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| A story linking to a post on the RCAF page of the Canadian government web site perked my interest:
Members of RCAF’s 407 Squadron take prize at Exercise Sea Dragon in Guam. Reprinted from the article: A CP-140 Aurora aircraft and crew from 407 Long Range Patrol Squadron and support personnel from 19 Wing Comox took part in Exercise Sea Dragon, held at Andersen Air Base, Guam, from January 12 to 28, 2021. Hosted by the United States Navy’s Seventh Fleet, Exercise Sea Dragon 21 is a premier multinational anti-submarine exercise in the Pacific region. This year marks the first participation of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in the exercise. The RCAF’s participation enabled substantial training opportunities for the long range patrol community working with allies and partners in the Pacific, including Australia, India, Japan and the United States. The detachment’s exercise was very successful, culminating in their receiving the award given to the top performing crew on exercise with the most efficient tactics. Full article at rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca |
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The Lockheed CP-140 Aurora is a maritime patrol aircraft operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force. The aircraft is based on the Lockheed P-3 Orion airframe, but mounts the electronics suite of the Lockheed S-3 Viking. "Aurora" refers to the Roman goddess of dawn who flies across the sky each morning ahead of the sun. Aurora also refers to the Aurora Borealis, the "northern lights", that are prominent over northern Canada and the Arctic Ocean. The CP-140A Arcturus was a related variant used primarily for pilot training and coastal surface patrol missions. The Lockheed CP-140 Aurora has been patrolling Canada's shorelines for over forty years. Searching for submarines during the Cold War era, it now primarily monitors illegal fishing and drug smuggling. I'm sure that subscribers who have served in the military may be quite familiar with its history but I had to dive into YouTube and Wikipedia to satisfy my curiosity. History and details at Wikipedia.com
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| News of the Boeing 737 Max 8 returning to service got a couple of our favourite videographers out in the winter weather to catch a few test flights. |
| Alex Praglowski braved a snowy day in Calgary for the video below of Fin #516. |
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| Mark Brandon captured Fin #523 in Montreal. |
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| Our cartoon is by Dave Mathias which appeared in "Between Ourselves" magazine issued August 1956. |
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Terry Baker, co-founder of the NetLetter scours the internet for aviation related Trivia and Travel Tips for you, our readers, to peruse.
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| Passport fees | Apply online | Apply by form |
| AduIt (16 and over) standard 34-page passport | £75.50 | £85 |
| AduIt (16 and over) 50-page frequent traveller passport | £85.50 | £95 |
| Child (under 16) standard 34-page passport | £49 | £58.50 |
| Child (under 16) 50-page frequent traveller passport | £59 | £68.50 |
| Passport for people born on or before September 2, 1929 | Free | Free |
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Mirabel International Airport was opened in 1975 as a potential replacement for Dorval Airport at a cost of CA$500 million, around CA$2.4 billion ($1.7bn/E1.4bn) in today's money. Despite being the world's largest airport when it opened, it soon became clear there were big problems with it. For starters, Mirabel is situated an inconvenient 26 miles outside Montreal and passenger numbers suffered as a result. Airlines soon abandoned the airport for Toronto and by the time Dorval (now Montreal-Trudeau International Airport) had expanded in the early 2000's, flights to and from Mirabel had ceased. The terminal building has since been demolished, although cargo flights continue to operate to and from the airport. The vacant site has also been used for a few movie sets, including, fittingly, a zombie apocalypse film called Warm Bodies (2013). |
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