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ISSUE 455 - November 2016
Over 9,000 Total Ads Listed
1,000+ NEW Ads Per Week |
| Ultralight Pilot Association of Canada 2016 Convention |
By Kevin Moore, Contributing
Editor & Photographer
Watford, Ontario, Canada |
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| The UPAC Convention is held at Lubitz Field in southern Ontario. |
| The Ultralight Pilot Association of Canada, UPAC, is the governing body of ultralight pilots across Canada. The organisation is based at Lubitz field (CLB2) in southern Ontario and is the home of the annual UPAC Convention. |
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| This Titan Tornado II. left, flew in from Calgary, Alberta along with another ultralight aircraft. The folks with Ikarus were on hand offering potential buyers an opportunity to fly in their aircraft, an Ikarus C42E, right. |
| Ultralights from across Canada make the trip out to Ontario, weather permitting, for the annual convention, though most come from closer to home, from throughout Ontario. Of course, it's not just ultralight pilots and aircraft that make the trip but also pilots of other various aircraft fly in to partake in the breakfast, lunch and/or dinner. |
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There were several vendors, such as Fisher Flying Products (fisherflying.com), left,
and Aerolite Ultralights, right, looking for sales of their products. |
| During the convention there are several different workshops dealing with anything from rotax engines, to instruments, to cross country flying and so much more. There are also opportunities from ultralight manufacturers to take an experience flight in their ultralights should you want to switch to something different, more modern, faster or more comfortable than what you may currently be flying. |
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As the sun rises over Lubitz field and a few of the campers, left,
some are already up and getting things ready in preparation for breakfast, right. |
| Throughout the day various ultralights come and go but you also have the opportunity to make it a full weekend by camping on-site. There is plenty of room for parking your tent whether you fly or drive in and there's lots of parking for ultralights or campers/RVs as well. Each day the UPAC cafe offers breakfast, lunch and dinner, for a small fee, and the food is delicious, all prepared by volunteers. |
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Breakfast being prepared for the Saturday morning campers and
arrivals at the UPAC "Cafe Les Aires," left. The early birds enjoying their breakfast, right. |
| Lubitz field (CLB2) is located roughly 20 miles south-west of Waterloo International Airport and only an hour from the Buffalo/Niagara Falls border, or 2 - 3 hours from the Windsor/Detroit or Sarnia/Port Huron border. It's a lovely flight across the south-western part of Ontario with several small airports available for you to stop for a break for fuel or whatever other reasons you may need to stop. The grass strip at Lubitz is roughly 2000' in length and 75' in width and can be easily flown from by just about any single engine aircraft, even the occasional, assorted twin. |
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| The largest aircraft to visit the UPAC Convention was this Quest Kodiak, left. There were several floatplanes that made the trip including this lovely Bellanca Scout on floats, right. |
| Though the event is meant for ultralight pilots, many private pilots fly in for a visit as well, some even taking in the different workshops available throughout the weekend. For many, it's a social event that allows like-minded people to gather for a couple of days for some fun, a chinwag or two and making deals for parts and aeroplanes. It's also an opportunity for some to exchange stories about trips they've made throughout the year or to make plans for future trips. Others come to discuss builds, rebuilds & trade as well as to purchase parts, radios and other items for their own aircraft. |
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| If you were of the mind, and were interested in maybe making a purchase, you could arrange a flight in an Air Trike with AirBorne Australia. |
| There were vendors selling aviation related products and aircraft alike such as Fisher Flying Products, Aerolight Ultralights, Zenair and AirBorne Australia, among others. The UPAC Convention is a great place to make arrangements for the purchase of a new aircraft or pick up parts, whether radios, instruments or even a new headset and some folks were flying, trying and buying. Make plans to sell your aviation related product at the 2017 UPAC Convention. |
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| This Taylorcraft, left, has been registered and is flown in the "Basic Ultralight" category. The Rans Sky Ranger, right, can be built and flown as an ultralight, though this one is registered and flown as an "Aeroplane." |
| If you fly an ultralight or are thinking about becoming an ultralight owner and/or pilot, the UPAC Convention is a great place to visit with and sit down and talk to like-minded people. Everyone is very friendly and more than willing to share information and their experience with you. You may find an ultralight there for sale you're interested in purchasing, you may find an instructor willing to take you on as a student, you may just make new friends and you most definitely will increase your interest and appetite in aviating. |
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| UPAC has their own vendor space selling memberships, t-shirts, patches and more. |
| Visit the UPAC site for more information: upca.ca |
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One of several vendors looking for buyers for the ultralight aircraft was
Aerolite Ultralights of Canada. |
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| One of the more modern looking ultralight aircraft was the Ikarus C42E and they were offering flight experiences in their aircraft to possible interested purchasers. |
| For more information on Ikarus Aircraft visit: ikarus.ca |
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Powered parachutes may not be for everyone
but they sure look like they can be a lot of fun for the right person. |
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Dawn often offers perfect flying weather for
lighter and smaller ultralight aircraft and trikes. |
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Two popular Rans aircraft, whether you fly them as ultralights or aeroplanes,
are the Coyote, left, and the Airaile, right. |
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Flying in for a visit was this lovely Boeing Stearman, left.
This Lil Buzzard, right, flies in the Basic Ultralight category. |
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| If you prefer to fly something that looks like an aeroplane rather than an ultralight, the Aeronca Champ, such as this one, left, can be flown in the Basic category in Canada. This Quad City Challenger II, right, is registered and flies in the Advanced Ultralight category. |
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| The Rans S-6 Super Coyote II, left, operates as an Advanced Ultralight and on amphibious floats. The Pipistrel Sinus, right, has beautiful, long, slender wings yet can cruise at 110kts with a range of 540 nautical miles and will only burn 2.6gph. |
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| This little Pietenpol flies as an ultralight in the Basic category. |
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| Another look at some of the line up of weekend aircraft. |
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