Sudbury Airport

John and Pearl McMahon were my aunt and uncle. My name is Ronda Mackwood nee Makela. My mothers father was also part owner of Sudbury Aviation with his brother John. My father owns Lauzon Aviation on Lake Lauzon in Algoma Mills.

I grew up maybe a mile from Sudbury Aviation. As a kid in the early sixties I hung around there a lot. My cousin Ray (Romain) Labine was an instructor at Sudbury Aviation. Unfortunately when Charlie went in he brought 3 other guys with him. He took off in snow showers lost VFR and flew into the ice at Scotia Lake. My first ride ever in a plane was with my uncle Ray Labine in one of those Fleet Canucks that was probably around 1960. I obtained my licence in 1974 at Muskoka airport, I went on to get my multi-IFR and commercial and flew for Shell as the aviation sales manager out of Montreal. When you were flying out of Whitewater the business was owned by John and Pearl McMahon. Both are now passed away. John of Alzheimer's and Pearl of a stroke. My parents new them well. I dropped by Sudbury Aviation last week to say hello. I now live in BC and fly a Cessna 182. Sudbury Aviation now uses two DHC-2's (Beaver) and one Cessna-185 for charters and a Cessna 172 for instruction. The business has been owned by Margaret Watson-Hyland for probably the last 25 years.

I learned to fly at Sudbury Aviation during the summer of 1967. At the time I was sixteen years of age. The air service had five Fleet 80s (Fleet Canucks) Some of the registrations that I remember are CF-DYX, CF-HOU, & Cf-ENQ. My father, Doug Calver, was a forestry pilot at the time (MNR) based at Parry Sound. We had just moved from Chapleau that spring. My log book says that I soloed with five hours and 40 minutes. It says that it was the Chief Pilot, Charlie Armstrong who was my instructor on that flight. It was also he who took me on my final fight test for the flight part of the license requirements. We were taking off out of Whitewater Lake and there was a thud, and the engine started to run roughly. I just put it back on the water and we coasted to a stop with the engine running at about 1700 RPM. We shut the engine off and Charlie got out onto the float and opened the cowling. He looked the engine over and commented that the crankcase was cracked. He spun the prop and the engine restarted. We headed back to the dock. We completed the balance of the flight test later in the day in another airplane. He was killed a few years later in a crash in a Cessna 180 (CF-MEO) during the winter time. Since that time I have had the pleasure of flying with my father, and my brother who learned to fly in Parry Sound at Georgian Bay Airways in 1969. We have had the privilege of owning three different types of airplanes: 1961 Piper Comanche 180, 1975 Beech F33A (gorgeous!!!) and a 1976 Cessna Skyhawk 180. They are all gone now. Wasn't flying them enough because of secular commitments and now who can really afford it anyway! But I have many pleasant memories to recall. My father is now 84 years of age and still in good health. If I still had any one of these airplanes, I'd still give him the left seat. Thanks for listening, Dave Calver Now in North Carolina

Roland a joke seriously,Don't go see that guy

I'm planning a flight for this weekend to YSB. I will take the notes below in consideration when parking the aircraft. Just a quick question. Is there a restaurant in the terminal?

It is a small world - I stopped in Rockliffe today for a burger and started talking to someone. It turned out that Roland is the President & CFI of Eagle Flight Centre in Sudbury. He told me that what I was charged in Sudbury was the terminal parking fee, but there is no landing fee. He said that if we visit, we should park at his Flight Centre, he does not charge a parking fee. He welcomes visitors, his 100LL is cheaper than the main FBO and he will sell fuel to transients. Finally, if you know of any flight instructors looking for work, he needs instructors at his schools in Sudbury and Timmons for both wheels and floats.

I think Tony's right -- the landing fee is keeping away GA traffic. I've always chosen North Bay (YYB) instead of Sudbury (YSB) as a fuel stop, since it has no landing fee, and no ramp fee for a short stop. YYB is also a very short drive from downtown North Bay, while YSB is a long way out of town.

Was charged a landing fee for a short stop when flying a Hope Air mission. It was a very quiet airport, I wonder if the fees were a reason?