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So it looks like the backcountry adventure season is coming to a close in BC. The rain and the snow have started to arrive. Time to find some skis for the 4-place!
I thought I'd share the last adventure of the summer with all of you. A couple weeks ago, a group of us flew north from our home base in Squamish BC to the Bridge Glacier. It's just over 70nm over some of the most beautiful terrain around. We climbed from sea level to 8500' to just clear the highest terrain over the Pemberton Icefield. After a super smooth flight through the peaks of the Bridge Glacier we descended to land at 4500' ASL on the gravel bars at the outlet end of Bridge lake. On the way down the lake we buzzed the building sized icebergs that collect at the downwind end of the lake.
We were a group of 5 planes. My 4-place, a Maule M4-220, a Murphy Radical, and two Super Cubs. There's two places to land on the gravel bars near the lake. The longer one is about 1000' of loose sand and gravel that's about 2km from the shore. The other strip is right on the shore but it's only about 550' long. Half the length is compact sand and gravel but the other half is loose and fairly soft. There's a few short trees on the approach and nothing but lake on the departure end so obstacle clearance is no issue.
The Maule and the heavier loaded Super Cub choose the longer strip. The Murphy Radical and the other Cub went straight to the short strip. After about 8 circuits to test the surface and to work out how much power I'd have available to get out, I landed on the short strip as well. I had no concerns about landing on a strip of that length but I was concerned about getting back out. All of my practice and testing suggested it would be no issue but it's one thing practicing on the grass beside the runway and another thing doing it for real. I did a few touch and goes to see how much friction I'd get from the sandy surface and to get a better sight picture. By the time I'd made the decision to land I was 100% confident it was not going to be an issue.
We spent the afternoon checking out the icebergs, scoping out duck hunting spots, and checking out all of the grizzly bear, moose, and wolf tracks in the area. There's no other way to get to this place so there's rarely anyone humans around but there's plenty of animals!
The take-off turned out to be an non-event. I got it into the air at about the half way point of the strip and then accelerated in ground effect for a bit before climbing out. I could have cleared a 20' obstacle at the 550' end of the strip easily. Possibly more. The DA was 5800' so that's pretty impressive performance from a 4-place airplane. The cub with about the same amount of people and gear on board used less but not by much. The Murphy Radical was close to his 2000lbs gross and he beat both of us by a good margin but that's normal.
The flight back was uneventful. I had the plane parked and was finishing my first beer by the time the cubs got back. IMG_1069.jpg
IMG_1072.jpg IMG_1030.jpg IMG_1051.jpg IMG_1040.jpg IMG_1053.jpg IMG_1048.jpg
I thought I'd share the last adventure of the summer with all of you. A couple weeks ago, a group of us flew north from our home base in Squamish BC to the Bridge Glacier. It's just over 70nm over some of the most beautiful terrain around. We climbed from sea level to 8500' to just clear the highest terrain over the Pemberton Icefield. After a super smooth flight through the peaks of the Bridge Glacier we descended to land at 4500' ASL on the gravel bars at the outlet end of Bridge lake. On the way down the lake we buzzed the building sized icebergs that collect at the downwind end of the lake.
We were a group of 5 planes. My 4-place, a Maule M4-220, a Murphy Radical, and two Super Cubs. There's two places to land on the gravel bars near the lake. The longer one is about 1000' of loose sand and gravel that's about 2km from the shore. The other strip is right on the shore but it's only about 550' long. Half the length is compact sand and gravel but the other half is loose and fairly soft. There's a few short trees on the approach and nothing but lake on the departure end so obstacle clearance is no issue.
The Maule and the heavier loaded Super Cub choose the longer strip. The Murphy Radical and the other Cub went straight to the short strip. After about 8 circuits to test the surface and to work out how much power I'd have available to get out, I landed on the short strip as well. I had no concerns about landing on a strip of that length but I was concerned about getting back out. All of my practice and testing suggested it would be no issue but it's one thing practicing on the grass beside the runway and another thing doing it for real. I did a few touch and goes to see how much friction I'd get from the sandy surface and to get a better sight picture. By the time I'd made the decision to land I was 100% confident it was not going to be an issue.
We spent the afternoon checking out the icebergs, scoping out duck hunting spots, and checking out all of the grizzly bear, moose, and wolf tracks in the area. There's no other way to get to this place so there's rarely anyone humans around but there's plenty of animals!
The take-off turned out to be an non-event. I got it into the air at about the half way point of the strip and then accelerated in ground effect for a bit before climbing out. I could have cleared a 20' obstacle at the 550' end of the strip easily. Possibly more. The DA was 5800' so that's pretty impressive performance from a 4-place airplane. The cub with about the same amount of people and gear on board used less but not by much. The Murphy Radical was close to his 2000lbs gross and he beat both of us by a good margin but that's normal.
The flight back was uneventful. I had the plane parked and was finishing my first beer by the time the cubs got back. IMG_1069.jpg
IMG_1072.jpg IMG_1030.jpg IMG_1051.jpg IMG_1040.jpg IMG_1053.jpg IMG_1048.jpg
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