Splash and Dash Searey Seaplane Delights
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Santa ready for flight
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Posted By: Hal Brown
Date Posted: Sep 24, 2008
Description: Waiting for suitable weather can sometimes be very tedious when having to ferry an aeroplane to the prairies from the west coast. The aeroplane was an Rans S6 coyote with an rotax 912 on straight full lotus floats. I knew this was going to be quite a challenge to drag these floats through the high mountain passage on a hot summer day. So the day before I was to set off the new owner phoned to say that the Saskatchewan government has just put a moratorium on new docks on his lake so could I put the aeroplane back on wheels. I was somewhat relieved but on the other hand it now reduced my available emergency landing locations but was now able to carry an extra jerry can of gas. Departed my home at six am to get through the first mountain pass before it got too hot and as I was getting to the Hope slide area the weather started to break up and could see the sun shining on the mountain tops up ahead. Reported my position to Kamloops radio as there are RCO all over the province and it works very well as long as you have some altitude. Three and half hours to Nelson in the Kootenays was very uneventful and actually a very pleasant flight. Stop for lunch with an long time friend and after filling up with 100LL was an my way to possibly Cranbrook if the CB build up did,not get to big. After departing Nelson did a slow climb following the valley to Kootenay lake and then southbound to
Creston. About an hour out off Nelson and about 7 thousand feet the engine lost power and could not get over three thousand RPM and I am now descending. The engine sounding terrible and seems like it is ready quite at any time and I am halfway between Crawford Bay where there was a nice strip and Creston where the other strip is. My only choice is ditching in the lake, the shore being to rough, no beaches, A quick thought was that maybe I should have been a little more forceful in selling him a Searey then the landing in the lake would have been no big deal. The winding highway below seemed like the only logical place, so aimed for a relative straight piece in the highway and I was still high enough to see the traffic ahead watching for a semi with two cars following it. As I was circling downward and the engine barely idling better give Kamloops Radio a call as I had talked to them about twenty minutes ago but now not getting any joy. Well now is the time to declare a Mayday over to 121.5 and with all those satellites picking up the Mayday, and being a couple off miles from the Idaho and the US border I should get some real action now. The semi and the two cars following our just coming around the last bend and I set up to aim for the last car on the straight stretch and hoping that the last car doesn’t decide to slow down or pull over. The engine has completely quite now, the prop is horizontal and getting lower find the uphill grade is quite a bit steeper as what it looked like from above. Rolled up to the top of hill and there was a driveway to the right which was just enough to get me off the road. Getting out slowly and let the adrenaline where off and realizing that I am all right , no damage to the aeroplane and walking back to where I just put this C-FOKR [ the aptly registration of this aeroplane] Holy s*** . Well traffic is flowing by as normal, no one is stopping, so maybe I better try my cell and behold I am getting a signal so 911 and get the RCMP in Creston and tell the French sounding female cop that she probably getting some calls soon as I have just declared a Mayday and had to land on Highway 3A somewhere around by Boswell and Sanca. She said no one has called here to report it and she wanted to be sure that I was not blocking the highway and no one was hurt. Seeing that it was quiet she will take a run out to see me anyway. In the meantime a guy came by walking his dog and said that my engine sounded like s*** and was wondering where I was going to end up. A little later the cop arrived and she helped push the aeroplane back a little further against the bank and tie it down for the evening. She gave me ride into to Creston and on the way there I asked that we don’t have to make a big deal about this as there is no damage or injuries. She tell me she knows all about engine failures as she was a flight attendant on the Air Transat Flight that landed lacking fuel in the Azores. She soon left that job to have a more rewarding career in the RCMP. The owner came over the next day with a trailer and towed the aircraft to Regina and dropped me of at Cranbrook so I could fly home back to Vancouver. Nobody ever heard the Mayday or if they did it was never reported and the Transport Canada heard about it two weeks later and was just curious and said that it was a non reportable incident, The aeroplane is back flying after the carbs where rebuilt and the owner is very happy with it but will still get a searey one day. My spot should be arriving any day and it will be with me anytime I am flying. At least I can have Beverly track me via satellite every 10 minutes via email and when needed can get search and rescue organized.
Date Taken: Sep 24, 2008
Place Taken: Kootenay Lake
Owner: Fred Glasbergen
File Name: aircraft_parking.jpg   - Photo HTML
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Category: 155, BC Searey
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Read what others had to say:

Randy Wilder - Sep 24,2008   Viewers  | Reply
    WOW! Just the thing memories are made of...! Glad you're ok and able to tell us about your latest unforgettable memory.     
  
Kevin D'Angelo - Sep 24,2008   Viewers  | Reply
    Glad you ended up ok- the mayday however would have to been heard by a passing airliner when you are that low to get any response, they are the only guys that really listen to 121.5 so unless somebody responded back no one heard you. Even activating your elt wouldn' get a hit right away until a satellite passes over head and even then then would not have a accurate fix till more sattelites pass over. The PLB or Spot are really your only options when out of radio contact due to terrain. Also you could have used your cell     
  
John Robert Dunlop - Sep 24,2008   Viewers  | Reply
    Great story Fred! And a superb ending!     
  
Dennis Scearce - Sep 24,2008   Viewers  | Reply
    Well, we care about you, Fred, even if no one up there does. Next time you lose an engine, try to land in North Carolina where the folks show up.     
  
Don Maxwell - Sep 24,2008   Viewers  | Reply
    Well done, Fred! I'm glad you're here to tell the tale.     
  
Bruce Bennett - Sep 24,2008   Viewers  | Reply
    Fred, harrowing experience......wonderful outcome!! Judy     
  
Mark Alan MacKinnon - Sep 24,2008   Viewers  | Reply
    Fred, was that a 912UL or 912S?     
  
Fred Glasbergen - Sep 24,2008   Viewers  | Reply
    The engine was a Rotax 912UL and had about 1200 hours total time. It started the next day so it seemed that it was a fuel problem. The owner send both carbs to Rotax Maintenance for a complete overhaul and it has been running fine, last count he has put about 50 hours on it since the incident. Not sure what parts where replaced but he did say it cost over $1400.00.     
  
Kenneth Leonard - Sep 25,2008   Viewers  | Reply
    Glad you're safe Fred - great story with an ever better ending.     


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