Last week, we visited Smith's Falls Montegue (Russ Beach) Airport and their 2023 fly-in breakfast and some of the aircraft that visited the airport. This week, we return to the airport to have a look at more aircraft, some community and area interests, and what the breakfast does for the airport.

The Smith's Falls area is home to many attractions including the famous Rideau Canal, The Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario, the Smith's Falls Community Theatre, Cataraqui Trail system, Smith's Falls Heritage Museum House, assorted golf courses, a brewing house and more. There's lots to do in the area if you decided to come for the fly-in and stay for a few days or a week.

The fly-in was supported by a host of volunteers (120), from the flying club, COPA Flight 100 and the community including cadets from Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron 585, Smith's Falls. They hosted 50 visiting aircraft and served roughly 450 breakfast meals of eggs and ham, beans and toast with coffee, tea and juice. Monies raised go to covering the costs of the breakfast and, if there's excess remaining, goes towards club events & expenses.

The Smith's Falls Flying Club yearly fees vary but include a yearly regular membership of $150. There's also a family membership which is $185 a year and a student membership of $50 a year. If you're interested in obtaining a PPL (Private Pilot License) you can begin your ground school at pilottraining.ca and you have the option of obtaining a recreational pilot license or a full private license. Through the flying club you can also earn your VFR (Visual Flight Rules) night rating, VFR over the top rating, your IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) rating and your instructor's rating.

Though very different designs, both the Maule and the Van's line of aircraft are very much loved by their owners. The Maule is a higher performance take off & landing aircraft and, though it has a decent cruise, it doesn't have the cruise speed of something like a Van's RV-8. Regardless, both aircraft can take you places but the RV will get you there & back faster but the Maule will get you there & back with more.

The airport also offers aircraft maintenance through Sutton Aviation (suttonaviation.com) should you need an annual done or some other type of aircraft maintenance. Also on site is Ottawa Avionics (ottawaavionics@gmail.com) for all your instrument needs including glass or the old 'steam punk' instruments. Ottawa Avionics can supply and install your needs for you at Smith's Falls Airport or in Ottawa.

The Cirrus S22 is a further development of the Cirrus S20 with certification and production beginning in 2000-2001. Since that time, the S22 has become the most produced general aviation aircraft of the 21st century and, in conjunction with the S20, over 8900 have been built since production first began. In 2006 Cirrus added an increase in performance with a "turbo normalized" engine. Later years saw improved performance from there. One unique standard feature is the ballistic parachute system (CAPS - Cirrus Airframe Parachute System) which, in an emergency situation, an aircraft parachute is launched from above & behind the cockpit allowing the aircraft to safely, and relatively gently, descend to ground. With a cruise in excess of 211knts, a service ceiling in excess of 17,500' and a range, depending on engine, turbo kit and air conditioning installation, of 1,058 to 1,200 miles, the Cirrus S22 can certainly take you places, quickly & comfortably.

The RV-6/6A is touted to be the most popular kitplane sold. They were first introduced to the public in 1986 and quickly became the best selling of kitplanes. However, Van's wasn't satisfied with just having a single, popular model. The RV-6/6A is powered by a 150 - 180hp engine offering a top speed of 210mph, a stall speed of 55mph a ceiling in excess of 25,000'. The Falconar F11 is an amateur built Canadian variant of the Jodel D11. It was developed by Chris Falconar and produced by Falconar Avia and was available in kit form or could be built from plans. This 2 seat aircraft has a cruise speed of 123mph, stall speed of 38mph and a range of 570 miles.

The flying club currently holds around 250 active members, some of whom are also COPA Flight 100 members. There are roughly 50 aircraft on the field including 3 flying club Cessna 172s and roughly 50 hangars on field. If you fly into the airport and arrange transportation to town you'll find a variety of eateries including pubs, Italian, Asian, Shawarma, a steak house, fusion, fast food and more, pretty much anything to appease the appetite.

Cessna Cardinal is the Cessna 172s big brother. Though similar in looks, the Cardinal has a larger, wider panel, no wing struts and stabilizer slots to improve landing characteristics. Though originally designed with the same engine as the Cessna 172, the Lycoming 150hp, O-320, it proved to be highly underpowered so the Lycoming 180hp O-360 was installed and the Cardinal became a much improved aircraft. There were numerous other improvements made to the aircraft. It has improved overall visibility over earlier Cessna aircraft and has a stabilator for improved pitch control. The Cessna 177 was produced from 1968 to 1978 with almost 4300 of the type having been built.

Stinson 108 was built by the Stinson division of the Consolidated Vultee aircraft company. The 108 was developed from the Model 10A Voyager which was purchased by Piper Aircraft in 1949 and the Stinson 108 models were built in Wayne, Michigan by the Stinson division until 1950. The first flight was in December of 1944 with over 5200 of the type built. The aircraft is of steel tube, fabric covered fuselage with a supplement type certificate allowing aircraft to be converted to aluminum covering. Engine types included the Franklin O-350, Continental O-470 and the Lycoming O-360. Over the years of production, there were 9 variants built including a single example of the "Flying Station Wagon" which was built with a utility interior that had a reinforced floor allowing for a 600lb load in the passenger compartment. The 108 Voyager 150 has a cruise speed of 121mph, a stall speed of 61mph and a range of 500 miles. It was a suitable 4-place traveling aircraft with close to a 1000lb payload and a relatively short take off roll of less than 200 yards.

This week we had a final look at the Smith's Falls Flying Club's 2023 spring, breakfast fly-in. The folks with COPA Flight 100 offer up a wonderful breakfast in a super friendly atmosphere where members and other volunteers, along with local aircraft owners and pilots, enjoy time chatting with visitors. They are a great bunch of folks who are welcoming to all. So, if you're interested in learning to fly or if you have or are considering purchasing an aeroplane of your own and want an ideal place to hangar and fly your aircraft from, Smith's Falls Montegue, Russ Beach Airport is the place to go if you live in southeastern Ontario. Smith's Falls is a homey, friendly city with all the amenities and would be an ideal place to settle down and fly your aircraft from.