A Nice Day on The Hecate Straits

[Antique Pilot]

Here is me following a NCAS Beaver from PR to Masset. Compass heading only, no ADF.

[beaverbob]

Jack Anderson did not like the idea of a GPS. His idea was it took your attention from where it belonged -- outside.

I remember well those days crossing Hecate strait in weather like pictured. Line up two islands from Rupert and then hold the heading for twenty minutes making sure the angle to the waves below never change.

Bob

[Flybabe]

Old flying buddy of mine used to tell me about those flights all the time. I think he flew a Goose for TPA (I *think*).

You coastal pilots are pretty darn awesome

[Antique Pilot]

The guy flying the Beaver is an old friend and sent me a message wondering why we were flying so high.

As for the route what was it...Triple Island, Tree Nobs, Butterworth Rock then hit Rose Spit at the right place. Just to the south of Rose Spit were some high cliffs along the beach. But that is another story.

A few years ago I returned to the QCI's and stayed at a BB out near Tow Hill. The weather was lousy certainly not flyable in my opinion. Suddenly I heard the sound of a Beaver out over the water. Couldn't see it but sure heard it as it was quite close.

AP

[single_swine_herder]

When the weather was good, it almost seemed like a crime to be paid to fly out there. When the weather was crummy, flight operations didn't stop.

My hat is off to guys that managed to do that for extended periods of years and stay alive .... about 18 months of continuous coastal Beaver flying was all I could take in weather with zero forward vis and maybe 200 feet out the side window at 6 feet off the waves hoping you'd see the darkness of an island shoreline before you hit it ... eventually I began to drink myself to sleep at night and wake up with nightmares feeling like I hadn't slept for a week and going out to do it again for another day of 10 to 20 takeoff and landings in swells and waves.

And the thing was it seemed everybody was flying that way in those days ....... and the vast majority of us young bozos with sharp vision and excellent hands and feet skills were too inexperienced to break the normal behaviour, because speaking up would get you the "benefit" of one or two "serious talkings to," followed by being left at home for 2 or 3 weeks with no trips and no income, and then being fired ... or as it was described .... "laid off" due to lack of work when everybody else was flying their bag off to compensate for you being at home because you had the nerve to cancel a flight when you couldn't see a telephone pole from across the street.

When a few of us studied the loss rate of WW2 coastal patrol units and realized our civilian air carrier had a higher loss rate than people looking for enemy submarines, we had a rebellion and decided as a group we wouldn't depart in less than reported 1/2 mile vis, the owner was aghast and his only explanation was that we were "cowards who didn't have what it took to make it in aviation."

We did stick together, and flying in 1/4 of the legal limits seemed like an absolute doddle.

Luckily, I survived when many didn't and never looked back ..... lesson learned in what I didn't want to ever do again.

[Antique Pilot]

Amen! You lasted longer than me.

AP

[duCapo]

Pre loran/gps, over Butterworth hold 230 for about 20 minutes, if we didn't hit Rose Spit, turn left. Pretty hard to tell the viz when you are out there on a grungy day.
You have some great old photos AP, one of my exes got all of mine:-( I wish I still had them. But it still looks the same up here.

[bronson]

When the water flattens out, you have gone by Rosespit....

[xsbank]

And it it hasn't flattened out in 18 minutes you hang a right so you don't hit Tow Hill.

In a strange way, I miss all that, but I survived aviation and don't intend to ever go back.

[skytramp2800]

Jack had ripped me a new one, after I'd come home in the 180, after turning around over the ., ( that could be a challenge, given that "you couldn't see anything out front) He said I …"was nothin' but wind scairt!!"
Other times, ripping down the beach toward Masset, all you could see was the surf, you knew you were by Tow Hill when you got the s##t kicked out of you, caused by the burble over the hill, even though you never saw the damn thing.


RIP... Sandy, Grant, David, hell, even Jack.

Solly's Pub for dinner and cocktails…"Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end"

[xsbank]

Every Tuesday we went to the Crest Hotel for oven grilled halibut, 5 course meal for 2.50. We jigged fish off the dock for other meals so we could afford beer, hit the (sh*t I forgot the name) of a place downtown on Fridays for a 16oz t-bone, baked potato, pie and ice cream. $325/month as a dispatcher/pilot trainee didn't leave much room for food. No Solly's then, all the beering in the back-room lounge at the office. Never ate so much great fresh seafood as back then, even abalone was fair game then!

[Antique Pilot]

I think the steak place downtown was the Surf Club.

[xsbank]

That's it! Sorry for the B.F.