Canada moves to 2% GDP end of FY25/26 - PMMC

[childs56]

Flying in the North is an excellent way to get white hair. Flying 20' above the highway in a helicopters, because the cloud cover has socked in the only airfield anywhere. In Darby channel we also collided with a floatplane doing similar, scuttling under the cloud cover, trying to avoid hitting an island or trees.

We had Pilots counting waves (every fifth wave they would pull up) as they flew across the straight below the weather so we could service their planes before the busy week.
kind of a missed art, knowledge, total luck and stupidness all rolled up into one.
I miss working with those pilots. A wealth of knowledge for all things.

 

[Quirky]

And he was ashamed that our national leadership were travelling in something that, rather than being a flying Taj Mahal, was a clapped out old 1990s Winnebago without the sex appeal.

The CC150 VIP fleet was a perfect representation of the CAF, and the country as a whole.

 

[Kirkhill]

Yukon - 213 private planes or 1 per 220 people
Northwest Territories - 106 private planes or 1 per 424 people
Nunavut - 25 private planes or 1 per 1640 people
Alaska - More than 5000 private planes out of a fleet of 8 to 9000 held by a population of 740,000 or 1 per 148 people.
If we excluded the 370,000 people that lived in Anchorage and said that bush planes were a rural phenomenon then the ratio could be as high as 1 per 74 people.

Canada has more than 26,000 private planes out of a fleet of 33,000 or 1 per 1538 people.

In Alaska the family plane, boat and snowmachine are probably just as likely as a family car in the bush. And those that don't own planes use them as taxis.

Much is being made of self-driving cars as taxis and even self driving flying taxis in urban areas. What would it take to make air transport more accessible up north? Is getting into a self-driving helicopter or a self-driving Twotter a better bet for a short hop in the country? To be honest my money is actually on the helicopter right now - a combination of zero field requirements and a developing track record with rotary wing vehicles of all types.

 

[Kirkhill]

You know they make radials.
Specifically the R-985 Wasp in the Beaver.

Didn't know that.

Nick was adamant that he was better off with the original Goose with its radials (which thanks to you I have just discovered were the same PWC Wasps you mention) than the re-engined Goose with its turboprops.

The radials didn't worry about ingested water and didn't overheat. Water is sticky and getting the Goose into the air was an art. It didn't always come unstuck the first time. If it didn't then the radial Goose could go around for another attempt. The turbo Goose often had to wait for the engines to cool down before the next attempt. As I was told it the overheating was due to them ingesting water. Water didn't faze the radials. I actually assisted in keeping them cool.

Or at least that is what I was told.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

I hear you about recency bias. On the one hand, the arctic is really big, so having something bigger and faster than a Twin Otter would be nice.

On the other hand, there are very few aircraft that have the same rough field performance and the ability to operate with such a low logistical tail in such a harsh environment.

 

[McG]

A friend once worked on the CC150 fleet. Not a fan of politicians. And he was ashamed that our national leadership were travelling in something that, rather than being a flying Taj Mahal, was a clapped out old 1990s Winnebago without the sex appeal.

But at least the seats in the 1990s had more leg room.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

Doesn’t exist.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Doesn’t exist.

I know, but it could in a modern form. I have to wonder if there is a big enough market for a small airlifter like the Transall C-160 - Wikipedia

 

[Ostrozac]

I know, but it could in a modern form. I have to wonder if there is a big enough market for a small airlifter like the Transall C-160 - Wikipedia

There is — the Australians (among other nations) use the C-27 Spartan in that role.

 

[PrairieFella]

Y'all keep wondering how we're going to hit 2%. This is how. Everything on the books that reached Options Analysis is getting accelerated. Especially if it creates jobs in Canada.

I wish theyd pull the trigger on massively our logistical fleet army side. An extra 1000 LVM, pull the trigger on Roshel for LUV, an extra couple hundred LTV for reserve light inf, etc. Lots of air force and navy announcements lately.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

There is — the Australians (among other nations) use the C-27 Spartan in that role.

Brainfart on my part, totally forgot about it.

 

[lenaitch]

There's a good argument for adding float planes to our inventory... millions of lakes in Canada (and Russia threatened Scandinavia and elsewhere) are a good reason for that.

De Havilland Canadair 515 - De Havilland Canada

Building on the exceptional operational capability of the CL-415, this next generation aircraft offers significant benefits to operators, including design changes that incorporate new materials, and corrosion protection to reduce maintenance costs.

dehavilland.com

There may well be. I don't know if any of the CL-x15 fleet are optimized for rough field work as suggested. I'm not even sure if they are set up for cold weather operations.

Much is being made of self-driving cars as taxis and even self driving flying taxis in urban areas. What would it take to make air transport more accessible up north? Is getting into a self-driving helicopter or a self-driving Twotter a better bet for a short hop in the country? To be honest my money is actually on the helicopter right now - a combination of zero field requirements and a developing track record with rotary wing vehicles of all types.

In a couple of posts you've moved from making life for the pilot easier to self-flying aircraft. The "much is being made" part is mostly by proponents. What exists now is primarily short-route, good or benign climate, fixed route or some combination of those factors. If nothing else, they operate on defined areas: roads. Of course, ground-based vehicles operate in two dimensions, not three. Many current versions, when they encounter a situation of conflict or confusion, simply stop. Easier to do when you are already on the ground.

True free movement 'self-driving' will require a lot of communication between like vehicles and probably a lot of 5G data coverage.

 

[Maxman1]

There is — the Australians (among other nations) use the C-27 Spartan in that role.

We have C-27 at home.

 

[Kirkhill]

There may well be. I don't know if any of the CL-x15 fleet are optimized for rough field work as suggested. I'm not even sure if they are set up for cold weather operations.


In a couple of posts you've moved from making life for the pilot easier to self-flying aircraft. The "much is being made" part is mostly by proponents. What exists now is primarily short-route, good or benign climate, fixed route or some combination of those factors. If nothing else, they operate on defined areas: roads. Of course, ground-based vehicles operate in two dimensions, not three. Many current versions, when they encounter a situation of conflict or confusion, simply stop. Easier to do when you are already on the ground.

True free movement 'self-driving' will require a lot of communication between like vehicles and probably a lot of 5G data coverage.

I see automation as providing a continuum with one end being where we are now and the other being self-driving. Every move along that continuum, in my opinion, makes life for tbe pilot easier. Concurrently that should reduce the training burden for pilots generally and, in turn, make it easier for more people to fly aircraft.

I have noticed a disturbing tendency for whole decades to go by quickly. I assume everything takes time.

 

[ytz]

I wish theyd pull the trigger on massively our logistical fleet army side. An extra 1000 LVM, pull the trigger on Roshel for LUV, an extra couple hundred LTV for reserve light inf, etc. Lots of air force and navy announcements lately.

Just depends where those projects are at. I said this before. The services that anticipated the spending surge and staffed up are getting their wishlist ticked off. But if nobody wants to do staff jobs in your service and they aren't filled, well.....

 

[FJAG]

Huh. Flashback of my visiting my uncle at work in the mid sixties after he moved from building crane carriers to building aircraft for De Haviland at Downsview. I remember sitting with him in the cockpit of a half-built Buffalo that he was riveting components together. So many rivets.

 

[lenaitch]

I see automation as providing a continuum with one end being where we are now and the other being self-driving. Every move along that continuum, in my opinion, makes life for tbe pilot easier. Concurrently that should reduce the training burden for pilots generally and, in turn, make it easier for more people to fly aircraft.

I have noticed a disturbing tendency for whole decades to go by quickly. I assume everything takes time.

Technological advancements is indeed a continuum. True in everything from buggies to steam engines to flying machines. I think there is some risk in expecting that some kind of linear 'Moore's Law' advancement works equally in all situations, or works at all.

Back in the day, Popular Mechanics was predicting we'd all be zipping around in flying cars by now. There wasn't the tech for that back then and there still isn't. Without it, too many people can't operate in two dimensions let alone three.

 

[Kirkhill]

Technological advancements is indeed a continuum. True in everything from buggies to steam engines to flying machines. I think there is some risk in expecting that some kind of linear 'Moore's Law' advancement works equally in all situations, or works at all.

Back in the day, Popular Mechanics was predicting we'd all be zipping around in flying cars by now. There wasn't the tech for that back then and there still isn't. Without it, too many people can't operate in two dimensions let alone three.

I live in hope. I stil have faith in Heinlein, Clarke, Asimov and Pournelle. Their timelines may have been wrong but I believe in their direction of travel.

 

[MilEME09]

Just depends where those projects are at. I said this before. The services that anticipated the spending surge and staffed up are getting their wishlist ticked off. But if nobody wants to do staff jobs in your service and they aren't filled, well.....

Some stuff will be rolling fast, things like milcot replacement etc, alot of stuff is coming in 27/28