Year-end Donations – We need your help!

It's that time of year again to solicit support for our scholarship, Youth Engagement, education and communication programs. All personal donations will receive an official CRA charitable tax receipt.

The main focus of our donation push is building up our historic scholarships and ensuring all awards are between $1,750-$20,000. Five years ago, several awards were $1,000 or even $500. That has been greatly improved upon and thanks to you and most historic scholarships are revitalized instead of being left behind.

At Silver Wings this year at total of $146,683 was awarded to 30 Students. We are on track to exceed $200k in 2025.

This year's focus:

*BCAC Annual Youth Engagement, Education and Communication Programming

*BCAC General Aviation and Aerospace Scholarship Endowment

*Mary Swain Memorial Scholarship for Women

*John and Michelle Ward Memorial Commercial Pilot Scholarship

*Lynne Denison Foster BCIT Aviation and Aerospace for Women

*Francois Leh Flight Instructor Training Scholarship

Of course, you can support any of our other awards or programs, or create your own, by contacting Dave@bcaviationcouncil.org .

Donate Here

NACC and IATA Aviation Day Canada

Contributed by David Nowzek, Chair, BCAC Air Operators Committee, who generously volunteered his time and talents to travel to our nation's capital on a deep discount budget.

On October 29, 2024, the National Airlines Council of Canada (NACC) and the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) hosted its first Aviation Day Canada conference. Opened by the Minister of Transportation, Anita Anand, and the Deputy Minister of Transportation, Arun Thangaraj, the minister and deputy emphasized the importance of aviation and aerospace to Canada’s economy, its supply chain and, most importantly, to Canadian’s ability to travel safely and efficiently across our vast country.  

Over arching themes focused on the regulatory and federal tax burdens imposed on an industry with inherent low profit margins at the best of times. Airport rents, fuel taxes, and GST are sucking dollars into federal general revenues and out of the industry. With only a small percentage being re-invested back into the industry, these federal tax, fee and rent policies are an ongoing issue that has seen no progress over the past three decades.

Other topics addressed the financial impact of the recently introduced Passenger Protection Act (PPA). One CEO likened the PPA to an uninvited insurance policy that unfairly held airlines accountable for a myriad of situations beyond their control.  

Unencumbered access for persons with disabilities was also featured. Widespread support from represented airlines to continue building on current policies – including enhanced employee training and physical access procedures – was discussed.

Panelists included the CEOs of Canada’s major airlines and executives from NACC and IATA. The delegates took advantage of the generous Q&A sessions to dig into the details and impacts of rents, taxes, and regulatory costs imposed on a (razor thin) profit versus loss industry.  

The conference brought together major government and industry decision makers to engage in the issues of the day. In short, it was a rare opportunity to bring all parties together to seek a better understanding of both sides of the issues and, hopefully, invoke change to the mutual benefit of both government, industry and the economy they serve.

More details of the day's events can be found here.

(Photo/IATA NACC)

Federal airport rents soar to record $487 million, greatly outpacing infrastructure support

While the United States invests billions in airport infrastructure, Canada continues to drain funds from airports into general government revenues.

Federal airport rents surged by 30% in 2023, reaching a record $487.8 million despite rent deferrals at eight regional airports, new government data shows. 

Blacklock's Reporter says the Department of Transport now collects five times more in rents than it distributes in contributions to airport infrastructure improvements.

“The more debt (airports) take on, the more debt that is coming back to the passenger,” said Monette Pasher, president of the Canadian Airports Council, in testimony to the Commons transport committee. 

“The more expensive we are for aviation in Canada, the more expensive it is for Canadians. It is really quite that simple.”

According to figures released by cabinet at the request of Conservative MP Dan Muys, rent collections from Canada’s 21 non-profit operated airport authorities rose from $373.6 million in 2022 to $487.8 million in 2023. 

Between 2016 and 2023, total rent collections reached $5.9 billion, while infrastructure support to airports over the same period totaled only $1.1 billion.

A temporary rent deferral introduced in 2020 as a pandemic relief measure has since expired, leaving airports to resume full payments. “Rent was only waived,” Pasher clarified. “It’s been waived to be paid back in future years. It wasn’t even forgiven.”

New Democrat MP Taylor Bachrach raised concerns over the imbalance, asking if the government was profiting more from airports than reinvesting in them. 

“Yes, absolutely,” Pasher responded, likening airports to a “toll booth” for the federal treasury. “Pre-pandemic, airports were contributing over $400 million in rent to the federal government, with only a small portion coming back.”

Toronto led last year’s rent payments with $211.1 million, followed by Montréal ($91.8 million), Vancouver ($68.4 million), and Calgary ($50.6 million). Smaller collections came from airports in Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Halifax, while no rents were collected from Charlottetown, Fredericton, and other regional airports during the period ending December 31.

A 2016 statutory review of the Canada Transportation Act had recommended ending federal airport rents and capping airport improvement fees charged to ticket buyers. 

“Fees have been growing with mad abandon,” noted David Emerson, a former industry minister, in Senate testimony on the issue.

(Source: Western Standard News. Photo/unknown)

Health, Safety And Business Consequences Of Sleep Loss

Pilots, ATC controllers and others working with variable time schedules should be aware of these things to get better sleep and protect mental health.

Many years ago, members of our industry recognized that pilots suffering from alcoholism needed help. Leaders from the Airline Pilots Association, FAA and airline managers formed a cooperative tripartite system designed to identify, intervene, treat and obtain the medical clearance for pilots to return to work. The first version of this project was called the Human Intervention and Motivation Study (HIMS), and since then, the program has saved an untold number of pilots.

Leaders in aviation are now recognizing that a similar strategy is needed to help the many pilots who face mental health challenges. The FAA’s Mental Health and Aviation Medical Clearances Rulemaking Committee released its report on April 1, 2024, with numerous recommendations on ways to identify and break down barriers that discourage pilots from reporting and seeking care for mental health issues.

Hopefully the wide spectrum of recommendations will make a positive difference for pilots to get an accurate diagnosis, evidence-based treatment, live a higher quality of life and - except for harsh mental health symptoms - be able to enjoy a long, rewarding aviation career in the cockpit.

Recipe For Depression

Sleep loss can be a recipe for depression. With that said, the aviation profession faces an inescapable challenge which directly affects mental health. Aviation operations are conducted 24/7, often across multiple time zones. Our jobs require us to be alert when most humans are comfortably sound asleep. The potential for sleep loss is a near certainty, and it creates dire consequences on mental health.

Psychiatrist Dr Michael Freeman - clinical professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine - sums up this vital and pervasive problem, “You take away sleep, and you’ve got a recipe for depression.”

Dr. Matthew Walker, professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley and a fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, is a foremost advocate for the importance of sleep. After reading several chapters of his book Why We Sleep, it was clear that sleep is inadequately understood and given insufficient attention by our industry.   

Healthy sleep is characterized by sufficient duration and depth, appropriate timing and regularity and the absence of sleep disturbances and interruptions. During recuperative sleep, the brain and critical systems in the body—including the immune, hormonal and cardiovascular metabolism systems—undergo important cycles necessary to maintain good physical and mental health.

A recently published study titled “Sleep Patterns of Pilots: An Objective Assessment” (conducted by Mohammed Abdelaziz, et al., published in Cureus 2023 May) utilized actigraphy (similar to a wrist watch) to objectively collect sleep evaluations on 24 pilots flying the Airbus A320. The actigraphy data revealed that 66.7% had an irregular sleep pattern and 41.7% had poor sleep efficiency. Furthermore, 12.5% exhibited daytime sleepiness, 33% had poor sleep quality and 29.2% had fatigue.

Unfortunately getting adequate sleep is not easy in our profession. A NASA Ames Research Center team led by Dr. Curtis Graeber found that the sleep deficit for a tour begins even before showing up for the first trip of a tour, especially if the report time for the trip involves an early wake-up. This means the average pilot shows up on the first day of the trip with a sleep deficit already.

NASA studies also found that the average pilot sleeps an hour less per night during layovers than at home. This source of sleep loss is due to the significantly higher number of awakenings during hotel layovers than during nights at home.

How about the quality of sleeping quarters? Statistics collected by the hotel industry reveal that noise from other guests is the number one complaint of hotel guests. Sadly, the majority of hotels are not built with soundproofing as a feature, and the number of hotels that set aside a specific “quiet zone” is scant. The quality of the sleep environment is an important contributor to rest and recovery, yet we pilots have no control over this and simply have to endure untold nights of less-than-restful sleep during our careers.   

Providing a comfortable sleep environment for crew members to obtain recuperative sleep needs to become a higher priority for the industry.

Sleep disruptions are more than a mere annoyance. Walker reports that sleep disruptions have serious short-term and long-term effects on our physical and mental health.  Short-term effects include increased stress response, emotional distress, mood disorders and cognitive, memory and performance deficits. Sleep disruption negatively affections a person’s attention, vigilance, emotional reactivity, memory formation, decision-making, risk-taking behavior and judgment. Other studies have found that sleep disruption interrupts the production of important chemicals in the brain and have linked this imbalance to psychiatric conditions.

Have you felt yourself getting even more tired during the progression of a multi-leg trip? This is called “sleep debt”—and it is very real. READ MORE

(Source: BCA AviationWeek.com. Photo/Getty Images)

What are the Operating Costs of a Gulfstream G600?

(Editor's Note: In an earlier edition of the FF, the costs for a small private aircraft were discussed. Now it is the turn of our high-end Business Aviation colleagues. Hold on to your wallet!)

The Gulfstream G600 is a near-supersonic private jet with a high speed of Mach 0.925 (710 MPH, 1142 km/h). Its long-range capability allows it to connect distant cities such as Los Angeles and Shanghai nonstop. The aircraft is famous for its skilled crew and advanced avionics systems. The 14 oval-shaped windows and the six-foot-and-two-inch (188 cm) cabin height give a comfortable atmosphere. According to the Aircraft Cost Calculator, the $55 million— G600, at six US dollars per gallon fuel cost, generates total variable costs of $2,778,300.00 plus the total fixed costs of $1,189,953.80. Based on 450 annual owner-operated hours, this induces an annual operating budget of $3,968,253, which breaks down to $8,818.34 per hour.

According to the Aircraft Cost Calculator, the $55 million— G600, at six US dollars per gallon fuel cost, generates total variable costs of $2,778,300.00 plus the total fixed costs of $1,189,953.80. Based on 450 annual owner-operated hours, this induces an annual operating budget of $3,968,253, which breaks down to $8,818.34 per hour. 

The G600 sophisticated design

The aircraft has a high safety record and an award-winning interior design. The interior has four living areas to accommodate up to 19 passengers onboard, including sleeping sections, enough for ten passengers. The forward galley configuration with a forward crew compartment provides ample storage space in addition to the forward and aft lavatories cabinets. The cabin features a wool carpet and quality flooring. Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation is a subsidiary of General Dynamics, headquartered in Savannah, Georgia. The company produces a range of jet models, including the G400, G500, G650 and G700. On June 13, 2024, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. announced its clean sheet of the G500 and G600 surpassed 100,000 flight hours. Pratt & Whitney Canada engines power both aircraft and feature the award-winning Gulfstream Symmetry Flight Deck, safety-enhancing technology, and touch-screen technology. 

The G600 has received US Federal Aviation Administration approval for steep-approach operations, allowing it to access some of the world's most challenging airports. With over 260 aircraft in service, the G500 and G600 fleets hold more than 90 city-pair speed records combined.

Total annual costs review

A breakdown of the operational expenses

The initial cost of an aircraft depends not only on the seller's retail price. The operating costs are crucial when determining the real price of a specific model. The operating costs of an aircraft type are calculated based on variable and fixed costs; these costs differ from aircraft manufacturers, models, and annual flying hours. 

The fixed costs include, but are not limited to, crew and salary expenses, hangar charges, jet management, insurance expenses, regulatory fees, and maintenance or inspection. The variable costs are fuel costs, handling charges, irregular maintenance, catering costs, and miscellaneous options. READ MORE

(Source: Simple Flying, Ahmad Helmy. Photo1/Shutterstock, Photo2/Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation)

New-Generation Aircraft In Development For Aerial Firefighting Mission

When you add Conair’s Q400 conversions (missing from this this article), you have a complete picture of British Columbia’s aerospace and operational excellence in the increasingly critical area of aerial wildfire suppression - Ed.

After relying for decades on fleets of 1950s and ’60s-era aircraft, the firefighting industry is introducing new technologies and fleets to make their operations safer, more effective and ready to meet growing demand. The wildfire threat is worsening and is increasingly a year-round concern. Aerial-firefighting insiders no longer talk of fire seasons but rather of fire years, requiring aircraft to be available for dispatch throughout the year.

Montana-based Bridger Aerospace announced that it had sent an aircraft to combat forest fires in Oklahoma in February, the earliest dispatch in its history. In Europe, wildfires began in Greece in April. EU figures show that wildfires in Europe in 2023 consumed an area roughly twice the size of Luxembourg—equivalent to more than 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of land—in one of the worst years for wildfires on the continent since 2000.

Multiple studies link the amount and increasing severity of wildfires with climate change—higher temperatures, warmer springs as well as longer summer dry seasons with drier or drought-ridden soil and vegetation are lengthening fire seasons.

“Places that we’ve never seen fires are starting to have fires, and some of these are real problem fires—the burns are larger, more severe than ever,” John Gould, president of the United Aerial Firefighting Association and president and CEO of 10 Tanker, a New Mexico-based operator flying converted McDonnell Douglas DC-10s, tells Aviation Week.

Deployment of aircraft to such countries as Australia are now more regular than they were 10 years ago, while in Europe firefighting aircraft have been positioned in Germany and Sweden, nations that did not need such a capability five years ago.

There is no single correct way to fight a fire, and some fires will demand a range of assets, Coulson Group President and Chief Operating Officer Britton Coulson says. The company’s firefighting aircraft range from Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters to adapted Lockheed C-130 Hercules and Boeing 737 airliners.

“You’ll hear people talk about a range of tools in the toolbox,” Coulson says. “Rotary-wing and scoopers [amphibians] will go direct-attack on the fire, whereas large land-based air tankers typically will go indirect, dropping retardant in front of the fire to stop it from spreading.”

The growing impact of wildfires on national economies is prompting governments to expand firefighting capacity, increasingly contracting for capability or buying new fleets of aircraft for their civil agencies and air forces.

New Super Scoopers

A major modernization effort is underway in Europe, where six countries are in the process of acquiring the De Havilland Canadair 515, the latest development of the distinctive Canadair CL-215 family of firefighting amphibians. De Havilland Canada changed the amphibian’s marketing name in October to recognize its commonly used Canadair name.

A joint procurement of 22 aircraft by Croatia, Greece, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain has financial support from the European Commission. The funding has enabled De Havilland Canada to restart production of the aircraft, eight years after Viking Air—now part of De Havilland Canada—purchased the type certificate for the CL-215 family and nine years since the last CL-415 rolled off the production line.

De Havilland Canada tells Aviation Week it is now producing parts and ordering components from suppliers to support production for the European orders. Changes from the turboprop CL-415 will not be significant, however. The DHC-515 will use the same airframe as the earlier models, albeit with changes to improve the aircraft’s reliability and corrosion resistance. It will feature a new avionics suite, provided by Universal, as well as improvements to the air-conditioning system and water drop controls.

Because the DHC-515 is using the same airframe, it will retain the existing type certificate; De Havilland Canada is pursuing supplementary type certificates for those changes. The company has not said which engine the aircraft will use, but given the low-risk efforts, the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW123AF—which powered the CL-415—is the most likely option.

De Havilland Canada expects some fleet growth in the coming years due to wildfire trends. About 160 CL-215s and CL-415s are in service. The company expects to replace and augment these with more DHC-515s, envisaging a global fleet of about 200 aircraft in the coming years. De Havilland Canada says it is “beginning to engage with other current and potential operators” to secure additional orders for the aircraft.

Firefighting operators, however, say the use of dedicated amphibian firefighting aircraft is expensive, and their usefulness ultimately depends on the fire’s geography. If the fire is close to open water, amphibious aircraft can be game-changing in terms of the amount of water they can deliver. Their effectiveness fades with distance from the water source, however, since the area dropped on could dry out and start to burn again.

In addition, the aircraft can truly be used for only one mission. Some industry insiders note that large helicopters, such as converted CH-47s, can and are increasingly taking on the role of the amphibians and carrying similar amounts of water. Another advantage of helicopters is that they can also carry retardant and be used at night, unlike many fixed-wing platforms.

Adapting Airlifters

Industry increasingly recognizes that some of amphibians’ perceived shortcomings are making the adaptation of existing land-based aircraft a more attractive proposition. Airbus, Embraer and Leonardo have all adapted their airlifters for the firefighting mission as a potential new capability.

Leonardo has been testing a palletized, roll-on/roll-off version of United Aeronautical Corp.’s (UAC) Modular Aerial Fire Fighting System (MAFFS) 2 and has already secured a first customer for the configuration.

MAFFS has long been associated with the C-130 and extensively used by U.S. Air National Guard units for firefighting since the 1970s, but the system is now being modernized and adapted for other platforms. MAFFS consists of a series of palletized tanks and pumps that can deliver water or retardant through an S-duct installed in the paratroop door on the side of the aircraft and then deliver those at a variable rate. Use of the S-duct is particularly important because it cleanly separates the delivery of liquid away from the aircraft; some fire retardants can be corrosive to aircraft skins.

Prior to the development of MAFFS 2 for the Alenia C-27J, Leonardo had experimented with a more austere system. The Caylym Guardian system used boxes full of water that would burst on impact with the ground—firebombing at its most basic. By comparison, the C-27J’s MAFFS 2 can deliver about 7,500 liters (1,980 gal.) of water or retardant onto a fire and can be installed onto or removed from the aircraft in about 90 min., says Christian Amendolagine, senior vice president of Leonardo’s Airlifters and Special Versions business.

New Skills

“Our platform is a very capable and highly performing platform, and our analysis suggested that a firefighting capability could be a complementary solution with aircraft like the Canadairs,” Amendolagine notes.

Installation of the 2-metric-ton MAFFS kit requires no modifications to the aircraft apart from adding some switches in the cockpit to operate the system and modifying the existing paratroop doors so the MAFFS nozzle can be fitted. The system has already been tested in flight trials in Grottaglie in southern Italy and at Leonardo Aircraft’s facilities in Turin.

The engineering team proved that the aircraft was able to demonstrate in full a coverage level of six (CL6)—a measure of the number of gallons delivered in a 100-ft.2 area—and was close to CL8. Amendolagine says adding firefighting capability to the C-27J will add another feather to the aircraft’s cap and make it more attractive to operators seeking a multimission aircraft.

For many military and commercial customers, an aircraft dedicated to firefighting but performing that mission only part of the year is a less attractive investment.

“The fact that the C-27J is re-configurable is a strength of our offer... You can remove a kit and install another kit very quickly,” says Tommaso Pani, senior vice president of marketing and strategic campaigns at Leonardo Aircraft. “Our strategy was not to sell the aircraft just for firefighting... Our business approach [is that] the aircraft can do multiple missions.” READ MORE

(Source: Alliance for Aviation Across America, Tony Osborne. Photo/De Havilland Aircraft of Canada)

CAAM Delegation Trip to San Francisco

CAAM is thrilled to extend an invite to join the CAAM delegation trip to San Francisco, with support from Global Affairs Canada’s CanExport program, scheduled for January 27–31, 2025.

This trip will provide a unique opportunity to:

• Visit and engage with three prominent AAM OEMs: Wisk, Joby, and Archer Aviation.
• Tour facilities, gain industry insights, and (if possible) experience demonstration flights.
• Visit NASA’s Ames Research Center for additional exposure to cutting-edge innovations in AAM.

Proposed Itinerary:

• Jan 27: Delegation arrives in SFO
• Jan 28: Full-day visit to Joby Aviation
• Jan 29: Full-day visit to Archer Aviation
• Jan 30: Full-day visit to Wisk Aero
• Jan 31: Half-day visit to NASA’s Ames Research Center, evening departures

VIP Guests Invited:
The delegation will include Canadian stakeholders, such as representatives from Transport Canada, NAV CANADA, and the National Research Council, alongside members of the CAAM ecosystem.

Action Required:
Interested participants should express interest by December 2, 2024 (today!), using the link below:

• Delegation Interest Form

This is a fantastic chance to foster partnerships, engage with key industry leaders, and explore opportunities that could propel AAM growth in Canada.

(Source: CAAM. Photo/SOM)

SUPPORTER PROFILE

YVR north runway set for $133M upgrade

Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is moving ahead with a modernization program to refurbish its North Runway with an investment of $133 million.

Originally opened in 1996, the North Runway will receive a series of upgrades to enhance operational resiliency. Work is set to begin in spring 2025 and be completed by fall.  Construction will be carried out during the existing nightly closure of the North Runway.

The program includes a complete asphalt overlay of the North Runway and connecting taxiways with supporting works to upgrade drainage systems as well as electrical and lighting equipment.

YVR has selected Kiewit to deliver paving and construction services, and Tristar Electric to deliver lighting and electrical works. DeltaTec, a Musqueam owned-and-operated business, was selected as a subcontractor to Tristar.

”This program includes important and necessary work for the long-term resilience of our North Runway, which serves millions of travellers and businesses each year. We are pleased to be working with Kiewit, Tristar and their subcontractors to carry out the program safely and on time,” said Tamara Vrooman, president and CEO at Vancouver International Airport (YVR).

The program will generate an additional 100,000 person hours of work during construction, resulting in new jobs and economic value for the region.

“Kiewit, along with Lafarge Canada, is excited to have been selected by YVR to provide construction services for its North Runway Program,” said Ryan Tones, senior vice president at Peter Kiewit Sons ULC. “Our collective long histories of building important infrastructure projects across British Columbia, in addition to our long histories of successful projects at YVR and airports across North America, will serve us well. We look forward to bringing our highly skilled staff and craft workforce and wide network of local suppliers and partners to help ensure we safely deliver this crucial project in the region.”

(Source: Construction Business Magazine, REMI Network. Photo-Graphic/YVR North Runway Newsletter)