Correction: it is a sleeve valve, not slide valve engine. Of course… dunderhead mistake.

Three shots of this fascinating engine housed in the BC Aviation museum. More info can be found at this Wikipedia entry.

Not at my local airport, but at Sproat Lake near Port Alberni. One of the planes was having a prop removed.

This T-28 is usually in hanger adjacent to the one I previously posted. The painted black stripe on the fuselage only partially masks the exhaust stains. The Goose Mallard is one of 2 Grummans at the airport, but now after screwing up id’ing the Mallard who the hell will believe me that I am sure the other one is a Goose :).

Cougar Helicopter’s (part of the VIH group) S-61.

Got lucky today and had the chance to get some quick up close snaps of the PBY 5. I even peeked inside… a lot of unpadded corners in there. Why that struck me I don’t know, maybe I am a closet Health & Safety officer. Anyway, word is that it will be flying again in the spring.

You have to watch this, Rick Mercer visiting Buffalo Airways HQ in Yellowknife, and in the winter.

http://www.cheknews.ca/flash/player-viral.swf

Usual spot, nothing much of interest except the busy sky.

I’m not going to even try and identify what “Jet Ranger variant” those are. Kamov in the the background looking small. Active sky eh?

After my confusion last week identifying the  Alphajet, I’m a bit hesitant with this one… Eurocopter AS-350, right?  Not the twin engined AS-355. Its a pretty lame picture in any event, sorry.

What did I see the other day? Was it a pair of Hawks from CFB Cold Lake or were they Alpha Jets from Top Aces Incorporated?

Close up of what I saw:

Again:

And parked:

Wikipedia sourced image for the Hawk:

And Wikipedia sourced mage for the Alphjet:

They were Alphajets.

Here is a pic of Top Aces Incorporated Alphajets

Edit:  corrected myself, of course they are Alphajets. Apart from anything else, parking at the VIH building and not over at 443 sqdr. should have told me they were not Hawks from CFB Cold Lake, right?

Saw the pair landing yesterday just after I left the Aviation Museum. Driving past today I noticed them parked by the VIH buildings.

Landing

And about 30 minutes before take off today

I spent 3 hrs at the BC Aviation Museum today. Its a fantastic place, full of incredible things. Low key and casual and what really makes it special are the volunteer guides who walk you through, offering information and personal stories of the planes and their experiences. I recommend a visit to anyone even faintly interested in aviation.

Here are some quick snaps I took and some hints to help you identify…

– Vickers Viscount being restored. The smell inside is so nostalgic, and note the size of the windows, the ashtray in seat and in washroom.

– Auster

– A26 Intruder water bomber conversion – note how the prop tip is to the ground

– Harvard and the front of the DC3/C47 (rest outside) in the workshop under going some work

– Bristol Bolingbroke (Blenheim)

– Avro Anson

– Bell 47

– Norseman

– Fleet Model 2

– T33 twin seat trainer

– RR Neme engine

– Wright Cyclone 18 cyl. radial (that’s a quarter on the shaft and on piston)

– Orenda jet engine, plaque detail

– Eastman Sea Rover

– S-55 Helicopter

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Some old snapshots taken way back in 2001(?) at the 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron open house.

Sea King

Avro Anson

My minion attempting to steal a Tiger Moth

Phil Z. sent me these photos of float planes around Campbell River Spit Aerodrome. Beaver galore (no, not the Bond girl).

The twin Beech looks small in comparison to the Beaver, or is a trick of the lens?

Another shot by Phil of the twin Beech and Beaver, the size comparison perhaps makes more sense.

East end of the airport (flying club, Viking Air, VIH etc) sits this T-28. There is an unpainted, bare aluminium beauty inside another hanger. I have heard rumours of 3, maybe 4 on the Island. Not a very good picture, there is a fence keeping me out.

This is becoming an aeroplane blog. I forget that I live in a spot with aircraft galore so I thought I’d take pictures like a tourist. Here are a couple of shots of the floatplane base down the road from the house (its beside the Institute of Ocean Sciences and Coast Guard base, that property was a big seaplane base during WWII). Notice the chopped fwd cars used as tugs.

I don’t know about you, but I think having an URL plastered on the side of your De Havilland Beaver is de trop.

I sometimes see it flying in and out, and here it is at rest.

PBY5A- Canso waterbomber at the Victoria airport, NE end. Belongs to Buffalo Airways, see the rest of their fleet here.