Sjoerd Witteveen
David Steeves (left) and Lind Nyman unload luggage from their plane at Buttonville Airport Thursday after returning from a trip to Newfoundland.
Markham
August 23, 2008 09:02 PM
By: Chris Traber
Marathoners aren’t necessarily restricted to the ground.
Take David Steeves and Lind Nyman, for example.
The men, both licensed pilots and members of the Buttonville Flying Club, returned Thursday from a two-week, 6,000-kilometre journey to points east, including Newfoundland and Quebec.
The winged trek, an annual goodwill tour and test of flying skills, is the third for the duo. This year, they were part of a nine-aircraft convoy, hopping from town to city, exploring Canada and enjoying camaraderie.
Lifting off from Buttonville in their single-engine Cirrus SR20, the men’s itinerary listed The Bay of Fundy, N.S., Charlottetown, P.E.I. and Deer Lake, Nfld. as destinations. Bad weather kept them from St. Johns, so they diverted to Gander, Nfld. There, Markham resident Mr. Steeves said, they met the crew of the frigate, HMS Toronto and were hosted in the officer’s mess.
“We were so impressed with their pride,” he said. “On the return, we stopped in Bagotville (Que.) where our Canadian air force F-18s land. There, they have the same attitude. It’s great to see.”
Meeting and befriending fellow Canadians, particularly First Nations people, is part of the lure of the junkets, which, in 2006, included Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut in the arctic tundra. Last year, the aviators’ expedition took them along the Hudson Bay coast deep into the Yukon. Next year, the Queen Charlotte Islands, B.C. beckons the flyers.
The pilots eventually want to cover Canada.
“The pleasure of flying is seeing different parts of the country on your own schedule as weather permits,” Mr. Nyman, a Toronto resident, said.
“The magic, too, is talking to friends and family afterward, sharing the experiences and making a difference,” Mr. Steeves said, noting how the retelling of a high incidence of teenage suicide in Iqaluit prompted others to visit and assist in local programs.
Part of the initiative is charitable.
“We took food and vegetables for the First Nations people — things they just don’t get,” Mr. Steeves said. “It’s a token, really, but it’s for the kids and it helps bring them a positive view of southerners.
“It’s a little thing we do, but it’s big for them.”
Both men participate in Buttonville’s Eagle Club, a charitable endeavour that gives youngsters the flying experience. Mr. Steeves is a Hope Air member as an on-call pilot, helping bring children and parents from remote locations to Toronto hospitals.
Challenges abound for the adventurers. They are limited to what they can bring, Mr. Nyman said. Long distance flying requires carefully planning aircraft weight and balance. Their aircraft, with a top speed of 150 mph at an altitude up to 8,000 feet, can not exceed 3,000 pounds fully fuelled.
Flight plans must be planned and logged, particularly when their route involves military defence zones.
“They have to know who you are and why you’re there,” Mr. Steeves said with a grin. “Otherwise, they will escort you down.”
Thunderstorms and lightning can also be an issue, Mr. Steeves said.
“We’ve got a fairly sophisticated multi-functional display with GPS, autopilot and a strike finder that shows weather cells. You have to give cells a wide 20 to 30-mile berth. A lot of them popped up on our trip.”
Flying isn’t for the light of wallet, either.
Their 2001, $300,000, co-owned aircraft holds approximately 252 litres of high-octane aviation fuel. A fill up, in the $478 range, powers the plane for five hours.
Rated for private and instrument flight, Mr. Steeves has been aloft for 20 years.
“We do it for the adventure, the fellowship of other pilots and, as I’ve got an engineering background, I enjoy the science and discipline of flight.”