Banfield trip Postponed

Due to a forecast of fog.  We have decided to go to our alternate location.  

Texada Island

Picnic on the beach

Arrival Time: 1100-1130

Walk to the beach for relaxation and a picnic.  This is a bring your own food event.

see you all there.

Safe flying

David B.

Bamfield Flying Trip

The weather looks favorable for a trip to Bamfield this Saturday. 

Those interested in joining the group in Bamfield please let me know so we can inform the airstrip owners how many are planning on flying in.

Plan to arrive between 1100 and 1130 we will try to make arrangements to get the group into town for lunch.

If anyone has an empty seat and would like a co-pilot please contact me and I'll arrange that.

dcbianchi12@gmail.com

hope to see you all out there.

David 

Saturday may 30th

Flew to Bamfield .  Gravel strip in reasonable shape, looks like about 1500 feet.
Was a bit of turbulence on approach due to some wind and the type of terrain .
Did the walk to the village, its about 2 km and all down hill  !!!  When I got to the village there is a market with a small restaurant on one side of it.  It closes at 2:00 pm so if you hungry get there early  !!  The walk down hill was quick but looking back up the hill made me shudder. Just the thought of walking back up there was not of much interest  !!! Then < behold, a ford van with Bamfield Taxi on the side of it  !!!   She charges $15.00 for a five minute ride to the airstrip  !!
Best $15.00 I ever spent.  Cell phone service is almost non existent in that area. Just a couple odd sweet spots ,but that's it.

Checked out Keeha Beach and Pachena Beach.  Both are very doable but tide was a liitle too high to land. From what I could see they looked very good,but not sure how soft they were yet.  Will try next time I am out there and the tides are good  !!

Bamfield Taxi   250  728 3363

The Great Vargas Island Fly-in Recap (May 9th, 2015)

On Monday, David B mentioned to me the idea of organizing a little group to fly out to Vargas Island the following Saturday, May 9th. The weather was forecast to be favourable, and the low tide would be right around noon, making it a perfect opportunity to fly in for a meeting of the minds, a bite to eat, and some rest and relaxation in one of the most breathtaking parts of this province we call home. All this before our impromptu runway would be covered up again by the pacific ocean. The dates and times were soon posted on the Pacific Pilot blog, and from there word spread. By Friday we expected there to be maybe 8 or 9 airplanes that would be gathering at Vargas Island with us.

Vargas Island is just north of the town of Tofino, and is almost completely uninhabited, minus a couple homes on the east side of the island. Vargas Island boasts a beach that has such compact sand and is so long that even airplanes as large as Beech 18's and DC-3's are said to have landed there in the past. Our gaggle of airplanes though, would consist of only small single engine aircraft.

Tragically, two days before our trip, one of our good friends, Gary, lost his life when his plane crashed during climb out from King George Airpark. He was flying his Kitfox 5 at the time, and was the only soul onboard. His accident sent a shock wave through our tight community of aviators and we could do nothing but wait to hear the findings from the Transport Safety Board's report. Gary was the previous owner of David Bianchi's Titan Tornado and was affectionately known amongst our flying group as "the Colonel." Needless to say, this tragedy hit very close to home. Gary was also known around King George as a very safety oriented pilot, which made the news even more shocking. Gary and his significant other, Ann, had planned to join us in their Kitfox for our trip to Vargas, but now we would be flying with one less comrade. Knowing that Gary would have wanted us to continue, we carried on with our plans to visit Vargas Island without him. 

As low tide would be at 11:15am, we suggested that participating pilots plan to arrive around then. This would provide the most runway space and the longest time we could all stay on the beach before the tide would come back in. With fuel prices typically being higher in Tofino, David B and I planned to top up our tanks at Qualicum Beach (CAT4) both ways to and from Vargas. Some of our other friends who have airplanes with longer ranges would most likely fill up only once during the entire trip, if at all. We planned for a departure around 9:00am with routing for Me and Jen in the Jodel as: Delta Air Park, direct the Alex Fraser Bridge, Second Narrows Bridge, Point Atkinson, Lasqueti Island, Qualicum Beach for a fuel stop, then direct to Port Alberni, Tofino Inlet, Mearse Island, and finally Vargas Island. David B would be doing a very similar route, but would instead be leaving King George with Jodi as his passenger in the back seat of his Titan Tornado. Jodi's friend Liz would be hitching a ride with Leon out of Boundary Bay Airport in his Symphony. At this point I wasn't sure who else would be coming beyond that. Besides regular readers of the Pacific Pilot blog, I suspected that most other local aviators wouldn't hear about this fun little event we were putting together, so I sent out email invites to as many local flying clubs between Abbosford and Vargas Island as I could, just to see who might come out of the woodwork. The more the merrier, right?

 

Saturday Morning came quickly, and I got to CAK3 early enough to fill the plane with fuel, add a bit of oil and have everything ready for Jen Bianchi's arrival. Once she arrived we got the back of the Jodel filled with supplies (food, water, and a pink folding chair). Soon after that, we got strapped in and blasted off northbound towards Vancouver harbour. 

Conditions were beautiful and smooth, and we made it to Qualicum in just under an hour.

In Qualicum we added some more 100LL, and then pushed the Jodel out of the way and let Leon and Liz into the fuel pump to fill up the Symphony. Very soon after that we heard, then saw David B and Jodi arriving in the Tornado.

They filled up as well, and soon we were on our way again. Direct towards Port Alberni we climbed, the Titan first, followed by the Jodel, and then the Symphony. Since the mountains are rather high between Port Alberni and Vargas Island, Jen and I elected to climb to 6500'. As we passed through Port Alberni and along Sproat Lake we made position reports on Port Alberni Traffic on 123.0.

Then we switched to the low level enroute frequency 123.2 until we were five minutes out from Vargas Island. 

Along the way we passed beautiful snow topped peaks and after not too long, we could see glimpses of the Pacific Ocean appearing in the distance. The towering mountains soon transformed into dozens of small islands, bays, and peninsulas. As so to avoid Tofino Airport's airspace, we headed down Tofino Inlet then took a right direct to the center of Mearse Island and from there it was a short hop to Vargas. 

As we neared Vargas we switched to our pre-arranged Vargas Island traffic frequency, of 123.45. Vargas was a hive of activity with what seemed like half dozen airplanes arriving all at once. I crossed what I can only describe as "mid-field" and descended for the circuit over the bay that the beach/runway was situated on. As I turned from base onto final I really started to get excited because this would be my first time to Vargas Island, and my first time ever landing on a beach. I set up for a nice wheel landing and once I touched down, I kept a keen eye on the water on the right side of me and the large line up of planes on the left. The feeling of landing on the sand was like a combination of the smoothness of a cement runway, with the extra give and cushioning of landing on grass. 

Once I decelerated enough to taxi, I turned around and found a parking spot next to Lee's Piper Vagabond. To my astonishment there were already many more airplanes parked on the beach than I had expected; most of which I didn't recognize as belonging to anyone I knew. It made me smile knowing that I will be making a bunch of new friends soon. Once I had the Jodel parked, I hopped out and let out an uncharacteristically enthusiastic "Whoo hoo!" I guess I was pretty excited to be there.

As I walked around seeing who was all there, I was almost completely distracted by the ruggedly beautiful scenery and the unique juxtaposition of the airplanes on the giant sandy beach.

As David B and I planned, as noon rolled around we gathered everyone near David's airplane, and he made a short speech informing everyone in attendance of the loss of our dear friend Gary, what an upstanding, good man, and aviator he was, and then we had a short moment of silence. God speed.

Now, you might think we're crazy, but would you believe that four of us actually decided to go for a swim in the ocean while we were on Vargas Island? It's true. We had even brought bathing suits and towels, so really, there was no turning back. The brave/crazy individuals were myself (David M), Leon, Jodi, and Liz.

Photo: David Bianchi

Because of the very gradual slope of the seafloor the water was actually quite shallow, and the sun had warmed it up to make it warmer than any of us had expected. As the waves crashed into us, we were forced to acclimatize to the water whether we wanted to take our time with it, or not. We swam around for a bit and then decided to head back to the party on the beach. Out of the water we strolled, looked both ways and then crossed the runway back to where the main crowd of aviators was hanging out.

The event had attracted a number people flying in from as far away as Williams lake. A the end of the day we had recorded the attendance to be 16 airplanes, 1 helicopter, approximately 34 people, and one sweet, old, deaf doggy.

Photo: David Bianchi

The airplanes ranged in size from David B's Titan Tornado, all the way up to Ray Roussy's Ryan Navion, and practically everything in between.

Everyone brought their own food and drinks, and depending on the useful loads of their airplanes, some even brought small BBQ's and Coleman stoves. The Bianchi's and I had delectable left over pizza, and bottled water. Others brought wieners to roast over the campfire that was built, fresh fruit, watermelon, and many other goodies to help keep all the hungry aviators happy.

As people were getting comfortable and enjoying their meals Ray Roussy arrived in his Ryan Navion and did a low pass to check the winds and to make sure nobody had fallen asleep on the beach.

With all the aircraft on the beach and practically everyone having met and introduced themselves, little groups formed to warm up by the fire, dry off after their swims, and to explore the stunning location that we found ourselves in. David and Jen B went for a long stroll, and David couldn't help but collect beach junk along the way. He was very proud to show off some of the Japanese Tsunami artifacts that had made it across the Pacific Ocean to us here in BC. 

Photo: David Bianchi

I can't speak for everyone, but the whole time I was on the beach with everyone, I couldn't help but feel like I was part of something special, something momentous. I was in heaven. The setting, the planes, and the people made it easy for me to call this one of the best days of my life.

All good things must come to an end, and the time had come to hop back in our planes (and helicopter), and leave behind this little piece of the beautiful wild west coast we had the pleasure of calling home for the afternoon. We cleaned up any trash that was created, put out the fire, and one by one, the airplanes took off and headed east for home.

The unique thing about taking off and landing from the beach at Vargas Island is that it is a little bit curved, so for those of us used to straight runways, it poses a little bit of a challenge, but for any aviator capable of keeping their plane on the centre line of a straight runway, it's just a small adjustment to keep their airplane straight down the curving centreline of the beach. Another small challenge was the crosswind caused by the sea breeze. It was a somewhat stiff wind coming off the water and running approximately 90 degrees from runway/beach heading, and for anyone who regularly flies in out of Delta Air Park, it was a piece of cake. For those of you who don't know, ALL summer long at Delta Air Park there is a constant 90 degree crosswind ranging from 5 to 20 knots. Just like the beach at Vargas, Delta Air Park's vicinity to Mud Bay means that it is under the influence of a pragmatic sea breeze whenever there is a big difference between the temperature of the water and the land.

After getting airborne out of Vargas Island, we climbed to 5500' and proceeded up Tofino Inlet, past Port Alberni, and back into Qualicum Beach for another fuel top-up. After filling up, we hopped back in our planes and climbed up over the Strait of Georgia (Salish Sea) to the southern tip of Texada Island, then along the Sunshine Coast past Sechelt and Gibsons. 

Then we contacted Vancouver Harbour Tower, and with permission, proceeded through their zone until we were released from their control at the Second Narrows Bridge. 

From this point David B and Jodi headed directly to King George Air Park, and Jen and I took a right at Burnaby mountain and descended to 1100' to avoid the Vancouver International Airport approach corridor, and then contacted Boundary Bay Tower over the Pattullo Bridge and proceeded direct the Alex Fraser Bridge, and then from there we followed the 91 highway to Delta Air Park.

As we crossed midfield for landing, I thought about how amazing the day had been, and how I wished it could go on for a little bit longer. The thing is, I knew there wasn't anything more we could have done to have made the day any better. Satisfied, we touched down in Delta and put the Jodel back in its hangar.

Until next time, fly safe and fly smart.

By: David McIntosh

Bamfield Flying Trip

Hi folks,

There has been quite a bit of interest in going to Bamfield this weekend.

Unfortunately,  I'm grounded for a least a week with an inner ear infection.
If someone would like to take the helm and organize the day and times I'm sure the group would really appreciate it.

Hope you all have a good time and safe flight. 

Cheers,

David B.

Anyone interested in a trip to Bamfield this weekend?

Another Acro Day in Squamish

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

As my name was on the list ahead of Frank's, I hopped in the Super Decathlon with Jodi and I had fun practicing and improving my skills with the manoeuvres I had already learned, and then I had even more fun combining aspects of the loop and the roll to create a half cuban. In the Super Decathlon, you enter the half cuban just like a regular loop: lower the nose to gain 140mph, check level, and pull back. You remain in what looks exactly like a regular loop until you are at a 45 degree angle downwards, upside down. At this point, you execute a half roll back to the upright position and then pull out of the ensuing dive and return to level flight. Jodi demonstrated the first one, and then I got to practice a few. You know, I think I'm starting to get the hang of this!

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.

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

Vargas Island Details

I've had several inquiries about Vargas Island so I'll try to sum it up here.


★ Meeting aroud 11:00.
☆ Bring your own lunch.
★If you want to talk to someone on the beach for a wind report we have a couple of handhelds that will be monitoring 123.45
☆Land on the damp sand.
★avoid the dry sand as you will probably owe a couple slices of pie to the who will push you out.
☆ Best to top up your fuel in Qualicum because Tofino is very expensive.
★Have fun and fly safe.

》》》》Note: In honor of our dear friend who tragically lost his life today doing what he was passionate about.  We will observe a moment of silence at noon, as he would have been with us on this trip.  RIP My friend.