It started out as a perfect Saturday morning for flying. The plan was to fly to Indus, meet some guys from the club, and continue on to Jim Creaser’s place for some of that good country hospitality that Jim always has to offer at Balzac International/Golf and Country Club. The group consisted of 5 ultralights and Buzz in his whirlybird. After a lunch break and some tall tales of piloting prowess, it was time to head home. Since this was the day of our display at the R.C.A.F.A., I was running a little late and decided to return to Black Diamond via the west side of the city and through the “Gauntlet” which runs between the Calgary and Springbank control zones. I realize now that this is not a recommended route for those who value their skins and their birds.

As I passed through the area and headed south to Black Diamond I noted how few forced landing sights there were. I approached Bill Clark’s place and looked down to see if Bill was home. Just then my engine dropped to about 250 RPM, this was not good; at 2500 RPM, a two-place Beaver holds altitude like a greased crowbar! Since I was over Bill’s place anyway, I decided I may as well drop in for a visit, literally. I was carrying a lot of altitude (approximately 1500 ft) and began a shallow descending spiral to get set up for an approach to what I know is a small, tricky runway to fly into.

As I made a couple of “S” turns and came around onto final, I realized I was a little high and at the same moment also realized that Bill’s strip leaves no margin for error. An overrun on this strip means you barnstorm his hangar and come through the back wall stripped of everything but your long johns! At the last moment I came to the sickening conclusion that this was not going to work and looked frantically for an alternative. I looked at the road, too many cars, altimeter 100 ft., airspeed dropping, no more choices, head for his neighbor’s stubble field. Luckily the field that was on the other side of the fence was perfectly suitable and the landing was smooth and uneventful. I emphasize the word “lucky”, because that was the only thing that prevented damage to my bird this day.

As it turned out, the cause of the engine failure was a threaded cap that stripped off the end of an NGK spark plug, leaving the spark plug wire dangling in space. I had a plug and wrench in my emergency kit and was able to replace the (1541)lug and takeoff from the same field. I would like to review some of the AIRORS that contributed to this Air Farce.

1. Flying over hostile terrain (west of Calgary).
2. Not checking each spark plug very carefully before every flight.
3. Bad case of GETHOMITIS.
4. Selecting an unsuitable landing site.
5. Changing my mind twice on final approach.

I am sure you can think of many more. As it turned out, I was hours late for the RCAFA display and was left with serious doubts about my piloting skills. Remember how this started out as such a perfect flying day? The moral of this story is, to practice forced landing techniques on a regular basis with a qualified instructor who can pull the power off when you least expect it. By the way, when was the last time you went up with an instructor just to check your currency on various piloting skills? I know, too long ago, just like me.