Canada By Cub

August 5---Touchdown at Whitehorse Airport in Air Canada's Embraer 190. I walked over to the Cub. C-FPPK was its registration, serial number 18527. The engine was a 90 hp Continental, and wing tanks extended endurance to five hours. I looked through the log- books and flew touch-and-goes. I found an empty room near the pilots' lounge and put my sleeping bag on the floor.

August 6---I swung the prop a few times, and the Continental came to life. After a bumpy ride through the mountains, my first stop was the dirt strip at Teslin. I filled up my extra five-gallon jerry can and strapped it into the front seat. It was raining, and the visibility was greatly reduced. I had to follow the Alaska Highway at a very low altitude toward Watson Lake. After fueling up, I crossed the border into British Columbia and flew over Toad River. I landed on a little grass strip and camped in my tent beside the Cub.

August 7---It was a calm, early-

morning ride to my fuel stop in Fort Nelson. I flew over my relatives' home in Alberta. We met at their local airport, and I stayed for a two-night visit.

August 9---I reached Camrose, Alberta, when the weather turned bad and thunderstorms formed to the east. I spent the night on the couch in the small terminal building.

August 10---The weather wasn't good enough to fly, so I stayed in Camrose.

August 11---I stopped at Provost for fuel. Right after departure, the top bracket of my left side windows let go, and the windows fell inside the plane. I landed again, and the local guys helped me reattach the bracket with rivets. I flew east toward Corman Air Park near Saskatoon.

August 12---The winds were really blowing, and I was cruising at 90 knots instead of 60 knots. I ended up staying in Regina for three nights because of really bad weather systems moving slowly east.

August 15---The winds were still blowing, but I wanted to head east. The forecast showed winds of 15 knots gusting to 20 knots, but when I got to Brandon, Manitoba, it was 25 gusting to 32 knots! After an exciting landing, taxiing was a real workout. This is when it's very useful to know how to place your elevator and ailerons into the wind! I put the airplane in a hangar and slept on the flight school's couch.

August 16---At Lyncrest Airpark, a retired Air Canada pilot let me try his Fleet Canuck, and another pilot flew me in his Ercoupe to his runway for supper.

August 17---I took off from the wet grass for Ontario. First stop was Kenora and then Thunder Bay for some fuel. At Marathon, I camped in the terminal.

August 18---Ceilings were around 500 feet. But I took off, wanting to make progress, and it eventually cleared up. I landed at Hearst Air's dirt runway where they operate fishing camps. After fueling, I made it to Kirkland Lake where it was pouring. The terminal was locked, the phone didn't work, and there was no place to eat. Night was coming, and I had just enough time to take off for Rouyn-Noranda. It was still pouring, but at least I found a place to eat and sleep.

August 19---The ceilings were low again, but the visibility was good. I made it to Val d'Or, where I met a pilot and stayed at his place.

August 20---The second-to-last leg was a stop in Mont-Laurier, and the final leg brought me to Beloeil, Quebec. I arrived at 1:30 p.m., and was greeted by many people and reporters. The plane's owner was really happy to see his plane at his local airport!

An adventure like the one I had is worth a lot more than the 60 hours it took. I experienced all kinds of weather and real-life decision making. It even led me to another job---I returned to Hearst Air for two months working on their dock and building hours in a de Havilland Beaver. As I said, one thing leads to another in aviation---you never know what might come up next.