100 planes to land
Airport finding space for Century Flight Club's July fly-in
Kevin Allerston
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, January 11, 2012 The Yellowknifer
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A day after the excitement of the Yellowknife Air Show this summer, 100 pilots from around North America are scheduled to descend on Yellowknife in a celebration of aviation. The Century Flight Club of Canada will be in Yellowknife with its Great Canadian Fly In from July 15 to July 20.
"Well, I think it's quite exciting," said Yvonne Quick, who has been involved in aviation for 40 years and is helping coordinate the event. "You know, when you get 100 little airplanes coming in, that's promotion in itself. The fact that there is going to be a minimum of 200 people is certainly going to add to our tourism," Quick said. Quick is working with airport management to find space for the planes, which range from the 21-foot Murphy Rebel on the smaller end to the 30-foot-long de Havilland Beaver on the larger side. "There's lots of areas for parking because they are small and they can be put in pretty close together," said Quick.
John Lovelace, chair of the club and perhaps best known for spending more than 13 years hosting and producing the Wings Over Canada television series, said the Yellowknife fly-in is their most popular yet. "You know, without laying it on thick, because it's going to sound like I am preaching to the choir, it is an unbelievable draw," said Lovelace. "And I'll tell you what. At the end of the year in pre-registrations, we are 200 per cent of where we were last year in pre-registrations." As of Thursday, 86 people have pre-registered, Lovelace said, adding he expects pilots from as far away as California and Texas to make the trip. "Everyone wants to get up there and there's a real mystique about flying up into the North and the old bush pilot heritage that you guys have," he said. He said he sees the adventure bringing $1 million to the Yellowknife economy. "We feel the return business, tourism will carry on and in fact even multiply. I noticed that's happened in every area we've gone to."
The club has reserved 100 rooms at the Yellowknife Inn and Lovelace plans on making an hour-long documentary to be aired on the PBS television network. Lovelace said he's confident that Yellowknife has enough space to park the planes, which, if they were lined up nose to tail, would stretch about a kilometre long. "We're going to have to definitely be creative in where we're going to put them," said airport manager Steve Loutitt. Loutitt said many of the planes, because they are small, will be pushed onto gravel areas around the airport. "And so, we anticipate that we are going to be able to deal with the parking logistics, although it's something that does take time and planning," Loutitt said.
Mayor Gord Van Tighem, who has a pilot's licence, is also confident in the success of the event. "I mean, that's what airports are made for, to manage traffic. If you want to see something really wicked, go to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, during the EAA fly-in when they get 400 or 500 airplanes that show up and each of you gets a third of the runway to land on," said Van Tighem. As for the tourism dollars, he agrees it will be good for the city. "Well, when the floatplanes come in, it works out to between $1,000 and $2,000 a day per plane. So, with 100 planes, it's fairly significant," he said. "It should be fun when they're here."
While in the North, the club will have several events including a banquet at the Old Town docks, and trips to Fort Smith, Fort Simpson and Hay River.
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Richmond BC Oct 16th 2011
For Immediate Release
The Century Flight Club of Canada announced its fourth annual group flight and this time the destination is Yellowknife and the North West Territories. The flight will consist of private aircraft from virtually every province in Canada and from as far away as California and Texas in the United States. Planes are scheduled to arrive at the Yellowknife airport on Sunday July 15, 2012 and the 250 crew members will be in town for a week long convention which will include daily fly outs to many of the surrounding communities. The fly in and Convention is organized by the Century Flight Club of Canada which was formed in 2009. In July of that year a Coast to Coast flight was held to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the first Flight in Canada at Baddeck Nova Scotia. That anniversary flight saw 100 aircraft take part and gave birth to The Century Flight Club of Canada. Now every year a different destination is selected for an annual group flight and convention for the clubs member pilots .
100 aircraft flying into Yellowknife July 2012 !
The founder and chairman of the Century Flight club is John Lovelace host of the Wings Over Canada TV series that ran for 12 seasons between 1998 and 2010.
"These flights bring a lot of attention to private planes as a terrific way to get out and explore the country" said Lovelace. "It's all about the discovery of Canada by air and frankly this is the best form of transportation to travel the vast distances of this huge nation" he added. Lovelace a pilot himself will be taking part in the event. Two streams of aircraft originating in Ontario and BC will join up on the ground in Edmonton Alberta on Saturday July14, 2012. The next day the group flight will leave Edmonton in the Air Armada which will include up to 100 aircraft for the 600 mile flight directly North to Yellowknife. "With 100 aircraft the line of flight will be approximately 100 miles long and it will take close to two hours for all the planes to get airborne." said Lovelace.
Since its inception the Century Flight Club the organization has gained a lot experience in large group flights. Previous flights have flown in and out of 10 other centres in Canada and majour visits have included Sydney Nova Scotia, Whitehorse Yukon, and LaRonge Saskatchewan. Lovelace figures that over 1million air miles have been logged by the participating aircraft in the three years since the club was formed.
In its inaugural year the club made history by achieving the largest group flight across Canada. Since then the idea of a club dedicated to touring Canada by private aircraft is catching on. "The Century Flight Club is nearing 500 members and we hope to hit 1000 members in the next year or so" said Lovelace. And from early registrations received Yellowknife will be a very popular destination. "We are already almost 40% registered and we haven't even opened things up to the general public " said Lovelace.
In the 2012 there will be over 30 different types of aircraft with almost every type of private aircraft flying today. If all aircraft were parked wing tip to wing tip they could create a line more than one kilometre in length. But besides wheeled aircraft many float planes will also take part with more the a dozen float planes expected to join in . The flight to Yellowknife will be featured on a TV show which will broadcast in Canada and on Public Broadcasting in the United States.
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