May was a GREAT month! This was my first month after leaving Encana, but I’m sure I’ve worked more this month than I did in the previous two. I’ve been spending the weeks at the lake near Bashaw and have made great progress on the cottage. However, the weekends are being spent here in Calgary to enjoy the various aviation events.

Although we didn’t make it to the Sundre Mother’s Day Fly-in (one of our favorites) due to weather, I did make it to Vulcan on Sunday, May 12th. It was one of those impromptu events that ended up being a great day.

An email went out the week before, and it was mentioned in passing at the May meeting. A total of 10 aircraft showed up; an eleventh one attempted but was grounded with technical issues.

The weather was great, and I had a wonderful flight down with nary a bump. As I approached YYC’s 4800’ ring, I switched to terminal and reported my position, as I often do. However, this time, they assigned a discreet transponder code and requested to stay on terminal frequency. As I approached the expectedly busy Chestermere, I requested 5000’ to avoid the traffic. It was approved, and I was vectored directly over Kirkby Field. Sure enough, the first aircraft was taxiing out. This was my first foray into Calgary International’s Class C airspace.

We had an excellent breakfast and enjoyed a nice visit. This was my first visit to the Vulcan golf course for breakfast, but it certainly won’t be my last. Check out the excellent turnout on the Vulcan ramp!

Two weeks later was the first of this year’s CUFC’s Poker Runs. Once again, we were blessed with a beautiful morning despite the heavy snowfall just two days before. I arrived early and prepped the plane. I was surprised to find that the hangar door wouldn’t open. That’s when I realized that the power was out! Despite being early, I was delayed about 40 minutes while waiting for the power to come back on.

Finally, I was on my way with my first stop planned for Vulcan. On departure from Vulcan, I was informed by Pat Cunningham that there were no cards at Claresholm. Oh well – on to AJ Ranch. I heard Troy Branch speeding his way to Claresholm as I was landing and told him that there were no cards there. He mentioned that he had the bucket, so I followed him down. I think Troy and I were the only ones with a full hand. Not surprisingly, he was the winner, and I had the second-best hand. The food was great, and the turnout was OK. After nearly 4 hours of flying, I finally arrived back at Carstairs.

Another big event happened for me last month – I sold the Cessna 150. Although it took about six months to finally sell the plane, I was happy with the price I got and feel I made the right choice in holding out for the right buyers who saw the same value in her that I did. The interesting thing is that it is now based in Indus. I’m sure the two new owners will be attending our events.

I’m not the only one to have sold this month. Mike Sweere also sold his Chief and is now in search of a four-place tail-dragger to serve as the new family steed. However, it’s now getting quite lonely at Carstairs, with my regular wingmen, Mike, Glenn, and Richard, all grounded for various reasons. Hopefully, by next summer, the Carstairs crew will be back in full force.