Friday photo: flying up the Tyndall Glacier
On a bucket list flying adventure to Alaska, I cuaght this image flying up the Tyndal Glacier at the head of Icy Bay. There are too many memories to describe. The entire experience was surreal!
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North to Alaska
Our goals included beach and gravel bar landings, flying over glaciers and icebergs, seeing gold mining history, flying Denali, camping beside the planes, and seeing the wildlife. After adding things like Watson Lake’s Signpost Forest, Kennecott Copper Mine, and historic Dawson City, the itinerary lengthened very quickly.
Watch out for TFRs
Suddenly, my peripheral vision picked up something to my left and the serenity of the morning was shattered. A Black Hawk helicopter was a few feet off my wing! As I stared at it in disbelief, the door slid open and a soldier in fatigues held up a large 121.5 sign. My shaking fingers stabbed at the radio ’emerg’ button and I managed a feeble “hello?
Idaho backcountry adventure – expectation and the reality
We expected the “Frank” to be wild, majestic, and to have amazing vistas. We expected it to teach us lessons. We expected to see some neat airplanes. We expected it to be a place to meet wonderful people. We expected it to provide memorable hangar tales. It did all that, and much more.
Working down the bucket list: float plane rating—check!
Float plane water operations require more planning and forethought than land operation on wheels. Before untying the lines, you have to consider where the wind and the current will move you – into obstacles like another aircraft at the dock or the shore. Once in the air, things are pretty much normal for an under powered airplane.
From FUBAR to fabulous: landing at 200 strips in three months
If you do a search for 2020 memes, there is no shortage of graphic illustrations why this year has been FUBAR (look it up if you don’t understand) for travellers, especially those of us who prefer to journey by air. And yet, I managed to have my best flying season ever in 2020 while travel was restricted to my home province of Manitoba!
Flying 3500 miles in five days—and enjoying every minute of it
I hope that this story can serve to encourage other aviators to stretch their wings and horizons by expanding their comfort zones, to see and experience things that are unavailable to our earthbound neighbours, and to share these with others, whether they are other pilots, your friends and family, and anyone else that needs to see what general aviation has to offer.
On the shoulders of giants
Upon hearing of the recent passing of Galen Hanselman, my thoughts immediately turned to the awe-inspiring flying trip I took in the Utah backcountry exactly one year ago. The current prohibitive travel restrictions make it an even more valuable experience today. The memories stirred by looking at the video and the pictures puts a smile on my face every time.