Personally I received about a [...]]]> As I mentioned last year, flight training can be claimed on your taxes by filling out CRA’s “TL11B Tuition, Education, and Textbook Amounts Certificate – Flying School or Club” form. The 2009 form is now available for download so grab it, fill it out and get some of that money back.

Personally I received about a quarter of the amount back last year and I plan on claiming the flight training I did in 2009 as well. Read my previous post on the subject for an explanation of the form.

Ask a Flight Instructor also features a videos section with some flight training videos as well [...]]]> Ask a Flight Instructor is a site with great answers to some great aviation related questions. There is a post on VFR equipment required which mentions the TOMATO AFLAMES acronym that should help you to remember the equipment you need.

Ask a Flight Instructor also features a videos section with some flight training videos as well as “best practices” and “did you know” features. It is definitely worth a look at as the videos are quite enjoyable. While you’re there, feel free to ask them anything that comes to mind!

Now a video has surfaced on and I’ve included it below. Note that it also contains a commentary by the anchor and a [...]]]> By now you have probably heard of the tragic crash between a helicopter and a Piper Saratoga over the Hudson river which killed nine people. There were some images released at first:

Now a video has surfaced on and I’ve included it below. Note that it also contains a commentary by the anchor and a guest.

Note: It is a disturbing video of the last moments of the airplane and the helicopter. Hopefully we can learn what happened and how to avoid this kind of tragedy in the future.

First, the student (that’s you) must be "16 years of age [...]]]> The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) offers a tax credit for costs incurred by a student during flight training through its TL11B – Tuition, Education, and Textbook Amounts Certificate – Flying School or Club form. Let’s take a look at some of the eligibility criteria!

First, the student (that’s you) must be "16 years of age or older before the end of the year" in which you’re claiming the tax credit. If you’re thinking “Why would a 16 year-old need a tax credit?” I’ll give you two answers: mommy and daddy. The student can authorize a transfer of the tuition, education and textbook amounts to one person. That person can be "spouse or common-law partner, your parent or grandparent, or your spouse’s or common-law partner’s parent or grandparent." Check out Part 4 on page two of the TL11B form for all the details.

The tuition fees you claim must be more than $100. Pretty straightforward there. Tacked on to that point though is the claiming of private licence instruction time. PPL training time can only be claimed at the same time as commercial training time. So you’ll have to hold on to this form for a bit longer, at least until you have some commercial flight time under your belt. Keep in mind though that you won’t be able to carry over the full amount (don’t ask me why, I don’t know. I’m just interpreting this document.) According to Part 3 of the form, you must "Complete Schedule 11, Tuition, Education, and Textbook Amounts, to calculate [...] the amount, if any, you can carry forward to a future year."

The program you are claiming full-time credit for must be at least 3 consecutive weeks long and require a minimum of 10 hours of course instruction per week. For the part-time education amount, the program must last at least 3 weeks and requires a minimum of 12 hours of course instruction each month.

Finally, the tuition fees you claim must include "include the cost of dual and solo flying hours [...] up to the minimum flight training requirements of Transport Canada." So you can only claim about 45 hours in total.

In addition to knowing how much money you spent and how many hours you’ve flown, you also need the following to submit the form:

• the name of the FTU
• the FTU’s address
• an authorized officer’s (CFI, owner, etc.) name and signature
• your signature and social insurance number

I hope I’ve shed some light on how to deduct your flight training costs from your taxes. If you’ve got any questions, leave them in the comments and I’ll answer them to the best of my ability.

The TL11B is available in PDF format from the CRA site.

I think this is a perfect example of when to abort the landing and go around. St. Bart’s is definitely the place where if you don’t touch on the numbers, you need to go around.

[...]]]> Some of you may have seen this video but if you haven’t:

I think this is a perfect example of when to abort the landing and go around. St. Bart’s is definitely the place where if you don’t touch on the numbers, you need to go around.

I believe the pilot was able to walk away, luckily there was sand at the end of the runway.

As always, fire fighters are working diligently to put out the blaze with machinery on the ground and in the air. A few days ago, a water bomber crashed into Lake Okanagan [...]]]> British Columbia is experiencing its share of forest fires this summer which are blamed, in part, on the torrid temperatures the province has experienced.

As always, fire fighters are working diligently to put out the blaze with machinery on the ground and in the air. A few days ago, a water bomber crashed into Lake Okanagan while attempting to land and refill its water tanks. Here’s a (poor quality) video of the crash:

The pilot was able to extricate himself and survived the crash. The airplane was an Airtractor Amphibious plane like the one pictured below:

Here is an image from the site of the accident:

All in all it was a lucky day for the pilot and it could have ended much worse. Speculators on the cause of the accident point to the landing gear being down when the airplane touched the water.

[All media via AvCanada forum]

The weather wasn’t playing nice this weekend and many people found themselves under water with extensive flooding reported across Hamilton. Here’s some information you may want to make a note of if you were affected by the [...]]]> Update: City councillor Sam Merulla lashes out at the elites for the lack of funding sent to infrastructure (PDF)

The weather wasn’t playing nice this weekend and many people found themselves under water with extensive flooding reported across Hamilton. Here’s some information you may want to make a note of if you were affected by the flooding.

The City encourages all affected residents to take the following actions to report claims:

• Call the City’s Claims hotline – 905-667-3157 and your information will be recorded
• Call your insurance company immediately
• Have someone come to your home immediately (within 48 hours) to assess the damages in your home – this could reduce cleanup costs significantly
• The city has a compassionate grant program. Applications are available through the City’s Claims Hotline

All roads have been reopened, however the Red Hill Valley Trail will be closed indefinitely as a result of extensive flooding damages. Closure signs will be placed at the trail head and along the trail.

Important numbers:

• Flood Claims Hotline – 905-667-3157
• City Customer Contact Centre – 905-546-CITY (2489)
• Horizon Utilities – 905-522-6611
• Union Gas – 1-877-969-0999

Waste Collection

The City is waiving the one plus one garbage bag limit for areas affected by flooding for the next two weeks. Quantity limits will not be waived in any area other than those impacted by flooding. This is not a City-wide exemption of waste quantity limits. As well, bulk disposal rates will be waived for residents in flooded areas who take damaged goods or waste to a transfer station.

Household Hazardous Waste facility closed

Flooding on the weekend resulted in water damage at the Household Hazardous Waste facility and Reuse Store at the Mountain Community Recycling Centre, therefore the facility will be closed until Monday, August 3rd. The bin areas for recycling and garbage remain open. Household Hazardous Waste may be dropped off at the Kenora or Dundas Community Recycling Centres which remain fully open.

Find out more via 900CHML

It’s been like this basically all weekend and it’s supposed to keep raining all week. Guess I’ll be starting on my instrument lessons!

Update: Here’s what this weather caused.

I counted 39 airplanes parked on that runway. Can’t even begin to image the chaos that day.

My favourite airliner, based solely on physical aspect, [...]]]> Just as the title says I want to know what your favourite aircraft is. Be it civil or military, fixed or rotary wing, on skis, floats or regular gear. What aircraft do you like flying, touring, flying in or just driving by while it’s parked on the apron?

My favourite airliner, based solely on physical aspect, is the Boeing 747. There’s just something about it that makes it look majestic in my eyes.

My favourite plane to fly is the tricycle-geared Cessna 172. I flew the Piper Cherokee at the beginning of my training but I find the Cessna to be a better fit for my liking.

Which aircraft do you like? Leave your answers in the comments!