For the second consecutive year, the Experimental Aircraft Association’s (EAA’s) Canadian Council is hosting programs and vendors in its dedicated, large, and comfortable indoor pavilion at AirVenture Oshkosh 2024.
Raquel Lincoln, chair of the EAA Canadian Council, told Skies, “We’ve been bringing more vendors here and we’re trying to make it all things central for Canada.”
Lincoln said the EAA Canadian Council approached EAA headquarters with the idea for the pavilion, as opposed to the tent it had been using, stressing its value for Canadian EAA members at the show and as a powerful recruiting tool to add to the roster of 6,000 EAA members in Canada.
“A number of people didn’t even realize that EAA was in Canada. This puts us on the map and will help establish more EAA programs in Canada,” she said.
A large, attached lecture hall provides a gathering place that is home to a variety of educational and informational forums during the week. Additionally, Transport Canada and the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) have stands in the pavilion, as do a handful of Canadian aerospace companies that showcase their services and innovative technologies.
They include Progressive Air Services of Kamloops, B.C., part of the Progressive Air group of companies — including ProAero Aviation and Aero Sport Power. President Rob Wharf said his company, which specializes in the assembly of new piston aircraft engines and the overhaul of older ones, has been coming to AirVenture for 24 years, but sees the pavilion as a big improvement.
“We see a lot of people here,” he said. “We interact with a lot of our customers on social media before we get here.”
While the sales cycle for an engine can be a lengthy one, contacts made at Oshkosh help close the deal.
“Sometimes it’s a year later with somebody because they are shopping around and maybe not quite ready for their kit, or plans get delayed. We try to work with people when they are delayed by six months or a year,” said Wharf.
Progressive has developed a niche of providing Lycoming IO-540 engines for builders of kit aircraft including the Van’s RV-10, but will build and overhaul other piston engines for certified aircraft as well. Annually it builds and overhauls up to 200 engines. It also distributes engine parts.
While supply chain issues are improving, Wharf said the company is still fulfilling orders from 2022 and 2023. Overhauls, which represent two-thirds of the company’s business, typically are running eight to 12 weeks.
Progressive is not your typical engine shop in that it allows customers to participate in the build process. While it doesn’t result in a reduced price, Wharf said the practice has value as it gives customers “a better understanding of their engine,” especially when it comes to maintenance — something that is particularly valuable for those operating out of remote locations with limited maintenance resources.
Remote operations were the impetus for another pavilion exhibitor, Leading Edge, based in Vanleek, Ont., to develop its JETstream portable aircraft ground deicer, according to Walter Randa, company president. The wheeled, 800-pound, towable machine was designed to be palletized and fit through the cargo door of a De Havilland Dash 8, making it ideal for small airports or aircraft large enough to carry it onboard. It contains 200 gallons (760 litres) of deicing fluid, heated with the equivalent of 400,000 BTUs. Sprayed at a rate of four gallons (15 litres) per minute, the compact deicer can disperse fluid for up to 45 minutes. Randa said its capacity is adequate to deice aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 737-200, but “is great for helicopters and smaller aircraft such as Twin Otters, too.”
He continued: “You go up north and spray your airplane with this just like it is being done in Boston or New York.” The difference is that commercial airport deicing is applied at a rate of 120 gallons (450 litres) a minute, “like going through a carwash,” he said. “Our units use less fluid and are less polluting. That’s important in the north where they don’t have [ground fluid] collection systems, but you still want something that can do the job.”
Pump power comes from a Honda GX390 12-horsepower electric start engine. The unit can be plugged into a standard 120-volt socket to pre-heat the tank to 40 C (104 F) for quick starts and then heat the fluid tank to 180 C (350 F) or more. The temperature is adjustable, if so desired.
“The heat does the job,” said Randa. The 100-foot-long hose stows completely inside the unit, protecting it from ice and snow when not in use.
Leading Edge operated for many years as a provider of FAA-certified ground deicing training (Canada currently does not have an equivalent requirement), and began making its equipment in response to customer suggestions. Its first product, the 60-gallon (230-litre) capacity Wing Armor anti-icer, is designed for in-hangar deicing fluid application. (JETstream is designed strictly for outdoor use.) In-hangar application eliminates waiting times associated with traditional, on-ramp deicing. The Wing Armor is designed to allow both wings to be treated simultaneously, allowing aircraft to proceed directly to the runway. Deicing training is included in the price of the units, said Randa.
Aircraft icing also is central to technology developed by pavilion exhibitor Pegasus Imagery in Edmonton, Alta. The company’s Moisture, Icing Detection Alert System (Midas) was originally invented as part of the sensor package for its Eos unmanned aerial system (UAS) — geared to wildfire detection and monitoring — but the company quickly realized its wider potential. Midas now flies as standard equipment aboard Canadian Chinook (CH-47) tandem rotor military helicopters, and the company is preparing to roll it out to the civilian market.
Midas uses a multi-year battery and small solar powered peel and stick capacitive sensors that collect temperature, icing conditions, icing type (clear, rime and mixed), other IFR conditions, and battery charge state. Data is transmitted via Bluetooth low energy (BLE) mesh networking and on-board chip antenna connected to the pilot’s electronic flight bag. Midas data has the potential to be crowd sourced via an app and even eventually by ADS-B, providing real-time weather data and dissemination.
Ryan Bain, Pegasus vice-president, said the company was using its presence in the Canadian Pavilion in part to assess Midas’s civil market potential by “getting some feedback,” and is actively soliciting beta testers.
