Finally, “it” was going to happen (weather and wife permitting).

We had been talking about “it” for over a year now. “It” almost happened May 2016 on possibly the hottest day of the year. As I recall the temperature was 30+ Celcius on that Saturday in May.

“It” was flying to the Red Deer Forestry strip and camping out under the wing overnight. In 2016, three of us made the attempt. Sheldon P, Ryan and I tried. We headed out in the afternoon hoping the temperature had dropped enough to improve the Density Altitude value. We had all just called “All OK”, as we were over Sundre when Ryan literally fell from the sky in his VW powered Sonex. No time to make a call, but a safe landing was made, and so Sheldon and I landed as well.

We spent the next hour or so troubleshooting and the only thing that we could think of was that the Avgas powered motor had a vapor lock. We spent the next hour or so at Sundre and finally headed back to Innisfail once the afternoon temperature had started to drop. The flight back was uneventful.

Ryan spent the night in the Innisfail terminal building and headed home as the Sun was rising in the East. He made it back to the Peace River country with no problem.

Unfortunately, work, weather and other commitments prevented another try that summer.

Fast forward to Monday, June 19, 2017, when the Weather channel showed “possible” good weather that coming weekend. The word went out. Let’s give it another try (weather and wife permitting). As we all know the weather in Central Alberta is a fickle thing, but it continued to show promise right up to Friday morning. Weather channel did show rain Saturday but clear out west.

Up early and out to the field. I started loading and fueling with one eye on those clouds above. Once loaded, I did do a quick circuit or two and saw clear sky over our destination with some weather in between. Sheldon K did report rain in Lacombe as he was getting ready.

The wind from the northwest did manage to blow those clouds to the southeast so “it” was declared a go. Sheldon K came in from Lacombe and 4 planes and pilots, Sheldon P, Sheldon K, Dan T and I took off from Innisfail and made our way west. I landed first and gave the “OK” for the rest of the crew but “watch out for the piles of wild horse manure!”. A helicopter pilot flying north overhead seemed very surprised and also confused at all the radio traffic in the area. We did patiently confer with him what was going on. He finally got it.

That made 4 so far and the rest came in staggered over the afternoon. Rob J, Kevin, Randy G and Peter. I made a quick flight into cell phone range for a quick call to Rob to ask him to bring me a steak as I forgot. Please and thank you!

Norm V did come in for a visit to check things out but left for home before dark. He was overheard muttering “shoulda brought my sleeping bag” as he was getting into his KitFox! We also did have one plane buzz the strip to see what was up and he did radio that he too would like to join us if he was not low on fuel.

The rest of the afternoon and late into the evening was socializing, telling tall tales, cooking then eating around the campfire. An all together very enjoyable time spent with like-minded individuals. We did have Bear spray with us plus two shotguns with Bear Banger ammo, in case some too curious wildlife came to visit! Dan did have a very interesting story about Bear spray that accidentally discharged as he was carrying it on his belt while on a bike trip in the mountains! Let’s leave it at that and let the reader wonder what body parts were adversely affected by said spray!

I must add at this point that no wives were included, and I believe none were asked. It was guys only this inaugural trip. Some wives did ask questions such as ” Who was bringing the Arts and Crafts?” or “What games are you going to be playing?” or “Who was organizing the menu?”. One wife did ask “How many people to a tent?”. Sorry ladies, no artsy stuff or silly games (Poker maybe…) and only one man tents this trip! Although Rob fit into his Cessna very nicely with the back seat removed. For us in the tents the thought of a hungry bear coming through the campsite may have kept some of us awake at times!

The night passed quietly, no bear scares but we kinda wondered about the chances of a wild horse or two wandering in and use someone’s plane as a scratching post!

Again, the weather held, and we had sun as we had breakfast. We all agreed that it was a great experience to be able to fly in somewhere and set up camp like we did. The freedom to fly and camp in our west country like we did was a fantastic adventure for us all. Everyone agreed it should become an annual event.

Norm again flew in with his student for a visit Sunday morning as we slowly packed up and said our goodbyes. The campfire was carefully put out and the remaining firewood was cut and stacked for the next group of campers to enjoy.

I was the last to leave but it was so peaceful there with everyone was gone that I was reluctant to leave.

As I looked all around at the hills and the Rockies to the west, I knew that I would be back again.

Plane and Pilots:

Overniters

Dan Tayles – Dan flew in in a 1954 Piper PA22-135 (Tri-Pacer) that he and Shane Cockriell had spent the last 4 years “rejuvenating” The project initially was just a minor “re-do” that became a major project and the first test flight done on June 5, 2017. Dan and Shane did an excellent job, and the plane is a joy to look at. Dan chose not to bring Bear spray this trip. Home field is Innisfail.

Kevin Caine – Kevin flew in with a Merlin GT powered by Rotax 582 65 HP, 70 mph cruise speed. Kevin is steadily building up his flying hours and comfort level by flying farther and farther from his home field of Indus. The flight into RDF was new for him and next time he is bringing steak instead of porridge.

Randy Golan – Randy flew in a slick little Mooney M10 Cadet. The Cadet was fashioned after the ERCO Ercoupe and was in only in production 1969 and 1970. The most notable change is the tail which was redesigned to allow it to spin so it could be used as a general-purpose trainer. Not many of these aircraft are around still. Home field is Lacombe.

Sheldon Kulaway – Speaking of Ercoupes, Sheldon came in for landing in a 1947 Ercoupe 415D. That landing was only the second grass landing that he has done in that plane, but the previous owner had done many such landings and Sheldon brought it in very nicely. The cockpit really reminds one of the interiors of a little MG sports car from years ago! Home field is also Lacombe.

Sheldon Piecoywe – Sheldon P came into the strip in his Quad City wide-winged Challenger, powered by a Rotax 503. He graduated to Ultralights after starting out in Paragliders then into motorized Paragliders. With the longer wingspan compared to the shorter version of Challengers, it allows him to ride the thermals thus able to experience some soaring and gliding adventures. Sheldon flies out of Innisfail.

Rob Jaap – Rob got a great deal on a 1956 Cessna 172 that needed some TLC after a mishap on landing back 2-3 years ago. Rob is a mechanic and has the plane as Owner Maintained and has done a great job of repairing this aircraft back into flying condition. Transponder installed in 2016 and has over 80 hrs so far. Home field is Innisfail.

Pieter – Pieter (first name only) has a great looking RV4 that is based in Indus as well.

Bob McCully – I have a CH701 that I started building in 2003. I finally registered my plane in 2012. It has a 100 hp Rotax 912. I removed the leading-edge Slats and replaced them with Vortex Generators. My cruise speed improved greatly with the VGs instead of the Slats Top speed was 90 mph max, now speed is slightly above 100 mph. No real change in take-off or landing parameters with the VG’s instead of the Slats. Home field is also Innisfail.

Daytripper

Norm Vienneau – Norm spent the better part of three years rebuilding a model IV KitFox. Many modifications were done including a large baggage compartment, a wide body mod, and a change of motors to a 80HP 912 engine by Rotax with an in Flight Adjustable prop. This allows a cruise speed of over 100mph and a take-off distance of about 400ft.