12/20/2020
This morning, Doug Williams shared the 'C-FPIO mission' with us fellow Cherokee 140 owners. Here it is.
Good Morning,
I wanted to take a moment to share with all of you, our “mission” to bring C-FPIO back from Morden Manitoba.
A good friend of Bruce’s, Jim offered to help us out by flying his Twin Duke, with Wade, Bruce and myself on board.
After waiting for the weather to clear, on Monday December 14th we flew to Morden. To stay within a safe operating range Jim ran with half tanks forcing us to make a stop in Thunder Bay. Conditions were good but very cold. After fueling up Jim’s plane we took off for the last leg of our journey to Morden.
With Wade acting as his Co-Pilot, Jim Flew IFR over weather and well into the night. We arrived in Morden, wrapped Jim’s Plane up with space heaters and blankets and treated ourselves to some gourmet McDonalds (the only thing open due to Covid restrictions in Manitoba).
The next morning we woke up, bright and early to less than ideal conditions of snow and extremely cold temperatures.
After sealing the deal for the purchase of the plane we loaded both planes, Bruce and Jim returning in the Duke and Wade and I in Papa India Oscar. The plane wouldn’t start, it was to cold. We were not initially concerned because the conditions were not really VFR, so we felt we had a little time hoping the conditions would improve. Not the best way to start the trip. After putting her back in the hanger and warming her up with space heaters we were able to start.
Jim and Bruce took off for their 2:30 minute flight back to Gore Bay, and Wade and I headed out starting our three day adventure. From the weather reports we knew it was not good ahead of us but we would be able to get to at least Fort Francis. This was a challenging leg of our journey flying 2000 feet to remain in visual, with the land below us. After keeping clear of a series of very tall towers and identifying visual landmarks like airstrips in Minnesota we entered Ontario. As we got closer to Fort Francis the conditions worsened leaving us with a little over a mile of visibility. Wade landed the Plane and we were both happy to be on the ground. The food and beer was better in FF, Boston Pizza seemed to taste better than ever. The plane had to be left outside in the snow, wrapped with heaters blowing all night.
The next morning weather observations revealed clear sailing to Thunder Bay, but more than likely no further than that. Luckily the snow was light and fluffy, easy to clean off and we were on our way. The flight was uneventful until dealing with attitude from the Tbay tower controller. We gassed the plane up and put her down for the night. Another night in a Hotel, a better meal at the Keg and we were ready for our third day of the journey back.
We were not sure if we would be able to get by Marathon, there was heavy lake effect snow. Flight aware telling us that it was not VFR conditions. Wade made the call to fly VFR over the system and under the actual ceiling above us, at 7,500 ft. He was confident that shortly past Marathon the conditions would clear and we could “turn the corner” at Wawa, come down to 5000 ft to head into the Sault St. Marie area. This is exactly what happened, very cool experience. Again we were not sure if we would be able to continue beyond the Sault knowing conditions were deteriorating again.
Once again Wades prowess shone, we flew along the shore crossing to follow the islands leading us to Gore Bay. We flew at a little better than circuit height to keep our 500 ft clearance above us. As we approached Gore bay air space the ceiling lifted and we had “clearer” conditions to land in. Mission Accomplished!
We were very happy with the way the plane performed, it was a very good purchase. If your in the area drop by and take a look. It is temporarily in XRH’s hanger while Robby gets ours ready.
Bruce and I are very grateful to Wade for making this happen, without him none of this would have been possible. Jim for flying the whole crew out, and Robby for keeping CYZE open and clear for whenever we would return.
This was an awesome experience! If Wade ever invites you to partake in a Max Flex mission, definitely take him up on it. You just may want to pack a couple extra pairs of underwear.
Cheers and Merry Christmas to all of you.
Doug Williams
