New2view's Blog   Life on The Blue Marble

My friend’s wife wanted to reunite with her hubby in Cranbrook B.C. where he was temporarily assigned by his employer, Zerox Corp.

I was a willing pilot with a Mooney M20A airplane. So his wife and I flew from Victoria to Cranbrook.  A critical decision was made along the way.

Flying mainly at low altitude following the trans Canada highway, I attempted to take a shortcut over some low-range interior mountains but soon realized even lower clouds were obscuring terrain. So I made an abrupt reverse-course knife-edged turn back to the visible highway. It frightened my passenger but was a prudent decision. However, now fuel became a serious concern.  Yet just after sunset, we landed at Cranbrook’s uncontrolled* airport.

Next day the three of us planned to return home. However solid valley overcast prevented normal VFR (Visual Flight Rule) departure. After several checks of MOT (ministry of transport) aviation weather reports, and questioning a very confident recent arriving private jet pilot who said it was just a thin layer of valley overcast,  (from his point of view piloting a jet mind you), I decided to risk flying through that overcast for a VFR ‘on-top’ direct flight home.

We took off in my well planned Northerly direction away from all possible obstructions. It was like flying in a big damp cotton-like cloud strictly on instruments.  Climbing slowly, being fully loaded with fuel and two passengers.  As several minutes ticked by I stayed focused, this was no private jet after all. Finally we broke through into brilliant sunshine above the overcast and I immediately made a sharp turn 90 degrees to a Westerly heading. Gradually we climbed to about 8,500 feet, then leveled off with slightly nose down and fine tuning the fuel mixture.  Now we were on ‘the step’ as it is called by experienced pilots for optimal cruise speed of about 135 knots, or 155 mph.

From then on it was CAVU (clear and visibility unlimited) with very memorable views of truly magnificent, pristine, snow covered Coastal Mountain peaks!

Accurate course setting brought us directly over an important ADF (auto direction finding) beacon located South of the Okanagan Valley.

Continuing over coastal mountains, across the Fraser valley and Georgia Straight, we landed without incident right after sunset at our home airport, Victoria Int’l.

Another personal flight experience I will always fondly remember!

*uncontrolled: meaning no control tower.