Mission: Boxing Day Shopping Avoidance

The plan was to leave my home in Vancouver at 9:00am, get to Delta Heritage Air Park by about 9:45am, hop in the Jodel with Dave Bianchi as my co-pilot/radio/navigator and fly to Chilliwack to meet Dave Zoppa at 11:00. From Chilliwack we were going to take both the Jodel, and Dave Zoppa's Cessna C-140 in a mini convoy up to Hope to take a look around. That's right, only three Dave's involved at this point.

All this didn't happen quite as planned though, but the results were still fantastic...

I slept in, and I needed it. I got to the airfield around 10:30, and got the plane ready for Mr. Bianchi's arrival. While doing so, I got a message from Mr. Zoppa saying he had to cancel due to holiday related obligations. 'Tis the season, so we planned to continue on without him. Mr. Bianchi and I topped up the gas tank on the Jodel and we made our way out to Chilliwack. On our way we encountered smooth conditions and cloud ceilings around 1800'. We also met some fishermen, eagles, and sandbars as we cruised along the Fraser River at appropriate altitudes for the prevailing conditions.

Despite encountering a little bit of snow over the city of Chilliwack, we made it into Chilliwack Airport safely around noon to park in front of a "closed" Airport Cafe! Oh the humanity, no pie! Also, as the weather out towards Hope did not look advantageous to an enjoyable flight, we soon pondered... "Where else can we fly to that would be fun?"

We decided that Sechelt was our best option. Also, my best friend Nicole lives in Gibsons, so I figured we could get driven into town for a bite to eat once we got there.

Away from Chilliwack we flew west along the Fraser, past Mission and Fort Langley, over top of Pitt Meadows Airport, and then abeam Simon Fraser University which looked more like a ghost town at this time of year. We trundled along as fast as the Jodel could take us, through Vancouver Harbour and over Bowen Island. At this point we sent a text message to Nicole announcing our impending arrival at Sechelt Airport. Once back on terra firma, and the Jodel parked in Sechelt, we made use of the Elphinstone Flying Club's facilities to warm ourselves up while we waited for our pick-up. The clubhouse had a piano in it, and very soon after I gave up trying to play "When the Saints Go Marching In," Mr. Bianchi took over the keyboard to test his memory and to both of our pleasures, he was able to play a beautiful piano concerto.

Once Nicole arrived, we were surprised with an invite to a Boxing Day house party. And who are we to say no to that kind of offer, so we got whisked away and brought to a brilliantly delicious party. We made many new friends, including another Dave, and we indulged in some tasty treats. Then, even though it felt like we had only just arrived at the party, we needed to get back to the airport to fly home before it got dark. we said our good byes and were on our way.

Back to the airfield we went, hopped in the Jodel, and cruised home through Vancouver Harbour, via the Patullo Bridge route to Delta Heritage Air Park. We landed safely, and put the Jodel back into its hangar and filled out the journey log. 2.5 hours of good 'ol Pacific Flying!

It was a brilliant day of flying with some wonderful surprises and new friends made. Next time you should join us, because as the saying goes "The more pilots, the merrier!"

Written by: David McIntosh