Newsletter Archive/Archives du bulletin

webstertrophy.ca Newsletter #000

Greetings Everyone.

The Webster 2019 National Competition Has Concluded — in true Maritime fashion!

Over the years, the Webster Memorial Trophy Competition has had the pleasure of partnering with some of the finest Flight Training Units in Canada. (You can check out our Partner Schools on our website www.webstertrophy.ca -- under the "Supporters" tab.) These high-quality operations generously contribute their time and staff to ensuring that we have a great competition. This year, Elise MacGlashing (our liaison to Moncton Flight College) along with the entire staff of the Moncton Flight College deserve recognition and a special praise for their total involvement and efforts beginning well into last year right up and through Webster Week 2019. Moncton Flight College, along with its parent companies, supported Webster in so many ways and we are so very appreciative!

The Webster Trophy Competition was honoured to share the spotlight with the celebration of 90 years of operation for the Moncton Flying Club. Webster is privileged to have been able to have a part in that celebration and especially fortunate to be able to do so just down the road from where our competition got its start in 1932! The Webster family home is located in Shediac, New Brunswick — just down the road from Moncton.

The local NAV CANADA facilities and personnel were another excellent supporters of Webster! Norm Richard, Manager of Air Traffic Services for the Moncton Flight Information Region made sure that a number of activities were available to our finalists. NAV CANADA hosted a tour of the Area Control Centre and also of the Moncton Control Tower. The ATC staff at CYQM went a number of extra miles to accommodate our 8 finalists during their aeroplane flight tests. Clark Davis from the Halifax Flight Information Centre spent Webster Week with us, providing a preliminary weather briefing at the beginning of the week and making sure that our finalists had the latest weather and NOTAM information prior to their individual aeroplane flight tests. Clark also remained available all week to chat with finalists, answer questions and provide lots of information based on his experience with NAV CANADA and his time in Atlantic Canada. All of this on-site assistance was in addition to the excellent support from NAV CANADA headquarters in Ottawa, where Jim Fortier creates and updates the on-line exam we use each year as part of the Regional Webster Trophy Competition. NAV CANADA also provides a trophy to the applicant receiving the highest mark on that exam.

In addition to one flight test conducted in an aeroplane, Webster finalists complete another assessment in a Redbird simulator. Since introducing this feature into the national competition, Redbird Flight Simulations, Inc. of Austin, Texas has been a strong supporter of the Webster Trophy Competition. Webster is so incredibly grateful to Charlie Gregoire, President and COO of Redbird Flight Simulations for his valuable and valued support. When Webster is held in areas without a Redbird simulator (as it was this year), Redbird makes that sure we have available one of its excellent devices to put our finalists through their paces. Of course the assessment in the Redbird involves more than just flying around in a training device! Harvey Madison, Instructional Designer with Redbird, (along with other supporters in Austin) works during the year with members of the Webster team to create fun and challenging scenarios for the flight assignment that our finalists get to accept each year. (Yes, it was Harvey who suggested building a scenario around the 1929 Grand Banks Earchquake! The tsunami and zoo break-out, along with the reduced runway length and obstacles thanks to the giraffes, zebras, and elephants at CYSU, were products of Harvey's imagination and cunning. Apparently, the low ceilings and reduced visibility simply come with doing tests in a Redbird!)

Our evenings during Webster Week were full with socializing, and we sincerely appreciate the supporters who made those evening events possible. Aladdin Hasmani of Hamilton Watches and Frank Maillet of la Mine d'or hosted the finalists and the Webster team for an evening at la Mine d'or in Moncton. Finalists and team members were fed in grand style for breakfast, lunch and some evening dinners thanks to the considerable generosity of Moncton Flight College, PAL Airlines, PAL Aerospace, Airborealis, Perimeter Aviation, Calm Air, Kivalliq Air / Nunavut Lifeline, Keewatin Air, and Wasaya Airways.

A competition like Webster can happen only through the generous support of so many who provide so much to keep the spirit of Webster alive. Our main sponsor, Air Canada, offers support in a variety of ways: helping us defray the costs of Webster, providing transportation for finalists and the Webster team, and transporting various goods needed to make Webster happen each year — not to mention contributing prizes. We have supporters who provide services, who make cash contributions, and who contribute awards for our finalists — whatever the contribution, it is important to keeping the spirit of Webster alive and making the competition happen each year. Please check out our website for a complete list of our supporters. They all deserve recognition for their contributions. Without doubt, they all have our sincere thanks and appreciation. Look for a future newsletter in which we outline the contributions of our many supporters.

When not competing or preparing for competition, the finalists and the Webster team enjoyed the hospitality of Moncton's Crowne Plaza Moncton Downtown Hotel. The hotel's location made it just a short walk to excellent sightseeing, food and entertainment. The hotel staff was welcoming, accommodating and most pleasant during our stay. The kitchen at the Crowne Plaza provided a sumptuous meal and excellent setting for Saturday night's Awards Banquet. The Awards Banquet was attended by close to 70 people and the Webster team certainly appreciates all of our supporters that sent representatives to attend the event. The opportunity for our finalists to socialize with key members of Canada's aviation community is an important benefit that the Webster Trophy Competition offers. Thank you all for being with us -- it affirms the importance of this competition and your support of general and commercial aviation in Canada.

So, does Canada have a Top Amateur Pilot for 2019? -- Absolutely!!!

The Webster team is pleased to announce that the 2019 Webster Memorial Trophy winner is the Atlantic regional winner, Brady Parcels (right, in the picture below), of the Moncton Flight College. Brady's name will be engraved on the Webster Trophy that is on permanent display at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa. The 2019 Webster Runner-up is Dmitri Komarov (left, in the picture below), the Québec regional winner, from A.L.M. Par Avion in Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil. Dmitri's name will be inscribed on the Eunice Carter Memorial Trophy. Dmitri is also the winner of the Redbird Award for achieving the highest core on the evaluation conducted in the Redbird simulator. Wesley Li, the Pacific regional winner, from Montair Aviation in Pitt Meadows, won the NAV CANADA Trophy for achieving the highest score among all applicants on the on-line examination that formed part of the regional Webster competition.

The 2019 Competition saw the Webster team composed of:

Brenda Reid, National Administrator
Oonagh Elliott, Redbird examiner
Mark Yandle, Aeroplane examiner
Mike Doiron, Photographer
Aaron Speer, Judge
David Shi, Judge
Arlo Speer, Judge

(For those of you who have been following the Webster Trophy Competition for a few years, you might find a familiar name among the members of our team.
Zhaoyang David Shi was the 2015 Atlantic Regional winner of the Webster Trophy, and Canada's Top Amateur Pilot in 2015.
We are please that David was able to join our team this year as a Judge!)

Webster Next Year:

The 2020 Webster competition will be held 24 - 29 August 2020. We'll be moving north and west, next year. Our partner school will be Alkan Air in Whitehorse, Yukon.

Mark your calendars now — we look forward to seeing as many of our Webster Family as possible in Whitehorse next August!

Until our next update ....

Your Webster Team

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