mutley 4,487 Posted February 6, 2013 Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 I'm quick out of the stalls with this one! Classified as an easy flight but this is me we are talking about! With baton safely in hand Shaun and I share a few stories in the bar, the credibility of which were getting more questionable as the evening progressed! Next morning a full breakfast and several mugs of coffee had put me on track for the flight. Leg 30 is the shortest of section 3, after last time I really couldn't trust myself with a FMC so it’s mostly VFR this time. The airport is pretty quiet this time in the morning waiting for the tourists. Jasper Hinton (Elev 4009ft) is a centre for sightseeing air tours of Maligne Lake, Columbia Icefields, Mt. Robson and Amethyst Lake. I felt tempted to take on a few passengers and make some money on the side but that’s not really in the spirit of the challenge. (It would help to pay off the credit card though for all those expensive hotels you are booking!) Plenty of power in the Skymaster for this trip. Our destination is 1650 feet lower than this one so it is downhill all the way! We're leaving the Northern Rockies behind us as we head east. Too far away to pick up the NDB and VOR at Edson. Not that I really need it as I am going to follow this road for most of the way. I decided to follow the Trans-Canadian / Yellowhead Highway one of the world’s longest national highways. Hopefully I won’t miss my turn at Edmonton As we fly over some fairly un-remarkable scenery the VOR had already kicked in. You don't get many bends in the road out here but you do get a load of frozen lakes this time of year. With 9 miles to Edson we are already a third of the way through the flight with no mishaps. Over the the top of Edson. The needles have now flipped, I tune them in to Edmonton as we carry on heading down the highway. Another one of those huge lakes, consulting my iPad reveals that this is Chip Lake. This one (Wabamun lake) dwarfs the previous one and indicates the the highway junction for Edmonton is not that far way. We go as far as Stoney Plain before turning towards ZET which is right inline for runway 12. It's time to lower the dangly bits. In landing config, My non-precision approach is going well B) As we slow down it takes ages to get to the runway. A greaser! Marcel was in the tower watching me coming in, making notes no doubt on my approach! A nice deserted airfield I can park where I like. Writing up my PIREP for the boss! Block to block 1 hour 4 minutes and a very pleasant flight, now where did I put that that baton??? ..Found it, over to you Marcel, good luck. Link to post Share on other sites
hurricanemk1c 195 Posted February 6, 2013 Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 Great shots Joe - and not a FMC in sight! Link to post Share on other sites
Kasper 14 Posted February 6, 2013 Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 Great choice of aircraft - and a splendid paintjob. Great shots and -not that I am jeaulous (well, yeah: I am) - How come you get all the great weather? Link to post Share on other sites
GHAO 0 Posted February 6, 2013 Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 Looks absolutely beautiful! Where did the aircraft come from? Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,487 Posted February 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 Hi George, it's the Carenado 337 Skymaster with a repaint. We have a review on it this weekend coming Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,487 Posted February 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 Great choice of aircraft - and a splendid paintjob. Great shots and -not that I am jeaulous (well, yeah: I am) - How come you get all the great weather? Kasper, that was the RW weather when I flew the leg. Just as well as fog all the way would be pretty dull! Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,284 Posted February 6, 2013 Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 Great flight play by play. Nice job greasing your dangly bits Ah Joe, wouldn't that be the C337 Skymaster? Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,487 Posted February 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 You are right Brett! I demoted it! 337 Skymaster! Link to post Share on other sites
Quickmarch 488 Posted February 6, 2013 Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 Thanks for the great flight report, Joe, Takes me back a long long way. I lived and worked in the Calgary-Banff-Jasper-Edmonton area in the late 60’s. Terrible place in the wintertime and a real challenge to fly the area at any time of year. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinook_wind. Looks like you had good weather for the flight. Great shots, lovely repaint. Cheers, March Link to post Share on other sites
rosariomanzo 545 Posted February 6, 2013 Report Share Posted February 6, 2013 Fine narrative and shots, Joe, I enjoyed both. Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted February 7, 2013 Report Share Posted February 7, 2013 Thanks for moving us along quickly Boss... Some great shots, and an entertaining story to match.. But that Skymaster is a strange looking plane in my opinion.... and it looks like it shares the same strange main landing gear cycle with the CT210.. takes forever for that main gear to extract/retract... Link to post Share on other sites
Clem Wu 1 Posted February 7, 2013 Report Share Posted February 7, 2013 Beautiful! Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,284 Posted February 7, 2013 Report Share Posted February 7, 2013 Strange looking plane but is sure fun to fly once you get use to it. Fast and maneuverable. The push pull effect can get awfully loud too!......I said it can get awfully....never mind he can't hear me. Note: There are a number of really good mods that can be added, to make your flying experience a bit nicer, over at the unofficial support site. Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,487 Posted February 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 Thanks Brett, I said thanks Brett, I'll take a look Link to post Share on other sites
Dizzy 0 Posted February 8, 2013 Report Share Posted February 8, 2013 Always loved the 337. Great shots boss. Link to post Share on other sites
Quickmarch 488 Posted February 9, 2013 Report Share Posted February 9, 2013 We (Canadians) always called them Bug Smashers. Don't ask me why. Nice repaint. Cheers, March Link to post Share on other sites
CSoul 182 Posted February 9, 2013 Report Share Posted February 9, 2013 Taking notes indeed: greasers are few and far between for me. Great flight! Link to post Share on other sites
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