Lab West Ultra Light Inc.

Greetings lab west aviation enthusiasts!!

So it’s been a while since I updated my flying page…so many ads here now!! Crazy!

I took a little break from teaching over the last few years as I wasn’t sure I wanted to keep it going…at least not with GORB. Like any machine with moving parts tyere is a lot of wear and tear on an aircraft used for flight training. Rather than run poor GORB into the ground (so to speak) I opted to just keep her for my personal use.

I did renew my UL instructor rating a few years ago to keep my option open.

This summer I’ve been busy with two students who happened to have their own ultralight aircraft. One of them just finished up yesterday! The other should be finished in October.

Learning to fly in your own aircraft is a great way to go!! You get to learn all of the quirks of the plane as you go and you’re ready to fly as soon as you finish your training.

If you’re interested in pursuing your own ultralight and getting training please contact me and we will chat about it. I CAN’T STRESS THIS ENOUGH!!! TALK WITH ME FIRST!!

The ultralight world is very “buyer beware”. There is a lot of junk out there. You don’t want to buy a lemon. Not everyone is honest…some just want to get rid of their junk.

If you want to shop around to see what’s out there keep these things in mind:

- make sure the aircraft is actually registered as an ultralight aircraft…not a “regular” plane
- there are 2 categories of ULs in Canada…Basic and Advanced….look for one an Advanced one
- look for ULs already registered in Canada…avoid buying something from the US…you may have complications getting it registered in Canada
- spend the money to have someone go look at the UL for you…fly it if they can. You can tell a lot about an owner if you visit their hanger/home where the plane is kept…there might be red flags
- ask to see maintenance logs on the plane/engine.
- don’t just buy something because it “looks nice”
- ULs come in all shapes and sizes…look for something that is going to suit your needs. If you’re tall/heavy…you’ll want something bigger.
- the UL has be able to accommodate two people for the flight training…you get something too small and you may not be able to get training in it due to weight limitations.

There’s probably more to this list but you get the gist of it!

There is a really nice UL up for sale here in town at the moment. Drop me a message if you’re interested and I’ll pass along the info.

That’s all for now!!
Cheers

This little beauty is up for sale here in Lab City! I’ve flown her a few times and she’s a nice ride. Lots of room inside.

Currently located in the hanger at the Wabush airport and on wheels.

2012 R80 Bushcaddy
Engine Jabiru 3300(120HP)
80 hours on engine/airframe
Full lotus 1400 floats.

Contact Shawn Stoyles with any questions 280-1446.

And that’s a wrap for 2020. GORB is nestled away for the winter. Bring on the month of May and the start of a new float flying season.

An absolutely beautiful night in the air!!! Doing laps around lab city to get the cobwebs off!

Three years later and GORB flies again!

Three years ago GORB lost an ignition module....on takeoff...fun times that was!

A new ignition module, a career change, and some TLC here and there and GORB is finally back in the air...this time on floats. 6 weeks before she goes back into hibernation.

“All good things must come to an end” as they say...

Back in January I had posted on here that I was uncertain of the future of Lab West Ultralight mainly due to me starting a new FIFO job in Northern Ontario. Six months later it has become clear that I won’t be able to keep up with the demands of flying/teaching while trying to maintain a work/family balance through an already short flying season in Labrador West.

Having said that I’ve decided to officially close Lab West Ultralight and put GORB up for sale. I’ll be offering her locally to anyone interested before I start advertising her on a Canadian UL website.

So if you’re interested in GORB here’s what you get:

- 1995 Zenair CH701 Advanced Ultralight with ~750 hours on the airframe
- Rotax 912UL engine with ~250 hours (low time in engine terms)
- Zenair 1050 aluminum floats on their own main spring (for easy transition between wheels/floats)
- Tundra tire landing gear on their own main spring
- 68” Warp Drive water prop
- 68” Warp Drive three blade prop with spinner
- Long range fuel tanks (~5 hours flight time)
- New ICOM A6 two way radio
- Intercom
- Two headsets
- 10’x24’ portable garage for storage (optional)
- Miscellaneous parts/gauges

Obviously anyone local that is interested in GORB will likely need their Ultralight Pilot Permit. This can be rolled into the purchase at a reduced rate and will be discussed separately.

As I’ve had to tell many interested people over the years, ultralights aren’t for everyone. Height and weight are important considerations so if you’re interested in GORB expect to have that conversation right up front.

So there it is! I’ve had a lot of fun flying the skies of Labrador over the last 6 years and have enjoyed keeping this page up to date whenever I could. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it and learned a little something about aviation along the way.

If you’re interested in GORB please message me for details.

That’s all for now!
Mark.

Happy New Year everyone!

It’s been a while since I’ve had a post on here due to the fact that I haven’t flown since August.

Like any other machine things can break on an airplane... either the engine or the airframe. Some things are easy fixes...some are more troublesome and require lots of troubleshooting. In GORBs case it turned out to be an ignition module (which provides spark to the spark plugs)....but it took 3 months to figure that out.

Lots of frustrating days and nights at the airport and hanger trying different things to find out what was going on. Many thanks to Blair and Cory for their assistance during that time. In the end I completely removed the entire ignition system and sent it to a Rotax shop in BC for an assessment. By the time I had a diagnosis it was time to put GORB away for the winter.

A very important training lesson out of this was to always try make full use of the runway when you can. This ignition module failed just as a student and I were taking off for a lesson. We were climbing out, still over the runway, when the module failed and we lost some power. With lots of runway left ahead of us we landed safely and taxied back to the hanger.

I’m not sure what things are going to look like for 2018. I’ve accepted a new position at a gold mine in Northern Ontario that will have me on a 2/2 FIFO rotation schedule out of here for now. I’ll get GORB running again in the spring then see how things are looking on the work front before I make any final decisions on Lab West Ultra-Light.

Until then GORB is nestled away in her winter home until the warmer weather comes around.

Well how about this....this plane went down a few week ago just outside St. John's. the pilot was ok but his plane didn't fair so well.

It turns out a device that's intended to save lives, the seat belt, almost cost him his life when it became entangled in his control column. I can just imagine his panic when this happened just after takeoff.

I once had a pencil fall on the floor in GORB years ago and thought nothing of it until it rolled under my control stick and blocked it for a few moments. Fortunately I was at altitude and managed to free it with no problems...but it could have been a different outcome if I had just taken off.

I've learned to respect the environment I'm in....something rolling around on the floor of your car while driving can be a nuisance...but at least you can pull over to fix the problem easily enough...not so easy once you've left good ol terra firma in an airplane.

So this bad boy is back in town. I saw it last year but only from a distance...now he's back and parked next to GORB.

A little internet sleuthing determined it's a Quickie Q2 that's visiting from Quebec. My guess is the guy is here on a fishing trip.

It's registered as a home built aircraft and has a gross weight of just 1000lbs so it's no bigger than GORB. Where this differs is speed....while I chug along at 60mph this thing rockets by at 140mph. I have no idea if he has room for luggage....or fuel.

So I've been doing a little float flying lately...lots of fun cruising along with the door wide open...at least white its 20 degrees.

These are Full Lotus floats...which are sort of like big air mattresses under the plane. Very forgiving and tough compared to the usual aluminum floats. The downside is they are usually difficult to control when taxiing on the water since the wind just blows the plane wherever it wants. Not so bad in the middle Of the lake but could be tricky if trying to pull up next to other planes.