Hak's TWC PIREP
N° 8b


Creston-Cranbrook-Golden-Tim's, Tuesday 12-13 February 2002

So, there we were sitting in the cozy B&B guest room, waiting for our nerves to calm down, and the weather to cheer up. The former was accelerated by Victoria, the latter seems to be rather hard to influence...

As I mentoned, I used the time to work a bit more on our new online system. Once the main work was done, I felt the urge to fly. And these emerging feelings are usually stronger than my fear of ice on the wings... It took us one and a half hour to ready the Waterpipe. We packed extra warm clothes, a survival kit, three thermo bottles of hot coffee and "bouillon salé". The Waterpipe has been loaded with various goods, all nicely organized by Cpt. DW (dear CFO, you're doing a great job! I am thinking about taking a sabattical year or two... :-)



Once all things were tightly strapped, including Victoria and me, we requested clearance for Kimberley, Fairmont Hot Springs, Invermere and Radium Hot Springs. There we planned to stop and have a meal. (There's also one of the only shops located that I know of selling "grade A" Guano - one of the best fertilizers you can imagine. I simply had to get at least a sample for my greenhouses at Hemp Heights).

If weather and my nerves permit, we might even reach Golden at Thursday evening.




The flight itself was rather uneventfull. All systems worked a O, and so we arrived safely at Radium Hot Springs, and later the day at Golden.


After much lamenting, I managed to convince one of the pilots there that my grand old lady needs a shelter, while his fat boy might as well sleep outside:



Heheee. My plan was to keep her as warm as possible, so the very latest ice cristal should be melted for the next day flight to Tim's.



Heheee. My plan was to keep her as warm as possible, so the very latest ice cristal should be melted for the next day flight to Tim's.


Then followed a flight of which I cannot speak right now. I'd get the skaing again. And I need some rest first. In short: we lost our track in the clouds, and I was suddenly flying pure IFR in mountains I never saw before, without a map that gives me enough terrain information. So I found myself flying along the radar altimeter. Boy, nothing I want to do again. At a certain moment, I could not do other than turning around and circling while watching the radar altimeter, until I _hopefully_ have enough height to not crash in the next best mountain slope...


Approx. 15 nm away from Tim's VOR, I gained my orientation back and began to track the 170 From radial, always fighting with the clouds, the ice and the terrain. Victoria didn't say a word. But she looked like a marmor statue... still very pretty, but somewhat, ahem, tense.


I didn't say a word either. But at least I was swearing and screaming, sighing and breathing like a asthmatic elephant in a sauna.



Eventually, I felt like I had the controll over the situation gained back, and we prepared much more relaxed for the final approach.


The approach was a bit bumpy and windy, and only spectacular in the beauty of the scenery there! Sir DW, do I see here a little Lago Espirito in Canada? :-) What a wonderfull place. Don't tell me we have to leave soon - Victoria and me would love to make some trips around the place!




I am not yet usde to the new handling of the Waterpipe on water landings. But we managed to escape the aircraft (it didn't even burnt) - so I think the landing was ok. So glad there was no one of the dESPairados watching.


So, Victoria and Hak have arrived safely and happy, and after a couple hours sleep, I'll be available for service again.

Clear sky!
Hak