Bringing my Baby home. A Canadian cross-country adventure. Part 1.

[Darren S]

My Great Adventure began the day my RV-7 QB kit arrived. I was the second owner of the kit and I launched right in. This was airplane build #3 for me (Excalibur Ultralight and Sonex TD were the predecessors) and I went at it guns a blazing. Unfortunately after 9 months I had to sell the kit. With 5 kids and a business to run, it was “suggested” by the Mrs. that I should sell the kit and buy an already flying -7, thereby “freeing” up my time. Some of you have been there so I don’t need to spell things out. You can read between the lines.

My short time with the -7 QB had introduced me to the wonderful community on VAF and I was a “Van’s Head” in short order. Though I was sad to see the kit leave my garage, I was eager to get my grubby little hands on one and bore some useless holes in the sky.

I eventually located one in London, Ontario, Canada and flew out in May 2010 to see it. I flew it, loved it and bought it. My plan was to return on the Canada Day (July 1st) long weekend to fly her home. It would be a 1524 nm cross country flight to my home field in Western Canada, and I solicited the help of my CFI friend to help me navigate through some of the trickier airspaces.

So after 2 months of flight planning the BIG day finally arrived. With maps in hand and a weather briefing from London FSS we blasted into the cool Ontario sky.

MORNING OF DEPARTURE:


The plan was to fly North of London, parallel Lake Huron and then go up over the top of Lake Superior. This would minimize our time over water. What a gorgeous way to begin our trip !! Smooth air, different scenery than the usual Alberta Prairies that I’m use to, and in the left seat of a -7 !!! Woo hoo !!! Life is good. Being a Garmin Guy, I was a little unfamiliar with the Bendix King GPS and Nav/Com but my trusty co-pilot had it all figured out in no time and we were cruising the “purple line” at a nice 160 knots.

OVER LAKE HURON:


For those of you who have flown over Northern Ontario you will agree with my next sentence. Northern Ontario has some dang inhospitable terrain !! There ain’t nothing living down there but fish and bugs. Makes a fella check that Oil Pressure and Temp. every minute to make sure it’s not moving. In the event of a Forced Landing you have the choice of Rocks, Trees or Water ! Take your pick. Nice !

IDEAL FORCED LANDING TERRAIN !!:


First fuel stop was in Wawa, Ontario. A little airport that supports alot of firefighting work. Windy and gusty crosswind upon landing. Unfortunately this would become a trend on the trip.

We dipped tanks upon landing and to our shock we found that the tanks were EMPTY !!! How could this be as we had flight planned for an hour of fuel reserve ! After some head scratching and back tracking in our minds we realized that we didn’t leave London with full fuel. With all the excitement of the trip and packing up, we didn’t dip tanks before departure. Idiots. This quickly became part of our walk around checklist. Now, some of you out there may not believe in God, but I for one do and a pre-departure prayer is ALWAYS something I do. I believe this particular day it may have saved my hind.

We blast out of Wawa straight into lovely 25 knot headwinds. We would be heading due West from this point on and that wonderful 160 knots cruise shrank to 135 knots. We wanted to hit Kenora, Ontario next but our “fuel scare” made us stop a little short so we could dip tanks and double check our math and verify that the Advanced 2002 EIS was in fact reading the correct amount of fuel remaining.

All was good when we landed in Atikokan, Ontario. It was suppose to be a paved strip but when the wheels of the -7 touched Mother Earth it was a gravel strip. We came to learn that the strip has been torn up for over a year. Let’s all say it together….. check the NOTAMS. Idiots again .

SOME COOL CLOUDS BETWEEN WAWA AND ATIKOKAN:


GOLF, CHARLIE, VICTOR WHISKEY CHILLIN’ IN ATIKOKAN, ONTARIO:


The winds were terrible so we tied down for the night and called it Day 1. We bummed a ride to town with the “fuel guy” and high fived each other for a job well done. Once settled we began checking weather for the next day. We broke out the iPhone and saw that the next day was looking lousy. Atikokan is a one horse town so spending an extra day there would suck. To emphasize that point, where else can a fella buy Subs, Sandwiches, Home Baking and LEECHES ! Yummy. One stop shopping. Good eatin'.



The next day, over breakfast, we bummed a ride to the airport from one of the locals. It was looking like Kenora would be as far as we could get as a storm was brewing. More crosswind landing fun but we touched down in Kenora early and tied down.

Kenora is very close to The Lake of the Woods Resorts so a lot of American Pilots come up to visit. 3 weeks prior a renter of a Piper Saratoga had some trouble with the crosswinds and ditched the plane. Not a very nice site to see on short final.

OMINOUS SITE IN KENORA:



RAMP MATE FOR MY RV. THIS THING IS A GIANT:


To be continued......

[Darren S]

Kenora has a huge seaport to take folks to The Lake of the Woods Resorts. Here’s one of the Air Charter planes. My Wikipedia Airplane Brain was down when I took this picture so I can’t tell you what the name of this bird is…… but I know you know. I think it’s a Beech of some sort.

NAME THIS PLANE ?


We hunkered down for the night and did more iPhone weather checking. The skies opened up and dumped a ton of rain. I sure hope that Slider canopy doesn’t leak!?

Low ceilings kept us grounded for most of the morning. We were getting antsy to leave. This was my first taste of “get-there-itis”. I’ve read a lot about this disease and some of you have experienced it. It’s a powerful thing. We were going to file Special VFR, under some clouds, but upon start up (after dipping tanks…..thank you very much) we hear this voice in the headset that won’t shut up.

My -7 has an AOA sensor instead of a stall horn. When flaring for landing and when the AOA is high, a woman’s voice comes through the headset that says, “Angle, Angle, Push, Push”. Well, after the heavy rains the previous night, water got inside this little sensor and buggered it up. As soon as we turn the master on we hear, “Angle, Angle, Push, Push”. Arrrrrgh !! We can’t talk to the tower to get our Special VFR.

Then the two Einsteins have a plan. Let’s pull the breaker to the AOA to silence the gal. Well as luck would have it the AOA breaker is hooked to the radio so no AOA means no radio. Nice !

Well it wasn’t luck my friends, it was Divine Intervention. Remember that pre-departure Prayer….. ? No sooner had Dumb and Dumber exited the plane than a bank of serious low clouds rolled in. We had checked METARS, TAF etc…. and the ceiling was to raise up 10 miles down the road, but who knows where this bank of Rogue clouds came from.

None the less I was glad I didn’t have to fly under it.

A bit more patience and hanger flying with the locals and sure enough the clouds broke. The AOA sensor dried out and then we made some serious distance. Kenora, Ontario to Brandon, Manitoba and then on to Swift Current, Saskatchewan.

What a joy to fly an RV. The RV Grin is a verifiable condition. What takes 5 hours to drive take us 1 hour to fly. Great performance, comfort, speed, economy……what more does a guy want out of a plane. Simply the best.

DUMB AND DUMBER ON THE WAY TO SWIFT CURRENT:


Now we can smell home. We met a nice guy in Swift Current who let me put Golf, Charlie in his hanger for the night. He was nice…….. his dog not so much. The little pecker bit me on the left calf ! How’s that for a greeting !. I got the old, “Oh, he’s never done that before” routine. Yea right. None the less, I was happy for the hanger to keep my baby out of the weather. A little blood shed for a free hanger space. Fair trade …………. err maybe not if I get rabies 

For the first time we got an AIRPORT CAR !! Woo hoo !!! Never been in one before. What a ride. Keys under the mat, don’t lock the doors because the keys don’t work for the doors and don’t open the trunk. Who knows what’s in there.

SEXY AIRPORT WHEELS:


CO-PILOT PETTING THE ENEMY:


Good fortune was followed by not so good fortune. BAD WEATHER. We tooled around Swift Current for a day and a half waiting for the weather to pass. Terrible stuff. Then came the “get-there-it is” again. Suddenly 15 knot winds gusting to 30 looked good. Hey, maybe we could divert around that big thunderstorm and get home and stick it on the runway with those kind of crosswinds…………or not. No, lets finish this trip on a good note and not bend anything. Besides we have wheels to get around.

Finally the weather cleared and we left bright and early. Good thing too as we both have work that morning. The 6 hour drive from Swift Current to Calgary took us an hour and a half. We left at 5:30 in the morning and touched down at 7:00 am. I wanted the whole family there and all the fanfare but it was too early for my kids to get up. It was summer after all don’t you know. By 8:00 am my baby was tucked away in the hanger and by 9:00 am my faithful co-pilot was back in the air instructing and I was at work pulling teeth.

HOME SWEET HOME:


I’ve read a lot of RV travel stories and have enjoyed them all. They inspired me when I was building and they still inspire me to continue exploring the countryside with my new toy.
It took 13.1 hours airtime to get from London, Ontario to Calgary, Alberta. This with the usual headwind we get when flying East to West. I can’t wait to make a nice long Cross Country from West to East.

Can you say Oshkosh anyone ?? See you there next year.

Darren

[jrs14855]

The twin on floats is a Beech 18, probably a D18S from the early 50's, posibly a converted C45. They are very rare on floats but a few are still in use in Canada. The Beech 18 series had one of the longest production runs of any US built aircraft.

[jrs14855]

arctictrip07.blogspot.com Tacoma WA to Denmark, round trip in a Beech 18 with some fantastic photos.

[pierre smith]

....now, just be sure to always have a go-to waypoint in the GPS and just do it

Best,