in aviation.  

The following is the press release of the 2011 DCAM Flight Instructor Safety Award:

The prestigious 2011 David Charles Abramson Memorial Flight Instructor Safety Award was presented by the co-founder Jane Abramson, to Ms. Kathleen (Kathy) Fox, at Air Transport Association of Canada’s AGM & Convention, Opening Luncheon on 14^th November, at The Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel, Montreal. 

“Aviation, safety & teaching are threads that have intertwined throughout my life and career, I am an educator at heart,” stated the 2011 recipient, who celebrates all the best in general aviation.

Her long and distinguished career has resulted in having many honors bestowed upon her; including the Queen Elizabeth II Anniversary Medal for contributions to sport parachuting in Canada, & being inducted into the Quebec Air & Space Hall of Fame.

A particularly impressive honor that she received was the FAA naming an approach fix after her (“KFOXX,”) at Massena, New York; an unprecedented step in recognition of the FAA’S respect for her services at NAV Canada.

As a Board Member of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, she passes on lessons learned from published investigation reports to her peers and students at Rockcliffe Flying Club, Ottawa, where she provides a safety leadership in her role of flight instructing.

She is described by all as being someone who is not only a great teacher, but remains a great student, striving to learn more.

Her name is engraved on the trophy along with a write-up in the associated logbook, both on permanent display at the Canada Aviation & Space Museum, Ottawa.

Short listed nominees who were given special recognition:

Mr. Jonathan Isaac, CASO & Senior Flt. Instructor, Brampton Flight College, Ont; as a deserving nominee has been invited to participate in training activities at FlightSafety’s Learning Center in Toronto.

Ms. Tahara MacDonald, Mngr. Instructional Services, Moncton Flight College, NB. was the deserving nominee of a three day Instructor Refresher Course given by Seneca College, Ont.  She also received monetary contributions from Essential Turbines Inc. & CAAC.

Mr. Michael Schuster, Principal Consultant & Director of Operations, Aviation Solutions, Guelph, Ont. was the deserving nominee of an engraved aviator’s watch from Hamilton.

Mr. Gregory Worboys, Chief Flight Instructor, Gander Flight Training, NL. was presented with a certificate by Wayne Gouveia, VP of Commercial General Aviation, VP Prairie & Northern, at ATAC’S Opening Luncheon to participate at an ATAC’S SMS workshop, facilitated by Mike Doiron of Doiron Aviation Consultant.   

Mr. Orville Hewitt, Chief Flight Instructor & General Manager of Cooking Lake Aviation Academy, AB was given an Honorable Mention in recognition of his lifelong excellence in flight instruction. He received a state-of-the - art pilot’s headset from Sennheiser Canada.

Grateful thanks were given to sponsors; Air Canada, Air Transport Association of Canada, Canadian Forces Snowbirds, Canadian Association of Aviation Colleges, Essential Turbines Inc. FlightSafety Canada, Hamilton watches, Helicopters Magazine, Seneca College, Sennheiser Canada, & Wings Magazine, as well as to the Canada Aviation & Space Museum for their custodianship & loaning of the trophy, and supporters Canadian Owners & Pilot Association & Canadian Business Aviation Association.

Please visit the website: WWW.DCAMAWARD.COM

Jane Abramson
Co-founder & National Administrator,
Phone 450-458-3164
Fax     450-458-5245
janeabramson@videotron.ca

Movember is finally over, but the fight to end cancer is an ongoing battle. Dave, a former instructor at the Rockcliffe Flying Club, needs your help. He is participating in the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer, and in order to participate each rider must raise $2500. Funds raised will go to The Princess Margaret, one of the top 5 cancer research centers in the world.

Donating online is safe and easy. You will be provided with a tax receipt. Any amount you can give is greatly appreciated.

To dondate, go to www.conquercancer.ca/goto/davekillick

The Rockcliffe Flying Club is happy to announce that we have several new services available to our members. With the colder weather arriving, you may need help getting your airplane started.

We now offer the following services:

1. Aircraft pre heat- $10.00
2. Aircraft External power start (24 volt only)- $10.00/start
3. Air compressor for tire inflation (below 100 psi)- Free
4. Electric generator- $20.00/hr
5. Aircraft towing- $5.00 per tow (round trip)

Robert Fleck, president of Vintage Wings of Canada, invites you to attend their Warbird U groundschool.

"Once again this winter we are offering our “Warbird U” series of educational ground schools. This year will feature the Harvard, Mustang, Spitfire, F-86 Sabre and Swordfish. The ground schools cost $250 for non members (Harvard $200) and $200 for members (Harvard $150). These are the exact same ground schools that our pilots have to take for recurrent training, so in addition to covering all aircraft systems, there is always discussion about how each pilot actually operates the plane, validated by our Warbird U guest who inevitably flew the aircraft in combat."

Would makes a great christmas gift for that special someone who already has everything.

Rockcliffe Flying Club members will be offered the Vintage Wings members rate - for the Harvard Ground School.

For more details, see Vingage Wings PDF.

The following guest post is written by Marilyn Dickson of the Canadian 99's.

Help make more Canadians aware of Lorna deBlicquy, a remarkable aviation pioneer.  Buy and use stamps celebrating Lorna's career.  Stamp purchasers will also receive a printed summary of the highlights of Lorna's career with an invitation to copy the information and send it along with correspondence featuring the stamp.  The stamp features a young Lorna Bray's early interest in flying.  As a youngster Lorna lived with her family in Blyth, Ontario where she was born.  By age 14 she was strongly committed to learning to fly.  Her parachute jump with the Ottawa Parachute Club in 1947 made her the youngest Canadian to skydive!  No doubt several Rockcliffe Flying Club members will remember Lorna, who lived for many years at Dunrobin as well as instructing and giving flight tests in the Ottawa area.

When Lorna completed the Private Pilot License requirements at the age of 16, few career opportunities existed for female pilots.  Earning her Commercial License in 1952 and a BA in 1953, her first career was high school teaching, with flight instructing in her spare time.  She had found her passion in aviation and it wasn't long before she moved into aviation fulltime.   In Canadian Ninety-Nines: Here and Now, 2006, Lorna summarized her career as follows:
"I also earned a Commercial Helicopter License which I never used, and a Private Glider License which I used with joy.  Endorsements included Seaplane, Class 1 Instructor, Towing, Multi-Engine, Instrument, and Designated Flight Test Examiner.  Favourite aircraft included the Canadian Fleet Canuck, twin Otter, Beaver with its big tires, and working types like the DC3 and Waco Standard.      Flying has taken me to many parts of the globe, to northern Ontario and Manitoba, including Thompson, before Thompson existed, and the high Arctic islands north of Resolute Bay.  I instructed in New Zealand, flew famine relief in Ethiopia during the summer of 1986, and flew in Saudi Arabia semi-disguised.  In 1977 I was hired as a D.O.T. inspector, an achievement of which I am proud.
I have had the best flying life possible for one who never wanted to do anything else - as a Canadian who was healthy, reasonably well educated (BA -53) and had the ability and breaks necessary to pay my own way by working after school to pay for an early start, with the guarded support of both bewildered parents, (Dad was an anti-aircraft gunner in W W I!).  I am lucky, thankful and pleased to have spent most of my life doing what I loved.
I would not change anything - except it might have been nice to be born thirty years later."

Lorna had a strong sense of fairness.  She never wanted to be given a position simply because she was a woman.  But neither did she want to be denied a position because she was a woman.  She strongly believed that everyone should be treated fairly based on their abilities, knowledge and experience, herself included.  At times she was outspoken in her efforts to achieve that fairness for herself and others.

Through her career Lorna has not only advanced aviation in Canada but she has brought credit to Canada within the international community.  She was a dedicated and talented pilot who has inspired many of us, young and not so young, to follow our dreams to pursue careers in aviation or achieve excellence even when flying recreationally.

In 2008 the East Canada Section of the Ninety-Nines launched a plan to honour noteworthy Canadian women pilots. Through Canada Post's Picture Postage program the Ninety-Nines have designed stamps which can be used as regular letter postage within Canada.   Since our stamp program began, we have featured Eileen Vollick, Canada's first female licensed pilot; Vi Milstead, who flew with the Air Transport Auxiliary during the Second World War and following the war was Canada's first female bush pilot; and Dorothy Rungeling, a passionate air racer, the first Canadian woman to solo in a helicopter and an enthusiastic writer about aviation.  Stamps for these women may also be ordered, but First Day Covers are limited or sold out.  Lorna deBlicquy stamps are available in three forms.  Order forms may be found on the Canadian 99s website www.canadian99s.org

Domestic Postage sheets of 40 can be used as regular letter postage, even after the rate increases  - $46.  The Keepsake sheet features 20 regular sized stamps plus one large picture of the stamp - $32. A limited number of First Day Covers are available for $5 each.  They will be of particular interest to the stamp collectors among your friends and family.  Sheets of 40 stamps, Keepsake sheets and First Day Covers may be ordered by mail from Bev Fraser, Box 56060, Fiesta Outlet, Stoney Creek, ON, L8G 5C9.  An additional $3 cost will be required for mail orders.  The stamp was released on October 19, 2011, the 65th anniversary of the date that Lorna first experienced the exhilaration of flying.  Stamps and First Day Covers will be mailed in time for you to use them on Christmas cards, or to give to the stamp collectors on your shopping list. Please note that Lorna deBlicquy stamps are not available at postal outlets.

Tony, a.k.a. Tony the BBQ guy, would like to thank everyone for their support this year. Now that winter is here for good, he will be closing for the season, but he looks forward to opening next spring.

We're looking for some volunteers with a great voice! We're working on a project and need some people to speak into a microphone. You would just have to say a few words about the Rockcliffe Flying Club, and that's it. If you're interested, please send an email to louis@rfc.ca, and we'll work out a time.

[Update]: We've found our volunteers and completed this part of the project. Stay tuned to see the finished product!

ROCKCLIFFE FLYING CLUB’S ANNUAL

MEMBERS CHRISTMAS PARTY

Rockcliffe Flying Club cordially invites you

 To attend our 

Annual Members Pot Luck Christmas Party

Sunday, December 11^th, 2011 

2:00 PM – 6:00 PM 

Bring your favorite recipe; hot meals, platters, salads or deserts

OR PAY $5.00 PER PERSON

RFC will be serving Egg Nog, Cranberry Punch, Wine, Soft Drinks, Tea and Coffee

Santa Claus’ plane lands at approx.  5:00 PM

If you would like to bring a gift for Santa to give to your child  (under $10.00) , put a name tag on the gift and the elves will put it in Santa’s bag.

In September of 2011, the Rockcliffe Flying Club's Flying Activities Committee organized a trip to Gaspe. The trip was a great success with many participants. The Flying Activities Committee is managed by volunteer effort. The Rockcliffe Flying Club would like to thank Nicole Harris for organizing this and many other activities. If you would like to help organize the next trip, you can contact her at trips@rfc.ca.

Nicole has collected a series of pictures from participants which can be found in the Gaspe Trip September 2011 photo album. The pictures were taken by Luke Copland, Jacques Domey, Paul Marcelais, Dwayne Price, Danny Jeannot and Nicole Harris.