I was pleased to take on the job of retrieving the Chimo work crew from Marvin Lake. I chose to use my DHC-2 Beaver Algonquin for the flight even though it meant making two flights because she is lighter than an Otter and less likely to get stuck in the decaying ice and slush.

METAR for the day was wonderful with sunny skies, light winds, warm temp. and good visibility.

Because the Algonquin is currently under lease to the MNR I was able to make money outbound as well as inbound. Two crews of biologists were to be deployed on Cairns and One Pine Lakes to carry out studies on the content and health of the game fish in the lakes. What luck! both destinations are close enough to Marvin Lake to make a dual operation feasible. Dee is a genius when it comes to flight arrangement and she had the first MNR crew and equipment ready and waiting at CYRL for a 10:30 departure to One Pine Lake. The second crew and gear were to be waiting at Chimo Air Services for a 12:30 departure to Cairns Lake.

In spite of Cpt. Hak's warning I elected to carry out the infamously potent cabbage soup for the crew at Marvin Lake as nothing could make the interior or Algonquin smell any worse than she already did so Dee carefully stowed the tightly sealed thermoses of soup and I eased Algonquin out onto runway 26. The thin translucent ice gave the lake surfaces an almost Caribbean hue as it reflected the clear blue skies. After such a long period of winter white, the greening landscape lifted my spirits and it was a joy to be flying. I took my time, flew low and slow and flew with the windows open. The crew seemed to prefer the cool air to the ripe perfume of past fish and game cargo.

It was a wonderful day for flying and I thoroughly enjoyed flying over the awakening countryside. I understand from the weather reports this fine weather is soon to be replaced with some winter-like conditions so I'm really glad to have had this day's flights.

The following are highlights of the mission:

Outbound from CYRL

Cpt. Troll