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Backpack theft grounds pilot

Stolen backpack contained pilot exam notes and flight logs

Two backpacks were stolen out of a pickup truck on Saturday in Deep Cove, and the theft was enough to ground an aspiring pilot.

The pack contained Gerry Maynards pilots licence, a log book that verified his 149 hours of flight time, and a black binder crammed with notes.

The contents of that bag basically contain the most effort Ive ever put into anything in my life, Maynard said.

His black truck had absorbed the heat of the day, and Maynard said he left his window down when he parked on Baycrest Drive. Lo and behold, someone was able to get their arm in through the window and hit the unlock button, and basically ransacked the truck, he said.

Although he can go to Transport Canada to replace his pilots licence, Maynard said the loss of his binder is particularly crucial, as it contains pages of detailed notes he needed to study for his commercial pilots exam.

It was a little crushing to have that gone, he said, discussing the endless hours hes spent poring over his notebook.

Maynard, 25, said he was hoping to take the exam in the next few weeks. But this certainly puts a big kink in my plans.

The backpack also contained several aviation reference books, a headset, and his radiotelephone operators licence.

The only thing that would be of any value in there is only of value to me, he said.

Maynard said he spent about three hours on Sunday scouring nearby alleys in hopes of finding his licence and books.

I didnt actually back up my log book and as of right now its the only record of my hours flying toward my commercial licence.

Maynard, who had been closing in on the 200 hours of flight time he needs for his commercial pilots licence, estimates the theft will cost him at least 40 hours of work, not including the paperwork hell have to wade through to find records of his 149 hours in the cockpit.

Maynard started working to become a pilot in 2009, but said the blue yonder has been on his mind since childhood.

Its basically the only thing Ive ever wanted to do ever since I was a little kid, he said. Theres days when if I didnt have to come down for fuel, I dont think I would. Its a birds-eye view of the world.

The backpack is a blue and black Ogio, and Maynard is asking anyone who finds it to turn it in to the RCMP.

jshepherd@nsnews.com