As the title of this blog suggests, on Sunday, May 3rd we headed up to Squamish (CYSE) for another day of hanging out and taking turns going upside down with the always excellent, Jodi Rueger.
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| Photo: Elizabeth Cowden |
The big difference
from our last trip to Squamish was that this time around, we had many more people fly in to take part in the fun.
Jodi departed King George Airpark with James in his RANS
S-6S Coyote, granted, a little bit later than planned due to a K9 escape effort
planned and carried out by a clever little doggy named Jack.
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| Photo: Jodi Rueger |
David B flew up to squamish solo in his Tornado, and I,
David M, left Delta Air Park with David B's son, Wyatt as my co-pilot in the Jodel.
We planned to get up to Squamish via Indian Arm and I gave Wyatt
the map and had him keep track of our position all the way there. Wyatt is a
natural navigator, and as you'll see, he's apparently also quite well suited to be an
aerobatics pilot!
As we trundled up Indian Arm at 3500' we transmitted our
position reports on 126.7 (enroute frequency) and about half way up the
waterway we heard a familiar voice and call sign making a position report at
the south end of the arm. It was Stumpy (Greg) in his Tecnaam. His call let us
know that he was behind and below us, but planning to climb to an altitude
above us. Since the Tecnaam is faster than the Jodel, there was worry of a
potential conflict, but as it turns out, he never did end up catching us and
Wyatt and I made it through the Indian Arm Pass first. I'll add that Stumpy was
quickly able to get visual on us and confirmed that we were about 5 miles ahead of
him and together we flew up Indian Arm with no conflict.
As we switched to 122.8 for
Squamish Traffic, we heard Wyatt's Dad approaching the airport and he saved us
the effort of having to figure out which runway was active (or Preferred).
Runway 33 was active, so we crossed midfield from east to
west and joined a slightly non-standard left-hand circuit, as per the published
noise abatement procedures. After landing we taxied in to the Glacier Air apron
and found a parking spot beside David B's Tornado. Soon after Stumpy came in
and parked next to us. We didn't realize it until then, but Jason had joined
him for the flight up. Also on the apron was a Lycoming powered de Havilland
DHC-1 Chipmunk that Michael Peare had flown in from Langley.
As time went on,
more and more airplanes showed up. Leon arrived in his gorgeous Symphony, of
which I had only heard about until this day.
Daryl & Sharon arrived in
their Eurofox, and Ian arrived in the RANS S-7 Courier equipped with tundra
tires.
The staff at Glacier Air remarked that we brought more airplanes than
what usually show up for Squamish Airport Appreciation Day. Not everyone who
flew in was on the list to do aerobatics in the Super Decathlon with Jodi, but
they clearly found it an excellent excuse to fly somewhere and be social.
As mentioned, a list of acro aviators was made and it became
obvious that Jodi would be kept quite busy; poor girl. Colette, who owns and
operates Glacier Air added a touch of truth to the list by giving it the title
"Jodi's F.C." (Fan Club). It included three repeat customers, and four
first-timers.
While Jodi was doing her first lesson with her friend from
back home, Liz, the rest of us did the typical chatting and airplane ogling and
coveting. It really was like a mini fly-in at Glacier Air, and hopefully we
didn't cause too much of an inconvenience to their regular operations.
Upon Jodi and Liz's return to the airfield, we had a group aerobatics ground brief, for all the new and returning students.
Also added to the classroom portion of the day was a very
informative briefing by Colette about all the specifics for flying in and out
of CYSE. She also let us know of the airport's less than enthusiastic
neighbours, their locations, and how to keep them happy. Lastly, she clarified
frequencies, radio calls, and common call-up points when flying to and from Squamish via
Indian Arm and Howe Sound. This information was incredibly valuable, because it
provided us with everything we needed to know to operate in and around Squamish
safely. Of note, when flying up or down Indian Arm, Colette told us that the
more appropriate frequency to be using is 123.2, which is what the heli-logging
and blasting operators use in that area. She recommending using 126.7 only if
flying very high up, where there would be zero chance of conflict with either
operations.
After the briefing Stumpy was the next to go up with Jodi
and judging by the smile on his face when he returned, he had a fabulous time!
After Stumpy, next was Wyatt, who as mentioned before was my excellent
navigator on the way up. This time he got to try on a real-life video game
called the Super Decathlon! Jodi gave him some stick time and let him do a bunch of 'rollercoasters' and his enthusiasm resulted in a +2/-2G maneuver, which Wyatt handled just fine, and of which he thoroughly enjoyed.
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| Photo: Elizabeth Cowden |
While Wyatt was up with Jodi, David B took Jodi's friend Liz
up in his Titan Tornado for a little bit of a straight and level sightseeing
flight. Liz had brought a fancy camera up to Squamish with her, and made good
use of it flying with David B. As you'll note, some of the photos in this blog are credited to Liz (Elizabeth Cowden).
While those two planes were up, Colette came
over and asked our group for four volunteers to go for a Cessna C-206 ride. She
explained that Glacier Air was checking out a new sight-seeing pilot in the big
plane and they wanted a full load to give the new guy an idea of how she flies
near the maximum gross weight limits. It took only minor arm twisting, and soon
the plane was full of grinning pilots going for a free trip! Talk about being
in the right place at the right time!
Once the C-206, the Tornado, and the Super Decathlon were all
back on the ground we made plans to go for lunch. Thankfully, Heidi, Frank, Jodi's
boyfriend Mark, and David B's wife Jen all drove up from the city and we had
plenty of free taxis to get the big crowd to and from wherever we decided to
go. We were excited to revisit the
Watershed, but when we called to reserve a table for 12, they told us that they
were full and that there was already a line up out the door. We called another
couple places and didn't get answers,
so we decided to just drive in to town and hope for the best. The first
restaurant we came across was The Nest, which upon driving into their parking
lot, we realized it was closed. Odd. Southbound we drove until we came across the
Shady Tree Neighbourhood Pub, and thankfully they had room for us on their
patio.
The Shady Tree was a nice restaurant, and very accommodating
for our large and unexpected group. The food and service was also very nice.
After lunch we headed
back to the airport and continued on with more schmoozing and aerobatics. Jodi
took up Leon for an intro aerobatics flight and when their flight got back down
David B decided to head home in the Tornado, and so did James, with Wyatt as
his passenger in the Coyote. David B departed first, and then James took off after him, but something didn't look right. I noticed what looked like white smoke
or vapour coming from the right side of the plane. It looked like a gas leak, or
smoke from the engine. Another observer on the ground saw the same thing and we
quickly got Jodi to start up the radio in the Super Decathlon and she made a radio
call to James telling him what we had seen. James quickly turned back, and with
his son in James' plane, David B turned back too. They both landed safely and
so began the diagnosis of the problem. Fuel caps were secure, and fuel levels
were where they should be. Not a fuel leak. With the cowling off, it was
determined that the smoke we had seen was actually coolant vented from the
overflow bottle. This was not dangerous in any way, as this can often happen on hot days. So, after a quick run-up and test flight without incident
James, Wyatt, and David took off and made their way home.
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| Photo: Elizabeth Cowden |
For Frank and I (David M), we were on to our second acro lesson
and Jodi did a mini-briefing for the two of us because we were going to be expanding
our aerobatic repertoire with the addition of the half cuban and the fully
developed spin.
After doing a bunch of
half cubans, we moved on to the fully developed spin. Jodi demonstrated one,
and normally I'm fine in spins, but for some reason I got the first signs
of motion sickness; I had suddenly gotten very warm. The abruptness to which the plane stopped spinning was a contributing factor. My stomach still felt
fine, but I didn't want to push myself so I played it safe by not doing any
more spins. I was already quite satisfied with a handful of rolls, loops,
hammerheads, and half cubans. Since it was near the end of the lesson anyway,
we decided to head back to the airport. But we were faced with a problem. We were
pointed north, but we needed to be going south. Because my body was still doing
well enough for a little bit more acro, I asked that instead of doing a boring
turn to change our direction, maybe I could do another half cuban, to which
Jodi said "of course." And so there I went, dive for 140mph, check
level, up and over, 45 degrees nose down, roll 180 degrees, and pull out... Oh,
there's the airport, time to set up for the circuit and landing.
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| Photo: Elizabeth Cowden |
Once back on the ground I hopped out, took off my parachute,
and handed it to Frank to put on. With a quick debrief, Jodi gave me some homework to do for my next lesson. To increase my spin tolerance I was prescribed the same thing Jodi does everyday. In a safe place, stand up and look straight up at the ceiling, then slowly and in a completely controlled manner, do six 360 degree turns to the right, then stop and immediately do six 360 degree turns to the left. Only spin as fast as you can control. By doing this everyday, my tolerances should increase, allowing me to push harder and longer before experiencing the effects of motion sickness.
Ready to rock, Frank jumped in the Super D, strapped in, and was soon airborne for his acro lesson. It was the last aerobatics lesson of a day that saw Jodi being kept quite busy, but judging from the ear to ear smile she wore all day long, the workload had no negative effect on her what-so-ever. In fact, I think it had more of a positive effect on her, than anything. And, in typical Frank fashion, at the end of his flight, and once clear of the airplane, Frank released the pent up excitement he had withheld during his flight.
With all the aerobatics lessons done and most people having already gone home, I hopped in the Jodel by
myself, and made my own way home via Indian Arm. The conditions were amazing; the
air was as smooth as silk and the sun was gently lowering itself in the west
(actually, the earth was rotating, giving the impression of the sun moving).
The
way the sun lit up the peaks was simply breathtaking and I couldn't help but
snap a few pictures.
I got back to Delta Air Park with over an hour of sunlight
to spare, put the Jodel to bed for the night, and made the mundane drive back
home to Vancouver.
Cars seem pretty boring after having been flying, don't you
think? The flight home was so amazing and the whole day really reaffirmed why I
love flying. It's not just the beautiful views we get to enjoy, or the
sensation of freedom we all experience when slipping the surly bonds. It's the
people, and the connections we make with our fellow pilots.
Thank you to everyone for coming out, and thank you to Colette
and everyone at Glacier Air for being such hospitable hosts.
Until next time, fly safe!
Written by: David McIntosh
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