YouTube Flying Videos by Jan
Nademlejnsky
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March 26, 2023
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429. Checking Low Water Level of North and South
Thompson Rivers, Kamloops Mar 20,
2023
428. Flying to Buse Lake in no Fun Turbulence.
Mar 16, 2023
I have been
trying 11 years to do close up of Buse Hill rock face needle, but the flying
conditions had been too dangerous to do it. The turbulence was too much for my
fun even far away from the hill. I toured above several
I ventured
a bit behind the hills in area which might not be very well known. All this is
presented with easy listening music. You could see: Brock,
426. Flying to Harper Ski Hill in very Good
Turbulence. Kamloops Mar 3, 2023
Beautiful,
but turbulent flight to
425. Flying over the City. Short, Intro Video.
Kamloops Feb 11, 2023
This is the second part of my detailed city fly over.
423.
Flying in Survey Pattern over South Side
of City, Kamloops Feb 15, 2023
It decided to do detail fly over the south side of
422. Flying to Beautiful Area of Walhachin.
Kamloops, Feb 9, 2023
It was beautiful winter day to have some good fun in the air.
Sunny sky and temperature above freezing added to that special mood. The
Walhachin area has very interestingly carved winding river banks, looking like
being made by a machine. The flight to that place goes through many natural
wonders looking spectacular from the ground and the air. Places to see from 113
km long flight: North Shore, Domtar, river junction, Aberdeen, Dufferin, Afton
mine, Cherry Creek area, Tobiano, hoodoos, Balancing Rock, Savona, Thompson
River rec areas, Walhachin, South Thompson River delta sand bars…
421. Flying with the Clouds. Kamloops, Jan 15,
2023
This video
has background music
Another
interesting flying conditions: Heavy, multi-layer clouds, blue sky, bright
sunshine, dark ground areas. I covered North Ridge, Batchelor area,
I had
interesting moment before my landing when looking for entry hole in the clouds.
I had to ask the control tower to check it for me, which they did. It was
difficult to see anything except very bright white fluffs reflecting the sun
directly into my face. Another moment happened while I was taking pictures
above Batchelor subdivision where I was hit with sudden and strong updraft,
which almost ripped the control bar from my hand. It was fun and interesting
flight.
420. Flying with the Clouds. Kamloops, Jan 15,
2023
This video has no background music.
Another
interesting flying conditions: Heavy, multi-layer clouds, blue sky, bright sunshine,
dark ground areas. I covered North Ridge, Batchelor area,
I had
interesting moment before my landing when looking for entry hole in the clouds.
I had to ask the control tower to check it for me, which they did. It was
difficult to see anything except very bright white fluffs reflecting the sun
directly into my face. Another moment happened while I was taking pictures
above Batchelor subdivision where I was hit with sudden and strong updraft,
which almost ripped the control bar from my hand. It was fun and interesting
flight.
419. Kamloops Winter Sunset: Shorter Version of
#418 Video. Dec 28, 2022
This
is a shorter version of the video #418, with mainly views from the front
camera. It is made for people liking to look around while enjoying the
beautiful
418. Kamloops Winter Sunset:
Uncut Front Camera View. Dec 28, 2022
This
is a long version of the video #417, with mainly views from the front camera.
It is made for people liking to look around while enjoying the beautiful
417. Kamloops Winter Sunset, Part
2 of 2. Dec 28, 2022
Spectacular
atmospheric conditions were captured in this late afternoon video. High clouds
above, low clouds just below, orange glow from setting down sun, rainbow, blue
sky, spectacular clouds colors and shapes…. Majority of my flight was very
peaceful and relaxing, but also with sharp awakening by a local turbulence.
Good aerial view of Batchelor Hill area, Brock, glowing in the sun Mt Peter,
Harper Ranch area, Dallas, North and NW Ridge area, Tranquille Farm / Padova
area.
416. Kamloops Winter Sunset, Part 1 of 2. Dec
28, 2022
Finally,
some decent weather for very nice late afternoon flight. This is short video
from above Brock and
415. Cold Birds Views from
Kamloops Areas. Dec 13, 2022
I
was waiting whole month for this moment due to unreasonable weather. It was
worth of wait. The air was smooth like silk which took off the usual nasty
weather related surprises. I am showing very detail views of
414. Spectacular Flight over
Snowy Downtown, Sun Rivers, Harper Ranch and North Ridge. Kamloops Nov 12, 2022
Finally,
another nice flight after long pause due to bad weather. Everything looks even
more spectacular with the contrasting snow covered and bare surfaces. Check it
out.
413. Local, 170 km Long Flight till 30 min after
the Sunset. Kamloops Oct 15, 2022
Enjoyable
evening flight to see
Interesting
views of
412. Rough Flying to See Ravaged Area by 2021
Wildfire of Monte Lake. Kamloops Oct 12, 2022
This
was my 3rd attempt to see the effect of the 2021 devastating wildfire in
The
area looks like a different world. I felt like being in the volcano crater.
Poor residents: they had to live through this nature hell. I think I have very
interesting video from 5 cameras documenting my 130 km flight.
411. Fantastic River Sandbars from the Air, Sep
27, 2022
The
end of my 133 km (83 mi) journey, flight over the South Thompson River sandbars.
They are forming very interesting, complex, ever-changing and very beautiful
under/above water creations. Two minutes video.
410. Flight to Red Lake to Check
Results of the Devastating 2021 Sparks Forest Fire, Sep 27, 2022
Flight started flying west, above the Kamloops North Ridge,
following the steep and rugged north shoreline of
409. Nice Flight in Serious
Turbulence, Kamloops Sep 7, 2022
It
looked like an ideal condition for flying, but the reality changed very quickly
into a nasty turbulence. Decent condition changed within 10 km into scary
situation. Cool morning, no wind, cloudy without thermals so why this sudden
change? I had to change my original plan because I did not want to push my
luck. It was still very nice and eventually peaceful flight.
408. My Stupid Mistake and Surprised Trike
Reaction, Kamloops Aug 28, 2022
This
is short video taken from my previous video #407. I am showing in details my
serious mistake and consequence when I forgot to buckle up the seat belt.
My
seat belt is not the best kind. It has the flip up latch to open it. This poor
design allowed me to unbuckle in flight (3x) when lifting the neck camera. I
solved this unpleasant problem with the funny pack covering the buckle. The
camera strap does not accidentally unbuckle me now, but complicate situation to
buckle up in flight.
The
air was very good and steady. I set (tuned) the electric wing trim to level,
hands free flight first. The complication started when trying to place both
belt ends under the funny pack with camera on the top of it. Then, suddenly and
instantly the control bar went to max forward up to the front brace. I did not
change the RPM. It had to be vertical puff of air. This proved my point that it
is important to relax your hands on control bar, but still control or dampen
the bar/wing from reaching the extreme movement due to the asymmetrical
vertical air movements.
407. Turbulence Changed my Plan to Fly to
another Nature Beauty, Kamloops Aug 28, 2022
Originally
I had different plan, but totally unexpected and ever increasing turbulence
made me turn around and look for some more peaceful place to fly. I found it
and it was very beautiful country site with many lakes, hills and deep valleys.
I had also one stupid moment shoving how close I was to some serious problem. I
will show more details in my follow up short video to show my stupidity from
different camera angles. You will get the pictures in this video.
406. Flight to Salmon Arm Airport
Coffee and Return Flight Back at Hot Noon, Aug 17, 2022
I
was considering this flight for long time, but the hot noon weather effect
scared me from doing it. Salmon Arm flying club, about one hour away, has
Wednesday morning coffee fly-ins, which starts at 10 am. Normally, I am back
from my flights by 9 am to prevent the nastiness of the hot weather turbulence.
This time it was different. I took off at 9 am (22 C / 72 F) and returned at
noon at 29 C (84 F). The first leg was a straight line over some mountain area
very hostile to emergency landing. I encounter turbulence close to the peak.
The turbulence is not the problem, but the apprehension about what will come
next. Is this the first warning, would it get worse, what to do next. I could
go higher, but eventually I had to go low too… Salmon Arm is very member active
airport located is beautiful area by enormous
I
followed the highway and the river valley through the civilization on my way
back. The sun was in my back, so it was better for the cameras. This video is
extract from my 10 hours, 5 camera videos, 214 km (133 mi) long flight through
one of the best nature in this region. There was practically no heat turbulence
except above the concrete runways, like always.
405. Beautiful Flying to Douglas Lake over Many
Other Lakes, Aug 12, 2022
190
km (118 mi) long trip through the most picturesque hills, valleys and lake
areas to a special recreational area of Douglas Lake Ranch. The
ranch is owned by an
404. Mountain Flying to Greenstone Mt, Ajax
Mine, Kamloops Downtown and Watching Creek Wild Fire, Aug 6, 2022
It
was very relaxing and a bit colder flight (11 C (52 F) to very nice area of
Greenstone mountain. It used to be the forestry fire watch tower,
before they switched to satellites and electronics. The shack is still there
and maintained be volunteers even though it was several times vandalized. It is
one of the highest peaks in that region which offers perfect 360 deg view. I
flew to
403. Hot Summer
Morning Flight to Isobel and Many Other Lakes, Jul 28, 2022
I
took off at 7:30 in 24 C (75 F) sweating temperature to cool off in higher up,
but no luck. Regardless, I flew over another spectacular and diverse terrain
with many lakes, hills, deep valleys, meadows and forest. I am shoving this
beautiful
402. Another
Fantastic Flight to Knuff Lake and Sun Peaks, Second Largest Ski Resort in
Canada, Jul 20, 2022
Morning
flight to beautiful recreational area of Knuff and Sullivan lakes and then
to
401. Flight to Ashcroft and Landing in Cache
Creek, Jul 14, 2022
Perfect
flight in spectacular river valley and good combination of sun and cloud for
good video. I did this route several times and it is always challenging with
very variable weather conditions. There are several valleys meeting in one
point which is very often rough to fly through. After every landing in Cache
Creek I made decision not to land there anymore, but, like this time, I did it
again. This is short video from 165 km flight made into very nice music. Check
our luckiness to live in such complex natural beauty. I had very rare
opportunity to video two opposing trains in the same place, but separated by
river. It looks like model trains running in the loop.
400. Flight over Mountain to Chase and S
Thompson River Track Back, Jul 2, 2022
It
was one of my best ever flight; perfectly relaxing and without any unpleasant
weather surprises. I flew in straight line over the
399. Hot Evening Flight over Flooding Rivers,
Jun 25, 2022
It
was the first very hot day and in this case evening, 30C (86 F) at 8 pm. I flew
to check the status of our two major rivers flooding. It was a bit let down,
because the water level was lower then previous night. This is good news that
the predicted, half century flooding will not happen. We cannot do victory lap,
because the nature could always surprise us with own quirks.
It
was very good flight and the resulting video, fully annotated is showing it. I
really like to read your comments, which is the only reward for my hours of
hopefully not wasted life.
398. Flying over Flooding S Thompson River from
Chase for Kamloops Lake. Jun 20, 2022
I
flew 150 km in early morning to see the state of the
The
flooding of N and S Thompson rivers is an annual event. Each spring those
rivers change from shallow rivers with many islands, beautiful beaches and
interestingly sculptured sand bars into raging rivers (almost like small lakes)
flooding many low laying fields and areas. Time to time they create disaster
floods as marked on the attached photo of the historic floods. So far, the
rivers are at annual flood, but forecast is for disastrous flood in the level
of 1972. It was very relaxing flight above all green and yellow terrain except
usual and sudden turbulence to wake me up from my daydreams.
397. Flying over Kamloops Flooding Rivers in
Turbulence. Landing Experiment. Jun 11, 2022
An
unusually colder spring delayed snow melting in the mountains. Finally we had
several very warm days and mainly nights which is now accelerating the snow
melting. The rivers cannot keep up and so we are expecting some serious floods.
I flew to check it out. The North and South Thompson rivers are already
spilling out in the low laying areas. It was almost relaxing flight until I hit
serious turbulence in the 7:30 morning sun heat. This cut into my original
plan.
I
did also my pre landing experiment to lower the effect of dark and hot runway
in the middle of green and cold grass. It really took an age from usual
unpleasant turbulent landings. My experiment worked.
396.
Flight to Buse Lake Area in Sudden and
Crazy Turbulences. May 29, 2022
Early
morning flight into a special natural rock formation in very weird weather. I
started with no wind, which was changing up to 53 km/h. The flying was from
very relaxing to instant heavy turbulence. Landing was interesting too with
head wind speed from 52 km/h to no wing within 1000’ elevation
difference. I was hoping to fly close to the Buse Hill rock face, but the
weather conditions there were too risky.
395. Beautiful Flight to Paska and Other Lakes.
Playing in the Clouds. May 24, 2022
Super
flight to Paska Lake Recreation Resort, low level fluffy clouds to
394. Beautiful Flight to Roche Lake Area. May
21, 2022
This
was one of my best flights over many lakes, meadows, hills and valleys. The sky
was sprinkled with scattered clouds creating interesting patterns of shadows
down below. The flight was mix of relaxation to full attention from turbulence.
It was also my best landing with zero kinetic energy into my wheels. I was
impressed.
393. Turbulent Flight to Deadman River Valley,
May 17, 2022
The
flight was almost relaxing until I entered the
392.
Flying between Battle Bluffs and Harper
Ranch in Heavy Turbulence, May 10, 2022
My
original plan was much more ambitious, but I had to change it due to increasingly
more unpleasant turbulence. Terrain is more beautiful with greens covering the
majority of its surface. My flight is over the most beautiful natural area
of
391. Flying to Tobiano, Savona Mt, Tunkwa Lake,
Logan Lake, Lac Le Jeune, Ajax, Petersen Creek, Apr 23, 2022
Flying
145 km round trip through some spectacular and also sad scenery. The SW portion
of my flight was over the remnants of the devastating 2021 forest fire(s). It
looks interesting, but also very sad. The small town (pop 2500)
I
captured also different and complete view of Tobiano and nearby hoodoo areas.
East side of Mt Savona looks very interesting.
I
flew over several still frozen lakes around Lac Le Jeune. I had an opportunity
to spot the three large flocks of cranes, but much lower then I was flying. I
made a few attempts to get closer, but they were faster in their maneuvers.
They were very well aware of my presents above them.
I
made closer aerial video of the Petersen Creek canyon and
390.
Flying to Louis Creek, Whitecroft and
Heffley Lake, Apr 15, 2022
It
was very nice flight through the backcountry in deep valleys. In 2021
fire season the Whitecroft was in unwanted center of attention when it was part
of very bad forest fire. The fire result could be seen in video. It was very
close to the Whitecroft village and just barely separated from the very popular
Sun Peaks Ski Resort, the 2nd largest ski resort in
Nice
view of still frozen
The
landing was as expected, hairy. There was no reported wind at the airport, the
air was about 5C, but the dark runway was heated to perhaps to 15C. This
created very unpleasant turbulence near the runway surface. I also felt twice
sudden push from the back, which was the first one for me. I was bounced in
every direction, which is not very pleasant experience few feet from the
ground.
389. Round Flight to Merritt BC through
Beautiful Nicole Valley, Mar 29, 2022
I
few to small city airport in Merritt. Merritt was seriously damaged during the
autumn 2021 flooding. Some houses and properties were destroyed. I could not
see much of that effect from the air. Merritt is located in beautiful mountain
surroundings and connected with famous
388.
Exploring Kamloops Area Natural Beauty, Mar
24, 2022
I
am presenting fantastic beauty of the Kamloops NE Ridge area. I flew above 3
herds of wild horses grazing in very picturesque setting. It was windy, but not
gusty day to have very good flying experience. Join me to see what only a few
people could experience.
387. Flying back from Cache Creek Challenging
Airport, Part 2 of 2. Mar 16, 2022
This is second leg of my flight as describes in video #386. I
was not looking forward to take off due to high wind in about 45 deg to my
left. It was bumpy, but not too bad. Trip scenery is always spectacular,
because it is very diverse. It is very complex terrain all around us. I wish it
was a bit green to make it more colorful, but it is still too early for that.
The flight was very easy and smooth except, of course, just above
386. Flying to Cache Creek Challenging Airport,
Part 1 of 2. Mar 16, 2022
The weather was just great with blue sky to fly 45 min west
to small, single runway, mountain type airport. I was following Thompson River
valley, over Tobiano,
385. Exploring North Thompson River with
Insta360 One X2 Camera. Mar 6, 2022
I had very nice flight while testing additional features of
my new camera, Insta360 One X2. In this video, I used explanatory comments of
tested features.
384. Super Day over Super Nature – The Way the
Birds See It. Mar 3, 2022
It was unbelievable sunny day with very complex sky and
complex ground. Dark and still some snow covered surface created indescribable
nature complexness which would be a big challenge for any artist to paint. I tested
my Insta360 One X2 camera in another location, but I am still not happy with
the result. The next time I will mount it on the wing. This video plays into
classical music, creating relaxing mood. The last few years of camera
technology progress surprises me every time I view my videos. Let me know if
you like it.
383. Testing my New Camera Insta360 One X2, Part
2 of 2. Feb 18, 2022
Side mounted camera vibrated too much in previous video. This
time I mounted it up front on the trike nose. Resulted video, which looks like globe
must be edited into viewable clips to be integrated and synchronize with other
GoPro cameras. A big advantage is that I could keep horizon level in turns.
This has to be done manually in post editing process. Also the GoPro camera
video could be speeded up max 3x without too much of extra distractions. Faster
it plays more jerking it become. I tested the Insta360 in speed 8x faster,
which translates into perceived flying speed of 960 km/h (597 mph). I was very
impressed with the results. This and part 1 videos just test the features. I
will be very careful not to be sucked into gimmicks. The bottom line is that
camera is very impressive.
382. Testing my New Camera Insta360 One X2, Part
1 of 2. Feb 18, 2022
Just
bought the Insta360 One X2 camera and testing it in two positions. In this test
it is on my side long mount. The bracket is long but it is vibrates too much.
I
am learning totally new field of editing. This camera is actually two cameras
together taking 360 global views. I have to edit individual views, play speed,
horizon angle correction in turns…, just more time to kill. I also wanted to
know if it will integrate with my GoPro cameras. So far it works. This and part
2 videos just test the features. I will be very careful not to be sucked into
gimmicks. The bottom line is that camera is very impressive.
381. Interrupted Flight due to Heavy Turbulence and
Strong Wind. Feb 10, 2022
It
was beautiful sunny day with no wind and +2C (36F). I was planning to fly to
different airport,
I
knew that I would have hard time to fly in that headwind back. It was decision
time: Should I or shouldn’t I? Suddenly terrible turbulence started which
bounced me very good. It decided for me. I turned back and was inching
towards
380. My Best Flight to Harper and Sun Peaks Ski
Hills. Feb 6, 2022
This was my age depressing, 75th birthday
flight. I needed to take some edges of those “It’s over life feelings”. Fortunately, the
weather was perfect to relax in the air. I flew first to Harper Mountain Ski
area, showing our smaller ski hill. The next on my list was the 2nd largest
ski area in
379. Day to Explore Natural Beauty of Kamloops,
SW and NW Areas. Jan 24, 2022
This was one of the best days for winter flying with smooth
air and very little weather surprises. I flew over many frozen lakes and mountain
ridges, eventually view
378. Beautiful Winter Flying in N Thompson
Valley, Jan 18, 2022
Nice flying day to get some
fresh air and have fun with it.
377. Kamloops
First Flight in 2022. Relaxing, Awesome
and Turbulent, Jan 15, 2022
After long period of very cold weather, the Mother Nature
smartened up with quickly disappearing snow and above freezing temperatures.
Patches of the disappearing snow created very interesting ground patterns with
awesome results. It was very good flight at totally relaxing mode, but also
with some shaking up turbulence. New camera mount and view angle.
376.
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
375. Low Level Flight over
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
374.
Low Level Flight over
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
373. Low Level Exploration of Phenomenal Walhachin
Area, Nov 26, 2021
The river banks of Walhachin (small village west of
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.
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
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,
370.
Guided Tour through
I think that this is one of my best videos. Slow and low over
North Ridge popular hiking areas, Lac Du Bois Grasslands Westsyde,
Info Links:
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
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
367.
Flying to Tobiano and
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
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
365. Short and Sweet Aerial Video from between
Short video of
364.
Flying above Beautiful Landscape to
We came back from holiday into very beautiful fall weather,
big contrast to smoke ravaged air from the summer forest fires. I flew to
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
363.
One of the Best Days to Fly through 200 km of
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
362.
Flying over Tremont Creek Fire Ravaged Area (Mt Savona,
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
361.
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
360.
Exceptionally nice weather with good visibility, rarity in
these days when
359.
I could not wait to get back into the sky. We are here
in
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
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.
356.
We have in British Columbia (BC), which is the most western
province (state) in
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
353. Flying to
Explored new region to me, which is set of lakes around
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
351. Challenging Flight to
This was my 2nd 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
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
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
348.
Beautiful Flight to
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
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
346.
Beautiful, Exciting, Intimidating and Turbulent Flight to Vidette, Apr 20, 2021
I followed
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
344.
Beautiful Flight from
This is return leg of my 223 km cross-country flight, this
time from Salmon Arm back to
343.
Beautiful Flight to
Very scenic flight following shore of famous and in summer
popular
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
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
I took advantage of perfect weather to fly through
spectacular BC countryside.
338.
Flying in
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
336.
Flying form Cache Creek in Exciting Flight, Feb 21, 2021
I was getting anxious to go back after 40 minutes flight from
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 2nd 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
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
334.
Beautiful Winter Flight in Beautiful Wintery
Finally, after several windy days of real winter in
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
330. Flying over North and
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.
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
Pictures
taken only in
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
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
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
323. The Last Flight of Decade, Low Level over Downtown and
Very
good video from the low level flight over the
322. Flying to
Another
decent day to fly, with temperature just hovering around freezing, but sunny
west of the airport. This is what I selected to fly; following the sun. The
mountain views of the N-W Ridge are spectacular. The snow and bare area create
pencil like drawings with so much details filling every pixel. It was
beautiful. I flew above many eagles
on
321.
Flying to Harper Mt Ski Area by
It
was beautiful, sunny day to fly over just 2 day old snow covered terrain. This
valley is the most picturesque area in the
Finally,
we had good flying weather with temperature a touch above zero. I was following
TransCanada hwy #1 to Tobiano. This very winding road is carved through very
nice hills and valleys while passing through the upper
319.
What to Wear in Cold Weather, Nov 28, 2020
Several
people posted on Facebook question about what to wear in winter while
flying open aircraft. This short video shows what I wear and what works. I used
to fly down to -25C (-13F), so I feel to be qualified to show what works.
318.
Low level flight over Knutsford area and North Thompson River, Nov 28, 2020
I
wanted to fly over 7 peaks south of the Campbell Creek. Unfortunately, very low
cloud ceiling forced me to turn around and look for some better conditions. I
flew north up to McLure, very low to get better view of my surroundings.
Weather was excellent and flight very enjoyable. The video looks very good and
I hope that at least people living in those areas would like it. Just after
take of I felt me knees getting cold and realized that I forgot to put on my
snowmobile (winter) pants. I flew 1.5 hours and I was a bit stiff, but not too
bad. This trike is reasonably “warm”. I flew 1.5 hours at average ground speed
of 121 km/h. That’s very good!
317. Flying to
316. Flying above Kamloops Rivers,
Nov 19, 2020
It
was another beautiful day to go exploring the
315.
Flying in Quickly Changing Clouds Ceiling, Nov 10, 2020
We
received real winter like snow, but sun started to peek through the clouds. I
have to clear snow to get to the runway first, while blue sky was quickly
shrinking. Traces of sun were replaced with white clouds pushing downwards and
squeezing me out like a tooth paste. I was forced to turn around to just legal
limit to avoid those clouds. I still have good video from around the downtown.
314.
Very Few People have Seen Kamloops Beauty from This Angle, Nov 6,
2020
I
changed editing concept in this video and I think I will stick with it. I am
using 4 GoPro cameras, which run continually. Previously I cut views in 5 sec
clips, while cuts were synchronized with the music beat. My intent was to show
all views, front, both sides and pilots view. Now, I run the front camera with
full 170 deg horizontal view at 2x speed with minimum cuts. I use the other cameras
views only in turns, because the front view does not look good because of the
panning effect and horizon tilt.
The
weather was exceptional with perfect
It
would be nice if you leave me your comment, and tell me what you think about my
video editing change.
Note: I have LG TV with 3D feature (3D glasses). I tried to turn
TV on 3D and the view was amazing. I was very, very impressed. How is it done,
to convert it instantly into fake 3D, without 3D cameras?
313.
Glory, Optical Effect, During my Flight, Oct 31, 2020
Wikipedia: A glory is
an optical phenomenon, resembling an iconic saint's halo around the shadow of
the observer's head, caused by sunlight or (more rarely) moonlight interacting
with the tiny water droplets that compose mist or clouds. The glory consists of
one or more concentric, successively dimmer rings, each of which is red on the
outside and bluish towards the centre. Due to its appearance, the phenomenon is
sometimes mistaken for a circular rainbow, but the latter has a much larger
diameter and is caused by different physical processes.
Glories arise due to
wave interference of light internally refracted within small droplets.
312. Beautiful
Flight along North and South Ridges, Oct 20, 2020.
After unexpected cold snap down
to -11C, it was another beautiful day for flying. It is still pleasant to fly
at +6C temperature and especially in my “warm” Apollo trike. The Apollo cockpit
is very well designed to protect me from the element. It is big difference when
compared with my previous AirBorne “cold” trike.
I followed North Ridge west, crossed
311. Flying
with Spectacular
Late morning with -3C
temperature and many different layers of clouds were too inviting to ignore. It
was one of the most spectacular flights for me. I am so lucky to have almost
360 deg no obscured view from my trike so see that vast area beauty. I have never
seen this type of clouds at the second cloud layer. You cannot see that from
the ground, I felt like to jump into them and have some serious fun there. It
was very good flight.
310. Flying
to Tobiano and Mt Savona in the Best Scenery Ever, Oct 14, 2020.
It was one of my best flights
ever. If you want to watch this video then do yourself favor and watch it on a
large monitor or at least on a tablet. The phone screen is too small to really
appreciate our natural beauty in
All my cameras worked perfectly
and the sun and clouds were in right places to capture the nature at its best.
I was a bit sidetracked to check potential forest fire on western horizon. I
made low passes over the edge of Mt Savona Provincial Park with spectacular
rocky cliffs and top covered with the first autumn snow. You can see very, very
long train snaking along the edge of
309. Flying
above Clouds to
Chilly morning at 3C, but sunny
day brought smile to my face. I could fly and enjoy to Covid free time
above
308. My First flight after 2 Month Wait for New Prop Blade,
Oct 6, 2020.
This was my first flight after
the August unfortunate mistake (see Video # 306),
which ruined 2 months of my flying days. I also changed this time the prop pitch
from 9 to10 degrees. I set it correctly on the ground (when I bought this
trike) to prevent potential engine over revving, but I found that in flight it
would run about 500 extra RMP. My cruise speed now increased about 5 kn (10
km/h) at 5000 RPM, but I have to push the throttle harder. I think my fuel
consumption will go up. I will see the next time during at least one hour
flight.
It was short, just local
flight, because the sky was still very smoky from the West coast
307. Dean with his New Rev X Trike, Aug 15, 2020.
I came to see in real life the
famous
306.
This is how I Ruined my Flying Days, Aug 2, 2020.
It was ideal weather for
flying, but I wished I stayed at home. Just a few seconds after take off I felt
like a wing cable broke off. Engine started to vibrate. Landed immediately and
taxied back to my hangar where I saw what happened. One bar mitts was on the
ground. I removed my winter bar mitts, because it was already 25C and put them
on my rear seat bag. The mitts are very florescent bright, so they are
difficult to miss, but I did. I forgot them behind my back.
I checked for damage and there
was just about ¼” of prop blade edge protection tape slightly damage. Checked
the prop pitch values and the affected pitch was 1 deg off. I figured I got off
very easy this time. I set up the pitch, started the engine and the vibration
was the same. Now what? Hopefully it is not the engine. Eventually I found that
the blade was cracked just on the edge of the blade hub. I was very lucky to be
above the runway when this happened.
305. Pritchard
to
This is just section from
flight as per video # 303.
It is unedited, full screen view from just front camera. The best is to watch it
on large screen or TV to appreciate the natural beauty of that region in
304.
This is just section from
flight as per video # 303.
It is unedited, full screen view of
303. Flying to
My first really warm flying,
because it was already 19C at 7 am. It was even 19 C at 2334 m (7625’). The sky
was very hazy which looked even worse while flying against the raising sun. I
made several passes over the
302. Flying
This was my 3rd attempt
to do the above loop. Finally sky was clear and conditions just right. It was
very pleasant and relaxing trip. I am just showing snippets from this 136 km
long flight, over very spectacular countryside. The terrain is very divers and
complex. It is always pleasure to look around from the eagle perspective.
301. Flying to
155 km long trip to small town
Barriere about 60 km north of
300. Flying to Harper Ranch via Cold Creek with some Clouds
to Enjoy, July 13, 2020.
I was anxious to try my new
drag chute camera. I tried it the previous day, but the view angle was
disappointing. I made new camera bracket which did its work. I was also anxious,
because potential negative effect on flying characteristic. The camera is
attached to “badminton style” basket and pulled on string attached to one side
of the wing. This causes unsymmetrical directional force, resulting, as one
pilot described, difficult to control in straight direction. I did not find any
problems.
My plan was to fly to
299. Flying to
Typical
298. Checking Flooded South Thompson River in
I flew about 1500’ feel above
ground to see the effect to the river flood. I started about 6 km east of
297. Flying to Tobiano,
Beautiful day to be in the open
air. It was still on colder side at 11 to 12C around 8 am, but sky was blue and
eventually I met some fluffy clouds to enjoy. I had to change my original plan
due to heavy and very intimidating cloud in front of me. It was very peaceful
flight.
296. Flying to
My original plan was to fly
triangular cross-country, but the poor flying conditions changed my plan. I
completed just one side of the triangle and decided to fly back. It started as
beautiful and sunny morning, but the sky changed to overcast and very hazy
before I got ready. I expected no turbulence, because thermal changes were very
small. I was wrong. My trip turned few times and instantly from peaceful to
nasty rides. I cut it short, because I did not want to push my luck.
I have still very good video
with very good background music which will lift your feet in its rhythm.
295. Flying across
170 km (106 mi) flight over
beautiful area of rolling hills, deep valleys, many lakes and exceptionally
green terrain. It is interesting how green it was. We are living in very dry
climate, where everything is normally brown, except spring and early summer. It
is amazing how the nature is rushing though its life to push itself to display
all its beauty in very short period. My goal was to check the
294. South
This is unedited and complete
aerial view from front camera only. It starts at 17 km east of
293. North
This is unedited and complete
aerial view from front camera only. It starts at 28 km north
of Kamloops and ends by rivers junction in downtown Kamloops.
292. Survey of North and
Both
291. Fun with Clouds in
Beautiful flight, south
of
Spectacular
290. Flying along North Ridge and Flooded Tranquille Farm,
May 24, 2020.
I had totally different plan where to
fly, but sudden and unexpected turbulence put dumper into my expectation. It
started peacefully when flying east until I crossed the
289. Flying to Knutsford,
I decided that it is just about
time to land on our grassy landing strip in Knutsford. I was very hesitant to
do it, because the terrain is very bumpy and landing is up or downhill. This is
very fast trike with landing speed of 90 km/h. I could land in much worse areas
in the case of emergency, but this was not emergency and I didn’t want to
create one.
Regardless, I did it and I was
glad. I met there another trike pilot from
I flew over the
288. My Trike in the Air, May 19, 2020.
When circling our flying club
airstrip, I noticed another trike on the ground. I could not believe it. So far
I was here just lonely ultralight flyer. That’s very good. New member who
kindly took the pictures and video. I have tons of pictures and videos, but
nothing of me from ground up. I was really impressed how fast this trike really
is. It does not feel too fast when flying it.
287. Flight from
A day before I explored very
beautiful Knutsford area on my motorcycle. I decided to check it out also from
the above too. I was not disappointed. No matted what you do, you cannot find
boring areas around
286. Flight from Merritt to
This is return trip of my
previous video # 285. While I was cruising up to 145 km/h flying to Merritt, I
could not reach even 100 km/h of ground speed when flying back. I took
direction of the famous “
Those “patches” are much warmer
then surrounding green forests, creating serious turbulence. It was bumpy and
occasionally unpleasant.
285. Flight from
It was very nice flight in one
of those times which don’t happen very often. Warm day with blue sky and no
wind. I decided to fly to Merritt following one of the most scenic roads in
the
284. Flight from
Beautiful, early morning, 140
km long flight through
283. Flight from Buse Hill to
It is always the most difficult
and time consuming process to edit my flying videos into short version for
human consumption. The problem is that
I also learn with my #273 video, that there are people with
interest in nature and beauty presented to them in very rare and unique views
which few people could experience. That video is my most popular flying video
so far and it is long. The new GoPro camera technology (Hero 7) solved the most
annoying problems of vibration and jello effect. Hero 7 camera has perfect
stabilization producing spectacular HD and wide angle videos. One of my cameras
is mounted on the front of the trike showing nothing but the beauty as I fly
through it. That technology also allows me to speed up this video 2.5 to 3x so more
information is presented in shorter time. Aerial videos are not easy to
produce, because the perception of speed is diminishing with the elevation
above the ground. Basically, it looks more boring higher I fly.
I am showing in this video
flight in west direction, when the sun was behind or on my left side, exactly
what I needed for good exposure. Sky was fully seeded with fluffy clouds
casting spotty shadows over the hills and valleys. You could see there some
spectacular views from about 1000’ above ground. You could appreciate the
complexity of the terrain when you look around the screen. It was very good
flight.
282. Flight to Buse Hill, Apr 19, 2020.
It was beautiful day to fly
over
281. How to Set up SPOT to be Ready in Emergency with only
the Last Track.
1. The company lost the
original intent of SPOT, which is to call for help and find where you are. It
is not to keep tracks of your trips, because GPS is far better for this
purpose. 2. It uses confusing name Asset instead Device. It is device and it is
very clear what device means. Asset will not make it better, just confusion. I
thought that asset was set of points until SPOT agent told me that it is
device. 3. Delete button and date filter were removed form the main screen. It
is totally illogical to burry it deep in menus. I would never find it there
without Company help. There is no manual or tutorial. 4. Current delete button,
if lucky to find it, deletes everything. The date filter should be put back. 5.
“Check in” button brings out tons of useless info and takes you to a useless place.
I use SPOT for flying, the same like many other people I know. We all agree
that the latest update is very bad and impossible to use. Many people are
talking to switch to other devices. We are all 65 to 85 years old and many of
my colleagues are scared of computers. The message delivers frightening
presentation and especially when received on phone. The fonts are microscopic
and impossible to read. Your default link arrives as a text of 3 lines with
unreadable micro text. Did you try to select your 3 line link on phone and the
paste it to address bar? 6. I and majority of my fellow pilots use the SPOT 7.
I go flying, have to do some work there, waiting for weather until the good
time to go. Before take off I press Check in. My message is sent to my wife to
start to look after me just in case something goes wrong. She is not very
computer skilled, but she is above average computer user. There is no way she
could navigate though SPOT presented info which is buried somewhere in weird
named menus. She is somewhere out and see the info only on the phone. She
cannot see anything because it is unusable on the phone. She needs to see whole
map and only map showing the current flight points and preferably with the last
known point flashing. The actual coordinates could be read by clicking the
point. After landing I press OK again to let her know I made it safely. 8. I
found that https://maps.findmespot.com/s/K36V/4R is
the perfect. This link or some other to produce the same result is needed. It
is very clear and it should be always default. Everything else to be optional.
Currently you get tons of info but the most important substance must be
painfully discovered. 9. What is alert and what is its purpose? Check in, Help,
SOS… are already alerts. Why do we need duplication? 10. The logging button
within the map is also messed up. First, it says log out, but it means both. To
log in it suggests my email, which is not my ID. As soon as I start type in
first character then Password changes to Manage. I have to enter password first
and then user ID. That’s amateurish!
280.
Due to Covid-19
pandemic, I decided to fly just around the airport without my usual exploration
flights. I could return safely back to airport without the engine power. To
make it more interesting I set a goal to go up to 10,000’ (3 048m) above
airport. I made it to 11,600’ (3 536m) above sea level. Obviously, higher up
above ground the perception of speed disappears. You feel like suspended motionless
in the air with spectacular 360 deg view. It was very pleasant feeling. My
views are especially special, because I am not looking through glass or through
small windows. There is nothing between me and the environment. The ground
temperature was 12C (54 F) and 3C (37 F) on the top, which is very good. No
more frozen fingers.
279. Short Flight with Fuel Problem, Apr 6, 2020
I originally promised that
I will not fly during the Covid-19 pandemic. I did not want to push my luck. I
knew that there would be very limited medical help just in case I would need
it, plus very high potential to get infected by that virus. It would be
certainly fatal in my age.
Lately, we finally have very beautiful days,
ideal for flying. I could not take it anymore. I decided to fly only at gliding
distance from the airport to mitigate any dangers. I could make it back safely
with dead engine. My goal today was to show how this areal looks from 10,000’
above ground. I wanted to spiral in very wide oval into 12,000’ and then idle
down back to airport. It was very ironic, because just half way up, at 5,700’ I
noticed low fuel pressure. I was not very trilled about it. I looked that my
flying will be over, plus the find what the problem is. I turn on an auxiliary
fuel pump which increased the fuel pressure, but it was still not normal.
Lowered RPM, pump on/off, RPM up… nothing worked, while trike engine did not
complain a bit. I called tower with my changed plan due to low fuel pressure. I
was asked if I need emergency stand-by, like fire truck and ambulance. I was
fine with just bid inconvenience. Eventually I found that it was fuel filter. I
never ever had any fuel pressure gauge in my previous trikes and ultralight and
I never had any fuel problem. It is a bid disappointing with this trike,
because it has only 80 hours total. I think I would be really stressed to be
far away from the airport.
278. Unnoticed Flock of Geese in my Landing Area, March 20, 2020
I noticed a
shadow from a bird flying overhead just before a touch down. I never
notice any birds (usually geese), so that shadow surprised me. After reviewing
the videos from the on board cameras, I saw around 50 Canadian Geese in area
where I was touching down. Any collision with those big birds could potentially
create serious damage to any aircraft.
277.
Really spring
weather with 6 to 8C, but of course, that take off and landing turbulence again
on sun heated concrete runway. The turbulence was discouraging, but eventually
it was very nice flight. It was also first flight after many months without
frozen fingers. This area west of the
276.
The weather looked
perfect, with blue sky, warm air, but still cold in shadows. There must be
turbulence. I was not “disappointed”. It started to kick me up and down right
out of deck. Turbulence was just short live and it was very peaceful flight the
next 40 minutes. I went to 6,500’ to 7,500’ where the air was smooth. I
received another few kicks just north of airport on the way back.
I was not looking
forward for my landing. I experienced very similar conditions during my previous
flight and it was nasty just few feet above the runway. I expected the same
this time, and it came. The air was very still with wind sock pointing down,
which was bad sign. The air will not be agitated. The warm and cold air blocks
were side by side waiting for something to disturb their temporary equilibrium.
Sometimes just a bird flying through could cause the major air movement. I was
that bird. I started dancing above runway. I could feel on my face blasts of
warm air from left and right blowing under my helmet face shield. I increased
my landing speed and I was hoping for the best. The actual touch down was very
good, but I was going up and down just few feet above the asphalt.
Again, it was
very relaxing flight. This was my social isolation from COVID-19 virus epidemic
emergency but mainly from all that bad and depressing news.
275.
Nothing but Turbulence, March 9, 2020
Two minutes of
turbulent flying. It shows unusual, not perfect, but very well recovered landing:
Push rather then pull after first bounce.
274. Short, but Turbulent Flight in Noon Heating. March 9, 2020
It was one of
those rare days with blue sky, no wind, warm, but still cold in shade (-2C). I
knew that it will be bumpy without any wind to agitate the cold and warm air. I
was surprised that the turbulence started right during the take off. I was
considering to go home during the next 5 min. Eventually, it smoothed out, at
least for a while. I climbed up to 6,500’ looking for good flying conditions. I
had several more kicks during my flight above this beautiful terrain.
I was not looking
forward to landing, because of hot runway right beside cold river and warm
beaches. This is never too good here in
273. Low Level Flying by North Ridge. Long Version from just Front
Camera, March 1, 2020
This is very
little edited version of the previous video # 272. I used just front camera
video running 2x faster. The perceived flying speed is between 200 and 250 km/h
above fascinating and very complex terrain. I did it to show the real
272. Low Level Flying by North Ridge, March 1, 2020
Favourable flying
conditions allowed me to fly much closer then lately to the ground, so I could
show the full range of the
271. Squadron of
It was unusual
sight in the sky and on the ground to see and hear five, high performance RV
homebuilts. They joined our Kamloops
Flying Club for regular Tuesday coffee and donuts social
gathering and pilot talk.
270. Good Flight to
I was planning to
fly to
269. Flying
This video, version 2, is edited
so that only sections with turbulence are shown.
It looked like peaceful day for
flying, but the reality was just opposite. As soon as I crossed
268. Flying Turbulent Kamloops North Ridge, Feb 15, 2020
It looked like peaceful day for
flying, but the reality was just opposite. As soon as I crossed
I was also testing another
GoPro Hero 7 Black (3rd one), but the result was extremely disappointing. The
stabilization did not work for some unexplained reason. The footage was
practically useless and much worse then from my previous Hero 3 camera. Hero
8/B has Super stabilization, but it was horrendous in this case.
267. Flying to
It was beautiful, spring-like
day, but flying conditions were not too relaxing. I encountered a lot of
turbulence. I tried different altitudes, over water, terrain with and without
snow, but no luck. It really built a lot of anxiety when not knowing if this is
how it will be or is it just warm up for the big one. I was already in several
serious turbulences before, so I am not looking forward to experience it again.
Eventually the air was much friendlier over the downtown to pleasure me down.
Overall, it was good flight.
266.
The morning started very promising
with sun, +5C, but forecast called for windy day. I waited till about 10 am,
but there was no wind. I took my chances and I did not regret it. It was one of
my most relaxing and beautiful flight. I was planning to cross
265.
It was very good
flight, but my fingers were getting numb which determined the flight duration.
It is not easy to take pictures and fiddle in knobs in heavy gloves.
264. How Wing
Trim Works in Flight, Dec 27, 2019
Short video clips
from my last flight showing sections when I used the wing speed trim. It shows
how the pivot point is moving in flight. You might need to run it several times
to see the detail. Watch first time to its end where you will see it in slow
motion.
263. Christmas Flying in
Still cloudy
airport area, but blue sky pushed through in many places. While there was no
snow on the ground around airport area, the ground was well covered all around
us. It was beautiful flight between, under and above clouds under sunny and
very blue sky. This area looks (is) so beautiful that it is beyond any
description. I am lucky to have this opportunity to see it from the above.
262.
Flying to South Area of
Nice flight to south area of
261.
Flying above
It was almost beautiful day, but heavy
clouds were hanging in the
260.
Short Experimental Flight Backward, Nov 25, 2019
In my previous video, # 259, I was
showing possibilities to kick back the Rotax 912 engine to run in reverse.
Reverse running engine also produces backward force, because the prop is
running in reverse. This is not very efficient way due to the prop leading and thicker
edge now becoming trailing edge.
Here is about 2 min video showing my
experiment, where I demonstrate that it could fly in reverse. I am some-what
luckier than many other trike owners, because my wing is tight like drum and
there is not a single wrinkle and flutter. This makes it easier and less risky.
Enjoy the video and let me know what you
think.
259.
Beautiful Day, but Unpleasant Turbulence, Nov 24, 2019
It looks like one of the last days of
flying in above freezing temperature. It was beautiful day, with no ground
wind, but 30 km/h wind just 2,000' above ground. Several times I was surprised
with strong blast of air from nowhere and from ever changing direction.
Eventually it became more peaceful at about 6000'. It was nice flight in this
nature jewel all around us.
I was always thinking how to
"drive" my trike from hangar, without heavy lifting and pushing it.
This is problem now for my steel shoulder after the last year motorcycle
accident.
Finally, I figured it out. I was inspired
by my first "car" in 1967, three wheeler converted motorcycle,
named Velorex.
It was originally made for handicap people in communist
I tried the same idea with my Rotax 912
and it works. You could see it in my video. The problem is solved now. I don't
want to brag, but I am very proud of myself. I am surprised that nobody else
used this idea yet.
258.
Flying over
Finally, it was good flying day. I
installed all my GoPro cameras, external batteries, GPS, Spot and another
stuff, getting ready for beautiful weather waiting for me. I could not start
it. The battery had not enough power to start 80 hp engine after below freezing
overnight temperature. I knew already that there is not much life left in it. I
move the trike back to hangar and uninstalled all the stuff again. Drove to
downtown to buy battery and replace it, which is not easy in this trike. I was
ready to go again after about 90 minutes.
It was very pleasant flight with warm sun
on my back, with 5C down to 1C and back to 5C (41F - 34F - 41F). The sun was
very close to horizon, which was not enjoyable result to shine into my face
through two layers of Plexiglas (windshield and helmet). It was very good 90
min flight.
257.
Seven Years of Trike Flying in
I took 30 random selected clips from my 7
years flying in
256. Flying with Clouds to Chase via
Paul
I was one of my best flight without any
nasty surprises. Almost 2 hour flight took me over beautiful hills and valleys
and generally pleasure to look at scenery. I tried to bring the mood up with the
Strauss Blue Danube music. This is how I usually feel when the conditions are
right and the flying is pure pleasure. Turn the volume up and enjoy the flight
with me.
255. Flying Kamloops-Ajax-Tobiano,
Oct 31, 2019
One hour flight around
254. Flying in
My second day of flying, while day before
I went through some serious turbulence,
this day was my redemption. It was very pleasant flight with some sporadic
fluffy clouds and beautiful fall colors on the ground.
253. Beautiful Day, but Unpleasant
Turbulence to Fly in, Oct 18, 2019
It was one of those autumn days full of
fall colors, warm, sunny and no wind. It looked like an ideal day to fly. My
fall color mood changed very quickly right out of the gate. It was very bumpy
and getting progressively worse. It took me about 10 min to decide to go with
it or chicken out and fly back. Eventually I did not want to push my luck and turned
around.
252.
Perception of Flying Speed from 9,000' above Ground,
30 sec video to
show how perceived flying speed from 3 km (10,000') elevation looks extremely
slow, while flying 130-140 km/h
251. Power off Glide from 10,000',
Oct 6, 2019
I wanted to know
what my trike gliding ration is while the engine is off. It took me 20 minutes
to climb to my goal altitude of 10,000' (3088 m). I was climbing up at 600 fpm
(3 m/s) which eventually dropped to 400 fpm (2 m/s) while maintaining constant
5,000 rpm on engine. The drop in vertical speed (performance) is natural,
because the air is getting less dense with altitude. The view was spectacular
and I felt like suspended in the air flying the Space Shuttle. I had
practically no perception of speed from that height, but my ground speed was
about 54 kn (100 km/h).
After I cleared
with the control tower that nobody is in any hurry to land, I turned power off.
This flight also gave me appreciation of the wing electric trim. I did not see
any purpose of it when I made initial few flights, but now, I am singing
different tune. It is excellent invention in longer and steady flights like
this one. I trimmed it going up hill so if flew hands off the control bar and
the same going down hill. I trimmed it going down to 50 kn indicated, which is
actually 40 kn real, as I discovered in the first flights. It flew hands off
and without unwanted turns or surprises.
It was peaceful downhill at steady speed
covering 10 nm (20 km) distances. I calculated that my trike has 7:1 glide ratio.
For every 1000' of elevation I could fly 7000' distance. Of course it will
change with wind against or behind me. This glide ratio is very impressive for
such heavy trike with small and fast wing. I did the similar test in Apr 2014
with my Airborne trike with Wizard wing (http://youtu.be/cgb7QSM_idw). I calculated 5:1 glide ratio on
that slow trike.
Landing was uneventful and 60 kn (111
km/h). I could not restart the engine after landing, because the battery run
out of juice. When you are in the similar situation you would appreciate the
advantages of classical analog (gauge with needles) instruments versus all
computerized stuff, which need a lot of power. I was prepared for this
situation by carrying battery power pack and connected into the 12 V trike
outlet. I kept all navigation lights, radio, transponder and all digital
instruments on. I thought that the battery pack would be able to supply all
needed power. Obviously it did not. You could see from the video that it was
not big deal when I turned all power off. It was very happy day for me.
250. Flight to
It was one of my
best flights. I wanted to fly originally to
I took different
route the last 15 km before Barriere. I flew above
249.
Short Flight over
Weather forecast
called for sunny day, but it did not happen in that morning. I liked the fluffy
low level clouds around the
I was stressed
not about the flying, but to deal with the problem. When I was about 200 m from
the end of runway we could again communicate by radio. It was not perfect, but
at least I could apologize for the bloody radio. I was not very keen to deal
with it right a way, but I am glad that I did. I concluded that it must be
antenna and it was. The mini coaxial connector was unscrewed. The cable still
worked in short distance as antenna, but not very far. I reconnected the cable
and wrapped it in electric tape to prevent it from happening again. It really
made my day. I was so happy that I found it. It was good day and the video
shows it.
248.
Second Flight that Day to Knutsford Area, Sep 30, 2019
It was beautiful
day, but very bumpy especially in the South of Kamloops. I was looking for
different layer for some peaceful flying conditions, but no luck. I just
relaxed and tried to like it. I have good video.
247.
Short Flight over Kamloops North Ridge, Sep 30, 2019
It was perfect
weather (it looked like), but my camera quit shortly after take off. I turned
back to reset it.
246.
Flying over Kamloops North Ridge, Sep 6, 2019
The main reason
for this flight was to take aerial picture after devastating fire of the local
school the previous day. The school was totally destroyed. Unfortunately I took
off with camera without memory card and on top of that I forgot to turn the
front, full view camera on. Oh, well, at least I had very good local flight.
245.
Flying to
I was trying new camera
mount on the trike nose, so there is no picture interference with any part of
trike. This front view is run at 4 to 6x faster with perceives speed of 500 to
700 km/h.
I did very good
aerial survey of the
I crossed Mt
Lolo, with a bit of turbulence and then scanned the hills of the NE of Kamloops
Lake. This 1:40 hr flight is compressed into 3:50 min video.