Dan Vandenbrink has never piloted a Boeing 747.
He would much rather stick to operating simpler modes of transportation, like sports cars.
As president of Covettes North, a club that offers sports car drivers like himself a chance to test their driving skills in autocross and slalom time trials, Vandenbrink has been negotiating with the Prince George Airport Authority for the club gain access to the airport's newly-constructed cross-dock cargo/refuelling taxi-area built for jumbo jets.
Late last week, Vandenbrink got the green light he was hoping for when Cuyler Green, director of operations at the Prince George Airport, gave the club permission to use the newly-paved area for its events this year.
"It's five acres of dead-flat unblemished asphalt," said Vandenbrink. "It's nice and smooth and we'll be able to lay out a far more challenging course.
"We never really thought we'd get to use it because of security, but it's far enough removed from the airport property, a long way from the terminal."
The club has 10 events on its 2011 schedule and the first will be held in late May. On the August long weekend, a Canadian Council of Corvette Clubs event expected to attract 80-100 Corvette owners is being planned. The weekend car rally will also include a show and shine event at the Wood Wheaton car dealership.
Corvettes North used to stage its autocross events in vacant parking lots at CN Centre and UNBC, the kart track at PGARA Speedway Park, and the pit area near the drag strip at Prince George Motorsports Park, none of which provided smooth surfaces or were large enough to get most cars out of second gear. As one unfortunate late-model Corvette owner learned the hard way, light poles have no business being close to slalom course.
"That was a nasty one, five years ago," said Vandenbrink. "A lot of people didn't come to our autocrosses because they were concerned about the CN Centre parking lot. Now that we've eliminated the poles, it will give people way more confidence. It takes a bit of the fun out of it when something bad like that happens to you.'"
Vandenbrink, who owns a Nissan 300ZX twin turbo, a 1996 Corvette and a 1991 Corvette roadster drag racer, hopes the new home at the north end of airport will bring sports car owners out in droves for club events that test drivers' ability to control their cars in timed events.
"We're a Corvette club but there just aren't enough guys with Corvettes, so we have BMXs, [Austin] minis, Lotuses, it's more of a sports car club," said Vandenbrink. "That's what those cars are made for. It's no fun just keeping them parked in the garage."
