The Cessna 208B Caravan

It seems I've got time for another post....


Shawn and The Caravan 

In September of 2004, I was awarded a bid to become a pilot on the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan. The Caravan is one if the workhorses of bush aviation. Capable of carrying a pilot and 9 passenger, or 3400lbs of freight into the shortest and nastiest of airstrips, it's very popular in the sparsely settled areas of Northern Canada, and all over the world. It's sales exceed 1000. In aviation terms, that's pretty popular. Not only very strong outside, it was very strong inside as well, boosting a very well equipped panel making it capable of Single Pilot, IFR operations.

In order for myself, and Skyward, to take full advantage of the 208's single pilot capabilities, I was required to take a one week groundschool and simulator course at the Pan-Am flight training facility in Memphis, Tennessee. Yes, I went to Graceland, it cost $25 for the tour, but is pretty neat. I also recommend checking out Beale Street, very, very cool. The most interesting thing about the Caravan training in Memphis was simulator. It was a Level D Simulator, meaning in the United States, I could have done my flight test in this machine. The panel was exactly the same as the panel in the real Caravan, all the switches and levers in the exact same spots, and the screen spanned 180 degrees. They could set up anything and everything on the sim. Day, night, rain, and snow. They could simulate the vibration of the prop when ice is forming on it. The whole experience was very cool. However, although the movement of the sim was pretty much bang on, it still felt a little strange to me. I was happy to come back to Canada and fly the real thing. I received my PPC on the Caravan on October 27th, 2004.

The Caravan's history starts in the 1980's when it was designed. The certification of the aircraft came in October of 1984. Right off the get go, FedEx has been closely involved with the development. Used as a feeder aircraft, Fedex currently operates 10 208A's and 246 208B's. Since it's inception, there have been many variations of the Caravan. Currently, Cessna offers a Freight only version, A combi version, an airline version, and a float version. Also, may Caravans have been re-equipped in with an executive interior. Skyward flies the Combi configuration, allowing for maximum use with many different mission types. We can take 9 passengers and still have room for cargo in the back shelf and pods. In true "combi" style, we can take 4 seats out, allowing for 5 passengers all down one side, and fill the other side with cargo. We are also able to take all the seats out and fill it right up with cargo, allowing 3400 lbs behind the pilot. Skyward also has a bulk fuel system which includes two large tanks that sit in the cabin and hold roughly 1400 litres of fuel.

The Cessna 208B Grand Caravan is hoisted into the air by one single Pratt and Whitney PT6A-114A turbine engine attached to a perpetually beaten 3 bladed, constant speed, full reversing propeller, manufactured either by McCauley or Hartzell. The trustworthy PT6 engine produces an impressive 675 Shaft Horsepower. When planning we used a block airspeed of 150KTAS and a fuel burn of 360 pounds per hour. Capable of taking on 2224 pounds of Jet fuel, the Caravan has an endurance of roughly 6 hours and covers a range of 900 NM. The panel is without a doubt the best equipped I've yet to sit behind. Two VHF radios, two VORs, 2 ADF's, one KLN89B GPS, a radar altimeter, weather radar (hence the big ugly pod on the right wing), RMI, HSI, and a 3 axis autopilot. To top things off, the KLN89B is wired into the HSI, making navigation based on the GPS very, very easy. The KLN89B is approved for IFR navigation, however, Skyward does not have an approved program in place to allow us to use the GPS in that role. Although the Caravan is certified for operations up to 25,000', operations at the altitude would require an oxygen system that the planes I fly do not have, nor do I feel the need to fly that high. Much like the Bandit, our operations take place at 13,000' and below. The Caravan also certified to fly into known icing conditions, sporting a modest deicing/anti-icing package including boots, prop heat, windshield heat, stall warning and pitot/static heat. Given the shape of the Caravan, it's flight into icing is somewhat limited and has been the source of debate in the past. Although my experience with it in ice is somewhat limited, I can say it can handle some ice, however, I wouldn't want to be hanging around in it. One of the things we then must consider before shooting a non-precision approach is whether we are able to descend through the layer of cloud overhead the airport, conduct an approach, a missed approach, and climb back out of the layer. I do know of one such occasion were a pilot was not able to do so and, after only being able to climb to around 2000' AGL, had to return to the airport with landing as the only option.

The Caravan is most definitely the work horse at Skyward. We use it for scheduled flights, charters, cargo, and many special missions. Very capable off-strip performance allows us to use the 'van' in remote locations such as nasty lodge strips and nastier esker work in the Arctic, supporting mining operations and exploration. Though I've yet to find myself anyplace too exciting, I have heard stories and seen photos of the caravan operating in and out of locations where you would never expect and aircraft to go. It's a truly amazing airplane.

Something the Caravan has introduced me to is Single Pilot, IFR flying. Most aircraft operating IFR require two pilots, due to the work load in the cockpit (some larger, older aircraft require 3). However, there are aircraft out there designed specifically for IFR operations with one pilot. The Caravan is one of these aircraft. Some people believe that flying Single pilot IFR is extremely risky. Given that IFR flying introduces a higher workload and requires extra vigilance, another brain and set of hands beside you certainly makes the job easier. However, if the aircraft is properly equipped with a good autopilot (a legal requirement to fly single pilot IFR), and you adopt certain practices, the risk is greatly reduced. It's so far been my experience that a single pilot IFR operation is just as safe as a two crew operation. The most important ingredients in both situations is knowledge, training, and sticking to procedures. If you're are flying single pilot IFR and looking for some tricks to make your life easier, a quick google search turns up many articles with pointers.

For further cool Caravan tidbits, you can check out Caravan Pilots, or check out some Caravan photo's on Airliners.net.


SKS enroute from Brochet 


SKX on the way to Brochet 


SKX at Egenelf Lake Lodge 


Sunset over the clouds 

Going Away

My two room mates, who are also riding the pogey train due to the well known events surrounding our jobs, managed to secure positions at an airline in Vancouver. I didn't get my resume into the company quite on time, however, the day after I sent it, the CP from said company called to invite to the company indoc and two groundschools, hoping to fit me in when a spot opens up. So we know find ourselves having to dump our apartment and start packing for the trip across the prairies and over the rocks to the gorgeous West coast of BC, on top of studying for groundschools and saying good bye to the many good friends we've made here in Thompson. Given all the stuff I need to accomplish before leaving on the 1st of April, I'll be unable to update the Up in The Air for a while. Hopefully by the 1st of May, I'll be able to sort out the chaos and have some new stories to tell.

Cheers,
Shawn

The Embraer EMB110 Bandeirante

The Bandit 

On April 29th of 2004 I did a ride and gained a type rating on The Brazilian made Embraer Bandeirante. At first, I really didn't have a whole lot of desire to fly the Bandit. I didn't find it an attractive plane, nor did I think I would enjoy the work that it did. However, after an entire summer of flying, I found that my opinion was completely changed. I really, really, liked flying the Bandit.

Originally designed in the 1960's (the models I flew were all built in the 80's) the Bandit remains Embraers most successful commercial aircraft. The company was formed with the mandate to fulfill the Brazilian government's needs for a general purpose light transport aircraft for their military. Many different models have been made, all for different purposes. Maritime patrol, aerial photography, commuter airline, executive transport and more. The type Skyward flies is referred to as the EMB110P1, a passenger/freight model with the ability to quickly take seats in and out and sporting a larger rear door for loading freight. Skyward has two different seating arrangements, two 15 seaters, and two 18 seaters. This aircraft was made to carry out the missions that Skyward requires of it. We would routinely have maybe 4 seats up, taking 4 passengers to a community, and fill the rest of the space with over 2000lbs of freight. Once the freight was unloaded @ the community, we could put in the remaining seats and take up to 18 passengers out. That made the Bandit a great plane for sched flights around Northern Manitoba. Embraer ceased production of the Bandit in 1990, after building over 500. Currently, 15 EMB110's are registered in Canada.

The Bandit was hauled through the air by two Canadian made Pratt and Whitney PT6A-34 turbine engines, each producing 750 shaft horsepower. The Reliable PT6 engines spun three bladed, constant speed, reversible Hartzell props. In the air, each PT6 burned roughly 300 lbs per hour giving the aircraft a cruise speed of 190KTAS. We flight planned a block fuel burn of 650 lbs per hour for the 1st hour, and 600 lbs and hour after that. In the wings we could take on close to 3000lbs of jet fuel, giving the Bandit a range of over 900NM and around 5 hours endurance. Typically, the Bandit weighed 7900lbs empty and had a max take off weight of 12,500 lbs. The panel on the right side changed with each airplane, however, the left side always had an HSI, and an RMI. Although the Bandit has the option for an autopilot, Skyward chooses not to have one on their aircraft. Three airplanes carry the KLN89B GPS, very modern, and very nice to use. The fourth has an older style apollo GPS, which works fine, but isn't as nice as the KLN89B. The airplanes are full IFR certified with two VHF radios, two VORs, two ADFs, and two transpoders. All aircraft have a weather radar, and one has a storm finder. They're also certified for known icing sporting a very good anti-icing/de-icing package. The Bandeirante is non-pressurized, and Skyward does not have an oxygen system in any of their Bandits. Our operations then take place @ 13,000' and below. Other intersting systems on the Bandit are the air conditioning system, which worked great in the summer, and the ground steering system, consisting of a tiller (small handle) on the left hand side of the captains seat.

Skyward uses the E110 mostly for scheduled flights out of Thompson, and on charters. Skyward has regularly sent the E110 on many missions in Canada's Arctic. Kenn Borek also flies the E110 on charters and scheds out of Cambridge Bay. Oddly enough, a plane made in Brazil is amazingly suited for flying in the harsh conditions of Canada's Arctic. The Bandit is also used regularly for cargo hauls. One such cargo trip saw use taking a 2000 pound generator and some propane to Gunisao Lake Lodge and bring out the old 2000 pound generator and an ATV. It would take roughly 20 minutes to take the aircraft from cargo configuration (only three seats up) to full passenger configuration (eighteen seats).

Part of the fun of flying the Bandit was the two crew environment. This airplane is the 1st I've flown with standard calls and standard operating procedures(SOP's). SOP's exist to create a standard amongst crews flying that airplane so that each pilot knows exactly what to expect from the other pilot they're flying with. They consist mostly of standard calls and standard methods of flying the airplane. They also spell out the responsibilities of each crew member for every aspect of operating the aircraft, from the preflight in the morning, to include emergency procedures, to putting the aircraft to bed @ night.

The Bandit is also the first aircraft I flew, outside of college, that operates IFR. I'm incredibly grateful I started flying IFR with experienced captains. They were able to let me fly approaches, and offered great advice afterwards on how to fine tune my IFR abilities. For the first, probably dozen flights or so, it was like drinking from a fire hose. I learned a lot flying the Bandit IFR. Most approaches I did took place in uncontrolled airspace, where there were no vectors from ATC and we maintained our own separation, through radio calls, from other aircraft in the area. Except for Thompson, all the other airports I fly to have non-precision NDB approaches. Once inbound to Thompson, we have the option of ILS, Localizer backcourse, NDB, and NDB/DME approaches. Inbound to Thompson is also the only time we are in Controlled airspace, requiring us to comply with instructions from ATC, under the watchful eye of Winnipeg Center. The experienced gained flying right seat on the Bandit is a huge benefit to me now, flying single pilot IFR.

After 460 hours of great flying on the Bandit, she has become my favourite plane out of all those I've flown. In October I did my last flight on the E110 before being tasked to the Cessna 208B Caravan. I hope to go back to the Bandit as a captain within the next year.


"SKJ" in Ivujivik, Quebec 


Outbound from Gunisao with Generator and ATV 


Panel "SKJ" 

Other Embraer EMB110 Photo's on Airliners.net

The Cessna 207A C-GGRB

Cessna 207A C-GGRB 

The nicest single engine piston I flew was the Cessna 207A, C-GGRB. The panel had a single radio, a VOR that didn't work, and a basic GPS. Not very well equipped inside, but it didn't matter. That airplane flew like a dream. I've never driven a Cadillac before, but if I do, I'm sure I'll compare the ride to that of GRB's. The stretched limo version of the 206, the 207 sported a much longer cabin, room for myself and 5 other people, 7 children on one flight. A baggage compartment in the nose, which saved tieing objects down in the back. The Cabin, though still somewhat noisy, was much quieter than the 206. She flew so nice, straight as an arrow, easy to trim out. It was almost like having an autopilot.

Like the U206G, in the front of the mighty 207 was a Continental IO-520, spinning a a three-bladed, constant speed, McCauley prop, rumbling through the air @ 300 horses. Flight planning for the 207, we blocked an airspeed on 120KTAS and a burn of 100 lbs an hour. Within the wings she held over 400 lbs of 100LL, giving an endurance of around 4 hours and a range of around 500 NM. The Aircraft had an Empty wieght of around 2300lbs and a Max take off wieght of 3800Lbs.

The 207 was tasked mostly with charters and cargo. As a cargo hauler it was the best of all the piston singles. With the barn doors on the side and a very large cabin, you were very likely to use up all your available payload before you ran out of room to put stuff (Unless you were hauling chips......fargin chips). With myself @ the helm and the go juice, she would still have room for over 1000Lbs of freight. Not bad for a single engine piston.


Parked on Oxford house. I spent the night here due to weather 


Pikwitonei with the old terminal 


Thicket Portage 

The Cessna U206G C-GYWQ

Cessna U206G C-GYWQ 

Another one of the aircraft I started out my career on was the Cessna U206G Stationair, 'YWQ'. Out of the three piston singles I flew @ Skyward, I liked the 206 the least. Nothing so much wrong with the model, just this particular airplane. It was the loudest out of the three, had a tendency to want to turn left, only one door to get in and out of, the radios were quiet, and it felt less stable. It simply wasn't as nice to fly. However, out of the three, it was probably the best equipped aircraft. First off was a Robertson STOL kit. This kit added wing fences and allowed the flaps to extend an extra 10 degrees. It also brought the ailerons down a maximum 16 degrees. All this increased the camber of the wing, allowing it to fly @ slow speeds therefore decreasing the length required for takeoff and landing (Hence STOL = Short Take Off and Landing). It also came with tip tanks, giving it an extra 30 gallons of fuel. The "U" model 206 stood for utility which basically gave it a 2nd "barn" door on the right hand side for easier loading. The panel was pretty basic, two VHF radios, two VORS, and one apollo GPS.

The 206 was powered by the very popular Continental IO-520, with a max horsepower rating of 300 horses. The IO-520 spun a three-bladed, constant speed, McCauley Propellor. We flight planned with a block speed of 120KTAS and a fuel burn of 100lbs an hour, although I'm quite sure it burned a little less (no problem here, Its always good to come back with more fuel in the tanks). With the tip tanks, YWQ held over 100 gallons of fuel, or about 630lbs. This gave it an endurance of around 6 hours and a range of about 720 NM. With the tip tanks, the 206 also increased it's max take off wieght 200lbs up to 3800lbs. It was very rare I was near max wieght in this airplane.

The 206 was an all around useful airplane. It did many charters, could take a load of frieght over 1000lbs, and given the STOL kit and the tip tanks, did special missions including caribou counts and off strip work into Lodges. I still feel the 206 is a great airplane, like a 172 on roids, just the one I flew had some glitches I didn't care for. Although Cessna discontinued production of the 206 in the 80's, in 1996 they re-introduced the Cessna 206H and a turbo charged version, the T206H. As a personal aircraft, if I was looking for a nice float plane and happened to have half a million dollars sitting around, I would seriously consider buying one.

Here are some photos showing the Robertson STOL kit


From the Side 


From the front 


From the back 

Photo's from my trip to Churchill in XRL

Churchill, Manitoba (CYYQ) 


Photo of fire 292 


Fire 292 

The Cessna 172N 'Thunderchicken'

C172N 'XRL' in Pikwitonei 

The first summer flying for Skyward was spent mostly @ the controls of C-GXRL a Cessna 172N. It's still one of the nicer airplanes I've flown, very easy to fly, always flew straight, and never left me stranded. The panel was modestly equipped with two VHF radios, one VOR, and one ADF. A little lacking in the GPS department, however, I was lucky enough to have a good friend who lent me his Garmin hand held. The 172, being not much of a cargo hauler, was tasked primarily with charters. Most of my time was spent taking government people around and running crew changes for the Medevac folks based in Cross Lake and Norway House. The most popular destinations were Pikwitonei and Thicket Portage. Two communities on the Hudson Bay Rail line about 30 miles south east of Thompson. One trip back and forth usually got me 1.0 in the logbook. Charters were interesting as you never really knew what your day was going to bring. However, the downside was the days you spent flying to some community and holding. My longest hold was probably around eight hours. I found though, as long as you brought something to do, the time would go quick.

Most 172N's came equipped with a 160hp Lycoming O-320 driving a 2 bladed, fixed pitch propellor. Through an upgrade from Penn Yan , XRL now operates a Lycoming 0-360-A4M which puts out 180hp. We flight planned at a block speed of 105KTAS and a fuel burn of 60Lbs per hour. With a tank capacity of 300Lbs, that gave XRL about 5 hours of endurance covering just over 500 NM. The longest trip I ever took on the 172 was from Thompson to Churchill and back. The trip took over 2 hours to get to Churchill and over 3 hours to get back to Thompson, grounding sometimes as slow as 72kts. The flight path back to Thompson was littered with Thunderstorms, so some weaving around was necassary. When I got back to Thompson a forest fire had broken out roughly 10 miles north of the airport. A line of Towering Cumulus cloud erupted above the fire and downwind as far as the eye could see. No more then ten minutes after landing, the wind shifted and the airport was became completly covered in smoke. The visiblity dropped to 1/2 mile. I got in just @ the nick of time. The fire burned out of control for one month sucking up 40,000Ha. Started by lighting on July 12th, it was not extinguished until October 14th.

XRL was a good little time builder. The 180 horses seemed to do it well. Leaving the 2200' strips in Pik and Thick on a hot day with myself and three passengers, she would still take to the sky with ease (although not so much without the flaps @ 10, almost found that out the hard way). In the fall of 2003, XRL was taken out of service @ Skyward and sold. Occasionally I see her sitting on the ramp in Winnipeg. I'm not sure what her owners do with her now.

The prelude to a cool job

I thought, while I'm sitting on the ground waiting to go flying again, I would give a run down on my aviation career up to this point. I finished a two year Aviation Diploma program in Kelowna BC in the spring of 2000. At the time I had been working on the Ramp @ the Kelowna airport for about two and a half years. I continued to work the ramp there while I was looking for work. I talked to many of the crews that flew in about where I should go. One Dash 8 captain recommended Skyward in Thompson, telling me to give the chief pilot his name. Using my passes, I flew up to Thompson to talk to Skyward. The Chief pilot gave me 20 minutes of his time and made sure I got a tour of the facility, however, he told me he had lots of friends with friends that need jobs. In the spring of 2001 I embarked on a road trip that took me across Northern BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and finally up to Thompson again. The trip took me one whole week, I put 7000kms on my car, talked to some nice folks @ many different companies, but didn't have any luck finding work. In the fall of 2001, Westjet announced it would adding Thompson to it's network. I thought, seeing as I tossed bags for Westjet and knew many of the Westjetters in Kelowna, I should apply to be a CSA in Thompson and join the many "lurkers" in town waiting for ramp jobs @ Skyward. With the help of the Westjet folks in Kelowna I managed to land the job. I moved up to Thompson in December of 2001.

I worked @ Westjet and Rogers Video until March of 2002 when the Chief Pilot called me up to offer me a job grooming. My job was to clean aircraft, offices and help maintenance. The shift was four on then four off, 2030 till 0830. During the summer I actually didn't mind the midnight shift so much as there was only 4 hours of darkness. In the Wintertime, I hardly saw the sun, and it was always consistently cold, so I didn't care much for working midnights. The job itself was pretty easy, there was enough work each night to keep oneself busy so the time usually flew by. I got along with the maintenance guys pretty well so a lot of fun was had. Fourteen months later, in May of 2003, I was told that I had a position flying the piston singles, the Cessna 172, 206 and the 207.


Early morning on the ramp in Thompson 

An official Skyward Update

Looks like I may be returning to the air soon. I suppose, seeing as this is on the CBC, I can advertise it on my site.

From The CBC - Skyward Nearly Airborne Again

Finally some good news for Skyward

Mountie Support

I don't watch the news nearly as much as I used to. So I'm probably the last to hear that four RCMP members were shot and killed while on duty in Northern Alberta. I've always had a fair amount of respect for the RCMP, probably just the way I was raised. However, since I started flying that respect has grown.

Many of the communities in Northern Manitoba rely on policing services from their Band Constables and the Rural Detachment of the Thompson RCMP. Depending on the community, access from Thompson may be limited to aircraft only. So more than once I've been called out to fly Members into a community so they could respond to a situation. So far, all my trips have been into York Landing, only 73 miles Northwest of Thompson. Watching along side while they work, they've impressed me. They've always been very friendly and willing to help me out in my job, they keep the information flowing ("Here's what we're doing, we're going to need to be here for 2 more hours") and they always seem to know exactly how to handle the situation, speaking softly when a soft voice will help, and being stern with those who need it.

One such occasion was during my first week on-line flying the 207. I was to take three Members into York Landing and hold, I would possibly have a fourth passenger for the trip home. The flight there was uneventful, one member sat upfront with me and flew for a couple of minutes, they all seemed to get a kick out of that. Once we got there, I parked the plane and they allowed to me stay in their building there that has a couch and satelite TV. We were there for probably about five hours before we were ready to go. Coming home with us was a gentleman who had been into the sauce...well quite a bit, a confiscated shot gun, and a bag of a certain green substance. We got the extra passenger all strapped in the rear seat, and the Mounties got themselves seated and ready to go. I did a final quick walk around, took the chocks out, climb into the aircraft and sat down just in time to notice we were rolling backwards. My reaction was quick, however, not very well thought out. As I pressed down on the brakes, the airplane quickly went onto its tail and my face quickly went a nice crimson red. I hopped out of the plane, lifted up in the horizontal stab and put the plane back onto the nosewheel. After inspecting to see if there was any damage, I climbed back in, started the purring IO-520 up and, now a pile of nerves, headed back to Thompson. Upon arrival in Thompson I felt that I should try to redeem myself so I intended to grease the landing. Not gonna happen, I arrived on the ground in an anything but soft manner and proceded to bounce down the runway. After taxiing in and shuting down, the man in handcuffs in the back gave me a pleasent report on what he thought of my flying abilities. "You need more training, you suck"....ouch...

There are also a few communities that have their own RCMP detachments. The community of Shamattawa, some 226 miles due East of Thompson, is one of those places. The Members in Shamattawa (I think there is four) have the exciting task of meeting all the scheduled flights into town and searching passengers and their luggage/cargo to make sure no illegal substances are entering the community. So far I've watched them find cans of paint thinner hidden in hunting decoy ducks, or poured into an empty bleach container. There's almost always some story after a flight to Sham town. Recently, during a sched flight, one of my passengers who seemed to be just a little happy prior to boarding, became noticeably intoxicated during the hour and fifteen minute flight. He had asked earlier in the flight that I fly over the town before I land, which I agreed to do. As the flight went on, he kept on yelling up to ask me again, and each time he did it, he became harder and harder to understand. It was obvious by the time Shamattawa was in sight that he was gooned. I did fly over the town, but I highly doubt he remembers. Normally, I would've been a little worried about what this guy was going to be like once we hit the ground and how I should go about dealing with him. You never know what a drunk man could do if cargo forgot to load his groceries. However, at no point during this trip was I worried, knowing full well the members in Shamattawa would be awaiting my arrival, like they always are, and they could deal with him. Which is exactly what happened. As an aside note, they've also always been very good helping my unload bags, groceries, washing machines, lumber, or whatever else I might be bringing in.

It being true that I fly much more safely and in tune with the rules then I do while driving, I've also met a few Members outside of aviation. I've been pulled over alot, and while I have come across a couple of guys that seemed to be lacking in the personality department, most of them have been pretty nice and willing to shoot the shit while they wrote me a ticket (I've never really got mad for getting a ticket...I sped, they caught me, life goes on).

All that being said, I'm saddened by what happened yesterday in Northern Alberta. I certainly appreciate the fact the RCMP have been around when I needed them and they have my continued support.


 

The Christmas Rush

I guess, seeing as I have no new flying stories to share, I can share some older ones. The week or two before Christmas is always a crazy time in the aviation industry. When I was working the ramp back in Kelowna, it was always chaos. It's a combination of lots of passengers, each with extra baggage, topped of with the kind of crazy weather that tends to cancel or delay flights. It was kind of interesting to see how the same chaos existed up here in Thompson. Normally, because the communities we fly to are remote and have limited amenities, passengers fly into Thompson with a small backpack, and leave with upwards of 300lbs of groceries and supplies. At Christmas time, they come into town to do all their Christmas shopping. So they're looking to head back with gifts, groceries for holiday dinners, all sorts of crap.

Normally, on a Saturday, we might send a single plane, maybe a 1900, or maybe a Caravan, on our combined sched of Lac Brochet and Brochet. On this day, Saturday the 18th of December, I think we sent a 1900, a Bandit and two Caravans, one with only cargo, on the Lac Brochet - Brochet route, and then we sent one Caravan just to Brochet filled with over 2000lbs of cargo. The terminal prior to departure was crazy.

I happened to be one of the Caravans going to Lac Brochet and Brochet. I had 5 passengers, four in the back, one upfront with me, and the left hand side of the airplane filled with cargo. All in all it was a great flight, pretty cold, but a gorgeous day. On the flight back, both myself and another caravan were empty, so we had the opportunity to get some photos.



C-FSKS 

Just like Santa Clause

Enroute Shamattawa to Thompson. Just finished dropping off turkey dinner on a cold night before Christmas.


Cessna 208B Caravan Panel