Float Rating!

Hello again. I finally decided to get my float endorsement! I was able to do the training in a Dehavilland Beaver which was very cool! I learned alot of new things, mostly about water takeoffs and landings as well as docking, sailing etc. In the air everything is about the same as a land plane. I can say it was easier then I thought it would be, mostly because I didn`t know what to expect.  I absolutely loved flying behind the mighty P&W 985 radial engine, one of the most reliable piston engines ever manufactured.  I got a few pictures as well as a bunch of videos of some takeoffs and landings. Had a great time learning everything and was able to log 7.4 hrs of rare Beaver floatplane time. Enjoy the video links first, followed by the pictures.

Visiting friends at their cottage and having a pop with them

Then we went to another friends campsite and had supper with him. The conditions were right for practicing sailing, where we shut the engine down and lower full flaps and open the doors to let the wind push you onto the beach. Steering is accomplished by opening and closing either door as well as moving the controls as needed for the wind to turn. It was pretty cool!

An inevitable task of flying a Beaver is filling it with gas, and LOTS of gas!

Spring & Summer 2016

Hello folks. Hope this finds you all doing well. It is way past due again for a blog update and I am home today due to it being a rain day so now is my best chance. I have been flying quite a bit in the Cirrus this summer until about a month ago when the plane went in for it's annual. Once a month I was going to Atlanta and twice a month I was going to Detroit so that made for some good hour building flights. I also went to Winnipeg MB which was a highlight since I have never been that far west in Canada before. I stopped in Dryden to stay the night with friends there and then continued on to St Andrews airport in Winnipeg to pick 3 people up. A few days later I took them back out there so that was a healthy boost to the logbook. Another thing I recently did was get my float endorsement which I will talk about in a seperate post. Enjoy the pictures below.

City of Toronto as seen while climbing out of Buttonville Airport

 Parked at Pentastar airport beside a mighty Gulstream

 Our rental car that was waiting for us in Atlanta one trip. Makes a good picture!

 Parked at Buttonville beside a Ornge medivac PC-12

 Headed west to Dryden

 Holding Short at Dryden beside an MNR waterbomber

 Re-fueling in Winnipeg

Winter 2016

Hello Folks. Hope this finds you all doing great. It has been over 3 months since I posted an update so it's way overdue! I have been getting a good amount of flying in even though it's winter. For the month of January I flew 30 hrs which included a flight down to Miami. Had a flawless trip and got a nice break from the Ontario winter! Below are some pictures of the trip.

Flying over the city of Ft Lauderdale in Florida. A picture doesn't do justice!

Total distance covered was 3800 nautical miles. We went from Miami up to Atlanta for a day and then came back to Miami afterwards. 

Parked at Epps Aviation at Peachtree Airport in Atlanta Georgia. Nicest FBO I have ever been to.

Beautiful sunset at 15,000' while on the way home!

Tapping into a 64 kt tailwind making a groundspeed of 252 kts! Fastest I have ever flown in a small plane!

I was vectored over Atlanta/Hartfield International while approaching Peachtree airport! Busiest airspace in North America. 

Out for a walk on the Miami Beach

Time for a 'selfie'!

It's that time of yr. Picked up a bit of icing once back up in Canada. 

That's it folks! Until next time, be safe.

October 2015

Hey folks. Happy thanksgiving, for the Canadian folk anyway! Here are some pictures of the flying I have been doing recently. The ones of the Cub were taken by a good guy named Pat Hanna at Guelph Airpark. Every Thursday evening there is a BBQ at the airport that has gotten quite popular. There were about 10 cool airplanes that came in and a whole slew of people that drove in. Also check out on the right column of this blog I made up a map of all the airports I have landed or taken off from as PIC in the past 3 years of flying. 

 Taking my great uncle Andrew Martin for his first Cub ride. He owns a nice Piper Comanche and it was time to return the favor for all the rides he gave me in his plane!

The rest of these pictures are from a big trip we took in the Cirrus. We went to Hollywood FL to repossess a house that the company had to foreclose on somebody. We were scheduled to leave Lake Simcoe airport at 5:30 am and stop at Buttonville airport to pick someone up who was going with us go look at the property. When we got there I double-checked the weather for our next stop down in Atlanta GA and low and behold the ceilings had dropped down 300'-400' at our time of arrival. This is just so above minimums but with our minimal fuel it just wasn't worth risking it when there are a host of other airport options. We ended up leaving at 7:15 for Pontiac MI to do customs there since they open earlier then any other customs airport. We landed in Hollywood at around 4:30 after a few other delays. After doing the work at the property we left for Ft Myers the next morning. Little did I know that it would be the most intense IFR flight of my life. We managed to squeak into the airport right before a major storm cell moved in over the airport and flew the approach down to minimums. I have a picture attached of the onboard radar. From there we headed north to be in Detroit MI by evening. All along the way we flew between 12000'-17000' and still had to divert around storm cells. It was the highest altitude I have been in a small plane and also the first time I used oxygen at altitude.  We landed in Pontiac MI at around 6 pm and boy was I ready to relax. Enjoy the pictures!

Along the cost of Northern Florida

A highlight of the trip was getting vectored right over top of NASA's shuttle and rocket launch facility at Cape Canaveral. Notice the VAB building to the right of the pictures where all the shuttles and rockets were assembled and then to the right is the 3 mile long runway that the shuttle's used to land on. Very cool flying right through such historical airspace. 

 Here are the launchpad's. Can't help but picture a Saturn V rocket sitting down there 50 yrs ago. 

Down at the house

Here is the screen shot of the cell over Ft Myers. I gained a great amount more respect for the ATC controllers on this flight. They precisely vectored us around and in between the intense sections and brought is in right on time before a huge downpour, along with many other flights 

First time on oxygen while at 17,000. 

Down and clear in Pontiac Michigan at Oakland International Airport. I learned so much on this trip and was in the most intense IFR conditions. Did I ever sleep good that night! The next evening we flew back to Barrie making a total trip of 3400 NM and 18 hours. 

Our track for the entire trip

That`s it folks! Until next time, God Bless!

September 2015

Hey folks. time for an update! I have been getting a steady amount of flying in this summer. At the end of July I flew down to Guatemala to visit some friends down there and to investigate an opportunity to serve as a mission pilot. I made the decision to move down there at some point next year to fly a Cessna 206. The mission is called Jungle Breezes Youth Ministries and is focused on ministering to the many youth boys coming from broken homes. The mission is based in northern Guatemala in the middle of nowhere, hence using the plane for transportation and emergencies that may arise. I will be in charge of the plane as well as being a mentor for the boys.... Here are a few pictures of my trip.

Flying the mission Cessna 206 with Paul Jones. Paul is with Missionary Air Group from Guatemala and a true gentleman. 

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Huge avacodo that I just picked. 

 Main mission house

  I have done some flying in the Cirrus and also been flying the Piper PA-11 that I flew two summers ago. I have been using it for some aerial photography for a fellow in southern Ontario. It has been a challenge working with the weather doing that since it has to be perfect to get the best shots but I have gotten a few good days in. Very unique flying having to get the best shot while flying and navigating the plane but I enjoy it. Enjoy the pictures!

Formation with a friend in his Fleet Finch

Random pics of cirrus flying....

 One of the buildings the company owns in Detroit MI

My friend`s beaver 

That`s it folks! Until next time!