Tag Archives: Dr. Tony Bates

100 Planes Fly Across the Country

tony_bates_cessna

One of my clients, Dr. Tony Bates, is one of the 100 pilots flying across Canada to mark the 100th anniversary of flight in Canada.

Tony’s keeping a blog with details of his flight, which started on the July 17th from Boundary Bay airport.  Except in Tony’s case, the flight started just a tiny bit sooner…

My plane ‘lives’ at Pitt Meadows Airport, just east of Vancouver, and a 10-15 minute flight to Boundary Bay. So why did I go to Tofino, 230 kilometres away on the far west coast of Vancouver Island, on my way to Boundary Bay?

Well, my plan has always been to fly the whole length of Canada, and any Canadian will tell you that the Trans-Canada highway starts in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and ends in Tofino. So let’s do the job properly!

You can follow his journey here.  He’s already posted some great photos that capture what it’s like flying a small plane over a big country.  (When he first told me about this project I didn’t have the nerve to tell him that I’ve always jumped out of Cessna 172’s like his, and rarely landed in one …)

Tony, by the way, is 70 years old.

And here’s the CBC.CA story on the flight.

Best of luck Tony !