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bush_pilot
Member
Post Number: 150
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Friday, March 6, 2009 - 1:39 pm: | 
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Since it is a little quiet on the forum these days how about a few stories about one of the often overlooked but fun parts of wilderness travel, the fly in/out. I'll start things off with a story I wrote for an aviation forum.
Reverse thrust in a piston engine Beaver impossible you say, huh.
In the early '80's I had the great privilege of flying with Rusty Blakey, at the time he was considered the oldest commercial pilot in Canada. Rusty learned to fly in an open cockpit Waco in the 1940's with Austin Airways, needles to say a fascinating man.
Just after freeze up Rusty asked me to accompany him on a flight into Wolf Lake to help unload two 45's of gas for a diamond drill. Snow cover on the lake was very thin.
On final to the lake we noticed that snow cover was very patchy with large areas of glare ice. Rusty reduced speed as much as possible, but soon after touchdown it was apparent that we were not slowing down, the skis made a horrible sound on the bare ice. Without enough room to overshoot, very large hills surround Wolf Lake, I was sure we were about to slowly slide into the low rock cliff directly in front of us, with 90 gallons of gas directly behind us to boot!
Rusty pushed in full right rudder, slowly the Beaver started to turn, for a brief moment sliding sideways before eventually turning completely backwards. I remember thinking that at least the drums would no longer be behind us as we slammed into the rock. Rusty however was thinking of other things, at that moment he smoothly applied full throttle, "reverse thrust" gently bringing us to a stop.
I looked over at him and asked if that was his plan all along and with a twinkle in his eye he only smiled. What a guy!
Thursten "Rusty" Blakey 1911 - 1986
Member - Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame
Member - Order of Canada
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brian
Moderator
Post Number: 1030
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Friday, March 6, 2009 - 1:52 pm: |
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What a ride!
Were you flying with Sudbury Aviation then? And now the big question: have you tried the maneuver yourself? |
bush_pilot
Member
Post Number: 151
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Friday, March 6, 2009 - 2:34 pm: |
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In Sudbury I flew for Ramsey Airways, they operated out of the old Austin Airways base on Ramsey Lake right in the middle of Sudbury. In the late '70s Austins sold all of their float bases and concentrated on their wheeled fleet which operated primarily out of the Timmins and Pickle Lake airports. Sudbury was the first base the Austin Brothers opened, sometime in the 1930's. Austin Airways eventually morphed into Air Ontario and eventually Air Canada Jazz.
Rusty taught me a lot of tricks but I never had the occasion to try it myself. I still don't know if he planned all along to do that or if it just came to him at the time. If it just came to him then that was very nimble thinking in a very stressful few seconds. I like to think it just came to him, he did afterall survive 40 some years of bush flying in primitive aircraft without the infrastructure that pilots today take for granted. |
brian
Moderator
Post Number: 1031
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Friday, March 6, 2009 - 5:24 pm: |
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Was his personality as big as his flying reputation? |
irishfield
Member
Post Number: 189
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Friday, March 6, 2009 - 11:58 pm: |
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Great story and so timely... I did pretty close to that on Wednesday on Matchedash Lake in my bird. Polished ice with a skif of snow on it.. plastic ski bottoms and a cross wind that at power back had me heading for shore in a hurry perfectly sideways and I wasn't slowing down. My only savour was I shut down and slipped out the door, grabbing the strut and dragging my feet. Luckily I was wearing my cleated bottomed Kamiks that created enough drag I got it stopped 50 feet from shore. Looked like a good place to fish... and clean out my shorts!
Then there was the trip from Temagami to Nipigon in August.. but I can't write that one or they'd pull my ticket !
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tsm
Member
Post Number: 140
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, March 7, 2009 - 7:36 am: |
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Great story and photo Wayne!
You guys are living my dream!
Marc |
bush_pilot
Member
Post Number: 152
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, March 7, 2009 - 9:21 am: |
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Brian
I would say that Rusty's personality was certainly as big as his flying ability, it was very unique as well. Rusty was a small wiry man with boundless nervous energy. You could call him a "character". I never heard him swear at least in the conventional way, well there was one time when a fuel barrel rolled onto his foot...he was always thinking about details, the little things that meant so much to his passengers. He seemed to know everyone and everyone knew him. He was one of those people you just liked to be around. |
sundown
Member
Post Number: 387
Registered: 04-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, March 7, 2009 - 12:34 pm: |
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Irish
I Hear You... Re: Pullin' Tickets !!!
So Many, Many Stories I Wish I Could Share, but
I'd Have to Call Them "Pure Fiction"...
I Am "Very Much" Enjoying This Thread, And Have the "Finger-Twitch"... but...
Sundown
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bush_pilot
Member
Post Number: 153
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, March 7, 2009 - 1:20 pm: |
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Aw come on Sundown share, its been awful slow around here lately. I'll tell one more then it's your turn.
I hand bombed a Beaver on floats ONCE, the old girl fired on the first swing. We were on a remote lake north of Sudbury,I briefed the passenger that as soon as the engine started to pull the throttle back to idle so I wouldn't be blown into the lake. I scrambled down the float in the back door then up into the pilots seat, trying very hard to look casual. The pax looked at me in amazement and asked if I had to do that very often, oh sure I said we do it all the time! When we got back to base I told the other pilot, a very old timer ex Austin Airways, about the hand start and he asked me how I knew #9 cyl. was at top dead centre. I replied that I had no idea what he was talking about I just gave it the biggest heave I could muster. I knew enough to keep my left hand on the cowl to keep from rocking forward and decapitating myself. According to him I could have swung that thing all day and it wouldn't have started unless #9 was at TDC. Not sure if he was pulling my leg or not. Anyway we both had a real good laugh over that one.
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sundown
Member
Post Number: 389
Registered: 04-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, March 7, 2009 - 2:20 pm: |
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Awwwww Maaaaan
Thass Jist Naught Fare
You Just Know How I Love ta Stay Outta Trubble...
Sundown |
irishfield
Member
Post Number: 190
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, March 7, 2009 - 4:56 pm: |
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Marc.. if you look in the picture.. see the tailwheel? That's the way it parked.. I didn't turn it or the airplane !  |
sundown
Member
Post Number: 391
Registered: 04-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, March 7, 2009 - 5:42 pm: |
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Bush-Pilot...
Just Curious...
Have You Ever Hand-Bombed a DHC Tailwheel?
I've Heard of It Bein' Done, But Only On Floats?
Sundown
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bush_pilot
Member
Post Number: 154
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, March 7, 2009 - 6:11 pm: |
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Only did it the one time and that was on floats. |
sundown
Member
Post Number: 392
Registered: 04-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, March 8, 2009 - 2:16 pm: |
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Yer Right, Bush... Tizza Bit Qwiet... So, I'll "Make-Up" a Probably "Entirely Fictional Tale"... Justa Keep Thangs Movin'
(All Names Have Been Changed to Protect the Fictional Culprits)
Ok... Hmmm ... Accessing Fictional Imagination...
Here We Go...
A Long Time Ago, In a Fictional Land Called Tims-a-lot there was a Young Squire in charge of Aerial Detection for Everything North of Temagami to the Pole.
Aerial Detection for Forest Fires, Is a demanding and physically/mentally draining enterprise. We were flying Cessna 310's in those days (Google "cessna310" for spec)... Twin Tripeller Bats-Outta-Hell, I'd say... with twin 260's and a speed approaching 400kms per hour, before you dove on a fire...
Diving on a fire, or trying to "windmill" a dead engine to attempt a midair restart... heck... I dont know... but, I'd guess you were +550 kms per hour?
Anyway... it was a job with everything except a "Future Of Tomorrow"... many times...
Hard Way Ta Make a Living, Some Days...
Young Squire (fictional character) was in charge of recruiting and certifying Aerial Detection Observers for this territory... and, because he took his task seriously, he wished the 'best-of-the-best"...
He Also Selected His Pilots With Great Care...
A Great Many Were Retired CF-18 Pilots...
Ice-Water Lads...
For His Aerial Detection Observers...
He would allow 12 Candidates for 8 seasonal positions, and institute an intensive Classroom Training session and examination, but... at the enda the day... it really came down to the facts of whether or not you, As a Candidate, could "hold-yer-cookies" when the "rubber-weren't-touchin'-the-tarmack'...
if ya know what I mean?
Awwww Maaaan... Wish I Could Tell tha Resta Thiss Storree...
Sundown
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rossclan
Member
Post Number: 7
Registered: 08-2008
| | Posted on Saturday, March 21, 2009 - 5:37 pm: |
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I worked at one time in a previous life for a environmental research firm. Had the privealge of having Rusty fly us into lakes we were surveying for impacts of acid rain in the early 80s-he could drop down in a pothole with barely enough room to clear tree tops on the way out. We also flew a lot with a guy I just recall as "Stan" from Georgian Bay Airways I think it was called in Parry Sound who was also very impressive.Not sure if he would still be around? |
Temagami general