You CAN teach an Old Dog new tricks!

Let's start by saying that if I didn't have BAD luck, ... I wouldn't have any!

So, it goes like this, ... At Indian Head Camp we have a large, diesel powered boat that we use to transport passengers and luggage from the Airstrip at Gunnar to the lodge, ... about a 15 minute boat ride. We affectionately call this boat "Big Blue".

So, about 2 weeks ago, I make the trip over to Gunnar in "Big Blue" to pick-up a group of 8 people. Everything goes smoothly and I deliver them dock-side at Indian Head Camp without any problems.

4 days later, this same group is departing in windy, rainy weather. We load the boat with all their gear, they jump in and we push-off the dock. I put "Blue" into gear, apply power to the engine and, ... nothing happens! The motor revs-up and, ... we just sit there!

So now, I am drifting out into our bay with a full load of people and luggage, ... the plane is in the air enroute from Fort McMurray and we're just floating around. I request help from one of our guide-boats and I get a tow back to the dock.

We have a guest staying with us who has a pontoon-style houseboat. So, ... with all our clients sitting in "Blue", I race up to the lodge, ask Dale if I might use his boat to take customers to Gunnar and he says "Sure!"

So now, we transfer everyone and their luggage to Dale's houseboat and off we go to Gunnar, ... exposed to both the wind and rain, ... it was NOT a pleasant ride at all.

This transfer went smoothly, everybody got on the plane safely and I was now on my way back to Indian Head Camp to see if I could solve the mystery of "Big Blue"!

Once back at camp, the guides were working on "Blue" and the general consensus was that it appeared to be a transmission problem, ... with the boat not going into gear when we moved the shift-handle.

We lifted the covers to the engine compartment and traced the throttle and shift cables back to where they connect to the engine. The throttle cable appeared to be functioning properly, but we could not tell if the transmission was shifting as the shift-cable went directly into the lower leg of the engine.

Now, ... it's important to stress that I am NOT a diesel mechanic. However, I have been around diesel engines for the better part of the last 15 years, and, ... I am not shy about taking stuff apart. So, we decided that tomorrow would be a good time to take the back end of the engine apart to see if we could trace the problem to the transmission.

Sometimes a good night's sleep helps you see clearer! What seemed like a good idea the night before now seemed like we might be in "over our heads" ... so to speak!

So, I called the office in Ft McMurray and explained our situation to Owner, Doug Golosky!

Doug told me to sit tight, and he would get his 2 crack mechanics, Harrold and MacNeil to come up and fix the problem!

So, ... the next day I am off to Gunnar to meet the plane and bring Harrold and MacNeil back to Indian Head Camp to have a look at "Blue"!

They crawl around inside the engine compartment and fiddle around with the shift mechanism up front by the steering wheel and determine that the shift mechanism is "sloppy" and needs to be taken apart, cleaned, and reassembled. NOT a fun job, ... working on your back in a small space fighting with a control mechanism that probably has never been taken apart. Can you guess who got delegated that job? ... Uh-Huh!!

So, while our two crack mechanics drank coffee and ate fresh-baked pastries, ... I took apart the shift control, cleaned all the parts and, reassembled the mechanism. When I was done, the mechanics did a formal inspection, we fired up "Blue" fully expecting the problem to be solved and, ... we just sat there and listened to the engine rev-up while we went nowhere!

"Well?" says Harrold, ... "Looks like we have to take her apart!"

We decided that it would be best to move "Blue" closer to shore as we would need access to the back end of the engine. This required moving 3 of our fishing boats to the other side of the dock before pulling "Blue" into place with her stern facing the beach.

None of us was looking forward to this as we knew we would not be able to get the boat as close to shore as we needed to so as to avoid having to go into the frigid water to do the repair.

After the last job I had been given, I was pretty sure I knew whose feet were gonna be getting cold and wet!!!

So, ... we untied the boat and began to pull her around to where we needed it to be.

As we started to pull her backwards into the beach (read rocks!), Harrold said "hey Paul, ... better lift the motor before we run the leg into the rocks!"

I jumped into "Blue" and hit the trim-switch to lift the motor. Then, ... I heard Harrold and MacNeil having a bit of a snicker!

Now, ... you gotta understand that these boys mean well! Harrold has been working with Doug Golosky for a good, long time. Came here from Newfoundland, and still has his Newfenise accent.

I say, ... "What's so funny boys?"

Harrold says, ... "Well bye, ... I don't thinks it's a transmission problem we're dealin with here!"

"Why not?" I ask.

"Because ya got NO PROP bye!!!" he says through the laughter.

Well folks, ... we all had a good laugh at my expense! If there is a moral to this story, it should be, ... ALWAYS check your prop! Or, ... in my case, ... "You CAN teach this old dog a new trick!

Can't tell you all how embarrassed I was/am! Here we went and flew 2 guys, ... seriously good mechanics, all the way up here at the expense of Indian Head Camp only to discover that I had spun-off a prop.

I promise you this! ... If I stay in this business another 15 years, ... this will NEVER happen to me again!

As my mentor, Homer, would say, .... DOH!!

Until next time, ... Travel safe and, try to be nice to one another!

Cheers!

Paul

Can you get a ticket in the air?

Howdy my friends,

First, ... and foremost, ... HAPPY CANADA DAY!

I have a burning question? ... Can you get a ticket while flying?

Last Sunday, I flew out to Fort McMurray quite late in the evening. We have contracted our flying this summer with a new carrier, and I am just beginning to get to know our pilots.

I need to tell you that while I am not a real frequent "bush flyer", ... at least not until this year, ... and I am not a queasy flyer, ... I actually like a bit of turbulence and bouncing around in the clouds. But, ...

A few years ago I had an experience with a float-plane pilot that led me to develop a "theory" about bush pilots.

I fish every year with two very good friends and we usually always go to the same fly-in lodge. This particular year we were flown in by a pilot we had all flown with before. Good pilot, nice guy, and always did a good job! When our trip ended and the plane came in to get us, we commented to each other that we thought the incoming landing looked a bit rough from our vantage point on the dock.

We helped tie-up the plane, assisted with off-loading the new passengers, their gear and miscellaneous cargo before beginning the process of loading our own gear. As we were going back and forth on the dock, I happened to notice the pilot who came in to pick us up was wearing a polished leather pair of "Penny-Loafers", complete with shiny new pennies in them! So, I nudged my buddies and said "Boys!, ... check out "Buddy's" shoes!" ... at which point one of my buddies said they had never seen a "Bush Pilot" wearing Penny-Loafers before! For some reason, ... it became cause for concern.

So, ... when we taxied out into the lake for take-off and began our acceleration for take-off, we commented to each other that we did not think he had given himself enough room as we were hurtling toward shore at break-neck speed and we were running out of room to lift off. We truly started to get nervous as he was trying to lift-off and we were sure we were not going to make it!

Well, ... long-story-short, ... we did make it, ... but I could have reached out the window and picked leaves off the tree-tops!!!!! Way too close for comfort!!

Our "theory" became our reality! ... "NEVER trust a "bush pilot" who shows up on your dock wearing "Penny Loafers" or polished leather shoes!!!

Now, ... back to last Sunday's flight. ... the plane shows up at the Gunnar Airstrip, out jumps the pilot and, ... guess what? ... He's wearing Black, polished leather loafers!! Oh-Oh!

So, we taxi, take off and, ... I'm thinking that we just tossed-out our leather shoe theory. But wait! ... we no sooner get to altitude and "Buddy" puts us in auto-pilot mode. At that point he reached down on the floor, took a hand-held GPS out of a bag and, proceeded to "fiddle" with it for about 10 minutes! Then, ... out came the I-Phone and we proceeded to "text" for a few minutes, ... between the GPS and the I-Phone, our guy was pre-occupied for the better part of an hour!

In the meantime, I am sitting in the back watching this and thinking to myself, "On the ground, if the cops see you texting while driving, you can be given a ticket! And, rightfully so! Now, does that mean you should be ticketed for the same behaviour in the air? Or, ... is this type of behaviour directly related to wearing polished leather shoes??? Think about that for awhile!

Anyway, ... since then, I have learned "Buddy's" name is Richard. He is a skilled pilot who spent the last few years flying in Africa and the Congo! Simply put, ... this guy knows his stuff! So, ... after a couple of additional flights together, I shared my "leather shoe" theory with him. When I was done, he managed a dry smile and said "we're pilots! We wear uniforms, ... black slacks, golf shirts and, ... leather shoes!

So who knew? (You learn something new everyday!)

It's a beautiful day as I sit here and write this, ... calm waters, little wind and temperatures near 20 at 9:00am, ... we have 14 new guys who arrived yesterday following 3 days of really rough weather. They are indeed in for a great day!

Well, ... I had better get back to my real job! Take good care, play safe, ... and try and be kind to one another!

Cheers!

Paul