Canoe, Hunt, Fish, and Fly, by Otter

I know that with the strife and uncertainty in the Middle East, there has been talk in the good old U.S. of A. about reinstating the draft. There has been a lot of public outcry over this, and President Bush has stated publicly that there will be not be a draft in the U.S.. In Canada, a little known fact is that we have had a draft every year in June for over 40 years, and now it is to be cancelled. I sympathize with the American public, but in Canada, we need "The Draft". I wish both sides concerned would get off of their "ego-constructed pinnacles", show some humility, and reach an agreement. The future of some fine, talented young men, depends on them. Therefore, for Canada, I say, "Reinstate the Draft"!!!

"Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion"
- General "Stormin'" Norman Schwarzkopf

Folks, I don't usually make a plea for assistance, but in this case I thought I should. I have a pilot friend who has had many ups and downs, and has weathered whatever life has seen fit to throw his way. He has seen financial ruin, catastrophic relationship disintegration, and is trying to recover from substance abuse. I therefore told him I would make his plight known, and would ask for any assistance available. He said he just wants to come home. If you can help a wayward pilot, please click on the link below. Thank you.

Help a Wayward Pilot Get Home

(speakers on for audio, use your mouse)

The story of the Grass family will become a movie, I guarantee it. They have finally reached "freedom", after leaving Cuba. The picture below is of a 1951 Chevy pickup, and on this attempt they made it to within 40 miles of the U.S. before the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted them and returned them to Cuba. A second attempt was made in a Buick sedan (I'm serious, a Buick sedan) converted into a boat. Again, they were intercepted. They have now reached the U.S. overland and will be allowed to stay. Refugees with that determination should be allowed to stay, as I'm sure they were persecuted, and will be productive. I'm sure that anyone with enough talent to get to the U.S. from Cuba by "truck", will have no trouble finding a job in welding or manufacturing, maybe even in the "research and development" division of some company. I think this fellow and his family clearly reflect one of the national mottos of the U.S., E Pluribus Unum!! It is too bad the Coast Guard sank the 2 improvised boats, as I'm sure they would have been right at home in the "Smithsonian", as a presentation entitled "Human Ingenuity and Spirit in the Quest for Freedom". (Click on the title and read the whole amazing story)



 
Gregory Wald / U.S. Coast Guard via AP file

I was really ticked off when I heard about the "cowardly assassination" of 4 RCMP officers, because that is what it was, an assassination, perpetrated by a filthy coward. I have always held the RCMP in high regard and share their sorrow along with all Canadians.

The inequities in the justice system really perturb me. We put officers in the line of fire to arrest criminals, and then panty-waisted judges let them go. More than a decade before he gunned down four Alberta Mounties, James Roszko tried to convince another man to kill for him. Recently released court documents reveal Roszko offered a young acquaintance $10,000 in 1993 to kill a man in Mayerthorpe with an automatic assault rifle that may have been the same weapon used in the March 3, 2005, slayings.

Roszko was charged with counseling another person to commit murder, but the charge was dropped after a preliminary hearing when the judge ruled that casually talking about killing someone isn't the same thing as plotting to kill someone. Well, don't you talk when you are plotting?

One of the conditions attached to Roszko's initial release after he was arrested on the charge and six other firearms-related charges was that he stay away from the RCMP.

He had numerous other offences to his "credit", including unlawful confinement, assault with a weapon, pointing a firearm and impersonating an officer. In 1999, he was charged with firing on two trespassers with a 12-gauge shotgun, but those charges were dismissed. He was due in court next month facing charges of mischief for damaging vehicles by the use of spike belts on his property. This guy was a menace.

Now, let us get to the title of my story. This incident with James Roszko proves what a farce the gun registry is. If a criminal needs a gun, he will get it no matter what, and our law-enforcement people should be on the street policing, not in an office smothered by gun registry paperwork, and law-abiding citizens shouldn't live in fear of a fascist "search and seizure" of their firearms.

Funding, obviously, is a problem for law enforcement, and in Manitoba the government has coughed up an extra $9.5 million for extra police officers; 23 of them in Winnipeg, 28 with the RCMP, 2 in Brandon and 1 with the Dakota Ojibway Police Service. Good move. The RCMP have called for an increase in the number of cadets in training, and the number of officers graduating each year.

Here is the absolute folly of Chapter 39, Bill C-68; Yearly cost to maintain the Gun Registry: $100 Million/yr
Costs to implement 30% of the Gun Registry: $2 Billion

Now, here is my math. If a police officer makes $70,000/yr., and you add about 30% more for employer CPP, EI, health and dental plan, pension plan, etc., contributions, and then factor in the cost of their training and equipment into our yearly figure, we will go with $150,000. This figure may not be exact, but with the amount of money being wasted, no matter what the figure is for an officer yearly, you will see how huge this waste is. $2,000,000,000(already) divided by $150,000 = 13,334 more officers that could be at work already. This is unbelievable. $100,000,000 divided by $150,000 = 667 new officers that could be added EVERY year and it wouldn't change the revenue being spent (our tax dollars), as it is already being spent on the Gun Registry!

Anyway, if money is spent on anything, it should be spent wisely. Would the money spent on the registry have made a difference in Alberta if it had been spent on police officers instead? Possibly, maybe Roszko would have been off the streets already, or maybe the RCMP intelligence would have been better, or maybe a more experienced, senior officer would have been present and realized the danger, we could debate all day. The Gun Registry is not money well-spent, and targets everyday, law-abiding citizens, and not the criminals.

My condolences to the RCMP and the families of the 4 fallen, brave, young officers. You will not be forgotten.


TAPS

LAST POST

RCMP-GRC HEROES


Cst. Brock Warren MYROL
Reg. 51874


Cst. Anthony Fitzgerald Orion GORDON
Reg. 49673


Cst. Lionide Nicholas JOHNSTON
Reg. 48568


Cst. Peter Christopher SCHIEMANN
Reg. 48064

REST IN PEACE

The sun was just starting to clear the trees to the east. I "coaxed" the Pratt and Whitney R-985 radial engine to life, and kept it running for a few minutes using the primer. My breath was visible as I sat running the engine, cursing the cold. "Minus 35*C is too 'bleeping' cold to be flying out to the bush", I cursed. I sat there and watched the oil temperature creep up to 40*C as all the fuel in the diluted oil burned off.

Winter time presents a whole new set of problems in regards to flying in the bush. Thick oil, frost inside the cylinders, brittle metal, frozen moisture in the fuel, slush on the lakes, frozen fingers, whiteouts, I could go on and on.

I kept the nose shutter closed, and taxied out as my oil temp. passed 40*C. I trimmed the Beaver, old C-GJJG, set the flaps, and 450 horses woke up the community of Little Grand Rapids. I lifted into the air leaving an exhaust contrail, and headed for Noname Lake.

I levelled off at 2500' and headed south. I was going to pick up Fred and Helen Moar, who had been out trapping. The reason I needed the Beaver to pick up 2 people was because Fred wanted to bring back his Ski-Doo Elan to Little Grand Rapids. I motored along as more heat filled the cabin. It was a beautiful day with no wind, despite the cold.

"Buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-brr-brr-brr-brr-brr-brr-brr-brrapp-brrapp-brrapp-brrapp-brrapp-........" The engine started to shake, just like a Laborador Retriever after catching a barn rat! Shit, I was 20 minutes into the flight and not close to my destination yet. I put on the "carb heat", and switched fuel tanks. Still, the engine ran rough. I quickly keyed my microphone and informed my Base I had a problem and was going to land on Giraffe Lake, and they acknowledged, and said they would send the C-180, CF-LDW. As I turned to land on the lake, I saw a trail of blue smoke behind me. "A little more serious than carb ice", I mumbled. My landing was smooth, and I shut the airplane down immediately, as I was concerned about fire. No fire ensued, but there was oil visibly leaking out the exhaust.

Garth and CF-LDW picked me up after about a 45 minute wait, and returned to our Base. On a lake in the bush with a broken airplane is not where I want to be when it is -35*C out. Then, Garth picked up Fred and Helen, and left the ski-doo behind.

Once back in a warm building, I phoned Bob Polinuk and told him of my dilemma. Bob, along with his son Gary, owns Selkirk Air and Riverside Aircraft Maintenance. They were our Aircraft Maintenance Organization, and were good guys to call when you were in a pickle. I explained the situation, and Bob and I both agreed there was a good chance the engine would have to "come out".

The next day I met Bob's son Gary at the forced landing site, Gary having flown up in his own Cessna 185. After some diagnostics in the cold, it was confirmed that the engine would have to be removed.

We made arrangements to meet at the site later in the week when the weather was good, and remove the engine. We would get John Gibson from Rotor Ways (today Provincial Helicopters) to sling the engine from Giraffe Lake to Bissett, which is road-accessible, once we had it off. Gary brought along Ralph Rutledge to help, and myself and my brother Corey also helped. We built a tripod, and in short order had the prop and engine removed. John picked up the engine with a long-line, took it to Bissett, and dropped it into the back of a pickup truck. Pretty good hands and feet!!

The engine was sent back to the overhaul shop in Oklahoma, as it only had 200 hrs. on it and shouldn't have failed. It turned out the impeller bearing in the supercharger failed, and was blowing oil into the intake, and then straight into the cylinders. They repaired the engine free-of-charge, and had to replace the supercharger, though we were stuck with the engine removal and re-installation bill.

John from Rotor Ways (Provincial Helicopters) slung the engine back to the forced-landing site, and Bob and Gary met us there, and the engine was installed. Bob test-ran the engine, and then flew the aircraft back to the hangar in Selkirk to thoroughly check for any other problems, and double-check the re-installation.

The aircraft checked out fine, and was returned to service. It provided stellar service during summer and winter for the next number of years. Bob and Gary had done a fine job of rescuing C-GJJG from the bush.

A couple of years passed, and I was now employed with another company, but I always wondered what had caused the engine to fail that cold, wintry day, when C-GJJG and I ended up stranded in the "toolies" at -35*C! Then, one day sitting in a floatbase in Riverton, Manitoba, while reading some Transport Canada maintenance advisories, there it was!! Some R-985 engines had failed, and the problem had been traced to the wrong tolerance-fit of the impeller bearing. Guess what else? The engines were all failing around 200 hrs.! Shit, deja-vu!!

I was glad to find out, even later, that the engine failure wasn't due to operator mishandling, as I am very appropriate when it comes to the operation of engines. The cold is hard on machines, but hey, what can a guy do? We live in Canada!

Bob and Gary Polinuk are still operating today, still running Selkirk Air and Riverside Aircraft Maintenance. I see them quite often in the summer, and Bob always has a story to tell. And guess what? They are still rescuing aircraft from the bush! Some things never change. What an industry, and what a country!


REMOVAL: John and his Hughes 500 would soon rescue a Pratt and Whitney R-985 engine from the bush. 


REMOVAL: Frozen fingers and ears are usually a constant when removing an aircraft engine from an airplane stranded in the bush in Manitoba in winter! 


NEW! By the way, the morning we arrived to pull the engine, it was -30*C! Nothing some tough Canadian boys can't handle.........!! 


REMOVAL: Making sure all lines, cables, and wiring are disconnected properly before hoisting..... 


REMOVAL: The engine ready to be hoisted, and then removed and lowered in preparation for the arrival of the helicopter. 


NEW! Prop and engine off, we now await the arrival of John Gibson and his Hughes 500 helicopter........ 


NEW! John arrives, we hook up the long-line, and he is off to Bissett with the engine. Not too often Pratt and Whitney R-985 engines fly through the air "not producing power"....John deposited the engine into the "box of a pickup truck!" Great skills.......... 


NEW! My brother "Gene, Recessive" (Corey) walks back to our airplane after a day of low temperatures and wind. Engine off and C-GJJG covered up, we would head home for warmth and beers........ 


RE-INSTALLATION: Engine re-installed and run, C-GJJG shed the congealed oil clogging her exhaust system. The cowlings were installed, and Bob took to the sky and headed for Selkirk. 


NEW! Engine warmed and running well, C-GJJG leapt into the sky, overjoyed to be back in her element............... 

Standing in front of the Beaver, "dressed-for-the-elements" Kelly strikes a fine Canadian pose! 


A view from the front of my house on a beautiful winter day. Not far to go to work!! 


Good old Beaver C-GJJG at Red Willow Lake, Manitoba. Springtime, 1988. 


Pauingassi, spring, 1988. Landing straight skis on wet ice was always a challenge, especially with a crosswind. Kind of like trying to stand on a basketball, drunk!! 


The ice starting to dry and "candle" from the top. Notice I am parked on a high spot. Myself and old C-GJJG would soon be going south for floats..... 


Hanging on right until the last minute, as usual. The ice is already starting to pull away from the shoreline. Where we are parked is frozen right to the bottom, and you can see the ice "blackening" in front of the airplanes. Time to head south, get an inspection done, and switch to floats.  


Myself and good old Michael "Crowbait" Eastman, changing C-GJJG from "straight skis" to wheels at Sandy Bar, on Lake Winnipeg. The Icelandic River in Riverton was completely open water, so we had to change-over on the "Big Lake". I then landed in a farmer's field beside his turkey barn, and taxied down the road to the hoist by the river to install the floats. Spring, 1988. 


Having successfully landed in Sigmar Johnson's field by his turkey barn without killing any turkeys, "Crowbait" and I strike a nonchalant pose. Feathers everywhere!!! 


Change-over complete, "Crowbait" and I line up the Beaver, good ship C-GJJG, for launching, without spilling our beers! 


Into the Icelandic River went the good ship C-GJJG. She would soon head back north, and continue to "flog" the skies and bush and earn her keep.