How do small aircraft find their way?

Small aircraft don’t have the capability you may associate with large commercial aircraft, where destination parameters are entered into the computer and the auto-pilot takes over while (some people assume) pilots go for coffee.

• Commercial aircraft like Medevac may have built-in navigation systems that enable them to fly under IFR – Instrument Flight Rules.

• Some pilots take advantage of a GPS-based navigation app running on a tablet or cell phone.

• Many pilots still use traditional paper navigation maps and watch for visual landmarks: roads, towns, geographical features.

All methods require varying amounts of clear line-of-sight to the ground.

Low clouds, fog and storm weather can prevent flight, depending on the severity and the navigation method in use.

Seeing and identifying the airport is critical at some point in all weather conditions.

Is the VERMILION lettering on the pavement a big deal?

YES! Those giant letters are not merely decorative.

They are useful and helpful. Pilots look for them.

Badly faded, worn-out, and criss-crossed by wide crack sealant tar, the lettering looked terrible, especially from above.

It gave a poor impression of town.

With the Fly-In Breakfast event hosted by the Vermilion River Flying Club coming up on June 16, 2024, with fly-in attendees expected from far and wide, the town was asked to consider repainting the lettering.

No budget

No surprise, there. Club members shrugged and moved on.

But then the unexpected happened.

Paint was donated, days before the Fly-In Breakfast

With that news, on June 11, 2024 some Flying Club members and friends got to work.

The letters were pressure washed and swept. Hot sun and strong winds quickly dried the pavement.

With a severe storm watch posted and rain expected within hours, more volunteers turned up to help.

Painting began, using rollers. Looking good!

Rolling on the paint did a good job, but it was difficult to get paint in the crevices.

It was hard work.

A portable generator and a household paint sprayer were pressed into service.

The outlines were rolled, and the remainder sprayed. The sprayer filled the crevices better, but multiple passeswere required to get good coverage.

Spraying was back-breaking work.

The coverage wasn’t quite as good as with rollers, but the paint went farther.

Then the paint ran out.

“We can’t leave it like this.”

More paint was donated.

Another household paint sprayer arrived.

Work resumed, with a rain storm on the way.

Time was running out.

The crew was determined to finish the job, hoping the paint would dry before the storm arrived.

The job was done with barely time to spare.

The paint was drying rapidly, helped by hot sun and a brisk wind.

Fingers crossed, a second coat was quickly sprayed.

The rain arrived less than 3 hours after the painting was done.

Above, the result as seen from the steps of the terminal.

Two days later, a crew fueling a helicopter at YVG sent photos:

Looking good! Thank you Synergy for the photos!