Saturday morning. Perfect weather with tons of visibility, and I was itching to get some airtime. I had been toying with the thought of flying out east to Guy Christie’s newly acquired hideaway somewhere east of Strathmore. I say somewhere because the exact location was unknown to me, let alone a rough description of what his place looked like. The picture in my mind put it just past where the Trans-Canada swings south when you drive east of Strathmore. Hmm….

Let’s step back in time a little. About two weeks ago, I looked at my own hangar, out Delacour way, and the sagging wooden trussed beam. I decided that this two-by-four and plywood constructed beam would not be trusted to hold up another winter, and that I finally had to do something about it. The 35-foot steel trussed beam I’d bought from Troy Branch would finally come to good use. While rebuilding, I needed a place to store my Merlin, and being a good sport, John Petryshen invited me to hangar at his acreage northwest of Rocky Ridge in Calgary. I had flown in there earlier with my Challenger and found the strip quite “challenging” due to stands of trees at the south end and a power line to the north. The 4089’ alt. strip slopes gently to the north, and landing on 34 requires a serious forward slip to lose altitude once past the trees and then the flare for the touchdown. Brakes come in handy here because of the sloping runway, but after a number of landings, I have no problems getting down and stopped. The second landing there with the Merlin required a ground loop, but there was not a problem. The takeoffs take most of your concentration, and the short-field technique I’m using is working really well.

So, you ask, what does this strip have to do with Guy Christie’s airstrip? The two strips are at the most extreme end of the scale for ease of getting in and out. On a scale of one to ten (ten being the most difficult), the Christie strip is a number one. I’m not saying that John’s runway is the most challenging place that I have landed, but what I’m saying is that if you don’t know your plane and its capabilities, don’t try John’s place (8-9 out of 10).

So with a 75% fuel load, I took off from John’s runway 34 with a 5 kt NW wind and cleared the red and white marker balls on the power line with lots of room to spare. The hills at Rocky Ridge slope away to the east, and the safest route is to go around Airdrie on the north side. I miss the tight squeeze between Balzac and Airdrie and stay away from the Airdrie airport. Flying over the “Challenger strip,” I saw people looking up and hangar doors open, so around I went and stopped in to chat with Reid and Ken. Ken was just about to fire up his Challenger II for some local sightseeing.

Next, I touched down at Kirkby Field, hoping to take a peek at Bob’s PA-12, but the place was sewn up tighter than a drum. Christie’s was beckoning on distant horizons, and charging down 34 with a right turn out, I was on my way. Switching to 123.2, the airwaves lit up with people announcing this and that from Three Hills, Beiseker, Indus and beyond, to Olds-Didsbury, and of course, the breakfast crowd at Linden.

I droned along, stayed north and clear of Strathmore, swung around and picked up the Trans-Canada. OK, the highway turned south, but I stayed on a course east. Now let’s keep the eyes peeled. I had it in my mind to look for an east-west runway. The miles went by, and not even a sign of a runway… then I saw it. It was just there calling out to me, but the runway ran north-south. I had a 1000’ to bleed off, cutting power and setting up for 34. Power lines a mile to the south, up on the ridge, then a gently sloping approach, crossing a slough then flare onto the smooth soft surface of the field. If I were to have come in too hot, I would have had another mile to set down as there are wide-open fields for miles around. The “Christie field” is one of the easiest places I have landed on in a long time.

The place seemed deserted; then Guy showed up, grinning from ear to ear. He is quite excited about having his own place, and his pride shows through. The wind is calm, and the silence is deafening but for a gaggle of cranes circling high to the southeast. He tells me that the abundance of wildlife around his new home base was quite surprising to them but oh, so peaceful. The house is a charming 1940s dream with all the doors, windows, and construction methods from that era. After the grand tour and coffee, it’s time to return to the city. The distance from “Christie Field” to John’s strip is 60 miles, and I lay a course to a point north of Airdrie. With a headwind of 10-15 mph, I just relax and follow my progress on the chart. The air gets choppier as I get closer to John’s. I’ve done all this before, and the crosswind is manageable as I touch down at John’s.

The coordinates for “Christie Field” are: N 51°01.177’ W112°52.033’ Elevation: 2832’

By the way, Guy says that if you land early enough, he’ll make pancakes for you.

Be safe up there.