322MX prep

Lots of final prep to do for 322MX so the Flying Fish has been spending a lot of time in the hangar checking things off the list.

Cargo nets, chart rack, quick-access life jacket storage camera holster, rod & reel rack, sound proofing (this was a Huge job, well done Luv!), fix the headset, update the GPS databanks, and so many more maintenance and tuning points too numerous to describe, oh, and of course, need to weigh the plane again to create a new weight & balance calc...

Five days to go.

Gearing up

Survival vests, backup camera, lights, guide books, charts, maps, GPS, bear can, bear spray, air horn, cyalume lights, solar panel, gaiters, hats, down jackets, shotgun, camera, tripod, tent, sleeping pads, sleeping bags, daypacks, mosquito deterrents, sting balm, med kit, light, clotting sponge, rehydration salts, supplementary meds, stove, water filter, cookware, water bags, and lots and lots of stuff sacks... 

Joining the Cast & Blast crowd

AKA Buildergrrl goes shopping, buys a shotgun and then the NRA shows her how to use it.

You're just going to have to ask me about this sometime. 

It was really something.

800 Calorie Survival vest

There's a saying when it comes to airplane crashes - what's on you is survival gear, what's in the plane is camping gear. So we each have a fly-fishing vest that we put on when flying over remote terrain. 

Since I know you're curious, here's my survival vest with all its contents splayed out. 

 

It all packs up like this...

 Back pocket:  folding cup, ziplock bags (2lg., 2sm.)

Inside left pocket:  PLB  (personal locator beacon)

Inside right pocket:  leatherman tool

Outside right top pockets: stormproof matches, firestarter (compressed trioxane fuel), bic lighter, sharpie pen, gel shot (Cliff, apple pie flavored, 100 calories)

Outside right bottom small pockets: cloth tape, duct tape, matches, gel shots (Power Bar vanilla, Cliff mango, 200 calories)

Outside right bottom large pocket: emergency bivvy sack, emergency bodywarmers (like handwarmers, only bigger), gel shot (Power Bar caramel, 100 calories)

Outside left top pockets: whistle, mini LED light, compass, mini deck of cards, gel shots (Power Bar caramel, Cliff mango, 200 calories)

Outside left bottom small pockets:  band-aids, neosporin, claritin, SPF 15 lip balm, string, gel shots (Power Bar caramel, Cliff apple pie, 200 calories)

Outside left bottom large pocket: burn gel, sting relief gel, antiseptic wipes, pocket survival pack (includes: magnifying lens, signal mirror, firestarter, fishing kit, needle & thread, scalpel blade, aluminum foil, wire, safety pins, and a tiny pencil and paper)

All together the vest and contents weigh four pounds.

Studying up on Bears

Bears figure large in the imagination of anyone contemplating an Alaskan adventure - myself included. Alaska has four bears of very different personality: Black Bears, Brown/Grizzly Bears, Brown/Kodiak Bears, and Polar Bears. All are different species, and all can eat you up. And if a bear decides it's going to have you for dinner, well, good luck to you then. 

So I've been reading Stephen Herrero's definitive study: Bear Attacks, Their Causes And Avoidance. A worthy book. And very scary if you read it from beginning to end. 

Basically, the first half describes various bear attacks on people, and they usually go like this: "Now it's very rare for a bear to attack a human, but here's an instance where..." and something grisly ensues. So I recommend starting in the middle of the book, where he starts to describe the characteristics of bears, where they live, what they eat, what kind of tracks and signs they leave behind. Then, after learning about them, go back to the middle and learn how to avoid them. When you're all done with that, then read about what happens if you mess up and find yourself in some kind of bear/human up close and personal encounter.

Good reading. Guaranteed to give you good dreams. Oh, yeah.

So I read up on bears. Then I went to the zoo and spent the afternoon watching the two Brown Bears around dinner time. Watched them "play" and beat up on each other with claws the size of my fingers. Watched them swim - pretty good at it. Watched them chase each other around at an easy lope - they're pretty darn quick. Those logs and boulders don't slow them down any. Watched them gnaw and claw on a log and basically tear it apart without too much trouble. And then I realized that these two were relatively small for Brown Bears.

Hmmmm. OK, so there's some perspective. 

Here's something interesting that one should know about bears - Black Bears and Brown behave differently around people. And they behave differently in different situations, and depending on what kind of mood the bear happens to be in. The one common factor in most bear/people interactions is this: the bear has more options than the person does. Usually, the bear is the one that makes the decisions. 

So it seems to me that avoiding a bear/person interaction is probably going to be the best place to start. To that end, we'll be getting a couple of marine-grade air horns which according to the research have been pretty effective in letting bears know that there are people around to be avoided. As our second line of defense we'll be carrying bear-spray. This high power super concentrated pepper spray has proven very effective bear deterrent. We'll each be carrying a canister in a holsters attached to the chest strap of our packs. As a last resort, we'll also be carrying a 12 gauge shotgun and lead slugs. 

The goal is not to have to use the shotgun. You're just as likely to piss the bear off as you are to kill it. But if it happens that the bear's got your sweetie in it's paws, what else are you going to do? Poke it with a stick? 

Big Tires

We're planning to fly to Alaska this summer. Figure we'll be flying over some fairly remote terrain, so it's good to be prepared. Got a set of Alaskan Bushwheels for 322MX and flew out to the beach to try them out.



There's actually a designated airport on the beach here in Washington at Copalis (S16). So we flew out with our friend Nick (who also has a lovely yellow Sportsman). Between the sand and the new bushwheels, it felt like we were landing on marshmallows. Very nice!

First Passenger

My mom was in town not too long ago. She comes out periodically to check up on the Monkeys and get a little Nana Time with them. While she was in town I screwed up the courage to ask her if she wanted to go for an airplane ride.

Actually, I was totally going to chicken out and not offer the ride and just go up for some practice but I when I mentioned it to the Flying Fish he called me on my cowardice. As he said, I could either have a regular old Saturday like any other sunny Saturday OR I could have an exceptional Saturday that would if nothing else be completely memorable. Well, he had me there. So I sucked it up and called my Mom and asked if she wanted to go have lunch on Orcas Island.

She chickened out. Then, after talking to my Dad who must have said something similar to her, she called me back and asked what time I would be at the airport and what she should bring.

We met at Boeing Field where I'd reserved a DA20 for the day. As I went through my pre-flight checklist and got my mom settled in the right seat she asked, "Have you ever flown before with someone who doesn't know anything about airplanes?" I showed her where the canopy latch was and ensured she had her seat belt properly adjusted. Then I said, "Mom, I promise not to kill you in the airplane" and I fired up the plane and off we went.

We flew up over familiar territory, over the tulip fields in Skagit Valley which were green as could be. There were a few farms with flowers, they might have been growing crocus bulbs given the season. It was a beautifully clear day as we flew along the foothills of the Cascade range. Across the sound the Olympics were in full view.

We cut across the north side of Whidbey's naval base airspace and headed out for a little tour of the San Juan islands. We circled over Decatur and then headed over to Orcas and came in low over the water to land runway 16. After we'd pulled into a parking space and popped the canopy I tuned to my mom and said, "You were my first passenger." Big grin.

Here's mom, happily landed on Orcas.



We had a nice walk to Eastsound for lunch spent a little time perusing the shops. Then we hopped back in the little plane and headed south down the length of Puget Sound back to Boeing Field in Seattle.

On the return trip, mom relaxed a little (and so did I) and in between keeping a lookout for traffic in the skies she snapped a few photos.

Departing Orcas.

The San Juan islands - that's Waldron Isl. in the center.

Seattle, with the Olympics beyond. Flying over Lake Washington.