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Aviation elite flying into town Legendary airline tycoon Max Ward to take part in 10th Midnight Sun Fly-In
Candace Thomson
Northern News Services
Published Friday, July 12, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Pilots from all over Canada and as far away as Montana will arrive in Yellowknife this weekend to take part in the 10th biennial Midnight Sun Float Plane Fly-In.
NWT Float Plane Association member Hal Logsdon gets ready to go for a flight. Logsdon created a scavenger hunt for pilots attending the Midnight Sun Fly-In this weekend. - Candace Thomson/NNSL photo |
The event is drawing in aviation elite with the likes of Max Ward, founder of Wardair airlines, and recipient of the Trans-Canada Trophy, the Order of Icarus, and the Order of Canada among other awards, taking part in the festivities.
Ward was a crucial part of Northern aviation, founding Wardair in 1953, for which the Wardair Float Base in Old Town is named. The Northern airline continued operations until it was sold in 1989 to Canadian Airlines.
According to Yvonne Quick, an event organizer, Ward will arrive in Yellowknife on Friday and take part in Saturday's events before leaving for his summer lodge on the Coppermine River.
Quick said organizers are expecting 12 Cessna 180 and 185 floatplanes to arrive, along with other pilots coming in private or commercial planes at the Yellowknife Airport. She expected at least 70 people joining the festivities and said there are several programs open to the public as well.
There are two new events during the festivities this year that haven't been seen before.
On Sunday, a Back Bay heritage plaque will be presented by Mayor Mark Heyck at the Wardair Float Base. Chuck Tolley, chairperson of the Yellowknife Heritage Committee, said the unveiling has been a project three years in the making.
"There is a lot of history for aviation in Back Bay," he said. "A number of aircraft companies started from the area. It was the nucleus of aviation out of Yellowknife until they built the runway."
The plaque will eventually be placed at Pilot's Monument, but since the monument factors into the city's yet-to-be-completed harbour plan, the heritage committee can't place it there just yet.
For now it'll stay at the Wardair Float Base until the harbour plan is complete.
There will also be a scavenger hunt that all pilots will be able to take part in. It will take pilots at least an hour to find the four landmarks plotted on a very inaccurate map.
"They'll have to do a little navigating and figuring," said Hal Logsdon, a member of the NWT Float Plane Association. "It's going to test their navigational skills."
Logsdon said older pilots might have an easier time at the scavenger hunt since they didn't have GPS to rely on early in their careers.
The scavenger hunt can be done at any time over the weekend and the pilot with the fastest time in completing the hunt will win a panoramic photograph of Yellowknife taken during the summer solstice from Pilot's Monument.
"It's not going to be as easy as punching co-ordinates into a GPS," said Logsdon. "It'll be a good challenge and an excuse to get out and see the territory."
What's going on at Fly-in
Saturday:
- 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. - pancake breakfast
- 10:00 a.m. - DC-3 rides that leave from Buffalo Airways
- 12:00 p.m. - model airplane demonstration
- 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. - hot dogs served by Mike and Angela McBryan from Buffalo Air
- 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. - free aviation movies and storytelling at Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre
- 5:00 to 11:00 p.m. - dinner and dance
Sunday:
- 9:00 a.m. - DC-3 rides leaving Buffalo Airways
- 11:00 a.m. - bush pilot memorial
- 11:30 a.m. - memorial fly pass
- 11:45 a.m. - aviation heritage plaque dedication
- 12:00 p.m. - MLA barbecue
- 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. - barbecue steak dinner
Note: All events take place at the Wardair Float Base unless otherwise stated.
Source: Float Plane Fly In Association
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