Glory Days

The Glory Day Aren’t Over Yet! (Part 3)

by Sean Samuel

Waking up on day six of seven Adam and I were pretty tired. Our departure the previous day had been delayed due to forecasted moderate turbulence through the entire state of Nevada and thunderstorms in Salt Lake City (our next point). We decided to skip Salt Lake City because the chances of turbulence not occurring in the mountains would be rare. We also had the plane booked for seven days and we were on the sixth, and another student back home had reserved the aircraft for day eight.

Adam and I had created the most direct route back to B.C., which would take two days to complete, flying a comfortable six hours a day. With the plans down on paper, we grabbed a taxi out of Las Vegas and on to the airport.

After inspecting the aircraft to ensure the fuel tanks were full and the aircraft airworthy, I started up the engine and began taxiing. Immediately I noticed something wrong. It was taking a lot of power to get the aircraft moving initially, and after turning out of the parking slot I lost control over steering the nose wheel. I stopped the aircraft and shut the engine down. Adam and I stepped out and were met by yet another obstacle on our journey, the nose wheel had been punctured at some point and had gone completely flat when we had sat in the aircraft.

After a few calls back to the maintenance staff in B.C. we received our instructions, and a company from the airport on the other side of Las Vegas would dispatch someone to fix the plane, unfortunately, they would come in the evening. So there we were, another day lost on the trip. We decided to wait in the pilots lounge (which might I say was very adequately furnished with a flat screen tv, LA-Z-Boy, and full bathrooms).

We woke up at an early 5am the next morning at the Hilton hotel. We had made a one night booking the previous day since we wouldn’t have been able to fly. Adam and I packed our bags, ate a warm breakfast followed by a courtesy drive to the airport. This time nothing would stop us! The aircraft was still topped up with fuel, the new nose wheel was looking good and we were anxious to get back to where we belonged, the sky… I guess also back to our beds in B.C.!

Thankfully being early in the morning we encountered no turbulence crossing the Nevada desert back into California. Unfortunately, there was a large low pressure system off the west coast of California, and we encountered headwinds the entire journey home. The forecasted winds weren’t supposed to be quite as strong, fortunately we were prepared for anything to not be perfect. Adam and I discussed diverting to closer airports en-route as we were burning more fuel than anticipated as we battled through the headwinds. Sure enough we scrapped the plans we had made in the hotel the night before and improvised new fuel-stops with the stronger winds in mind. At some of the general aviation airports, one of us was able to talk briefly to local pilots while the other refueled the aircraft. We met people who were flying in for small air shows and even some people who were starting up their own company and actually looking to specifically hire BCIT Aerospace graduates! As we flew into Washington State it seemed unlikely we could make it back to B.C. before nightfall, so we found a small airport called Sanderson (KSHN) located a few miles south of the Hood Canal in Washington State.

The owner of the on-airport restaurant saw us fly in and offered to keep her place open for us so we could have some dinner (we had just been eating snacks in-flight to save on time on the ground). After a very hearty bowl of chilli and a burger I pulled out my laptop to check the weather for the next morning when we would be flying back across the border.

Unfortunately fog was supposed to be moving in from the south and enclosing Sanderson airport (where we were currently at). The rest of the state northward though would be sky clear. We decided to call the flying club at home to request authorization to fly at night up to Bellingham as the weather was great for a night flight but would be socking out in a few hours. On approval Adam inspected the aircraft and made a beeline to Bellingham International. After a short one-hour flight we arrived in Bellingham fatigued and not even sure where we would sleep for the night. We were both prepared to sleep in the aicraft, but finally caught a lucky break - the pilots lounge in the terminal was open 24 hours! After securing the aircraft we found the lounge with one small couch and a few seats lined up side by side.

As I would be flying us back early in the morning the next day I lucked out with the couch and Adam graciously took the hard chairs as his bed for the night.

The next morning we woke up with sore backs, arms, legs, and anything else you can name. We had been up from 5am to 11pm the previous day getting back from Las Vegas, and after sleeping in ‘not the most favourable conditions’ we woke up early once more happy to be flying back to our own beds. After waiting till 7am for our border crossing clearance I flew us back into Canadian airspace. To express it plainly I was very happy when I said good morning to Boundary Bay Tower and joined the downwind leg into runway 07 for our full stop. After a quick call to the Canadian border guards we were granted access to step out of the aicraft on Canadian soil (well it was more asphalt but you get the idea).

Once we unpacked the aicraft and walked in the doors of the flying club, the journey was over.

It had been quite the experience, we had flown the beautiful Oregon coast, walked from one end of San Francisco to the next, toured Las Vegas, dealt with maintenance issues, and then did the longest flight day either of us had ever done. Reflecting on the trip I wouldn’t have changed a single thing; Adam and I have gained a lot of great experience for our aspiring pilot careers and had a lot of fun at the same time, what can I say…the glory days of being a pilot aren’t over quite yet!