HARVARD HAPPENINGS

April 2007     

CHAA P.O. Box 175, Tillsonburg, Ontario N4G 4H5

NEXT CHAA MEETING: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 at 7:30pm

ANNUAL BANQUET & FUNDRAISER: Saturday, April 14 – 1700hrs

This is an important annual event for CHAA as the membership comes together to acknowledge the accomplishments of our peers and raise funds for CHAA; if you live in the area, we hope you are planning to attend and bring your guests.

Where: Woodstock Legion, Woodstock, Ontario

Cost:  $30.00 per person (guests are welcomed)

Tickets available from Pat Hanna (519) 658-5464 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ...call or email for yours today

Guest Speaker: Paul Bowen, Aviation Photographer, www.airtoair.com

Items for Fundraiser: Sandra Sparkes (519) 634-8360   This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it m

VIMY 1917 & VIMY 2007: Easter 2007 marked the 90th anniversary of the WWI Canadian military attack on Vimy Ridge in France.  As such, there was much coverage on television and other media forms leading up to and over the Easter weekend.  Following are a few of the many sites you might want to visit to learn more about this time in history and the important part played by Canadians:

A. http://www.centennialcollege.ca/future/victoryatvimy.jsp  

-features info on Ted Barris (our guest speaker at the March members meeting) and his newest book: Victory at Vimy: Canada Comes of Age, April 9 – 12, 1917

B. http://www.cbc.ca/photogallery/canada/367/

-through photos and print, it gives a history of the Canadian involvement at Vimy

C. http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/vimy/

-provides extensive historical background info 

D. http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/vimy/student-diary.html

-a high school student shared her thoughts prior to going to Vimy 2007 ceremonies 

C TECH O REPORT: Bill Ritchie This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

-Al Spiers has reported the work he, Ron Wilton and Ron and Keith Rice were doing on the Demonstrator Electrical Panel has been almost completed. Al expects that with a little bit of paint and polish it will be ready for display this summer when we have Open House or Member Fly Days.

-Brandon Zimmerman and Tom Irie have the Link Trainer working for simulated IFR flight. They have also had partial success at operating the controller’s work station. Their goal is to have it fully operational for use both as a Navigational and Instrument trainer.

-The wing jig for MTX has been fully set up. The fittings for mounting the wing were manufactured by the Restoration Team and the wing has been mounted. Work has also started on the first wing. One of the wing panels has been removed to show the extent of the corrosion damage. So far it looks as though the Restoration Team will be able to manage the full wing repair in-house.

-The Maintenance Crew has been busy with the annual inspections. Although a number of problems were found, repairs have been made and both WPK and HWX are available for flight test. As soon as the weather permits, CHAA will be able to start the Harvard flying season. UFZ and RWN are available at this
time, but they will both have to be taken off-line for their annuals once space is made available in Hangar #1.

-The Tiger Moth was the first aircraft in the air this year. The engine ran smoothly and no service problems were reported. With Bill Ansley keeping a watchful eye on it, we hope to keep this a/c in service for the whole flying season.

-A Service Crew Ground School is planned for the morning of May 19th starting at 09:00. There will be a recurrency review for Service Crew members who have previously taken the Service Crew Training. A more detailed session for new Service Crew members will follow the recurrency review. Anyone who is interested in attending the session, please send Bill Ritchie an e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

C OPS O REPORT: Johnny Curran This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

-On March 31, our Chief Pilot Dave Martin ran the Recurrent Ground School for CHAA’s twenty-eight (28) pilots and several guests. President Ray Whittemore welcomed everyone and explained new flying rates and the need for more hours on planes, as well as stressing the need for pilot members’ involvement to forward CHAA’s mandate.

Flight Safety was the next topic with Dave using a Power Point Presentation to brief pilots on the recent FAST seminar that he and Bill Long attended plus many other safety topics including; engine operating parameters, oils and fuels, emergency procedures, radio work, Egress, Carb Icing , fuel checks, VFR Wx limits. He encouraged pilots to work together to make 2007 a great year.

Other topics and speakers included: Maintenance Issues – C Tech O, Bill Ritchie; Marshalling – Kip Davis;

Technical Update – Bill Long; Flying Issues and Debate – C Ops O, Johnny Curran.

Overall, it was both an educational and productive day. Plans were made with everyone’s input for 2007 Flight Ops which officially started at 14:50 that afternoon with the Tiger Moth beating all the Harvards into the air!

      MEMBERSHIP NEWS: Marion Bennell This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it 519-633-0053

      March was a relatively quiet month and 2007 renewals are still trickling in.  Seven people became members of CHAA, three of whom took Harvard Ground School and CHAA looks forward to seeing them around the hangars. 10 and 20 year pins and Life Membership Plaques will be presented at the Annual Banquet and Fundraiser on Saturday, April 14.  If you joined ten or twenty years ago, we look forward to seeing you there to receive your pin. The calendar is filling quickly with events for the coming months and May and June are especially busy. See you at the hangar!

      ADMIN OFFICER REPORT: Roy Venn This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it 519-842-9922

Help Needed: We have group bookings for May 8, 12 and 19, August 11 and Doors Open Oxford on September 8 and 9. What CHAA needs is a pool of personnel willing to come on board and act as Tour Guides. This program is still being developed and will include our Fly Days. If you are interested please contact Roy at info listed above.

CHAA Website: Anyone on any CHAA Committee and / or Department wanting to add updates or make changes on various projects / plans / upcoming events etc., please forward them with all the details to: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . They will then be sent on to the webmaster and added to our website.

BINGO: The 2007 Bingo dates are: Thursday April 26, Monday May 21, Thursday June 14, Thursday July 5, Wednesday August 29, and Tuesday September 18. To help with this very important aspect of CHAA fundraising (held in London ON) contact Bill Scott at 519-474-1731.

      2007 CHAA Dates (reported to date):

-Check the website under SHOWS for 2007 plans: http://www.harvards.com/shows.htm

For all backseat bookings, contact Leroy   This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   (519) 895-2717

-Saturday, April 14 - 1700hrs: ANNUAL BANQUET AND FUNDRAISER

-Tuesday, April 17 – 1930hrs: MEMBERS’ MEETING (note it’s a Tuesday night meeting)

-Saturday, May 19 - 0900 hrs: SERVICE CREW GROUND SCHOOL

                                  - 1400hrs: TOUR GROUP

-Saturday, June 2 – Family Day at the Hangar... just beginning to put together plans for this event...look for more details to follow in May’s edition of Harvard Happenings

-June 22-24 – ST THOMAS AIRSHOW: CHAA is CONFIRMED for attendance

-Saturday, July 14 – BUS TRIP TO GENESEO AIRSHOW (see below for details)

Reminder to book all meetings for Ops Room through Roy Venn This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

BUS TRIP TO GENESEO: Sandra Sparkes This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it m

For many years, several CHAA members have been attending the Geneseo Airshow (grass strip, friendly people, up-close and personal with all the planes---runs July 13-15, 2007) http://1941hag.org/files_airshow/airshow2007.html  and wanted to share its excitement with others. To accomplish this, a group has been formed within CHAA to investigate and arrange (if numbers warrant) a bus trip to the 2007 Geneseo Airshow

-Date of Trip: Saturday, July 14, 2007

-Date of firm commitment: June 22, 2007

-MUST HAVE 47 people to be a go

-Cost: $60 per person for the round-trip, same-day bus trip (route and stops to be determined by passenger list)

-Full cost ($60) paid at time of booking, with $20 of this being non-refundable if passenger cancels

-Additional costs of $15 (admission) and $10 (dinner) to be paid on arrival at the Show

-Each passenger is responsible for ensuring they have the proper photo ID for presentation at the border and their own insurance coverage.

IF INTERESTED, email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it m or call (519) 634-8360 with your name, number of people in your party and your payment method.

HELP WANTED:

A. John Damman, Co-Chair of the Canadian Veteran’s Memorial in Waterloo, is searching for information on:

-Ontario women who flew ferry service during WWII

-Ontario women who worked in manufacturing the Lancaster during WWII

If you have information on either of these topics, please send it to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it m and it will be sent on to Mr. Damman.

B. At the end of March, CHAA received word (from CHAA member Phil Quinlan) the city council of Brantford was having an “airport review” to determine the future of their airport. We were asked to share with you the following site where interested parties are able to show their views on this topic: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/savecyfd/

Until next time, clear skies, safe flights and smooth landings!

Sandra Sparkes, CHAA Member