Last Sunday morning Steve Hurlburt, an RV-7A builder from Kingston picked me up in Smith's Falls (CYSH), and we flew to Brampton (CNC3). He had arranged with one of the owners of Aircraft Spruce Canada to pick us up. We were late, as we had problems getting the self-serve gas pumps in Smith's Falls to pump gas, and then the headwind was a lot higher than expected. The guy who was waiting for us gave up and left a few minutes before we arrived. We wasted over an hour tracking him down, and having him come back to Brampton, but we finally got over to their facility, which is on the SW side of Toronto Pearson airport (CYYZ). Pearson is the major airport in Toronto, you need a slot time to get in during much of the day, and they really don't like light aircraft traffic, which is why we flew into Brampton.
Aircraft Spruce Canada is owned by the same guys who own Kitplane Builders, a builder assistance centre. The two facilities are right next door to each other, in an industrial park. In the past, if you wanted to purchase something from Aircraft Spruce, you talked to someone in the USA, and your order was packed and shipped from there. They have a large stock of items needed by homebuilt aircraft builders, but I stopped using them after they screwed up a couple of orders. But, Aircraft Spruce Canada opened in early December, and now orders can be packed and shipped from Toronto. They don't currently stock everything in the Aircraft Spruce catalog, but they do have several hundred of the most popular items. If your items are not in stock, they come up from Georgia in the weekly truck. Eventually, they hope to have a fully stocked warehouse at a general aviation airport in the Toronto area. They do have a retail front end to the current facility, with a lot of stuff on the shelves. So, if you are in the Toronto area, give them a visit. Just be warned that a visit is a bit like the $75,000 free ride that Van's will give you - don't visit the ACS Canada store unless you are prepared to spend some money. I went down with no plans to buy anything, but after browsing the aisles I ended up with a $250 pile of stuff that I had to have.
I'll try ordering stuff from Aircraft Spruce Canada. They were having problems with their 1-877 number - calls were being forwarded to Aircraft Spruce in Georgia. They hoped to have that sorted out ASAP. If 1-877-795-2278 isn't working, try 1-905-795-2278.
Anyone looking for builder assistance in the Toronto area should talk to Paul or Sean at Kitplane Builders.
