YouTube Flying Videos by Jan Nademlejnsky

YouTube Flying Videos by Jan Nademlejnsky

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January 16, 2023

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376. Kamloops Winter Beauty, Dec 19, 2021

It was cold, but sunny so it looked very inviting to go flying. We received some snow, but wind formed many high drifts. I spent more then hour to shovel my access to runway.

I started at -7C (19F), but ended up at -10C (14F). I found that all my 4 GoPro cameras were off when landed, while batteries showed 100%. This was serious letdown. Eventually I learned that Hero 7 cameras are good only down to 0C (32F). Previously I had few unintended cameras off at minus 5C, but I thought it is the usual GoPro quirk. They definitely did not like -10C (14F). BTW, it is nor written in the manual. I Goggled it. Regardless, I have only half on my flight which sill shows Kamloops in its full winter beauty. My, high tech and expensive Volt heated gloves were also disappointing. I did not feel any difference between my regular mitts and these gloves. My thumb and 1^st finger were still getting numb.

Pictures

375. Low Level Flight over Kamloops Downtown, Tobiano and Spectacular North Ridge, Dec 6, 2021

It was perfect flying day at -6C (21F) and some fresh snow. I was lucky again not to worry about wind nastiness and turbulences, so I could enjoy closer (then normally) proximity of Kamloops area natural beauty. I have good views of snow covered Tobiano. I then crossed the Kamloops Lake to Frederick area and followed steep cliffs and deep valleys around the Battle Bluffs. I flew those areas many times, but every time I discover something new. It is never boring for me.

Pictures

374. Low Level Flight over Kamloops Downtown, Mt Peter & Paul and Frederick Road, Dec 3, 2021

The weather was perfect for low level flying without worrying about turbulence and wind flow over different hills. I follower Petersen Creek bike path, then to Mt Peter and Paul to show how big it is on the top. The next points were low level flights over Mt Mara, Battle Bluffs and surrounding hills and valleys. Finally I follow the Frederick Rd to small off grid residential area, Frederick by Kamloops Lake. This road has very steep grades, sharp turns and twists, which would be very challenging to drive for many people. It appears that it is not big deal for Frederick residents to drive their big, bus like, motorhomes and big holiday trailers. That area is spectacular.

373. Low Level Exploration of Phenomenal Walhachin Area, Nov 26, 2021

The river banks of Walhachin (small village west of Savona, BC) area are very interesting natural formations. The banks are very steep and with perfect angle of repose. They look like made by a landscaping company with army of people raking those slopes by hand. The river is relatively flat so the river meandered in many snake like patterns and carved those 3D twisted slopes. I attempted several times before to fly low there. This time, the air conditions were perfect to allow me to have closer look. It was fantastic experience. I followed the north ridge of Kamloops Lake which is on its own a special experience of complex and diverse terrain.

I made mistake in my video labeling: What I noted there as Juniper Beach RV Park is in fact the Rock and River Rustic Retreat located in Thompson Rivers Estates. Juniper Beach is further to the west.

372. The Best Time to Fly; First Snow Made Everything Even More Beautiful, Nov 19, 2021

I love this time of the year: Fresh snow, blue sky and no wind and turbulence. The snow really enhances the Kamloops area interesting and complex terrain into even more interesting patterns. It highlights every crack, ridge, dips, road, trail… in contrast white and brown colors. It looks like photos enhanced by a paint program gimmicks. It was supper flight above and around clouds. I used very relaxing, lazy weekend music for your enjoyment.

371. Flight over the most Beautiful Areas in Kamloops, Nov 13, 2021

It was beautiful flight with some serious turbulence too. I covered areas in Dufferin, Aberdeen, Rosehill, Barnhartvale, Harper Ranch, NE Ridge, North Shore and Brock. Check my guided excursion made into relaxing music.

Pictures

370. Guided Tour through Kamloops Area Beauty, Oct 31, 2021

I think that this is one of my best videos. Slow and low over North Ridge popular hiking areas, Lac Du Bois Grasslands Westsyde, Bachelor Heights. I paid a special attention of slow flying over Ground Zero of “Indian Residential School” awareness. This Kamloops beautiful area become center off world wide attention after finding of potential school children unmarked graves. This unfortunate event exploded into movement right across Canada. It become as symbolic with “Every Child Matters” as the USA “Black Life Matters”. I posted some links under my YouTube video for more info. Canadian PM visited that site and even Pope will visit Canada in 2022 with big hope that he will visit Kamloops, Ground 0 of those, unfortunate historical events.

Info Links:

https://tkemlups.ca/

https://nctr.ca/

https://www.bcachievement.com/2020/09/29/every-child-matters-the-meaning-behind-orange-shirt-day/

Enjoy relaxing and even upbeat music. Watch it on large screen for better experience.

369. Relaxing Flight over Beautiful Countryside of Knutsford Area, Low Level Downtown and More, Oct 30, 2021

Chilly, sunny and no wind morning flight over some of the most beautiful areas of Kamloops. I covered NE ridge by Sun Rivers, south across Dallas to west ridge of Campbell Creek Rd, Beresford lakes, above clouds in SE Knutsford area, close up of Ajax mine, Jacko and Inks lakes, close look over Aberdeen, downtown and many more places. Just listening to the video classical music is experience on its own. Check it out.

368. Challenging and Turbulent Adventure Flight around many Kamloops Lakes and Provincial Parks, Oct 19, 2021

It was fun, but a bit challenging flight. I had to wait till 1 pm for sky to open and it really did. Still a bit hazy, but happy, sunny day.

I flew through 4 provincial parks and around 14 (annotated) lakes. I experienced totally relaxing flight in no wind, 55 km/h (34 mph) headwind to 85 km/h (53 mph) tail wind and all this within 15 min. A significant portion of the flight was in turbulence, but it was not as scary to me as it used to be before.

Half of my flight was above burned out forest section which was significantly destroyed during 2021 summer Tremont Creek fire. There is a lot of evidence how the fire progressed to small town Logan Lake (pop 2070). Logan Lake was lucky that the village survived. It was very close call for them and stressful time for all of us in Kamloops region too. It is enjoyable video with nice scenery and relaxing music.

367. Flying to Tobiano and Spectacular River Sandbars. Oct 14, 2021

This was my second flight of the day. The first flight was very turbulent and so I was hoping for something more relaxing. It started in very good weather and smooth air up to a point. Eventually it became very turbulent, just west of Tobiano. In this video, I spent more time in low level flight above the Kamloops famous sandbars. They are spectacular and never the same. I call them famous, because I make the famous. You cannot see it from the ground level. You have to be high above the water, but not too high to lose all those underwater detail. My craft is ideal to see all that natural beauty. The best is to watch this video on TV or large monitor. Phone is not enough to appreciate what is hidden from you.

366. Flying into Very Sudden and Nasty Turbulence. Oct 14, 2021

I found (eventually), that I had cracked and leaking fuel tank. I almost run out of fuel during my Johnson Lake flight (Video # 364), with just 5 L remaining after landing. It was mystery why I used 2x as much fuel as it is normal. I did not find any fuel leak even after another flight, which showed normal fuel consumption (Video # 365). Only 2^nd day after that I found puddle of gasoline on my hangar floor. Regardless, this flight was my test flight after the tank welding repair. I stayed close by the airport, just in case I need to go back. Everything was good except very nasty turbulence in two very specific occurrences. I flew into air boundary where wind changed direction from east to west. This is very typical in our area, fortunately not too often during my flights. Check it out. You could see and appreciate that spectacular scenery when view it on large TV.

365. Short and Sweet Aerial Video from between Kamloops and Walhachin. Oct 6, 2021

Short video of Kamloops area natural beauty. It includes West of Kamloops, Tobiano, Savona and Walhachin area. Video plays with good mood music.

364. Flying above Beautiful Landscape to Johnson Lake. Oct 1, 2021

We came back from holiday into very beautiful fall weather, big contrast to smoke ravaged air from the summer forest fires. I flew to Johnson Lake, which supposed to be one of the best area in BC. I tried to verify that claim in that afternoon on my all terrain motorcycle. I choose wrong road which lead me into very difficult terrain, while GPS did not work there. So, I have to try again soon.

The flight was very relaxing over low cloud/fog in the river valley, forming spectacular views. The steep hills were filled by fall colors, while horizon Dunn Peak area mountains were in the fresh snow. The terrain bellow is beautiful, but very hostile in any emergency. It would not be fun with engine out there.

363. One of the Best Days to Fly through 200 km of Kamloops Area Beauty. Sep 2, 2021

We had 1.5 month of terrible forest fires all around BC, poor or no visibility and serious restrictions where and how to fly. Everything suddenly changed. Crisp clear, but cold morning provided perfect weather to do some local exploration. My original plan was to fly to Johnson Lake, but all valleys in that area were under low level clouts. These clouds provided special attractive feature into our complex and exciting landscape. It was like flying in the dream land with all those peaks sticking out from the milky fluffs in the valleys. It was also trilling to fly again over our famous and always changing sand bars appearing from the continually dropping water lever in South Thompson River.

362. Flying over Tremont Creek Fire Ravaged Area (Mt Savona, Tunkwa Lake, Logan Lake…). Aug 24, 2021

Interesting birds views of Tremont Creek fire, the east side of burned out areas. The fire started in July 12, 2021, 27 km west of where I was flying, burning solid for 2 weeks. I did not use in this video my usual short cuts, but I kept continual views from my full view front camera.

It is interesting to note that not everything is burned out. The fire is actually very choosy and the result is patch work of black/brown and green areas.

I started east of Mt Savona then follow close to Tunkwa Lake Rd to Leighton and Tunkwa Lakes. That recreational complex was in serious jeopardy, but the nature and firefighters’ action spared that community from major damage. The next I flowed to Logan Lake village, where fire was just behind some residential back yards. Fortunately, the residents did very good fire prevention measures, including water sprinklers installed on roofs. Again combination of prevention, fire fighting and nature kindness spared this community from disaster. There were many smoking areas all around my flight path. I continued NE over results of the Durand Lake fire, to east of Kamloops and then back to airport. I was very unique experience for me to see the first time this side nature power. Pictures

361. Kamloops in the Middle of Wild Fires from 11, 340 ft. Aug 18, 2021

It looked like nice weather for change, but it did not last very long. I was planning to fly to Merritt, but right after take off I saw it would be impossible. The smoke on south site of the city was so thick that the upper Kamloops was totally covered with zero visibility for me. I change my plan to fly just around Kamloops. Very bad smoke was up to 5,500’ ASL. Eventually I ended up 10,000’ above airport, 11, 340’ ASL. The wild fire smoke created interesting patterns among to various peaks and valleys. It was good flight.

360. Kamloops, Walhachin, Barnhartvale in Clear Sky while Surrounded by Wild Fires. Aug 9, 2021

Exceptionally nice weather with good visibility, rarity in these days when Kamloops is surrounding by many out of control fires. I flew west to Walhachin and then at 8,500’ east of Kamloops.

359. Kamloops Area is Burning – Extremely Smoky Sky. Aug 6, 2021

I could not wait to get back into the sky. We are here in Kamloops in the middle of serious forest fires with many areas evacuated or ready to go. The air is loaded with smoke and ash. After almost 3 weeks of solid smoke, I felt that it was a bit break in the situation to check how this area looks also from the above.

The visibility was very poor with two lines above horizon: smoke line at around 7000’ and very close above it the cloud line. I could not go higher then 8,500’ to have clear view, because the clouds were low. There was certain beauty in this ugliness and very spooky feeling. The visibility was very bad on the way back.

358. My Record Adventure Flight to 3669 m / 12,004 ft. July 17, 2021

I took off into smoky (forest fires) skies in west direction to check on developing and existing, out of control fires. Previous day, I visited some those effected places by motorcycle and now it was the time for the distant bird view. I had to climb to over 3048 m / 10,000 ft to just clear the smoke layer to see distant fires. I hit the smoke wall above Savona bridge and had to turn around. The view was spectacular with very distinctive smoke line between north and south. The smoke in some areas looked like famous Australian spider invasion covering vast areas in webs. The north was 100% in smoke and south 95% beautifully clear. Even Durand Lake, still listed as out of control was looking very peaceful and no trace of any smoke. I was flying east at 3505 m / 11500 ft above Kamloops area well blanketed in smoke. I called in two fires (just in case) in SE direction from hwy 5A. I could not see anything from Spark Lake and Sunpeaks area fires. Eventually I ended up at 3669 m / 12,004 ft, which I notices at home when loading GPS data. This was my new altitude record. I spent almost 1 hour in 5C / 41F and I was just comfortably cold until on my descend back to airport. I was getting into serious shiver. 24C / 75 F on the ground was very pleasant for change. I flew also over 3 arson fire areas (annotated). We don’t have enough of fire misery here, people must create more.

357. Flight in very Smoky Air. July 14, 2021

We have 320 wild fires burning in BC. The air was loaded with thick smoke, which looked worse with the increasing elevation. It was decent when I left home, but it was changing quickly. I ended up with fire ash covering my front camera lent.

I wanted to check the latest fires (from distance, of course), but the west side was like wall of smoke. The east side started to get very turbulent, when I reached the valley level when the latest fire was burning. I turned around and cut this flight short. The video still turned out interesting, with rising sun just slightly poking through like orange ball and layers of smoke of different colors and shades.

Pictures

356. Kamloops Area on Forest Fires. July 6, 2021

We have in British Columbia (BC), which is the most western province (state) in Canada, 199 active forest fires as of July 7, 2021. We had very close call on Canada Day (July 1) when the serious heat turned into serious thunderstorm which started many fires. I was watching from our window 3 lightning strikes which also started forest fires. The worst case became forest fire near Juniper Ridge subdivision. It was scary to see when whole valley, which is steep and crispy dry was on fire during the night. At the same time, we were also lucky, because the thunderstorm brought also heavy rain in some places. Juniper Ridge fire was that lucky place, where rain saved us from deadly disaster. I made several flight passes over that subdivision. I started west of Kamloops where there are 2 major fires which covered whole region in heave and dense fire smoke.

I had to go up to almost 10,000’ to clear the smoke.

355. Early Morning Hot and very Turbulent Flight. June 26, 2021

I took off at 6:30am at 26C, no ground wind and perfectly sunny day. It quickly changed into 30 km/h headwind and very unpleasant turbulence, which was coming in serious bursts. I was looking for different elevations, but it was actually getting warmer with height and more unpredictable higher up. Eventually I did not want to push my luck and turned back I could feel the hot blast from the concrete runway during landing. The air temperature was already at 28C

354. Last Day of Spring, Hot Evening Flight. June 20, 2021

I took off soaked in my own sweat at 7:45 pm and 28 C (82 F) and almost cold at 2290 m (7,500’) at 17 C (63 F). It felt at about 1000’ above ground while coming down like opening oven and walking through it. It was good flight above our nature beauty which is all aground us here in Kamloops region.

353. Flying to Roche Lake Area, June 17, 2021

Explored new region to me, which is set of lakes around Roche Lake recreational area. It is SE of Kamloops. It was beautiful flight with forest fire smoke hanging in the valleys, making the distant mountains and peaks sticking out into interesting patterns.

352. Checking Flood Situation of our Rivers and Terrible Turbulence, June 6, 2021

I started at 6:30 am to avoid thermal turbulence, but it did not help. Within 5 km the situation changed almost instantly from peaceful to dangerous. I had to cut short my original plan to check the both Thompson Rivers and their critical water levels. The river banks are more then full. The most visible effect is close to South Thompson delta to Kamloops Lake. The land and pastures are deep under water. You could compare the difference between low water levels in my video # 341 (https://youtu.be/nLLc8NRD7kI).

351. Challenging Flight to Dunn Peak Mountain Area, May 22, 2021

This was my 2^nd flight (https://youtu.be/3pdqw_gorPY) to the highest mountain peak in this region. The flying conditions here are by default unpredictable and they change within minutes or few kilometers. I took off at 6:40 am to beat the sun generated turbulence. The flight started right off the deck with turbulence getting progressively worse. I was contemplating to call it off and suddenly everything stopped into very peaceful flight. I flew up to Dunn Peak near Little Fort, BC and then turned east climbing up to 3139 m (10,300’). Luckily it was even warm over the show covered mountains at +3C (37F). I always worry about my fingers which go first to indicate they have enough.

The mountain area is spectacular and huge. I spent more time there then in 2019, to record and absorb all that beauty. How lucky I am to do this! I wish I could take a busload of people with me to share my experience there. I was glad when I was back in the river valley, back to civilization. The mountains are spectacular, but potentially dangerous. The return flight was peaceful down to Barriere village, then another challenging spot to overcome through the canyon valley and then turbulence really started. I was flying lice garbage bag in the wind. There was no return for me; I had to carry though it. Everything stopped again in about 15 minutes. Landing was another issue when landing on hot dark runway. I was bounced there very well.

350. Morning, 128 km Fight in Kamloops Area Beauty, May 16, 2021

I discovered new (to me) lakes, meadows, hills and plains in this spectacular region, lucky to be living in.

349. Early Morning Fight Joined by another Homebuilt, May 11, 2021

This was different and very unique experience for me. I was joined by another local pilot in his beautifully built Zodiac homebuilt aircraft. We took of at 6:30 am to avoid turbulence from the powerful Kamloops sun and headed north to Barriere village. We started with short briefing what and how to do it safely. I was lead, because of all my mounted cameras and he supposed to fly in the cameras views. It started a bit bumpy, but eventually it turned out into very pleasant flight through the beautiful North Thompson River valley. We had 147 km of fun at 8C above freezing.

348. Beautiful Flight to Sun Peaks and South Thompson Rive, May 5, 2021

This early morning flight was very relaxing and enjoyable. I took off early and 6:30 to beat the powerful sun heat and of course turbulence as shown in my previous video. This made the trick. My first leg was east, straight into very low rising sun. I felt like Lindbergh in his Spirit of St. Louis. I could see nothing with that sun shining directly into my face through the windshield and my helmet visor. I had to look sideways to see where I am going. Everything changed when I turn north towards the Sun Peaks. The Sun Peaks Ski Resort is the 2^nd largest ski area in Canada after Whistler, BC. I did several passes above the hills and village and departed south towards South Thompson Rive. The river valley is one of the most beautiful area in Kamloops region. It looked even more beautiful with the sun in my back and perfectly blue sky in front of me. I saw three groups of wild horses there.

I landed and taxied to my hangar at 8 am and suddenly, like if someone turn switch on, the wind started to blow but only in the east part of the airport. The wind sock in the west side was still limped. It was very good flight

347. Flight in Terrible Turbulence but Beautiful Weather, May 2, 2021

My plan ended up totally differently from the original one. I started in calm, sunny and warm weather, but it changed quickly into very nasty and few times terrifying turbulences. I was looking into different elevations but no luck. I made it just 20 km north from the airport, just 1/3 of my planning distance to Bonaparte Lake. I decided to give it up, before it would be too late. I turned east to North Thompson River which I followed back to Kamloops and to Knutsford area. It was very bad there too. But I have very good and bouncy video.

346. Beautiful, Exciting, Intimidating and Turbulent Flight to Vidette, Apr 20, 2021

I followed Deadman Rd valley from Savona area to north to Vidette. The first part was over small fields and meadows in very deep valley. This peaceful flight eventually turned into flight over very (emergency landing) hostile environment. The air temperature at up to 6,000’ was +12C and very ripe for some nasty turbulence. There was still ice on some lakes below which helped turbulence to show its power. I was bounced very well. It was scary. I was even rehearsing what to do first just in case: press SOS on my Spot (satellite tracking device) and then pull the trigger of my ballistic parachute or the other way around. I was flying low over the ground on the way back. It was relaxing to watch winding Deadman river spilling already from its normal banks.

345. Beautiful Sunset Flight in Summer like Weather, Apr 17, 2021

I was thinking about this flight long time. I wanted to know how those navigation lights would look like in darkness. It was exceptionally warm evening from 24C to 19C and surprisingly no surprises from touchy Kamloops weather. I had fun

344. Beautiful Flight from Salmon Arm Airport to Kamloops, Apr 15, 2021

This is return leg of my 223 km cross-country flight, this time from Salmon Arm back to Kamloops. I chose more direct flight over the mountain, while very scenic it was also very hostile terrain to have power failure. The worst part for me is always the anticipation of worsening thermal conditions. This part of the Canada is so beautiful and definitely not boring to fly over and through it.

343. Beautiful Flight to Salmon Arm Airport, Apr 15, 2021

Very scenic flight following shore of famous and in summer popular Shuswap Lake to charming city of Salmon Arm. This is first part of my 223 km long cross-country trip. Return trip will be more challenging over hostile terrain and unpredictable weather condition.

342. 145 km Flight over Knutsford and Tobiano Areas, Apr 13, 2021

Very scenic flight over complex terrain and spectacular views. It was good day.

341. Flying to Chase, Apr 6, 2021

Very good flight east through South Thompson Rive valley, one of the most scenic area in Kamloops region. I hit one serious air hole on the way back, which was very quick awakening from relaxing flight.

340. Very Unpleasant Flight in Pure Turbulence, March 31, 2021

After several days of serious winds, this day was totally calm with blue sky and +8C. I was really looking forward to my cross country flight, but it was quickly clear that it will not happen. I was bouncing like yoyo as soon as I took off. I was in one continual turbulence which eventually made me nauseated. Four days before I flew on commercial flight (as passenger) in heavy turbulence, which was my second worse turbulence on commercial flight. I become air sick which I felt for 3 days. My flight only multiplied that sick in stomach feeling. At least I have very good video from just 30 min flight.

339. Very Nice Flight to Nicola Valley and Glimpse Lake, Mar 16, 2021

I took advantage of perfect weather to fly through spectacular BC countryside.

338. Flying in Campbell Creek Valley to Barnhartvale, Mar 9, 2021

I attempted to fly this valley several times already, but the non cooperating weather always changed my plans. I was lucky this time. It is very nice area which I explored on motorcycle from ground up. It was time to do it from the air. The valley is usually very windy with crazy turbulence, because the air is compressed into narrow and winding trough. One of my 4 cameras did not record anything, so I lost one view, but I still have nice video into classical music.

337. Flying to Knutsford and North Ridge. Heavy Turbulence, Mar 2, 2021

It was decent day for flying with no wind at the Kamloops airport. I had an ambitious plan, which was quickly changed when I entered worsening turbulence. Kamloops has own unique micro weather, which is very unpredictable and challenging. The countryside is extremely beautiful with complex terrain. Several valleys are joining in one point right in downtown. This alone is usually not very good for predictable fun. Well, regardless, it was very good flight and I have this video to prove it.

336. Flying form Cache Creek in Exciting Flight, Feb 21, 2021

I was getting anxious to go back after 40 minutes flight from Kamloops. I did not want the weather change on me. I was already experiencing unpleasant turbulence when flying in.

I met another ultralight pilot there, Daniel Berwin who landed after me. He decided to follow me a bit and take some aerial pictures. It was nice change, because it is just 2^nd opportunity in my life to fly with somebody. Another excitement happened in about 10 minutes in my flight when I spotted another plane (Cessna) well down under me flying to Cache Creek. He really sucked the air from my track resulting good bump. I started in -2C in Kamloops landed in +6C in Cache Creek and +8C back in Kamloops. It was very good and exciting day.

335. Flying to Tobiano, Walhachin and Cache Creek. Good Turbulence, Feb 21, 2021

This was the first leg of my 1.5 hour flight to Cache Creek. I flew via golf and residential area high above Kamloops Lake, Tobiano and down in the valley on the end of Kamloops Lake, Savona. I continued in the complex valley of winding South Thompson River creating spectacular scenery. I flew over small historic village situated high above the river valley, Walhachin. I continued towards Ashcroft through to deep canyon of South Thompson River, but I felt in my bones that it would not be smooth sailing. The complex terrain and shifted winds create unpredictable flying conditions. Eventually, I had enough of bouncing around and got out before it would be too late. The Cache Creek Airport and its location are a bit intimidating. First it looks very small from the air especially when flying from Kamloops with such large airport runway. Secondly the location in the middle of the mountain slope creates good crosswinds and up or downdrafts by winds from the perpendicular valley. I met there another pilot, Daniel Berwin with his Zenair bird. We exchanged few Covid distant words and experiences. He followed me on my way back and took several pictures from his ultralight. It was nice.

334. Beautiful Winter Flight in Beautiful Wintery Kamloops, Feb 16, 2021

Finally, after several windy days of real winter in Kamloops, there was no wind and temperature just below freezing. It was beautiful flight after morning snow starting to melt on sunny sides. The contrast between the snow and bare surfaces creates unique enhancement of the Kamloops very complex topography.

333. Flying in Fresh Snow to Kamloops Juniper Ridge and Area, Feb 6, 2021

It was gorgeous day after overnight fresh show, blue sky and above freezing temperature. I took off downwind (~13 km/h) west, turned to east in totally calm air and in about 200 m higher I got into serious tail wind of up to 45 km/h from west. The wind was flowing simultaneously from opposite direction within short elevation difference. I flew over Juniper Ridge subdivision, which looks very flat from the air, but it is actually very hilly and assuming also challenging to drive those steep streets in winter. I explored Rose Hill and Knutsford area too. It was very good flight.

332. Experience with “GoPro Hero 9 Black” as a Prime Camera for Unrestricted Frontal View, Feb 2, 2021

I sold my GoPro Hero 7 and replaced the front full view camera with the latest GoPro Hero 9 Black. The reason is Hero 9 horizon lock to prevent horizon tilt when turning. Tilting horizon is annoying in my videos, so I always switch in those moments to side camera views. Well, the horizon lock did not work very well and actually it was very bad. I could use only few clips from this miracle Hero 9 camera. I return the Hero 9 back to store. Now, I need to buy another Hero 7 Black. I am showing examples of badness and my interpretation of how this horizon lock would not work in my case. I was hoping for steady “Super stabilized” views, so I could run video 4x faster without any distractions. I am sorry to report that the result was totally unacceptable. This is excellent camera for other application, but not for what I wanted it for. For that purpose Hero 7 Black is far superior. If you are considering to buying it for flying then you should watch this video.

331. Following North Ridge to Harper Ski Hill in Heavy Turbulence, Feb 2, 2021

I sold my GoPro Hero 7 and replaced the front full view camera with the latest GoPro Hero 9 Black. The reason is H9 horizon lock to prevent horizon tilt when turning. This was annoying in my videos, so I always switched at those moments to side camera views. Well, it did not work very well and actually it was very bad. I could use only few clips from this miracle camera. I return the Hero 9 back to store. Now, I wish to buy back my Hero 7 Black camera. I am looking. I will post me experience and example, why this camera is no good for aviation at least for full camera view without any part of airplane in the view. It was expensive experiment for me. I sold my like new camera cheap and most likely I will pay more and most likely for abused and bruised camera.

It was beautiful and calm (!) day, but not for long. Within of about 5 minutes it started kicking up and down. It was getting progressively worse on the way back. I was looking for some smoother air level, but there was nothing available for me. When I crossed the N Thompson River west, the peace returned again. At least I have good video.

330. Flying over North and South Thompson Rivers, Jan 29, 2021

I have very good video from cold flight. We had some traces of new snow, which makes the surrounding scenery more contrasting and more interesting.

329. Kamloops Aerial Photos: Peterson Creek, Downtown, North Shore, Brock - Slideshow, Jan 20, 2021

Pictures taken from the top (south) of Peterson Creek in small increments through downtown then west up to airport. Pictures are from video # 327

328. Beautiful Nicola Valley Aerial Photos - Slideshow, Jan 20, 2021

Pictures taken only in Nicola Valley during the flight shown in video # 327

327. Low Flight through the most Beautiful Valley in Kamloops Region, Jan 20, 2021

It was an excellent, but a bit chilly flying day. I tried several times before to fly low in the Nicola Valley, but it was always very drafty a of course unpredictable. I was lucky this time. This is one of the most scenic roads in BC and especially on motorcycle. It looks so peaceful from the road, but it is totally different from the air due to the complex terrain causing unpredictable winds and wind flows. I have very good video from one hour flight at 90 to 140 km/h ground speed.

326. Cloud Challenge to Keep within Clear Sky, Jan 15, 2021

The airport area was without clouds when I took off. As soon as I was above their level I could see that it would be wise to stay within that hole only. The clouds eventually cleared on the west side and open up also south. I flew over Ajax mine, Tobiano and sandbars. The flying conditions were very interesting. I could see just peaks of the Kamloops landmarks poking through to cotton balls. It was warmer by 5C just under the clouds then by the river. The ground was calm, but 40 km/h wind at 5000’.

325. Following South Ridge to Buse Hill and North Ridge to Sandbars. Turbulent Air, Jan 15, 2021

Finally after 16 days of warm, but very windy weather, the Mother Nature finally brought crispy, blue sky and no wind day. Masses of people enjoyed this sudden change together with several local flyers. I was planning to go for low and close aerial exploration of Buse Hill which looks very cool on its north side. I soon discovered that I would be lucky if I even make it there. The air was very bumpy with many very sudden kicks and pushes, which took a bit of optimism from my joy. I made it there, but I did not dare to go any close to it. The flight on the way back was not any better. I saw 9 wild horses on at the foot of North Ridge. I finished my flight with a victory lap over the river delta sand bars. They are amazing creation of nature, which could be seen only from the above, high just enough to see the underwater formations. When I landed I found out that my full view, front mounted camera refused to record. Those cameras are not very reliable. It was very good day anyway.

324. CBC Radio Interview with Me, Jan 7, 2021

This is radio interview with me about my flying in Kamloops. I turned it into a slide show to make it more enjoyable to watch. It was very good and I am happy how it turned out.

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