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Visit our
photo album below.
The first rally, planned to
celebrate the 50th anniversary of East Canada Section 99s by
visiting all geographical areas that have 99s' Chapters, started
at London Airport and took us to Fredericton via Buttonville,
Ottawa, Trois Rivieres, Sherbrooke and Montreal. Ask any
participant about that rally and she will tell you the highlight
was the "gourmet" lunch cooked over a campfire at Trois Rivieres
Airport!
The rally was billed as a fun
filled competition intended to enhance piloting skills. Points
were awarded for such activities as spot landings, calculating
fuel consumption - before refueling, and other navigational
challenges. There were official stops in each of East Canada's
five Chapters - London, Toronto, Ottawa, Fredericton and Montreal,
finishing with a banquet and the East Canada Section spring
meeting in Montreal on Sunday, June 11.
On Wednesday, June
7th, Maple Leaf Chapter members welcomed rally participants at the
London airport and drove us to our hotel where they hosted a
wonderful reception. The next morning they were on deck to join
us for breakfast and then transport us back to the airport for our
briefing and to see us off on our adventure. Their enthusiasm
really helped us get into the spirit of the rally (as if we needed
any help!)
Off we were to
Buttonville where Laureen Nelson, Shirley Macdougall and Jackie
Giles judged our spot landings. They needed to be good
sprinters (or quite far-sighted) to record the details as
accurately as possible.
After lunch,
another briefing, and the promise of continuing good weather, we
headed off for Rockcliffe, Ottawa, where another team member could
demonstrate her spot landing prowess. Once again there were
several en route challenges to occupy everyone's attention. As
soon of us got close to Carp (which we were able to overfly), our
attention became riveted on the wall of rain separating us from
Carp. (So much for weather forecasts). Some of the faster
aircraft got to Rockcliffe and managed to do a spot landing before
the rain washed away the chalk markings and Lorna de Blicquy and
her ground crew were washed over to the clubhouse. Others
diverted to Ottawa International (where there were no chalk
markings, but they landed anyway). Ottawa ATC tried to vector at
least one aircraft around the weather and promised Smiths Falls,
but the pilots knew that there'd be no party there, so they
eventually managed to see a path through the rain to Rockcliffe.
We were greeted
royally in Rockcliffe by several members of the Eastern Ontario
Chapter who helped us refuel and then drove us off to Jane
Tilley's home out along a very scenic part of the Ottawa river,
where we had a wonderful barbeque. Typical of the generous
hospitality of many pilots, Jane not only provided a sumptuous
feast, she offered some of us her car to drive back to our hotel.
Sue Begg, who was flying in the rally, also donned her taxi cap
and ferried several of us to and from the airport, Jane's and the
hotel.
In Trois-Rivière, competitors were told that a gourmet lunch
awaited them. They were challenged and amused when they learned
about the fact that they would be preparing it from scratch..
At the finish point, Bev Sharpe, the 99s International President
welcomed rally participants and celebrated in the success of
another fun and challenging flying event! Montreal Chapter
members made this finish memorable in every way!
Photos courtesy of Karen Adams
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At the start point, Jill, Sylvie and Mary with their amphibian aircraft |
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At Jane's waterfront property on the Ottawa River, Noriko, Lorna, Dee, Corinne.. |
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Anna and Lyn refueling their new Cessna 172 at Rockcliffe airport |
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Dee preparing her "gourmet lunch" in Trois-Rivière |
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At Dorval, celebrating the successful Rally.. |
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