Searching for "Fossils" at "Jurassic Park"

Yesterday, March 26, I took my son Shane to Gimli. He had a hockey practice, as he made the Interlake Regional Team for 1st year Bantam hockey players. The kids are required to be at the rink 1 hr. beforehand, so I had an hour to kill, as I also wanted to watch the practice and get some new ideas for hockey drills, as I coach also. Anyhow, I thought I would head to "Jurassic Park" to see if there were any "fossils" to be seen, as there have been numerous sightings as of late, and "prehistoric rumblings" have been shattering the early-morning stillness of the air, awakening local residents. By the way, "Jurassic Park" is also known as the Gimli Industrial Park Airport. I pulled in by Skyline Maintenance and Avionics and shutdown my Dodge, and proceeded warily on foot. Off in the distance something blocked out the sun.


A "Mastodon"? 


"Wooly Mammoth"? 


"Brontosaurus"? 


Damn! Curtis C-46 "Commando" C-GTPO! 


Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Elvis Presley, and Humphrey Bogart are aboard peering out the windows! 


"Damn fine lines"! 


"Hello"! A "Velociraptor"? 


Nope, Douglas DC-3! 


History embodied! 


CF-FTR 


I get a "woodie" around these airplanes. "Prehistoric masterpieces"! 


Raw power! 


This DC-3 is running Pratt and Whitney 1830-92 engines, a 14 cylinder, twin-row configuration. 


Another C-46! 


Thoughts of the "Burma Hump" come to mind....... 


This "giant" can "bellow and roar"! 


 

Then, I looked at my watch, and realized practice would soon be starting. As I turned to leave, I heard a voice shouting from the other side of C-46 C-GIBX. A small, elderly gentleman appeared from behind a motorhome parked beside the C-46. He approached me, and we chatted for awhile. Lo and behold, it is a small world. He lives in Nebraska, but comes up to Canada in the spring. He is familiar with the area, as he once had a paint shop at St. Andrews Airport, but sold it in 1988. Yup, you got it, it was ................."Pistol Pete"!!! I took a photo of him, and he took one of me, and we parted ways, after chatting awhile longer!


One "fossil" I hadn't foreseen encountering! "Pistol Pete"! Yes, "Jurassic Park" has many surprises! 


Myself beneath the "tented" left engine of C-46 IBX, "Pistol Pete" photographing. 

In all seriousness, folks, Gimli Industrial Park Airport is a great place to see some fantastic aviation specimens. All 3 aircraft in the photos are on-line, and fly daily. They are owned and operated by FNT Transport, and haul freight to northern communities. Every morning, at "Jurassic Park", a "Pratt and Whitney" symphony can be heard...............