Our first leg from Abbotsford to Edmonton was over some of the most beautiful and rugged terrain in Canada.

Taxi from downtown Victoria hotel to Victoria airport

flight to Abbotsford

With the Arrow safely in the hangar it was time for a tea and coffee at Tim’s. Of course, my donut of the day was Canadian Maple.

Coffee and tea at Tim Hortons

We thought it fitting the our journey begin with a stop at an iconic Canadian coffee shop. The staff were both surprised with the request and pleased being in the photo. I am sure that we will visit many Tim Hortons coffee shops across Canada and back.

This morning we begin our Canada 150 Anniversary Journey with a short flight from Abbotsford to Victoria, British Columbia, to celebrate Canada Day in Victoria.

All pilots have to talk on the radio to air traffic control from time to time and the standard procedure is to use the aircraft registration letters as a call sign to identify the aircraft. For my aircraft, a Piper Turbo Arrow IV, its registration is C-GPSE and when talking on the radio I use the call sign GPSE. For this journey across the country I figured that perhaps it would be fitting if I could use a more significant call sign, considering the intent of the journey.

Last week we were at the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association Convention and Trade Show in Kelowna, British Columbia where I had the opportunity to speak with the manager of the the Nav Canada Air Traffic Control Center in Surrey, Greg Dansereau, regarding our journey. We discussed the possibility of a special call sign and came up with “Arrow 150”.

Greg took my information regarding the journey and contacted his counterparts in headquarters in Ottawa. I was super pleased when after a few days I received a letter from Nav Canada headquarters authorizing the use of the call sign “Arrow 150” for July and August. Great! Thanks Greg!

The above is a screenshot of the first flight plan that I filed using call sign Arrow 150.

After flying from Abbotsford our high school friends, Tony and Jean, met us at the Victoria Flying Club. We have known each other from our teen years and we have kept in touch, sometimes not so often, but it was sure nice to spend this special day together. Tony and Jean got married just after high school, with Jean working and Tony still going to university. None of us had any money. They couldn’t afford a photographer at their wedding and I couldn’t afford a wedding gift. I ended up taking their wedding photos and it appears that everything “developed” nicely in the end. Today, Tony was our photographer for several of the photos on this page.

There was some construction taking place on the front of the legislature building and were unable to get on the front steps of the BC Parliament Building. With all the set-up for the Canada Day celebrations, we had to settle on the grassed area to the east for our photo with the Canada Flag.

Happy Canada Day 2017!

Happy Canada Day 2017 from downtown Victoria, British Columbia.

We headed downtown and the area was bustling with folks celebrating the holiday. Without a doubt, Victoria has to be one of the most beautiful cities in Canada, or perhaps all of North America.

Harbour Air has painted one of its Turbo Otters in the Canada 150 paint scheme and we were able to capture a photo with our Canada Flag.

Here in Victoria Harbour on the west coast we dipped our Canada Flag in the water, and providing all goes well, in a month or so we dip the Canada Flag in St. John’s Harbour on the east coast.

Every where we went we saw people wearing red (Valerie and I as well).

The street entertainers and just about everyone had somewhere on their person.

Yesterday we met at the Abbotsford Flying Club to head to Tofino. The Abbotsford Airport gave us a send off with a water cannon salute from their fire trucks. That was a real nice touch.

Two other club pilots flew to Victoria for breakfast, planning to fly onward to Tofino. The breakfast was good as usual at the Victoria Flying Club. Sad to say the weather did not cooperate and we couldn’t make it in due to fog, low visibility and low ceilings. So the plan now is to have the flag for our trip to Victoria tomorrow and dip the flag in the water in from to the Legislature Building.

Today in Chilliwack I had the Official Canada 150 logo applied to the Arrow, courtesy of Upper Valley Aviation.

Captain Waypoint was supervising the job.

This weekend we attended the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association Convention and Trade Show in Kelowna, BC. We had four days of beautiful Okanagan weather, met aviation minded folks from across the country and learned a few things along the way.

We were able to get a photo with the chairman, Jean Messier, and the president, Bernard Gervais. This was the debut of our Canada Flag that we will be carrying across the country from coast to coast.

We parked on a well groomed open field and some brave flyers camped with their aircraft.

Plans are coming together to meet on July 2nd with the Air Cadets that will be training this summer for their Private Pilot Licence. The first group in the morning will be at the Victoria International Airport at the Victoria Flying Club and the second group in the afternoon at Boundary Bay Airport at the Pacific Flying Club. If you are or were an Air Cadet come on out for a very informal meet-and-greet. All are welcome.

The Anniversary Flight Kick-Off is planned for June 29th in Tofino, British Columbia on the west coast of Vancouver Island where we will be gazing across the Pacific Ocean. On July 1st the Anniversary Flight goes to Victoria, British Columbia for the Canada Day Celebrations on the grounds of the British Columbia Parliament Buildings. The evening will end watching a dazzling fireworks show.

After returning to Abbotsford on July 2nd Bob and his wife Valerie will ready their airplane for a planned departure on July 3rd heading east.

If all goes well, a few weeks later the Anniversary Flight will reach St. John’s, gazing across the Atlantic Ocean.

Today we added a Facebook page to help promote our Anniversary Flight. Facebook provides easy access to Photos and Albums and is easy to share as well.

This week the Turbo Arrow had its annual inspection completed at Pitt Meadows Airport. We are all “Good to Go” for our journey across Canada and until this time next year.