Saskatoon to Langley
Spent the long weekend in Saskatchewan. Flew to Kamloops to pick up friend, dropped him off in Saskatoon and visited family, and then flew to a private strip near Nipawin. Fixed up some paint on the underside of the aircraft.
The trip back was a stop off in Saskatoon for fuel, and then a non-stop direct flight to Langley at elevations between 8,500 and 12,500.
The part of the trip up to Calgary was calm. High overcast at 13,000 feet but a strong 20 knot headwind. Nearing the TCA it started to get turbulent but at that point I climbed to 10,500. One call by me for clearance to enter the zone and one call from Terminal to clear me out and other than that no discussion at all. The track flew directly over downtown Calgary. That terminal airspace is busy - it seemed there was radio traffic continuously. I only saw one jet climbing out from my lower left to upper right.
Over the mountains the weather started. The 13,000 foot ceiling became thicker and there was rain. After I was over the first range the visibility came down to 10 to 15 miles with intermittent rain showers. This resulted in about 30 minutes of continual checking against the map for "outs" in case I had to turn out or descend into a VFR route. The altitude was maintained at the sector safe altitude at minimum but it did get a bit bumpy and I let the aircraft "surf" up and down a bit. The two pictures in this post are in the eastern parts of Kananaskis.
The flight from Arrow Lakes to Langley was more relaxing. I could descend to 8,500 again and this meant that the visibility was much better. The rain stopped and the ceiling went to a broken layer clearing to scattered over the lower mainland. There was some water-bomber activity on the north side of the lake but I was well over it and far to the south.
There was a fire restriction north-west of Kelowna which I discovered on checking that airfield's ATIS. I altered track just a little to fly directly over the airfield and thus the south-west track departing ensured I cleared the zone.
Flying past Hope there were two gliders: one above and one below my altitude of 8,500. They were a beautiful sight as they looked suspended in slow motion as I shot past. I knew the wind was out of the south and I should have thought to pass through the zone on the upwind side, as they would be in the lift side. Still, established two way contact and ensured there was no conflict.
A long flight - just under five hours due to that 20 knot headwind that never let up.
The trip back was a stop off in Saskatoon for fuel, and then a non-stop direct flight to Langley at elevations between 8,500 and 12,500.
The part of the trip up to Calgary was calm. High overcast at 13,000 feet but a strong 20 knot headwind. Nearing the TCA it started to get turbulent but at that point I climbed to 10,500. One call by me for clearance to enter the zone and one call from Terminal to clear me out and other than that no discussion at all. The track flew directly over downtown Calgary. That terminal airspace is busy - it seemed there was radio traffic continuously. I only saw one jet climbing out from my lower left to upper right.
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| Rain, mist, and a forest fire. |
Over the mountains the weather started. The 13,000 foot ceiling became thicker and there was rain. After I was over the first range the visibility came down to 10 to 15 miles with intermittent rain showers. This resulted in about 30 minutes of continual checking against the map for "outs" in case I had to turn out or descend into a VFR route. The altitude was maintained at the sector safe altitude at minimum but it did get a bit bumpy and I let the aircraft "surf" up and down a bit. The two pictures in this post are in the eastern parts of Kananaskis.
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| This lake helped establish visibility at about 10 miles. |
There was a fire restriction north-west of Kelowna which I discovered on checking that airfield's ATIS. I altered track just a little to fly directly over the airfield and thus the south-west track departing ensured I cleared the zone.
Flying past Hope there were two gliders: one above and one below my altitude of 8,500. They were a beautiful sight as they looked suspended in slow motion as I shot past. I knew the wind was out of the south and I should have thought to pass through the zone on the upwind side, as they would be in the lift side. Still, established two way contact and ensured there was no conflict.
A long flight - just under five hours due to that 20 knot headwind that never let up.
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