YouTube Flying Videos by Jan
Nademlejnsky
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April 7, 2025
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515. Return Flight from Merritt Via
Mamit & Logan Lakes. Merritt
Apr 4, 2025
A short stop at the sunny Merritt airport, after a cold
flight from
514. Fantastic Flight Via Nicola Valley to
Merritt Airport. Kamloops Apr 4, 2025
This is one of the most scenic trips while traveling on
Highway 5A through
513. Flight NW of
Mt Savona and Tobiano. Kamloops Mar 29, 2025
Another remarkable flight showcasing
the exceptional natural beauty surrounding us. Fully appreciate the
breathtaking views from above, complementing your experience from the ground
up. A detailed look at the Tobiano Golf and Residential area highlights its
distinctive and unique topography.
512. Flight to Duffy and Tunkwa
Lakes, Mt Savona and Tobiano. Kamloops Mar 22, 2025
Another beautiful day and a flight
to the lesser-known
511. Spectacular Flight to Walhachin
Area. Kamloops Mar 14, 2025
The
flight into the intriguing geological formations of the Walhachin area was
nothing short of spectacular. Initially, the sky was completely gray, but it
suddenly cleared around the airport, signaling the perfect opportunity to take
to the skies. While the journey began with a few bumps, the conditions
eventually became manageable.
I
navigated cautiously, keeping a watchful eye on the intimidating bands of
clouds flanking both sides of
Photos
510. The Shortest Flight and the Worst Take off
Turbulence. Kamloops Mar 6, 2025
The
weather forecast and actual conditions appeared excellent, but reality turned
out to be the complete opposite. A cold gale hit me from the side—twice—sudden
and unexpected, while I was still accelerating on the ground. I knew right away
that this flight was going to be interesting.
The
air turbulence was severe just above the ground and continued to intensify. I
looked around but couldn't find any reason for what was happening, nor any
indication it would improve with time. Before reaching the western threshold of
the runway, I decided not to push my luck and turned back for home.
The
landing was tough. The back wheels touched down on the pavement while the front
wheel was still hovering just above the ground. Suddenly, a crosswind burst
hit. The front wheel landed slightly at an angle, which triggered the trike's
infamous “Duck Walk.” My large Lexan windshield split vertically down the
center into two pieces. I needed to replace the windshield anyway, as it had
too many scratches causing star reflections in bright sunlight or snow. It was
really interesting flight, but no fun this time
509.
Exploring Paul Lake Area, S
Thompson River and Kamloops City. Feb 28, 2025
This
was one of the best flights of my life. Perfect flying conditions and
breathtaking nature made my day unforgettable. I passed over Harper Ski Hill
and made two loops above
From
there, I ventured off the beaten path, exploring several areas before arriving
in Pritchard. This marked the start of my most popular flying corridor as I
headed back toward
Finally,
I soared above
508.
Exploring the Most Beautiful
Nature Area in Kamloops: NW Ridge, Battle Bluff, Frederick, Viewpoints and
Hiking Trails, Kamloops, Feb 23,
2025
I had to change my plan just a few minutes after takeoff due
to sudden and serious turbulence, which gave me quite a workout. Eventually, I
ended up exploring the beautiful NW Ridge area. It is popular with both leisure
and serious hikers. Check out how it looks from the air!
Pictures
507.
Flying to Knutsford Area, Ajax,
Downtown, Sun Rivers, Mt Peter & Paul, Battle Bluff and more. Kamloops, Feb 17, 2025
506.
Flying Upstream of Winter South Thompson River, Kamloops,
Feb 8, 2025
Pictures
505. Short & Bumpy Flight around Our
City, Kamloops, Jan 29, 2025
The flight conditions were a bit intimidating and kept me
fully alert while flying over the
504 Bumpy Ride: A Short and Turbulent Flight
Over Kamloops, January 15, 2025
This video focuses on flying conditions rather than sightseeing
and scenery. The flight was extremely turbulent, which really surprised me.
Pictures
503
Beautiful but Not Relaxing Flights to
Mt. Savona: Kamloops, January 8, 2025
My first flight of 2025 was a beautiful cross-country
journey to
502.
Flight to Check Birken Forest
Buddhist Monastery. The Last Flight of 2024, Dec 31, 2024
I found this place on Google Earth by accident. It looked
like a good place to check out because I didn’t know we had a monastery in this
region. It was a very enjoyable flight, closing my successful 2024 flying
season.
Pictures
501. Flight to SE, Scuitto and Campbell Lakes,
NE to Harper Mt Ski Hill and other, Dec 23, 2024
A very scenic but turbulent flight over SE frozen lakes,
Harper Mt Ski Hill, and eventually the
500. Slide Show: Rugged and Interesting
Shoreline of Kamloops Lake, Dec 15, 2024
This flight around
499. Rugged and Interesting Shoreline of
Kamloops Lake, Dec 15, 2024
This flight around
Pictures
498. Exploring Sun Peaks Ski Resort 3 Days after
Season Opening, Dec 3, 2024.
Relaxing flight under and above clouds to
497.
Wintery Flight North
of Kamloops, Nov 29, 2024
This video captures various wintry
conditions influenced by elevation and location around
496.
Relaxing 90 km Flight to Explore
Kamloops Beauty, Nov 15, 2024
This
video captures the natural beauty of the
495. Short, Beautiful but Turbulent
Flight, Nov 12, 2024
I couldn't resist taking advantage
of the beautiful, sunny, and relatively warm day to go flying. I wanted to
explore the Lac du Bois Grasslands area just north of the airport. However, the
flight turned out to be quite challenging due to persistent and often
unpleasant turbulence. Not wanting to push my luck, I decided to cut it short.
While the flight itself wasn't too bad, the apprehension about what the
turbulence might become was unsettling. Was it a warning to turn back because
something worse was coming? Or was it just a reminder to relax and enjoy the
flight? Regardless, it was a beautiful flight over very stunning and
interesting terrain.
494.
The Portal to Heaven,
Oct 31, 2024
I was incredibly fortunate to experience such exceptional
flying conditions. The heavy rain the day before gave way to a sunny afternoon,
bringing with it a spectacular array of clouds. Though I've flown around clouds
many times before, these were truly unique—three-dimensional, fluffy, and
resembling intricate sculptures. It felt like flying through a heavenly
landscape, akin to the depictions found in many baroque church paintings. So, I
call it "The Portal to Heaven."
493.
Relaxing Flight to Check Fall
Colors, Oct 22, 2024
This flight was easily one of
my best, with absolutely perfect flying conditions. I had a blast navigating
through fluffy, friendly clouds. The journey took me over the most picturesque
countryside, boasting stunning landscapes at every turn. It was an
unforgettable experience.
492. Gorgeous Flight to Hihium and Loon Lakes,
Oct 11, 2024
This flight was one of my absolute best,
packed with great fun moments. Flying in the afternoon was a rare treat for me,
but it turned out to be a fantastic choice. The lighting conditions were far
better for my video cameras compared to my usual early morning flights. It
turned into an incredible discovery adventure, exploring places unknown to me.
My main targets were the high-elevation
491. Fantastic
Flight to Second Largest Ski Resort in Canada, Sun Peaks, Oct 5, 2024
Early morning and
already cold day under very bright sun was an excellent time for some
exploring. I was looking for changing fall colors and generally to get some
fresh air. It was 140 km/h (87 mph) of pure fun.
490. The End of Summer: Water Level in South
Thompson River, Kamloops, Sep 21,
2024
An excellent
flight to check the historic
I had
165 km of fun
489. Beautiful Flight to Little Fort Area via N Thompson
River, Kamloops, Aug 25, 2024
It was one of my best flights. It
was smooth and interesting. I like this variety of the flying environment: Sun,
deep shadows, high clouds, low clouds; interesting to look at. I followed the
It was almost 200 km (64 mi) of pure
fun in super natural beauty.
488.
Exploring Area South of Kamloops
Lake, Aug 20, 2024
The original plan was to fly to
Merritt via
487. Flew to Duck Range and S Thompson River
Areas. Kamloops Aug 14, 2024
The original plan was to check the status and damage of the
wildfires east of
486. Exploring S and SW of Kamloops Area, Aug 7, 2024
I had to change my original plan to fly to Salmon Arm area
due to heavy smoke form the surrounding forest fires. I stayed S and SW of Kamloops
which had very decent air to go through. It was interesting to go from no wind
take off to 50 km/h (31 mph) west wind just 1372 m (4500 ft) higher. This wind
direction changed from W to E in about 300 m (~1000 ft) elevation difference.
This is a typical
It was different plan but loaded with the same amount of
fun.
485. Super smooth, 195 km long Flight to Sun
Peaks, Several Lakes and other Peaks, Aug 2, 2024
It was the smoothest flight in my
life. I was taking scenic route to the second largest ski hill in
Lac
Du Bois, McQueen Lake, Isobel Lake, Sullivan Lake, Knouff Lake,
Heffley Lake, Paul Lake, Pinantan Lake, Harper Ski, Sun Peaks
Pictures
484. Checking Wildfires and many Lakes around
Kamloops BC, Jul 16, 2024
We had serious lightening storm in BC which started numerous
forest fires, including
I was very impressed with the results. All fires were well
under control thanks to quick aerial response to “kill” it while it is still
small. I flew over many lakes and also highlighted drastic difference between
two climate zones just side by side. That is interesting.
483. Kamloops
Area Flight over Thompson Rivers In Kamloops Jul 17, 2024
Short flight to check status
of Thompson Rivers in
482. Flight
around Greenstone Area Lakes and Kamloops from 10,000 ft. Kamloops Jul 13, 2024
Another fantastic, 120 km long nature flight to show
many
481. Flight
to Red Lake and Cache Creek through Unbeaten Path. Kamloops Jul 4, 2024
I took a nature flight through beautiful valleys above peaks
and many lakes. Set of lakes around the
Pictures
480.
Scenic Flight to Chase, Monte, Disdero,
Scuitto and other Lakes, Kamloops Jun 28, 2024
Another perfect flying day which took me to 165 km long
super beautiful nature trip.
Pictures
479.
Flight to Salmon Arm Downtown through a
bit of Unbeaten Path, Jun 20, 2024
I could not ask for better flying conditions. The air was
smooth like freshly paved road during my 225 km flight. I choose a bit unusual
path over the hidden valleys to discover another natural beauty. I followed the
Salmon Arm shore line and other parts of downtown. I am showing the burned out
vastness of the 2023
Scenic flight by many lakes
mainly: Jacko, McConnell, Stake, Lac Le Jeune, Shambrook, Walloper,
477. Super Scenic Flight to Clearwater BC
Canada, Jun 6, 2024
I embarked on an incredibly scenic
flight, tracing the North Thompson River valley toward the small town of
476. Turbulent
Flight to Sun Peaks Area. May 31, 2024
Everything in the
475. Turbulent
Flight to and from Douglas Lake, May 15, 2024
It was beautiful, but not relaxing flight to
474.
Exploring NE of Pritchard (Pemberton),
Niskonlith Lake, Chase Area and other. Kamloops, May 10, 2024
An excellent flight in greening
473. Exploring
SW of Kamloops. May 2, 2024
One hour flight over many lakes, meadows, fields, hills and
other interesting and complex terrain features.
472. Beautiful
Scenery above Paul Lake Valley and Paul Lake.
Kamloops, Apr 22, 2024
My trip was cut short due to area of some serious turbulence
kicks. The prospect for better flying conditions was not good. Regardless, the
100 km trip was worth every penny. The natural beauty of this region is beyond
any description. Check it out
471. 225 km Flight to Intimidating
Mountainous Area near Lillooet. Kamloops, Apr 14 2024
It was a challenging flight to potentially very nasty and
unpredictable flying conditions. I wanted to land at small village Lillooet
airport (N50.673 W121.892). It is located well below the ring of tall
mountains. I made it to the edge of the SE mountain ridge, just 20 km (12 mi)
SE of the airport and gave up. I looked down into that enormous bowl from 2438
m (8000 ft) formed by south wall covered with snow, while the north facing wall
was dark, with no traces of snow. Those are the best conditions for some
serious thermal turbulence. Regardless, it was spectacular 225 km (140 mi) trip
470.
Local Exploration Flight, Kamloops, Apr 12, 2024
It was a perfect day to showcase
469. Unsuccessful, Turbulent Flight to Sun Peaks, Kamloops, Apr 7, 2024
It looked like a perfect morning to go flying. Blue sky,
crisp air and very light wind. I decided to fly to
The flight was very picturesque and relaxing. The sky was
all around clear, except the
468. Excellent
Flight to Mt Martin; 175 km of Natural Beauty, Kamloops, Apr 1, 2024
I tried this flight in Nov 2023 (YT video # 457) but I was badly kicked
out by very nasty turbulence. This time, she was kind to me. Challenging and
definitely not boring terrain was pleasurable background in this flight. This
interesting video in relaxing music can bring your mood up. The Martin Mt is
very well defined mountain on eastern horizon with almost always first and the
last snow glowing above the eastern river valley.
An excellent flying weather
for some buzzing around. There is so much to see just around
466. Test Flight with New Prop. Flying Loops
above North Ridge, Close to Airport. Kamloops, Mar 13, 2024
This was my first flight with new Warp Drive Prop. I set it
to 10 deg pitch, measured on the prop tip and it was good choice. Checked the
carburetors balance and it was the same to my previous PowerFin prop. Now
fiddling around required. I flew close to airport just in case. It was actually
very nice, no surprises flight with good video capture.
464. Excellent Flight except the Scary Landing. Kamloops North Ridge, Feb 2, 2024
It was weird day.
The sun started to peak through around noon. The west half
of runway was still totally fog covered when I started to prepare for flight.
It cleared by 1:30 pm, the time when I took off.
It was very relaxing and enjoyable flight in crispy clear
air, but with many clouds around. Warm, +6C on the ground and +9C at the top
(5500’). Actually, it was too warm, because I had partially covered the engine
radiator for cold flying. The engine temp reached max, so I had to pull back a
bit to keep it from overheating. It was totally spring like flying.
The fun and relaxation was dashed just about 50 ft above ground
when all hell broke loose. I felt like garbage bag in the wind. I had to give
up in very scary, super turbulent and gusty conditions. I was glad to make it
in one piece. I noticed the wind sock, while taxing “home”, was moving very
erratically and at one moment it pointed even straight up. It was some
experience. 10 min after that the wind was blowing like mad.
463. My Excellent First Flight of 2024, Kamloops
Jan 21, 2023
I was rewarded by beautiful and relaxing winter flight after
serious snow removal (by hand
shovel) from my access path to runway. There was low ceiling cloud base all
around except
462. I had to Shovel all this by Hand before my
Flight, Kamloops Jan 21, 2024
It was serious exercise to clear all that snow from my
hangar up to the taxiway. The taxiway was closed for me by big snow withdraw
from the airport plow. Well many people pay for the gym membership and I have it
free.
I discovered so many muscles. I didn’t know I have. See the
actual flight below
461. South
Thompson River Low Water Level. Aerial
View from Prichard to Kamloops Lake, Dec
23, 2023
I flew 48 km (30 mi) east to Pritchard to start the aerial
“survey” view of our main water supply,
460. Waiting for Sunset on Cloudy Day. Kamloops
Dec 20, 2023
I wanted to capture usually very colorful sky at the sunset.
Also, I wanted to do it during the shortest day. Here I was just one day too
early because the weather forecast for the next day was no good for my flying.
I could see low level clouds all around except very large
hole of blue sky over the Brock and
459. Exploring North Ridge Area with Beautiful
Clouds Formations, Kamloops Dec
16, 2023
Awesome scenery all around with still no snow by the airport
location, while the terrain all around is snow covered. One of the best flights
with 120 km of pure fun.
458. Above Clouds Flight to Sun Peaks and Harper
Mountain, Kamloops Dec 7, 2023
An excellent winter, almost no snow, flight to the second
largest ski hill in
457. Very Turbulent Flight to Mt Martin &
over South Thompson River, Kamloops Nov 19, 2023
This was not a relaxing flight, but very challenging and
full workout exercise. I was flying about 100 km (62 mi) in a heavy turbulence
with shifting winds in 180 deg direction changes. I wanted to fly to Mt Martin,
which is the highest visible mountain from
This is my best
video so far. The weather and the flying conditions were perfect and the
selection of the flight area was perfect too.
Brock, N Shore, downtown, Aberdeen, Knutsford, Shumway Lake,
Walker Lake, Campbell Creek, Barnhartvale, Dallas, Harper Ranch, N Ridge, Sun
Rivers, Tranquille River, Tranquille Farm…
455. Checking
2023 Ross Moore Lake Wildfire Area Status,
Kamloops Oct 29, 2023
My afternoon flight, surprisingly turbulence free to 2023
summer devastating wildfire with centered by
It was 170 km (106 mi) of pure fun. Normally I fly early
morning to avoid the usual air turbulence. The morning rising sun makes the visual
conditions very difficult. The east side of the mountains is almost black and
the west side is overexposed. The cameras cannot handle those extreme contrasts
in Auto modes.
This time I took a chance and flew in the high overhead noon
sun. It was perfect in the
This video shows very well the Tobiano and
453. Flying
around Kamloops Lake and more. Kamloops Oct 12, 2023
It was one of my best and very relaxing, 130 km long flight.
Weather was perfect, a bit on chilly side, but without those typical and sudden
bursts of nastiness. The nature around
452. Flying to Check Adams Lake Wildfire
Situation. Kamloops Oct 1, 2023
I am following my failed attempt in previous day to check
the Shuswap area affected by
Pictures
451. Flying to Shuswap Area. Kamloops Sep 31,
2023
This was the day to fly. Almost sunny and no wind. I decided
to check the still active, but almost over the Adam’s
The flying day was very interesting with spotty terrain from
broken clouds shadows and changing fall terrain colors. Of course I also
checked the ever changing sandbars in the Thompson River delta by
450. Flying over Ross Moore Lake Wildfire Area,
Sep 8, 2023
The flying conditions were very good and even smoke form
wildfires was not too bad. I decided to check the status of
Pictures
449.
Kamloops Area Covered with
Wildfire Smoke, Sep 2, 2023
It was not an ideal day to go flying because we had some
serious, out of control fires near by. Also wind direction helped to blow the
smoke from the other places too. I have
to turn around in mid flight, because to visibility was getting critical. I
still have very good video from
448.
Low Water Level of
Thompson Rivers. Kamloops Aug 19, 2023
I flew above both North and
447. Kamloops in the Middle of Wildfires. July
23, 2023
It was my interesting, early morning flight.. Flew south by
the monster, out of control, wildfire by
446.
Scenic Flight to
Chase, Mt Martin, Monte, Campbell and Scuitto Lakes. July 18, 2023
Beautiful and very scenic flight through the
445.
Scenic Flight to Little Shuswap Lake.
High Level Views of the River Valley. July 12, 2023
I was originally flying to Salmon Arm airport, but heavy
smoke from surrounding forest fires made me to turn back earlier. Regardless, I
have very good video of the
444.
Scenic Loop to
Highland Valley Copper Mine, Spences Bridge Area, Ashcroft, Savona… July 4,
2023
It was a perfect and scenic
flight through very interesting country sites in various styles. Very nice
aerial view of super big, Highland Valley Copper Mine, open pit operation. I
continued then into
443.
Flying to Bonaparte
Lake & Bonaparte Provincial Park via McLure. June 30, 2023
It was 177 km (110 mi) long flight of pure fun. I tried
several times to fly to
I was really surprised with number of lakes and lash green
and beautiful areas. I also saw ravaged areas from 2021 forest fire, but the
nature is slowly recovering from that disaster. I captured the
442. Flying
to Deadman Falls over Tobiano, Savona, Deadman River and Straight Line Back.
June 26, 2023
I visited the Deadman
Falls in 2021 by motorcycle. I also flew very nearby previously, but at that
time I didn’t know about the waterfalls there. I decided to check it out. It
was very good, 153 km long and very enjoyable flight. The scenery and the
nature are spectacular. I followed the
441. Flight
through Nicola Valley to Merritt, Logan Lake and Tunkwa Lake, Kamloops June 17,
2023
This was the day to fly. Absolutely the best conditions to
do video. The fluffy clouds created beautiful spotty patterns on the ground.
Everything around was in full green and healthy looking shape. I flew to small
city Merritt airport through one of the most scenic region
440.
Local Flight to Test Gimbal Head GoPro
Camera, Kamloops June 6, 2023
I replaced my Insta360 X2 camera with GoPro Hero 7B mounted
in 3 axes stabilizer Removu S1. The 360 deg camera is very good, but editing
and lining the wanted views is very tedious and time consuming. I was looking
for better results, but I was disappointed. I was hoping that motorized Gimbal
head with 3 gyroscopes would be proper solution. It is not as shown in the
video. I will be going back to Insta360 X2 as front view camera. You could
still enjoy aerial views of
439. Scenic Flight from Vernon to Kamloops in
Extreme Turbulence. Part 2 of 2, May 31, 2023
The return leg from
I chose more scenic road through the
438. Direct and Peaceful Flight to
Vernon, Part 1 of 2. May 31, 2023
I was considering this flight to neighboring airport in
I was up in the air at 6:15 am to avoid heat changes from
cold(er) morning to hot noon, which brings turbulence. I chose straight line
flight over the mountains to
437. Flight to Barriere, Whitecroft,
Barnhartvale, 180 km of Beauty. May 26, 2023
This was another beautiful flight through less traveled
areas. I followed the
I tried many times for several years
to fly close to the Rock Needle of Buse Hill, but the weather conditions had
always different plans. It looked promising this time, but my main, full view
camera battery died. I flew close, but still encounter unpleasant turbulence
there. I completed my journey above the south side of the
436. Flight to Sun Peaks, Chase and High Water
Level of South Thompson River. May 19, 2023
Beautiful flight to quickly changing Sun Peaks from winter
ski paradise to green mountain playground. I continued to small village Chase,
which is start of
It is interesting to compare the river valley character
between those two extremes. See my video
# 432 from Apr 14, 2023 for comparison.
435. Return Flight from Cache Creek to Kamloops,
May 11 2023
This is the second part (video #434) of my trip to Cache Creek
to see the flooding situation there. The flight is threading through very
interesting geographical nature with beauty in every direction.
434. Flight to Cache Creek to Check the River
Flooding Situation. Kamloops, May 11 2023
It was an interesting flight in the Thompson and Bonaparte river
valleys to see the flooding river conditions. Small town of Cache Creek was
already affected by damaging flood and expecting additional flood by
I was considering this flight for several years now, but the
terrain looks and is very intimidating. The gold containing Tranquille Creek is
running in very deep, steep and narrow canyon. Definitively any mechanical or
even environmental failure would be total disaster in that hostile environment.
I started early in the morning to limit my exposure to expected turbulence, but
it was still not relaxing flight. The strong headwind created mechanical
turbulence behind and around the hills. This combined with warm and cold sides
of the canyon created very good turbulence. Well, I made it through! It is very
nice in the
The sky was very clear and visibility perfect so you could
see the Costal Mountain Ridge still covered in snow.
432. Complete
South Thompson River, Low Water
Level Aerial Survey, Kamloops,
Apr 14, 2023
Here is my aerial survey of all South Thompson River from
Chase to
It was very nice and interesting flight. I received warning
form the Kamloops Flight Services about ash from Russian (
431. Kamloops from the Air in Heavy Turbulence,
Apr 11, 2023
I wanted to document extremely low water level in whole
I did not make it too far this time, because of very strong
and unpleasant turbulence. I was getting
air sick and I did not want to push my luck. I had to give up. I hope I could
make it soon. I brought very interesting video from around the
430. Flight
to Lac Le Jeune and Detail Survey of Kamloops Sandbars, Kamloops Mar 29, 2023
I flew over scenic road to Lac Le Jeune Provincial Park,
campground and residential area. While
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
427.
Flying to Harper Ranch, Campbell Creek
Rd to Knutsford, Ajax, Afton, Cherry Creek, Kamloops, Mar 9, 2023
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,
Pictures
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
424.
Flying over East of City, Valleyview,
Dallas, Barnhartvale and then Sun Rivers, North Shore and Brock. 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.
Picturest.
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
Pictures
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
Pictures
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.
Pictures
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
Pictures
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.
Pictures
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
Pictures
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. Test
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.
Pictures
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
Pictures
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
Pictures
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
Pictures
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.
Pictures
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.
Pictures
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
Pictures
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.
Pictures
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
Pictures
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,
Pictures
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.
Pictures
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.
Pictures
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.
Pictures
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
Pictures
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
Pictures
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
Pictures
378. Beautiful Winter
Flying in N Thompson Valley, Jan 18, 2022
Nice flying day to get some fresh air and
have fun with it.
Pictures
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. 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
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
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
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.
Pictures
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,
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,
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 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
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
Kamloops and Walhachin. Oct 6, 2021
Short video of
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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.
Pictures
356. Kamloops
Area on Forest Fires. July 6, 2021
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 Roche Lake Area, June 17, 2021
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 Dunn Peak Mountain
Area, May 22, 2021
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 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
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
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 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
343. Beautiful
Flight to Salmon Arm Airport, Apr 15, 2021
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 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 https://youtu.be/xOV1d5IvHewflying 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 Kamloops, Feb 16, 2021
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 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
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 North Shore, Dec 31, 2020
Very good video from the low level flight over the
322. Flying
to Savona-Deadman Rd Area via North Ridge and Tobiano, Dec 27, 2020
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 South
Thompson River, Dec 27, 2020
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
Pictures
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 Sun Peaks to Check the Ski
Season Opening Day, Nov 21, 2020
Sun Peaks Resort is the second largest ski resort in
316. Flying
above Kamloops Rivers, Nov 19, 2020
It was another beautiful day to go exploring the
Pictures
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.
Pictures
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
Kamloops Clouds, Oct 20, 2020.
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
Pictures
309. Flying above
Clouds to Ajax Mine and Tobiano, Oct 11, 2020.
Chilly morning at 3C, but sunny day brought
smile to my face. I could fly and enjoy to Covid free time above
Pictures
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
Pictures
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 Kamloops
Full Screen Aerial View, July 28, 2020.
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. Sun Peaks Full
Screen Aerial View, July 28, 2020.
This is just section from flight as per video # 303. It is unedited, full
screen view of
Pictures
303. Flying to Sun Peaks and Chase
Village, July 28, 2020.
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 Savona, Tunkwa Lake, Face
Lake, Chuwhels Mt, Knutsford, July 20, 2020.
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 Barriere BC and Back
over North Thompson River, July 17, 2020.
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
Pictures
299. Flying to Kamloops Downtown, Knutsford and
Dew Point Areas. Heavy Turbulence, July 12, 2020.
Typical
Pictures
298.
Checking
Flooded South Thompson River in Kamloops, July 5, 2020.
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, Savona and Tunkwa Lake
with Nice Clouds, July 5, 2020.
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 Savona in Turbulent and Hazy Air,
July 3, 2020.
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 Nicola Valley to Douglas
Lake, June 18, 2020.
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
Thompson River Flooding Part 2 of 2, June 3, 2020.
This is unedited and complete aerial view
from front camera only. It starts at 17 km east of
Pictures
293.
North
Thompson River Flooding Part 1 of 2, June 3, 2020.
This is unedited and complete aerial view
from front camera only. It starts at 28 km north of
Pictures
292. Survey of North and South Thompson River Flooding,
June 3, 2020.
Both
Pictures
291. Fun with Clouds in Nicola Valley, May 27,
2020.
Beautiful flight, https://youtu.be/LoLslqEodxg
South of Kamloops, over green meadows,
fields, hills and lakes. This area is always challenging for me to fly, because
the conditions are very often unpredictable and changing quickly. It started
with no wind, but turbulent, bumpy ride, eventually smooth and relaxing when
flying over the clouds by
Spectacular
Pictures
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
Pictures
289. Flying to Knutsford, Ajax and Flooded Tranquille Farm, May
19, 2020.
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
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.
Pictures
287. Flight from Kamloops to Brigade Lake, May 14, 2020.
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
Pictures
286. Flight from Merritt to Kamloops, May 8, 2020.
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
“
285. Flight from Kamloops to Merritt BC, May 8, 2020.
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 Kamloops to Cache Creek, May 1, 2020.
Beautiful, early morning, 140 km long
flight through
Pictures
283. Flight from Buse Hill to Kamloops, Uncut Version. Apr 19, 2020.
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
Pictures
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. Kamloops from 10,000’ above Airport, Apr 9, 2020
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.
Pictures
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.
Pictures
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.
Pictures
277. Kamloops to Cache Creek Area, March 20, 2020
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
Pictures
276. Kamloops to Campbell Rd Valley, March 17, 2020
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.
Pictures
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.
Pictures
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
Pictures
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
Pictures 1 Pictures 2
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 Vernon RV Homebuilts Visiting Kamloops Flying
Club
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.
Pictures
270. Good Flight to Harper Mountain and River Valley, Feb 24,
2020
269. Flying Kamloops, Showing Just Turbulence Section, Feb 15,
2020
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.
Pictures
267. Flying to Savona and Downtown Kamloops, Jan 27, 2020
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.
Pictures
266. Kamloops from the above Clouds, Jan 22, 2020
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. Kamloops Winter Beauty from the Air, Jan 9, 2020
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 Kamloops, Dec 27,
2019
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 Kamloops, Dec 8,
2019
Nice
flight to south area of
261.
Flying above Kamloops Clouds, Dec 3,
2019
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.
Pictures
258.
Flying over North Thompson River Valley,
Nov 20, 2019
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.
Pictures
257.
Seven Years of Trike Flying in Kamloops
in 2.5 Minutes
I took 30
random selected clips from my 7 years flying in
Pictures
256. Flying
with Clouds to Chase via Paul Lake, Nov 3, 2019
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.
Pictures
255. Flying
Kamloops-Ajax-Tobiano, Oct 31, 2019
One hour
flight around
Pictures
254. Flying in Kamloops Fall Colors, Oct 19,
2019
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.
Pictures
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, Kamloops Oct 6, 2019
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.
Pictures
250. Flight to Barriere, BC, Oct
4, 2019
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
Pictures
249.
Short Flight over Kamloops North and
East Ridges, Oct 1, 2019
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.
Pictures
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.
Pictures
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.
Pictures
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 Sun Peaks, Mt Lolo and NW
Ridge, Sep 1, 2019
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.
Pictures
244. Practicing
Landings at Kamloops Airport , August 26, 2019
Short video showing several take-offs and landings in Apollo DeltaJet2
trike.
243.
Flying from Kamloops to Logan Lake and Merritt
via Hwy 97C, August 19, 2019
Another long
distance flight (177 km) to explore
242.
Flying from Kamloops to Highland Valley,
Ashcroft and Cache Creek, August 7, 2019
I always
wanted to fly around the big surface copper mine in
241. Kamloops
to Harper Ranch, Cold Creek Rd Loop, July 29, 2019
One of the most relaxing flight over
spectacular countryside. This part of
240.
Kamloops Flying to Adams Lake Bay via
Sun Peaks, July 22, 2019
One of our
flying club members posted few pictures from his flight over
239.
Kamloops Flying to Isobel Lake and NE
Ridge, July 11, 2019
Friend of
mine mentioned camping at
238.
My Record Flight to Molybdenite Peak,
July 3, 2019
Several
years ago I watched YouTube video showing group of
I had very
few hours of sleep thinking of all those "what if" possibilities. I
got up at 4:30 am and was in the air at 5:55 am. Dressed in my full winter
gear, I was really hot in already sunny, 14C, morning. There was up to 18 km/h
(10 kn) head wind, but otherwise very relaxing flight. It was not easy to take
pictures, because big contrast between sunny and shady areas from the low sun
position. I was stunned to see the beauty of the eastern part of the
I landed
safely at the
My record
longest and potentially the most dangerous flight so far.
Distance:
278 km (173 mi, 150 nm)
Max
Elevation: 3,557 m (11,670')
Moving time:
2:40 hr
Max Ground
Speed: 148 km/h (92 mph, 80 kn)
237.
Flying to Knouff Sullivan Lake Area,
June 9, 2019
Six days
before, I was driving my motorcycle to Knouff Lake Recreation Area
and I was very impresses with the nature beauty there. I decided to check it
out from the air too. It was very nice flight, but the better view from the
ground. It looks from the air much flatter then from the ground.
236. Flying
to Savona to Check the Wild Fire Situation There, June 6, 2019
Walking on
the street previous day, I noticed black smoke on western horizon. Oh no! No
forest fire again. Media reports were not very favourable with statements like
double in size, out of control...
The morning
was crisp, with just 8C and sunny sky. I decided to fly west to see how bad the
fire situation is NW of Savona. Actually, I was very surprised that the fire
was out, but still with some smouldering patches and very close to the forest.
I could see small burned patch and father west large burned area. It was
obvious that it was deliberately set by someone. The first smaller patch was
very far away from the train track separated by very dry grass and wide road.
This fire could not start by train. It is mad-mad world.
235. Kamloops
COPA Flights for Kids, June 1, 2019
Kamloops
Flying Club organized "COPA for Kids". COPA (Canadian owners and
pilots association) motivation is to seed some interest into young generation
to become pilots, attendants, mechanics.. The current majority of pilots is in
its life sunset. Very few people are starting to fly. Unless something drastic
happens, there will not be too many long distance holidays or business trips.
There will be no pilots and mechanics to service those planes.
234. How
Trike Works and How to Mount Flight Cameras, May 30, 2019
I did
similar video with my Airborne
Trike in Feb 2017. I had many very good responses, so I decided to follow
up with my new trike, but with emphasis on camera mounting basics. It shows how
trike is controlled, instrumentation, how to make camera mounts, how to mount
them to prevent vibration, best angle of view, how to set camera to be parallel
with horizon in level flight... All comments ale welcome.
233. Short
Flight to West of Kamloops North Ridge, May 30, 2019
My flight
ended just after 20 min. It was early morning at 15C, no wind, but very hazy
day. We were getting smoke from our neighbouring province
232. Flying
on the Edge of North Ridge West and East of Kamloops, May 27, 2019
I made
another beautiful flight just north of
231. Flying
from Kamloops to Falkland - Westwold - Monte Creek and Kamloops, May 21, 2019
I made
several attempts in the past to fly to
230.
Flying from Merritt to Kamloops, May 6,
2019
This is return
flight continuation of the previous video. During short pit stop at Merritt
airport, I changed all 4 cameras batteries and enjoyed and bit the beautiful
blue sky and crispy clear air in the beautiful region. I decided to head home,
before the nature would change its mood. I more-less followed the famous
Coquihalla (TV series Highway to Hell) north to
229.
Flying from Kamloops to Merritt Airport,
May 6, 2019
I started
early morning to prevent
I was up in
the air at 6:30, heading for Merritt airport. I chose longer, but very scenic
way through the
I just
bought another GoPro camera (6th now), this time Hero 7 Black. Black has
nothing to do with color. It is the confusing type of camera features in this
sequence: White, Silver and Black which is the most advanced. I was very
impressed with the camera result. The Stabilization if phenomenal and it works
exactly how it supposed work for use with aircrafts or boats on waves. The
background in steady, but the foreground subject is moving. When you have
camera on the wing then in turbulence you are moving against the background.
Normally background would be moving while you are fixed in one point on the screen.
I was doing this in pos-processing software, which took 2.5 hours for every 20
min of video. Now, all this is done in real time in such small device like
GoPro. Very impressive. I was hesitant to buy it, because the original
Stabilization had one negative which I call, Over-stabilization. You could see
this effect even on TV made by professional cameras. When panning moving object
then the result is jerky. I my case when used during take off or landing the
undercarriage was separated from the trike and catching up and falling behind.
I bought the camera as soon as heard from my fellow trike FB friend that GoPro
fixed this phenomenon.
228.
Flying from Salmon Arm to Kamloops,
April 26, 2019
After about
40 minutes in Salmon Arm airport I took off towards the
I was too
far from my original route, so I took shortcut across the mountain again. I
wanted to avoid this route, because I did not like the turbulence there. The
turbulence was waiting for me.
I took side
trip to Chase village on the
227.
Flying to Salmon Arm, April 26, 2019
This video
is from my first leg of two hour flight to Salmon Arm (SA) airport and back. I
decided to fly almost straight line between
226. Flying
to Tobiano and Savona to Test Wing GoPro on 3x Stabilizer, April 14, 2019
I was
waiting a long time to test again the Gimbal Stabilizer FY-WG X3 with GoPro
wing camera. I tested this mechanical stabilizer in 2016 with disappointing
results, when batteries quit in just 12 minutes at -3C. It was a bit better this
time with 30 min running time at +3C, but still very short of spec 3 to 4
hours. I will try again in summer. The result is very good and much more
interesting relation between the trike and background.
225. My
Record Flight to Dunn Peak, the Highest Peak in Kamloops Region, March 30, 2019
I was always
intrigued by the snowy peak on very distant northern horizon. I was very close
to this region in Oct 29, 2018, when flying to
The
conditions were ripe for very good flight at 9:30 am, with blue, but hazy
morning sky and +6C. Just before I strapped myself into my bird, I was visited
by my flying club buddy. He told me about his nasty experience with extreme
turbulence while flying his regular airplane there. This stacked in my head,
especially, when in that mountain range. I was flying in the final stage at
11,175', well above the peak elevation of 8,600' to avoid the mountain
turbulence. I stayed on the up wind side of mountain only and chickened out to
fly around, hearing in my head his story of 1,000'/min downdraft.
It was very
good flight without any surprises. It was another milestone flight with these,
for me, record setting values:
Distance:
184 km (114 mi)
Max
Elevation: 3,406 m (11,175')
Delta
elevation 3,053 m (10,015')
Average
Speed: 116 km/h (72 mph)
Time: 1:35
Temper -6C
to +8C (21 F to 46 F)
224. Flight
to Second Largest Ski Area in Canada, March 20, 2019
It was truly
spring day. I took off from
It was very
pleasant flight with just small section with turbulence; otherwise I could
listen to music and daydream. Actually, I was fully alert and waited for some
nasty
I adjusted
the angle of view of my camera mounted on the broomstick. The view looks good.
This low tech camera mount was surprisingly very sturdy and fast to make. It
would not win any industrial design price, but it cost nothing and worked
perfectly. I cannot say the same about the GoPro overpriced mounts, which are
good enough, but no good for my videos. I had to modify them to prevent
vibrations.
223.
Kamloops Flight Following North Thompson
River, March 17, 2019
Another
short flight to test my homemade camera mount, but mainly if the view would be
interesting to watch. It appears that my broom stick camera mount and its
attachment to the wing struts worked well with practically no vibration. I will
leave to viewers to answer the question whether the camera view is interesting.
The next time I will turn the camera more forward facing to capture the scenery
too.
It was the
first day of this winter season, when I was actually hot during the flight.
Yahoo!
222.
Kamloops Flight to North Ridge, March
17, 2019
Just short
flight with my new camera mount and 360 Master Vision camera. It was disappointing
test, because camera quit recording just after only 2 minutes. The camera
manual says that it should be operated above 7C. The temperature was 3C to 6C.
Obviously, that camera did not like it. I landed and installed GoPro camera to
give me another angle of view. You could see the result in the next video.
221.
Kamloops Flight to Downtown, Nicola
Valley, Ajax, March 13, 2019
Beautiful
day with now wind, ideal conditions to have pleasant flight. After take off I
realized that I forgot my camera on the back seat. I had to turn around to
retrieve it. Right after take off I noticed that this flight might not be very
relaxing. The air was bumpy and the bumpiness was steady increasing during the
flight. I also noticed when flying over the Knutsford area, that I did not buckled
up after my camera retrieval. The flying conditions were not ideal for hands
off flying. It took me two attempts to secure myself in the seat again. This
was big relieve for me!
I had to
change my original flight plan twice, due to the snow/rain in the areas where I
was planning to go. I am very allergic to such combination of blue sky with
cold clouds nearby. This always brings very nasty and sudden winds in
220.
Kamloops Flight North Ridge, Tobiano,
Afton Mine, March 9, 2019
I took
advantage of the first warm and sunny day of 2019. Ground temperature was +2C
and -6C in the air. I explored still snow covered country side around
219.
One Hour Winter Flight around Kamloops,
March 6, 2019
One hour
pleasant flight in the first above the freezing temperature. Beautiful views of
hilly areas covered with show on North sides, while brown on the sunny sides.
218.
Kamloops Loop Flight, March 1, 2019
It was
almost nice day and especially after unusually cold weather in
217.
Kamloops Local Flight, Feb 15, 2019
Finally! It
was almost warm at -5C. We had unusually cold and windy 2 weeks of weather.
This day the sun was peeking through after about 6 cm of fresh snow. After
clearing snow from my long access road to runway, I decided to take my bird for
some fresh air. It was beautiful flight with no wind or turbulence. I flew just
around
216. Flying
above Beautiful Kamloops NW Ridge, Jan 21, 2019
The second sunny
day required to take your bird up. I was following Kamloops North Ridge east
and west. With practically now ground wind, it was blowing around 70 km/h at
6,500'. The flight was very enjoyable and uneventful until I noticed that my
seat belt was unbuckled (again). The buckle opens by just lifting its latch. I
have camera around the neck and resting practically on that seat belt buckle.
Most likely, I accidentally pull the buckle latch when grabbing the camera with
my clumsy winter glove. Regardless, I had to buckle up again in the air. While
doing it, the control bar suddenly and unexpectedly surged (moved) forward,
into, I think, stall position. If you don't have patience to watch whole movie
then skip to 3 min and watch it in normal and slow motion. I would like to hear
from you experts some explanation, what really happened there.
215. Flying
to Chase Village over Beautiful Mountains, Jan 20, 2019
It was
beautiful, crispy day at about -2C to -6C. I was flying east from
214. First Snow in Kamloops
Flying, Dec 27, 2018
I like when
ground is covered by the first snow, but not everything is white yet. The
terrain looks much better in that contrasts between the white snow and dark
roads, streets and slopes.
It was good
flying day.
214.
Short Flight over Kamloops North Ridge,
Dec 15, 2018
I woke up
into blue sky, no wind and above freezing temperature. I checked, as always,
all my weather application, including Environment Canada Weather (EC) forecast.
EC showed 5C and 30 km/h wind for every hour, including my wakening hour with
absolutely no wind. This government site has the most useless weather
information. It is obvious that during the sunny day the temperature will go
up. All other weather applications were showing 5 to 10 km/h wind and of course
variable temperatures per each hour. So I took a chance and went flying. I made
just 40 min loop, because the EC forecasted 30 km/h wind was haunting me. I
tested my newly installed electric carburetor heaters, which will give me more
confidence in my machine in winter. Frozen carburetor in
212.
Worst Turbulence Ever from Control Bar
Cameras, Nov 28, 2018
This is
almost full turbulence captured by the control bar cameras. It shows how bad
(for some not too bad) it really was. It is part of the video # 210
211.
Worst Turbulence Ever from Wing Camera,
Nov 28, 2018
This is
almost full turbulence captured by the wing camera without too much of editing.
It shows how bad (for some not too bad) it really was. It is part of the video # 210
210.
Short Kamloops Flight in the Worst
Turbulence Ever, Nov 28, 2018
It was
beautiful, sunny day with just light wind. I took off with intention to fly
east towards Chase and perhaps further east. In about 5 minutes my plan very
quickly and suddenly changed. I was in the worst turbulence while in command (I
was in much worse turbulence in commercial flight). The up and down bounces
were very unpleasant and for me outright scary. I was in one moment in
weightless condition going down with instant kick back up. The problem was that
I took off west, up wind, turned east, down wind but instead I ended up in very
strong up wind. This is the weirdness of
209.
Flying to Deadman Valley and Seat Belt
Problem, Nov 17, 2018
I took off
for 130 km loop flight to
At about 5
min into my flight, I noticed that I forgot to buckle up. Instead of turning
around and land, buckle up and take off again, I made dumb decision to buckle the
seat belt in the air (while in bumpy air). I really struggled with this task
(well documented on the video), and it was serious distracted flying. I will
never do it again and I hope I will never forget again to buckle up in the
first place.
208.
Good Turbulence Flying Apollo Trike, Oct
30, 2018
Just 2 min
video showing sudden and a bit unpleasant turbulence during otherwise peaceful
flight.
207.
Flying to Kamloops South Ridge,
Knutsford and Sandbars with Major Turbulence, Oct 30, 2018
It was my
second flight of that decent flyable day. I flew SE towards Knutsford airstrip,
but still did not dare to land there in this fast trike and with my low hours
time on it.
On the way back
towards the airport area I encountered very sudden, short but a major
turbulence. Let's see if you have patience to wait for it. I never experienced
this before: During this bouncing up and down like garbage bag in the wind, all
of the sudden I felt very strong blast of air from my left side. It totally
freaked me out. If anything it should be from the front and not from the side.
Luckily for me it lasted less them minute, but if definitely perked my
attention
I have very
nice views of the ever changing river sandbars, with very complex underwater
formations.
206.
Flying to Kamloops North Ridge, North
Shore of Kamloops Lake and Sandbars, Oct 30, 2018
Nice flight
into, still for me not known,
205. Flying
to North of Kamloops to Barriere, BC. Oct 20, 2018
The lately,
weather is almost every day perfect for flying, with no wind and turbulence. I
flew north to small town on
204.
Flying to Greenstone Mountain and Ajax,
Oct 15, 2018
I set the
prop pitch to 9 deg, based on experience during the previous flight. Everything
looked good after take off, so I decided to fly straight south and uphill to
203.
Short Test Flights by Kamloops Lake
South Shore, Oct 15, 2018
When I was
transporting this trike with just 9 hours on it, I damaged one prop blade. I
installed new prop. The original owner told me that he set the prop pitch to
11.5 deg. I measured the same angle too. I originally set the pitch of the new
prop to 11.5 deg. The static test, (trike was not flying, but it was reved up
on the ground), produced only 4,000 RPM as versus desired of 5 500 RPM.
Eventually I
ended up with 6.5 deg pitch and the engine produced max 5,400 RPM when not
moving.
I noticed
during my previous flight, that I could run the engine at max RPM in just 3/4
of throttle. This could be potentially dangerous to over rev the engine. I also
noticed big difference in max RPM between static test on the ground and the
actual flying. Based on the above I set the pitch back to 11.5 deg and took off
for this flight. The pitch was too coarse with poor performance and 4,500 RPM
max. I turned back and changer the pitch to 9 deg. It worked well during my following flight above.
202. My
First Cross Country Flight in Apollo Trike, Oct 14, 2018
It was
beautiful fall day so I decided to pull my new trike and myself through some
cross country flight test. I flew to the second largest ski area in
It was the
first time I really appreciated the wing speed trim and figured out how it
supposed to be used. It is very good device especially in stable air and long
flights.
It is
interesting to compare my previous Airborne Trike with the original Wizard wing
and this Apollo with Cheval 14 wing. Both trips measured 135 km (coincidence).
The Airborne trip took 2:13
hours and this Apollo just 1:14 hour. The Apollo is really moving, but it still
looks and feels slow in the air. Basically I do not perceive any speed
difference.
201. My
First Flight after Shoulder Replacement Surgery, Oct 11, 2018
It was the
first flight with my steel shoulder. It was the result of being victim in
motorcycle accident 5 months earlier. I feel that I am getting slowly back to
my regular life again. I missed all that warm flying weather and now I am back
into winter clothing again. It was one hour flight around
192. Sunset
Flight in Smoky Air, July 25, 2018
It was
beautiful, but hot (30C) and very smoky evening. There are many forest fires
around us, but luckily far away from
I was
wearing light summer jacket with loose sleeves, which caused a lot of wind
vibration transferred into bar mounted cameras. I ended up with jello effect in
my videos
191. Second
Flight in Apollo Trike, July 23, 2018
The morning
looked perfect for my second flight in new Apollo trike. My original plan was
much more ambitious then I eventually ended up with. As soon as I crossed the
river to the south side the air become nasty. High wind a loft and morning heat
with temperatures differences of at lease 20C between shade and sunny sides
ruined my flight plan. I concluded that it was too much for me in just second
flight in new trike. I turned back north and stayed there which felt much
better. I made just 30 min flight in my familiar territory. I got warning to
head home when I noticed that east half of our big lake (closer to me) had glossy
water, but the west side looked black and choppy. It was still good flying day,
but not relaxing. The wing trim worked, but I did not notice much difference or
purpose of it. I guess I need more time and more steady flying conditions to
appreciate it.
190.
First Flight in Apollo Trike, July 22,
2018
I received
deposit from potential buyer on my excellent Airborne trike in April 2018. I
promised him, that I will not fly it anymore to preserve its condition as I
advertised it. I decided to move one notch higher in the trike category. I
really liked the styling of the Hungarian made Apollo, DeltaJet2 with Rotax 912
UL. I was very lucky to find one in
Meanwhile,
in May15th, I became victim of careless track driver who pushed me off the road
while I was riding my motorcycle. I lost a lot of skin from my legs, arms and
hands. I had torn several muscles and tendon in left shoulder. My summer fun was in serious jeopardy, because
of my limited left arm mobility. Eventually I recovered reasonably quickly my
skin, but my shoulder has to be replaced. This flight day was just one weak
before the scheduled surgery. I would have to wait at least 4 months after the
surgery, so my flying season will be in serious trouble. I had to fly my new
trike, because I have no idea if this would even fly and I could not wait any
longer.
I was very
pleasantly surprised that there was not any nastiness in the Apollo trike. It
handles well and it was only the second trike (or wing) which I was comfortable
with from the first minute. I have to adjust the pedals which are too close for
my legs and fix the electric wing trim. The fuse burned out. I have to find
why. I am expecting very good fun with this toy
189. Flying
Buse Lake Area, April 4, 2018
Beautiful,
but bumpy flight to Buse Lake. I was following the mountain ridges on both
sides on South Thompson River. The Buse Lake is famous by changing color in the
late summer from green to pink from plankton in the water. Check the Kamloops
region beauty
188.
Flying to Savona and Kamloops Downtown,
March 31, 2018
The ground
wind was very light, but up to 38 km/h in the air. I was considering several
times to give up, because the turbulence was getting unpleasant. I was telling
myself to be brave, otherwise I would never learn to handle this type of
situation. It was good flight over this beautiful countryside here in Kamloops.
This trike
is for sale: New wing last spring and complete engine overhaul last year too.
It flies perfectly, but buying a bigger trike.
187. Nice
Aerial View of Kamloops Area from South and all around, March 17, 2018
Another
beautiful flying day. Flew SE to Campbell Creek Rd, north to Barnhartvale, North
Ridge west over Mt Peter & Paul. Very nice view of the Mt Mara top and fly
around perspective. Sand bars are always spectacular while flying south and
then east over Kamloops downtown. Check it out.
186. Flying
Loop Harper Mountain - Tobiano, March 11, 2018
It was
perfect day for flying with blue sky and above freezing temperature. I was
following Kamloops South Ridge east, then to Harper Mountain ski slopes north.
I turned west over the North Ridge, then to south across the Kamloops Lake to
Tobiano and finally east over the South Ridge back to river sand bars and
airport. It was relaxing flight over very beautiful country site.
185.
Flying to Harper Mountain Ski Resort,
Kamloops, Feb 27, 2018
Another
beautiful day for flying: Temperature was slightly above freezing, sunny, blue
sky and very light wind. I could not ask for anything better than this. I was
flying east over the Kamloops North Ridge towards the second ski resort in
Kamloops, Harper Mountain. Everything looked perfect and I was encouraged by
the perfect flight a day before. The flight was very relaxing until I was just
above the Holston Bridge. The turbulence and sudden 28 km/h headwind were two
things which I did not want to deal with. The flight was still OK until I
reached the edge of Harper Valley, just 5 km west of the ski resort. The
problem was very large snow cloud on my left (North) and another ever
increasing snow cloud on my back right side (SW). Those two clouds were coming
together, which I did not like. After a few minutes of bouncing around and
thinking should or shouldn't I to continue, I chickened out and turned back. I
was surprised that I was flying again into headwind of about 25 km/h. The upper
wind just shifted 180 deg. It was still beautiful flight in very nice
countryside.
184.
Beautiful Flight over North Ridge Lac Du
Bois Road, Kamloops, Feb 26, 2018
It was
beautiful day to explore other areas in Kamloops region. Flew north, roughly
following the Lac Du Bois road and then turned west by the Lac Du Bois towards
Tranquille River valley. The south turn brought me to one of the most beautiful
area to fly, which is the NE of Kamloops Lake, part of North Ridge. Flew over
Mara Mt then crossing the airport to South Ridge and eventually to snow covered
Thompson River sand bars. I saw there again 25 eagles and at least 15 other
birds of pray, eagles' competitors, and all living there in total harmony. I
was caught in wake turbulence just a foot before my touch down. My sudden right
turn before touch down was caused by the wake turbulence from taxiing airplane.
183.
Short Flight over North Ridge Downtown,
Kamloops, Feb 22, 2018
It felt like
warmer day, but it was still cold, particularly on my fingers. I had to pull
hands from gloves several times to fiddle with radio and cameras, which does
not help at that speed and in open freezing air. I made short flight to Mt
Peter and Paul, downtown and back to the airport.
I will be
selling this trike, because I am moving into higher league; I am buying Apollo DeltaJet2
with Rotax 912. It would be difficult to part with this trike and especially
with the engine fully overhauled and new latest technology wing installed in
summer 2017.
182.
Short Flight over North Ridge Downtown
and Sandbars, Kamloops, Jan 13, 2018
The first
flight in the new year. Kamloops received a bit of sunshine on snow covered
ground and mild temperature, just below freezing. It was short time, which was
limited by my level of freezing fingers.
I counted 23
eagles on the ground, trees and one in flight. It was good flight.
It was cold,
-12C, but beautiful and sunny day. Had to hand shovel snow to get from the
hangar to taxiway. I used to fly down to -25C, but my ultralights were slow to
max 50 km/h. -12C at 110 km/h feels very
cold especially on the face and my fingers. There is an opening in the front
bottom of the pod to accommodate the steerable front wheel. This creates
serious and concentrated draft directly into the face, which is very
unpleasant. Even the microphone wind screen sponge froze solid from my steamy
breath. I had to raise my voice to penetrate the ice.
Overall it
was very good flight. Actually, by default, the flying in winter is more
pleasant then in summer, because usually there is no turbulence to worry
about.
180.
Flight to Mt Peter and Paul, Downtown
and Sandbars, Kamloops, Dec 4, 2017
Very nice but cold flight to very scenic Kamloops landmark, Mt Peter and Paul. It shows annotated views of both hills in unique perspective. I saw 'flock" of 8 eagles on the South Thompson river. Turn your sound on to heal relaxing music while flying with me in that beautiful Kamloops countryside
179.
Flight with Clouds, Kamloops, Nov 17,
2017
It was perfect day for flying: Stable air, sunny with fluffy clouds and +5C. I like to fly "with" clouds, which is above, below and around them, but I never dared to fly into them, yet. Right now it is enough to fly under them and to feel their effect. I followed the North Ridge east to Harper mountain area; Mount Peter & Paul surrounded with clouds and then back to Mara Mt and my favourite North Thompson River sand bars. The sand bar area is now larger then the water surface
178. Flight
around Kamloops Lake, Oct 27, 2017
I had so
much fun a day before that I decided to do the same again this morning. It was
on cooler side (5C) and a bit haze in the air, but still beautiful day to fly.
I decided to fly around Kamloops Lake, starting with north shore above the
North Ridge. This area is very beautiful, but not very emergency friendly place
to have engine out moment. The south shore has more places to drop it down in
case of an emergency. It is very beautiful all around. I also encounter weather
inversion. It was about 10C warmer at 5000' then 1000' above ground, where I
usually fly. I run this video x faster so it is not boring. I also synchronised
almost all video cuts into the music beat. Watch it and let me know if this
video slowed your heart beat.
177. Flying
above Nicola Valley Clouds, Kamloops Oct 26, 2017
It vas a
crispy morning which allowed me to fly in beautiful, Kamloops area countryside.
The Nicola Valley was totally covered by clouds and so I had an opportunity to
fly over them. It was spectacular scene and very rare opportunity to do this. I
then flew over my popular spots, Mt Peter and Paul. The air was very stable
which happens very seldom there. My flight was topped off with beautiful fall
colors near the airport. It was very good day.
176. Cold
and Unpleasant Turbulent Flight, Kamloops Oct 23, 2017
This morning
with no ground wind and 5C looked too good not to go flying. The first part was
uneventful until I wanted to take a picture and realized that my Fuji camera is
on the beck seat. I had only slight hope that it is still there. I informed
tower that I am changing my plan and going down. Eventually I reached back and
was able to grab that camera. Yahoo! I did not loose it. I informed the tower
that I changed my plan again to my original plan.
I experienced
the effect of cold and warm areas from deep shade in valley on north side and
warm sunny side on the other side of the ridge. This was coupled with the 18
km/h upper wind blowing over the ridge. It was wild ride.
It was short
flight, because I am getting wimpy and less tolerant to the low temperatures.
Now -5C is too cold for me while in Fort McMurray I used to fly down to minus
25C. The reality is that I used to have much better gloves, but now I operate
too many buttons, which is impossible in some serious winter mittens. Now, my
fingers quit first, which is not very pleasant feeling.
175a. Turbulence
between Mt Peter and Mt Paul from 3 Cameras Views, Oct. 11, 2017
Short clip
from flying in turbulence between Mt Peter and Mt Paul. It shows the same locations
from 3 cameras consecutively.
175. Short
Local Flight in Beautiful Cloudy Sky, Kamloops Oct 11, 2017
The summed
disappeared so fast. After almost month vacation, I had an urge to fly again.
The sky was covered by very heavy but beautiful clouds, which would be perfect
for picture taking. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. I had a few bumps on my
way, but nothing extraordinary. Only the landing was not as I would like,
actually it was bad in my books. The landing actually looked much better on
video (even in slow motion) then during my landing.
174. Flying
in Kamloops with Cathy, Aug 27, 2017
This was
another milestone in my flying life. It was the first time ever that I carried
a passenger. Cathy Montgomery, ultralight flying instructor from Ontario was
visiting Kamloops. She contacted me through Facebook with a wish to meet me. So
we did and eventually I took her for ride around Kamloops in beautiful, but a
bit hazy Sunday morning. I did not notice any difference in handling of my
trike and only very slight degradation in performance. I never push my trike
anyway, so that explains the engine spare capacity available for this flight.
I noticed,
when editing this video, that Cathy was on her edge before our landing. She
grabbed the control bar cables and she was ready to interfere if needed. It was
not necessary as I was in full control and confident in my abilities. It was
good flight.
173. Flying
in Kamloops in Rough Turbulence, Aug 25, 2017
The weather
was very tempting to go flying. Normally, I would try to avoid flying in the afternoon
heat, because it could be nasty in Kamloops. As there was a slight wind, I
concluded that the air would be well mixed to prevent heat turbulence. My
original plan was to fly Sun Peaks and Chase, but it evaporated very quickly.
It was bumpy above downtown, but as soon as I crossed Mt Paul to its north
side, the turbulence in the valley was too much for me to have fun. I turn back
west, while flying over the North Ridge. The flight over there was almost
pleasurable. Finally I turned south over the river sand bars, which I love to
photograph and explore.
172. Flying
to Savona to Check Forest Fires, Aug 18, 2017
Kamloops had
an exceptional weather that day. The blue sky was all around us and no traces
of forest fires smoke. It was very rare condition during more that month now.
Very often, we were chocked by the falling ash and heavy smoke, with almost
zero visibility. I decided to fly as far west as I could to see where the smoke
is coming from. I flew to Savona which was the last place west of the airport
which was still open to general aviation. The rest was open just for the forest
fighting aircrafts. I could see no smoke anywhere from my 6,500' elevation,
which was very good news. The fires are far away from the Kamloops.
I took off
at 7am west into no wind. I was following the south shore of the Kamloops Lake
where I was met with some serious turbulence. I had to admit that I lost my
turbulence practice and tolerance, because my previous flights were very
smooth. I was surprised and contemplating to turn back, because it did not feel
like fun flight. I figured that I was caught in downdraft of south wind rolling
over the mountains from my left side (south). I braved it and eventually I
relaxed and tried to enjoy it.
I was pushed
by some serious tail wind at 45 km/h (~29 MPH) with my ground speed of 145 km/h
(90 MPH) on the way back. There was no wind when I arrived to the Kamloops
airport area.
I flew
several times around the ever increasing sand bars (summer low water level in
the river). Visited downtown, with some heat turbulence ride.
I stopped at
the airport fire prevention aircraft base for selfies and pictures of the water
tanker aircrafts. Overall, it was good day for me.
171. Flying
in Kamloops in Very Smoky Sky, Aug 12, 2017
We lost our
mountains for about 2 weeks to numerous forest fires in our province.
Visibility and air quality was extremely poor to dangerous. Airport was closed
for several days, because of very dense smoke.
Finally, there
was some hope. The mountains started to appear around us again and I was hoping
that it would be much clearer higher up. Unfortunately, I was wrong. The
visibility and smoke smell was getting worse further east and higher I flew. I
had to change my plan from cross country to just low flying around the airport.
It was good flight with very smooth air, so nothing, video exciting happened
during this flight. The water level in our rivers is low so I could fly again
above the growing and ever changing sand bars.
170. Sixth
Annual Pacific Northwest Trike Fly-in of Trikes near Sandpoint ID, USA, July
27, 2017
I droved 650
km my motorcycle from Kamloops to Sandpoint in Idaho. The roads were perfect
through beautiful mountain valleys. I wanted to see some other trikes in real
life and not just from YouTube. I staid 2 nights, but only one day at the one
week long event. I was very impressed with attendance, variety of designs,
shapes and beauty of the private grass strip area. I was hoping to get some
ride, but no luck.
I chose
different road to go back up to Nakusp, BC. I drove several hours in very hot
and unpleasant weather (36 C), which felt like hair dryer on high setting
blowing into my face. After some rest and exploring, I turned back towards 450
km ride home. Just about 60 km south of Nakusp, I collided with a bear and
messed up my one year old BMW C650 GT scooter. The impact did not feel like too
much for me, but the young bear was knocked down. No blood just the front end
damaged. My bike was towed back to Nakusp and the next morning we were towed to
Kelowna BMW dealer. I continued then by bus home. Overall it was very nice trip
except the end.
169. Flying
to Sun Peaks, July 25, 2017
This was
another milestone in my flying career. I flew almost straight line over the hills
to Sun Peaks. Normally I would follow roads and more-engine-out friendly
environment. It was easy and uneventful flight over beautiful scenery, but a
bit hazy from all those extreme fires all around Kamloops.
168. Flying
to Greenstone Mountain and Savona, July 12, 2017
It was
extremely smoky in Kamloops from dozens of fires around us. This day, early in the
morning looked promising, so why to waste it. I decided to fly around
Greenstone Mountain, 5,900 ft elevation, S-W from the airport. It was high
enough to have clear air, which is important for good pictures. I visually
checked the status of the evacuated Cache Creek due to forest fire there. I did
not see any smoke above the village, but the smoke was about 30-40 km north
from the village. I pass this good news with pictures and short video clip to
several evacuees to give then some hope to go home soon. On my way back east to
airport I was seeing many water bombers and helicopters with water buckets
flying west to fight those devastating fires. Over all it was good flying day.
167. Flying
to Cache Creek Airport, July 5, 2017
It was
another, 133 km long, cross country flight to small airport in Cache Creek. I
took off at 7 am in already 26C temperature and no wind in Kamloops. The flight
was very pleasant with practically no surprises. I was going up wind of about
18 km/h with no problem until I realised that it might be very interesting at
the Cache Creek airport. It is single runway in N-S orientation on the side of
high mountain. I was facing potentially 90 deg cross wind. The wind sock showed
cross wind from East, while I was all the time flying against the wind from
West. I realized now, when writing this intro, that I was actually facing the
bottom part of the downdraft on my approach. It was not pleasant to be bounced
sideway. My touch down was not very good looking and I would say it was a bad
landing.
I spent
several minutes at the airport, took several pictures, replaced batteries in
all my four cameras, and headed back to Kamloops. It was visibly faster going
back with the 18 km/h tail wind.
I stopped by
WW2 bomber B25, which was visiting from
166.
Canada Day Flying in Kamloops, July 1,
2017
It was a
special day for Canada and Canadians, because Canady celebrated 150 years of
its birth. A few days before my flight, we had a forest fire NW of the airport.
I flew there to check out the damage. To my surprise it was just small area
which looked more like result of a control burn rather then fire out of
control.
I then flew
over Kamloops main landmarks, Mt Peter and Paul, downtown to check the early
morning beginning of massive Canada Day celebration. Finally I flew nearby the
Afton gold and cooper mine. It was very good flying day with no weather
surprises.
165. Flying
to Ajax, Knutsford, Downtown and North Ridge Chasing Clouds, June 17, 2017
After I
adjusted the camera bracket (see previous video # 164), I went up again to Ajax
mine area, Knutsford and down south over Kamloops downtown. Then I spotted a
band of reachable clouds over the North Ridge. I went to chase them with very
strong urge to dive into them, but again I chickened out. There was not any
danger to get lost or flying blindly, but the pure fact that air density is
significant different in clouds form normal sky. I did want deal with any nasty
surprise.
164. Flying
to West of Tobiano to Check the Nature, June 17, 2017
I went for
hike and discovered spectacular scenery few km west of golf resort in Tobiano
on Kamloops Lake. I decided to check it out from the air too. Also I modified
my new, homemade camera bracket and I found that the horizon was tilted. I
adjusted the camera when I landed and then went again flying. Check next video
#165
163. Checking
Kamloops Overflowing Thompson Rivers, June 4, 2017
It has been
annual ritual to go to see swollen North and South Thompson rivers in their
Kamloops confluence. They carry water from the melted mountain snow and
unusually high spring rain water. Initially it is interesting and beautiful,
but eventually damaging to the lower elevation areas. I flew over both rivers
to see how the high water level changed the character of the Kamloops valleys.
162.
Knutsford Flying Club BBQ, June 3, 2017
Knutsford
Fly-in-BBQ by Thompson Valley Sport Aircraft Club members
161. Kamloops
Flying Club Fly-in-Breakfast, May 27, 2017
Kamloops Airport Flying Club
Fly-in-Breakfast
160. My
Length Record Flight from Kamloops to Salmon Arm, May 26, 2017
Well,
finally I did it. I decided to fly to Salmon Arm municipal airport, true test
of my new, 50% faster, "Northwing Quest GT5" wing. I woke up early to
perfectly sunny and no wind day. I pulled Salmon Arm airport info (GPS,
elevation, radio frequency and runway numbers), packed my 4 cameras, 3 GPS,
bunch of spare batteries, 20 L of extra mixed fuel in canister and in about 40
minutes I was ready to go. The day was perfect and about 17C, but I still
dressed in my full winter gear. It is not fun to be cold and no way to change
it. I was glad I did that. I was taking short cut over to mountains and there
was still snow under me at 6000'.
The only negative
was very low rising sun blasting into my face and very hazy day. We had a lot
of rain this month and several very hot days causing all that moist air hanging
low above ground. It was not easy to take good pictures in these bluish
conditions.
I made it to
Salmon Arm with no problem, just too many flying people and no traffic control
which I am not use to anymore. Finally, I found slot to drop in. It was hot
already, so I had to unpeel my winter clothes. One pilot offered me coffee,
used toilet, visited one fellow, exchanged few questions about my flying
machine, changed batteries in cameras, GPS and topped my fuel. After 45 min I
was in the air again for my trip home 100 km away. I was glad to have my GPS,
because I was flying in wrong direction, because my head compass (in my brain)
flipped over again. It took me about 3 minutes to synch my head compass with
the GPS. Very few bumps when crossing the peak reminded me that it is not over
until it is over. The rest of the flight was more pleasant with sun off my
face. The true flying time was 2:10 hr for 197 km. This is very good for cross
country flying. My engine RPM went up now from 4300 to about 5100, but the fuel
consumption is almost the same at about 10 L/h. This indicates that the wing is
much more efficient and cuts better through the air. The wing is pleasant to
fly in a still air, but heavy in bumps and manoeuvres. It does not like to be
pushed around. It has direction control delay, which could cause serious over
control to beginner when used to more responsive wing. My best behaving trike
was Sabre 340. The wing was perfect and extremely pleasant to fly the first
minute. I cannot say that about my Wizard, Streak and this GT5. These need time
to like them and eventually love them.
159. Still
Testing New Wing and Old is Sold, May 20, 2017
I moved the
wing hang post about 1/8" back (see my previous
video), as I determined during my last flight. This time the setting
was perfect. I watched the videos from my previous flights, looking for the
answer to why I had a hard time to take off: I was not pushing the control bar
far enough before the lift off. I pushed it the same way as with the Wizard
wing without even thinking about this step. This time my first and any other
after take offs were as normal as they should be, with the bar a bit far
forward. I am still too hot on landings and looking for that magic sweet spot
on my speed indicator.
I had
beautiful morning flight. When I came back, my Face book friend from Alberta
and his wife were waiting for me to buy my trusty AirBorne Wizard wing. I had
almost nostalgic feelings to let it go, because I had so much fun and memories
under this wing. Hopefully, he will have as much fun as I had.
158. Short
Flight NW Area of North Ridge with Rough Landing, May 18, 2017
I am still
trying to fine tune my new Northwing GT5 wing. Moved the wing hang point
another 3/8" forward and I felt that this is too much. I will back it up
about 1.8".
It was
sunny, warm, no wind and no scary clouds in the afternoon, just perfect day for
flying. The scenery is always spectacular in Kamloops area. The ground is
moving faster now with faster wing, so I don't have to increase the video
speed. I flew over Frederick Rd, NE shore of Kamloops Lake and Mara Mount. The
air was turbulent, but nothing to be afraid of. The windsock on my 09 approach
showed very light head wind. I wanted to land as far East as possible to avoid
long taxi to my hangar. The end of main runway is closed for nearby
construction activities. I was flying about 20' above the runway when suddenly
I ended up in very violent, gusty crosswind of at least 25 km/h. The video
shows my struggle to stay on course and to make it safely down. I had to wait
for proper position in my oscillation to drop it down. In that time I still did
not know what happen until I saw the other windsock which was fully erected at
90 deg across the runway. The flying conditions changed almost instantly from
very good to very dangerous. I was glad to be down, but had hard time to taxi
in this strong cross wind. It is not easy to manage large wing in these
conditions.
I could
cause this air movement, because sometimes even bird can trigger the warm/cold
air to move. Everything is in balance, until the warm air cannot stay still any
more or something pushes the worm air into motion. Warm air above the runway
suddenly rises up and it is replaced by cold air from the North Ridge, which
flows horizontally from north.
157. Wing
Test Flight, May 14, 2017
After I just
finished previous flight (video #156),
I moved the wing (hang glider) hang point 0.5" forward to increase the cruise
speed to specified level between 88 and 105 km/h (55-65 MPH). My speed was 74
km/h (46 MPH). I test flew over the NW Ridge and I was very happy with 85 km/h
(53 MPH) which is very close to its minimal cruise speed range. I will fly this
way for at lease another hour and then move the hang point by another
0.25". So this is my plan for a near future. I have to find some GoPro
attachment for my wing view; looking for some idea and solution.
I witnessed,
and it is documented in this video, very interesting nature twist. Two days
previously (video #155) I flew over
the Tranquille Creek with very high water level. Normally this is just a wimpy
creek. The creek looked to me totally dry this time while flying over at 9:11
am. This looked strange, because there was always some water, even in deep, hot
and dry summer. Ten minutes after, on my way back (at 9:22 from picture time),
the creek water was again spilled over its banks. How is this possible?
156. Flying
to Cross Country to Walhachin Area, May 14, 2017
Started
early morning to avoid any major turbulence. I had to scrape ice form my car
window, which is very unusual for Kamloops. This was my second flight with new
wing. Flew about 42 km west (straight line) by following the Kamloops Lake
south shore to Tobiano, Savona and small village Walhachin. Tested various
combinations of engine RPM and speed at level flight. My conclusion was that it
flies too slowly, because the wing hang post is too far back. I eventually
adjusted it before my next flight (video # 157).
Flight was very pleasant, except that if was very difficult to take any decent
picture or video on the way back. The sun was too low and directly into my
cameras.
155. Testing
my New Wing from North Wing, Quest GT5, May 12, 2017
It was long
process since Dec 2016. I took advantage of the North Wing Christmas discount
and ordered their latest model with high performance numbers, Quest GT5. It
took 5 month to get it, because it had to be test flown by local dealer. He was
in mercy of weather and other delays. Anyway, it is on my Airborne trike and
this is the first video. So far I did not find any suitable bracket to mount a
wing camera, so I used only control bar cameras.
I made 3 take off and landings and then I went for it. It was definitely different from anything I flew so far. During and after just one hour of flight I must say that it was a bit intimidating. This is not wing for beginners. Ease of handling, better control and experience in turbulence as book says... Not at all. I would say just opposite. I had to put much more hours on it, before I will fly some cross country. The video shows that there is no difference, or it feels worse while flying in turbulence in comparison with my previous Wizard wing. Only a time will show if I will master it. I am committed, because I spent fortune on it, so there is no turning back for me.
154. Following
Campbell Creek Upstream to See Flooding, May 9, 2017
Flying over
Kamloops downtown, east to Barnhartvale to see flood by Campbell Creek.
Followed that creek upstream to junction of 5A and then north to Knutsford,
Mount Dufferin and South Ridge. It was my last flight under Airborne Wizard
wing, which performed flawlessly since 1998. It carried me more then 12,000 km
over beautiful sceneries in many beautiful flights. It also carried me safely
during those few terrifying, turbulent conditions. New wing will be on my next
flight.
153. Flying
by following South Ridge and North Ridge on Return, Apr 30, 2017
It started as very interesting day with some low clouds as a residue from the previous rainy day. This gave me an opportunity to fly over them while following South Ridge east. The wind was very low and predictable with only mild turbulence. I crossed the South Thompson River to North Ridge at about 40 km east of the airport and followed it back west to the airport. I saw several groups of wild horses high on the very steep slope. I wished I could fully concentrate on filming and picture taking, but my priority was to fly safely. I had powerful zoom camera, but it is impossible to use with just one hand. It was very good day and perhaps the last flight with and under this slow, but very enjoyable wing. Brand new and 50% faster wing, GT5 by North Wing, to be delivered this week.
152. Flying 30 km North from
Kamloops Airport, Apr 25, 2017
I always
wanted to fly straight north over the not very emergency-situation-friendly
terrain. Finally I had enough confidence in my equipment to do it. It was
almost continual uphill from 1200' to 7000', from 15C to -2C and snow covered
terrain. The first half of the flight north was very beautiful, but the second
portion was not very photogenic. Just forest and logging patches on rolling
hills. It was interesting that I was flying north upwind. When I turned east to
North Thompson river valley it was again upwind. As soon I turned down South in
the valley the wind blew again against me and this continued all the way to
airport, which was west of me.
151. Flying
along the North Ridge to East of Kamloops, Apr 21, 2017
Two days before
my flight, the weather forecast said that the wind will diminish from strong,
gusty and from East to no wing at 10 am. I was ready at 9:30, waiting for the
wind to get reasonable. Exactly, 10 am the wind stopped, slowly turned around
180 deg, but still below 10 km/h. Practically, no wind and the sun cooking,
created very unstable thermal conditions. As I am used to it, I actually
enjoyed some of those thermal bumps.
The Kamloops
countryside is always spectacular, so no matter where I fly it looks interesting
and beautiful. This flight was no exception. I saw many wild horses and I
wished to be able to take proper picture of them. I use 35x zoom camera, but it
is impossible to use it in flight while still in flight control. I only use a
wide angle zoom and just estimate what I am taking picture of. There would be a
lot of opportunities for a passenger-photographer.
150. Flying
to Tobiano and North Ridge, Apr 14, 2017
It was an
exceptional morning: warm, no wind and sunny. I decided to fly to Tobiano Golf
course residential area. Several kilometres west of Tobiano I crossed Kamloops
Lake to North Ridge and followed it back to the airport. It was pleasant flight
with some turbulence north of the airport.
149. Flying
to Mt Peter and Paul, North Ridge and River Sand Bars, Apr 3, 2017
I used 3
GoPro cameras, but strangely all quit as soon as I started. I eventually
resurrected just the wing camera.
It was very
turbulent flight, but the aerial view always compensate for any hardship I
suffer.
148. Flying
to Ajax, Knutsford and Kamloops Downtown, Feb 27, 2017
It was no wind,
but just trace of sun. It felt cold at - 2C. I guess I am not use to it
anymore. I used to fly down to -25C. I flew to and over the Ajax mine and then
to check out flying club airstrip in Knutsford. It was still full of snow
drifts, dangerous to land there. Flew north over downtown in more west track
than usually. The video shows to complexness of Kamloops, which is located in
very picturesque natural setting.
147. Flying
over Kamloops Downtown and South Ridge, Feb 22, 2017
After
missing several days of beautiful weather to fly, Feb 22, 2017 was the day. I
finally received a water pump gasket to prevent the coolant leak. I replaced
it, install all gadget, like three GoPro cameras, two GPS, Spot satellite
tracker, radio. I was ready to enter that beautiful day again. It was so
peaceful at the airport. Warm, sunny, snow almost gone and no wind. When I was
strapping in, a commercial pilot called to inform us that there is very
unsettled weather nearby, with rain and snow. I looked up and I saw those
beautifully ugly clouds within about 10 km E, NW and W. I took off W and turn
left following the sun and South Thompson River to Kamloops downtown, while
continually watching those clouds. I new they signal nothing good. As the
clouds were coming closer to the airport behind my back, I decided to turn back
and stay closer to the airport just in case I have to go down. The flying was
perfect in sunny and warm weather. I took some spectacular pictures of those
scary clouds. I decided to go down and not to push my luck when I saw snow
streaks near the airport. I landed, undressed all my gadgets. I dropped my
GoPro Hero 3+ camera, when removing it from the wing bracket. I dropped it to
the grass, as I thought, but eventually I found cracked lens. Here went $350.
This was not very good culmination of my day.
I was doing
some chores around the trike and in the hangar and enjoying the sunny and warm
day. In about 2 hours, all hell broke suddenly. The wind was blowing abut 70-80
km from N, 90 deg crosswind. I had hard time to close my 4 panel, large hangar
doors due to the wind blowing into them, while still sunny. Yes, that is
typical Kamloops unpredictable weather. I experienced this almost instant and
extreme wind blows in summer, but it was the first time in the winter. It was
very warm at the airport, about 20C on the sunny side. About 5 km N the
"ugly" cloud brought snow with temperature below 0C. When the air
mass temperature equilibrium was interrupted, then the warm airport air started
to rise and it was replaced by the cold air from the North Ridge. This is why
that sudden extreme wind blowing from the north. I observed this 3 times
already and now I know what to look for. Overall, it was good day.
146. How
Trike (Motorized Hang Glider) Works, Feb 13, 2017
One of my
YouTube subscribers asked me to make a video showing how the trike (motorized
hang glider) works. I thought that this was a good idea. My video shows the
basic principle of how this simple flying machine works. It is the easiest
flying device learn to fly with just your hands and now pedals for steering. I
never took any flying lessons and I learned to fly hang glider on my own in
just couple hours (https://youtu.be/VeuHVEn6BhY).
From that I progressed to motorized hang gliders, which was very easy and
natural process. No instruction or video to see how it supposed to work.
145. Flying
Kamloops North Ridge, Mt Peter & Paul, Frederick, Feb 13, 2017
Finally,
after so much of snow and cold weather we had a beautiful flying day. I flew NE
of airport to Mt Peter & Paul then back west following the North Ridge.
Flew over Mara Hill and then NE shore of Kamloops Lake over to Frederick
village. It was really excellent day to fly, except that one camera battery
quit and then wing camera gyroscope stabilizer quit too. I still have decent
footage from my flight and many beautiful pictures too.
144. Few
Minutes of Unpleasant Turbulence in Kamloops, Jan 22, 2017
This is just
turbulence section from my flight and my video #143. It was kicking. It is very
well captured with my camera mounted on 3 axes gyroscopic stabilizer. The
horizon is stable, but I am bouncing. Check this out.
143. Winter
Flying in Kamloops North Ridge, Mt Peter & Paul in Turbulent Air, Jan 22,
2017
The weather
was almost the same as the previous day (https://youtu.be/59HTNObHCpw),
except of very strong and sometimes unpleasant turbulence. The wind was very
light, but the air bounced me very often up and down. The worst place was
between Mt Peter & Paul. I was pushed into downdraft and violent kicks. My
radio acted again. Eventually I found that the camera gyro RC caused the radio
interference.
I am pleased with overall performance and
especially video result of my 3 axes gyro stabilizer. It saves me several hours
of video processing to get the similar result: "The horizon is fixed and
aircraft is moving". Almost all aviation videos, even commercial, are from
cameras fixed to the aircraft. This produces not natural effect: "Aircraft
is fixed and horizon is moving." See my test video of fixed horizon here: http://youtu.be/GT1MQhoJxK8
I was good,
but not very relaxing day.
142. Winter
Flying in Kamloops North Ridge, Jan 21, 2017
Finally temperature
was above freezing after several weeks of unusually cold weather.
Unfortunately, the sun was gone before I was ready. I received even several
drops of rain, which was potentially not very good for my unsealed cameras.
I wanted to try my new remote control for the camera (GoPro 3+) gyroscopic stabilizer. The RC did not work properly and it created a lot of static in my radio. I had very poor communication with the tower due to the noise bursts. I eventually discovered the next day that it was not my radio, but the RC. It was decent flight over out beautiful country site.
141.
Using 3 Axis Gimbal Stabilizer, with
GoPro Bar Camera, Dec 27, 2016
The camera
view does not look too impressive, unless it would be placed up front and
facing back or the other way around. The stabilizer was sometimes
"hunting" around vertical axes at about +/- 3 deg, which is annoying.
Battery lasted only 30 min at -2C, while manual says 4 hours.
Stabilizer
FY-WG X3 has 3 gyroscopes and could be mounted on helmet too. I used
"GoPro Hero3+ Silver" camera with this stabilizer.
140. Using
3 Axis Gimbal Stabilizer, with GoPro Wing Camera, Dec 27, 2016
The camera
view looks interesting, but there are some negatives too. The stabilizer was
sometimes "hunting" around vertical axes at about +/- 3 deg, which is
annoying. Battery lasted only 30 min at -2C, while manual says 4 hours.
Stabilizer
FY-WG X3 has 3 gyroscopes and could be mounted on helmet too. I used
"GoPro Hero3+ Silver" camera with this stabilizer.
139. Flying
to Mt Peter & Paul and Chasing Clouds, Dec 10, 2016
After about
10 days of suddenly cold weather we got break. It was sunny, -5C and ground
just covered with show. I like these conditions, because everything looks nicer
from the air. The Kamloops area complex terrain looks even more complex with
contrasting white snow and dark bare faces and ridges. I flew around and above
the Mt Peter and Paul, Kamloops beautiful landmark. I also spotted several wild
horses there. I could not keep my fingers warm, so I was looking for different
layers with warmer temperature. It was amazing to feel the temperature
differences in higher elevations. It was actually very warm at about 1000'
above the ground.
I flew over
bunch of clouds above the Mara Hill. I had fun there. I even forgot that my
fingers are really getting numb. It was good day
138. Black
Friday Flying around Kamloops Lake, Nov 25, 2016
Everybody rushed
to spent money on Black Friday specials, but I went for Fun Friday flying tour.
It was perfect day to fly in this beautiful blue sky over our region
spectacular scenery. It was another first for me, because the north side of the
Kamloops Lake is not very accident friendly area. The micro weather is also
challenging there very often. The Kamloops Lake is sitting in deep
"canyon". It is around 25 km long, 2.5 km wide and down to 150 m
deep. The north ridge, lake shore, cliffs and steep hills are spectacular and
favourite place for my ground explorations too. I was originally planning to
fly just half way following the north ridge. The weather was perfect, no
turbulence, no unexpected surprises, so I decided to fly to the end. The lake
south side is mostly accident friendly place, so much safer to fly, which I did
many times before. I was surprised, when I was editing my video from 3 GoPro
cameras that I flew through very good turbulence too, but I did not even
notice. I guess, I am getting more resilient now.
137. Flying
in Kamloops Following North Thompson River to McLure, Nov 16, 2016
A friend
asked me to take some pictures in McLure area. The weather just turned to very
good from gloomy a few minutes before. I jumped into my trike and flew in the
coldest day of the year to North. The sky was beautiful, but just 3 km before
the target area, the clouds closed in. The photo conditions were the worst
possible in very big contrasts. Later I learned that I took pictures of the
wrong area. Oh, well, at least I had some fun.
Note: All my
videos are taken in 4x3 (1280x960). This is default setting on all GoPro
Cameras. This wide angle of view in vertical direction is perfect setting for
skiing, snowboarding, flying, water sports, because it captures max possible
angle in vertical direction. It shows all from sky to skis or from sky to what
is under me when flying. 16x9 format is cropped out strips from the top and from
the bottom of the existing captured information, which does not make any sense.
These days everybody is going nuts about 16x9 because all TV are in more less
16x9 format. iPads are in 4x3 format so my video covers full screen.
My posted
videos are converted by YouTube to 16x9, but 1280x720 from original 1280x960.
The resulting video has lower resolution then the original with black strips on
left and right. My original video is shrunk from 1280 x 960 =1228822 pixels per
frame to 960 x 720 = 691200 which is only 56% of the original frame resolution.
I am not happy about it.
I saved
another version of this video in the 16x9 format while I padded sides of the
frames with black strips myself while maintaining the vertical resolution of
960 pixels. I converted it from 1280x960 to 1920x1080 by default Corel VS X9
format for my video. I will see if this makes any difference on YouTube: It was
even worse the before. YouTube resized it to back 1280x720. It did not work as
I thought it would.
136. Flying
in Kamloops North Ridge and Sand Bars, Nov 14, 2016
It was
beautiful day, perhaps the last of relatively warm autumn days. Fluffy clouds
created beautiful spotty patterns on the rolling hills. I really like these
days. Kamloops nature is very spectacular and it shows in my video.
I used my
third GoPro camera on the helmet, but the result is disappointing. There is too
much head movement. I wanted to use it mainly to maintain horizon level in the
turns, which is how it should be. The airplane is tilting while horizon is
level. Even in commercial movies the airplane is horizontal, but the background
is tilting, which is not normal.
I will not
use head cam anymore. The next time, I have to find some camera exciting
location to mount it.
135. Flying
in Kamloops Following South Thompson River East, Nov 6, 2016
It looked
like perfect day for flying: sunny, very few clouds and no wind. I wanted to fly
to Chase, but as soon as I crossed the North Thompson Rive the turbulence
started with wind shifting 180 deg in few minutes. It was no fun flying,
because it was getting continually more intense. As I did not want to push my
luck, I decided to head home. I hope next time
134. Flying
in Kamloops to Rose Hill Rd Area and Sand Bars, Oct 22, 2016
It was nice
day to go flying, so I vent. I explored the area east of Knutsford and found
some beautiful places. I used my all road motorcycle in the afternoon to take
also ground pictures, but all roads and access were private. It was very
disappointing.
133. Flying
in Kamloops to North Ridge and South Thompson, Oct 11, 2016
It was cold
(8C) sunny morning, total contrast to hot days just 3 weeks before. I was
flying about 10 minutes, when I realized that I left my camera on the back
seat. I was not sure if I will see my popular camera ever again as there is
nothing preventing it from falling out of sky. I turned very gently to prevent
camera to slip out. Luckily, I found it still on that seat when I landed.
I took off
again to North Ridge with intend to fly about 20 km north. The heavy rolling
clouds right in my intended path scarred me, so I turn back south, following
the North Thompson River to downtown. The highlight of the flight was low
flying above the spectacular and never the same South Thompson River sand bars.
I was very close to circling three eagles, but did not manage to capture that
experience.
132. Exploring
Rolling Hills of the North Ridge, Sep 10, 2016
I was
filming my contribution to Canada in a
Day in the morning, but the sky was not too impressive. Finally the
sun showed up and with it the flying mood level went up too. I explored
beautiful area of the Kamloops North Ridge with rolling hills and many small
lakes. The surrounding areas of the lakes (slews) turn purple as they drying
out in this time of the year. It is very beautiful there.
131. "Canada
in a Day", Kamloops Flying, Sep 10, 2014
This is
short video of my story as Canadian. It is my contribution to CTV campaign to
collect as many videos as possible from people documenting what they are doing
on Sep. 10, 2016
130.
Flying to Downtown, Mt Paul and NW of
Kamloops Lake, Sep 4, 2016
It looked
like almost perfect flying afternoon. I received few kicks from the Mother
Nature right at the start, but eventually the weather settled down to let me
enjoy my time in the air. I flew to downtown and then north around Mt Paul,
where I was knocked down very good be a downdraft. The rest of the flight
following the North Ridge west was just pure joy. Beautiful, blue sky with
heave and interesting clouds made it even more enjoyable. I flew farthest west
then before to have that magnificent view of the Kamloops Lake north shore. I
played around there and above still to me mysterious Frederick village. I
explored this area several times on my terrain motorcycle, bicycle and on foot,
but never from the air. It was worth it.
I ended my trip over the river sand bars which are developing very nicely. The river level is dropping steadily by this time of the year and exposing intricate forms of newly created sand bars. It is really joy to fly over and to have this rare opportunity to see it like that.
129.
Flying to Downtown, Mt Peter and Paul,
North Ridge and Sand Bars, Aug 20, 2016
Just needed
my flying fix. One hour flying in Kamloops in very hot (36C) and calm weather.
128. Flying
to Buse Hill Again for Close Look of that Beauty, Aug 12, 2016
After my
previous flight to Buse Hill area in Aug 1, 2016, I drove my terrain motorcycle
there to explore that beautiful region. I was so impressed that I decided to fly
there again for close look. I wish the camera could capture exactly what human
eye can see. I also tried my hand GoPro strap for some more interesting camera
angle views. The result was disappointing, because the camera is too
loose-fitting resulting shaky videos. The hand signals do not indicate that I
got mad; they are used to synch my 3 GoPro cameras.
127. Flying
to Buse Hill, Hwy 97 and Hwy 1 Loop, Aug 1, 2016
It was very
calm morning, unusually cold at 15C compare with previous days at 25C. This was
second time trying to fly east across Buse Lake area to Hwy 97 and then north
to Hwy 1 and back to Kamloops. The only problem was the hazy air and very low
rising sun directly into my face and cameras. I was surprised by the landscape
beauty south of the Buse Hill around the Disdero Lake. It is something to
explore on my terrain motorcycle, as soon as current heat wave eases a bit.
126. Happy
Day. Finally Flying to Merritt through Nicola Valley, June 29, 2016
I finally
made it. The weather always won over my bravery during my many unsuccessful attempts
to fly through Nicola Valley. The weather was very flying friendly the last 3
days, especially after almost 3 weeks of totally unpredictable weather. I flew
to Merritt airport through the very beautiful Nicola Valley. This time the
conditions were right without any nasty surprises. Unfortunately, my wing
camera quit just 3 min after take off. I rest it in Merritt. This was so far my
longest flight of 167 km, about 2:20 of flying time. I encountered one scary
cloud for about 20 min during my return leg, but fortunately we did not cross
our path. The
125. Flying
to North of McQueen Lake and NW Area of North Ridge, June 26, 2016
It was new
area for me to fly to, which is not very engine-out friendly. It is beautiful
like all this region of BC. It was one of the most enjoyable flights, without
turbulence.
124. Elusive
Flight to Nicola Valley, June 7, 2016
Another
attempt to fly through the Nicola Valley did not happen. I wanted to fly to
Merritt airport following the beautiful Nicola Valley, refuel there and return
above the Coquihalla highway. I did not make it too far due the sudden weather
change. Nicola Valley is famous (to myself) with nasty winds and unpleasant
turbulence.
I took off
from Kamloops with no wind, turned south shortcut over the beautiful rolling
hills, small lakes and numerous animal pastures towards the Valley. It is shown
and annotated in the video, how the peacefulness could turn instantly into
nastiness. It felt like someone turn on a switch. It did not take too much time
to decide to turn back. Even the places absolutely steady just 5 min before
were very bumpy. I hope I will make it one day through.
123. My
Dream Gyrocopter Flight Penticton - Oliver - Osoyoos - Penticton, May 30, 2016
My big,
about 45 year old dream to owe and fly a gyro almost fully materialized in
Penticton. I took my wife there with a hope that she would like the fight so we
could fly together. Unfortunately she told me that nobody would ever get her
into that thing. Her limit is Dash 8. This answered my gyro ownership. I
realized that it would be a lot of dedicated time and expenses to get pilot
licence before I could legally fly "this thing". My remaining life
expectancy and at least $100,000 cost did not look too good.
So I just
relaxed and enjoyed very good instruction flying from Mark Humbke, long time
gyro flyer. It was actually my second gyro flight. The first attempt to get
gyro license was in 1999 when I took my tent and check book to Wetaskiwin, AB.
My intent
was to stay there until I have gyro license. My 20 min intro flight in RAF gyro
was not what I expected. I did not like that screaming engine at 7,800 rpm
behind my back and extremely sensitive control. I could not control it and I
was airsick like dog. I bought 6 month old Ford Taurus station wagon instead. I
still have this car with only 100,000 km and like new.
The flight
in MTO Sport by Air Pro Gyro, made in Germany, was totally different story. It
was perfect. It was hot day after cool morning. Flying above fields and lakes
must produce a lot of turbulence, but I did not feel any. I guess I am now well
trained in turbulent air from Kamloops. Mark is excellent instructor. First he
showed me what gyro does and its basic limits. From about 90 min flight I was
in control for around 25 minutes. Everything was very natural to me after about
10 min. No surprises and just pure pleasure. I was ready for complete flight,
which, I hope will happen someday. I will be flying with Mark just for
pleasure, without hassles of studying, exams and major cost.
122. Kamloops
Flying to Knutsford for Club Flying BBQ, May 14, 2016
Blue sky, cold(er)
morning and no wind is perfect combination for some serious turbulence. I flew
to Knutsford for our flying club annual BBQ. The air was bumpy but not too bad.
Landed safely at Knutsford, had my hot sausage, and watch some planes still
arriving. It was perfect day to be outdoor with sun cooking in full force. I
knew it would be challenge to fly back down to airport valley. I was not
disappointed in my assessment. It was kicking like wild horse down to the hot
runway radiated the heat right into my face. Overall, it was good day.
121. Kamloops
Flying to Nicola Valley and Flying around Clouds, May 13, 2016
I attempted
several times to fly through Nicola Valley in the past, but had to return
because of almost always present strong and gusty winds. This deep valley with
many lakes and steep cliff sides is famous for this type of weather. Finally,
the conditions were almost ripe in that early morning, except I was pushed by
15 km/h tail wind. I enjoyed my flight, but eventually I turned around before
it would be too late, because I had to fly into 15 km/h headwind. It feels like
slow motion movie to go so slow. It was also bumpy as I was influenced by the
undulation of the terrain and the wind following those contours too. I had
again chance to play a bit in tow morning clouds, my best and favourite part.
120. Kamloops
Flying to Greenstone Mtn, Ajax Mine, Knutsford, Downtown and Tranquille Farm,
May 5, 2016
I took off
early morning to prevent any Kamloops typical nasty weather surprises. I flew
to and around Greenstone Mountain, Ajax mine and landed at our flying club airstrip
Knutsford. Continued to downtown, North Ridge and then to check the state of
the flooded Tranquille farm area land.
119. Chasing
Clouds, Kamloops, Apr 22, 2016
After many
days of very hot weather we received some rain. The air was loaded with
evaporated moisture with many beautiful, layered clouds over and around high
mountain peaks. I could not miss this rare opportunity to fulfill my childhood
dream to jump and play in this fluff. That morning the weather was almost sunny
and no wind. I had fun by flying close, beside and above those clouds, but
still did not dare to fly through.
I checked
also the South Thompson River. My popular sand bars and beaches were all gone
under the already very high water level.
118. Flying
in Turbulent Air, Kamloops, Apr 3, 2016
The weather
was good, practically no wind and overcast sky which usually brings more stable
air for flying. Well. I was wrong. I felt like riding on wild horse, especially
around downtown and Mt Paul. I had hard time to judge the wind direction,
because it was changing constantly in 180 deg in different elevation layers.
Originally I wanted to fly over the Mt Peter and Paul to video wild horses
which I could see from a distance. I gave up on that idea, because I could not
judge if I am on up or down wind of the mountain. Eventually I flew back in not
very pleasant bumps and stayed over the South Thompson River and its sandbars.
117. Kamloops
Flying to Knutsford, Nicola Valley and North Ridge, Mar 31, 2016
It was just
another beautiful day to go flying. Flew over downtown, Knutsford airfield and
intended to fly through Nicola Valley, but it was too turbulent and unpredictable
for my taste. I turned around and flew to my favorite North Ridge then sand bars on
South Thompson River.
116. Kamloops
Flying to Knutsford and River Sandbars, Mar 26, 2016
I was asked
by someone to take video of the South Thompson River to see how to navigate
through the sand bars by a boat. I thought it is good idea to give to Kamloops
boaters information how to avoid getting stacked in the middle of still very
cold river. Also I asked my fellow pilot to test his Christmas gift SLR camera
while I am flying. He would take pictures of me in the air at Knutsford
airstrip.
The weather
conditions looked good and the wind speed forecast was low. It showed very
quickly that this was not the case. The air was very turbulent with strong
variable wind from south. But I had commitment to fly over my photographer at
Knutsford, so I pushed forward. I made several passes to pose for the camera
and eventually landed for few minutes at Knutsford. Since I did not like the
horizontal wind sock, I decided to head back while it is still flyable. I flew
back towards the airport following the river while taking pictures and video of
the sandbars.
115. Kamloops
Flying to Take Pictures of Sandbars, Mar 26, 2016
I was asked by
someone to take video of the South Thompson River to see how to navigate
through the sand bars by a boat. I thought it is good idea to give to Kamloops
boaters information how to avoid getting stacked in the middle of the very cold
river.
I took video
by two cameras and pictures from the rivers junction up to delta of Kamloops
lake. The result is the overall view of the very shallow river where it is
almost guaranteed to stack on the sandbars unless you have aerial view to see
where to go. I used minimal editing to show as much info as possible.
114. Kamloops
Short but Rough Flight, Mar 14, 2016
It looked
like perfect flying day, but it was not. First it was raining a bit, but no
cloud around. I turned from downtown to north following the river up to golf
course. The air became very turbulent. I was bounced like yoyo, so I decided to
take short cut over the North Ridge back to the airport, but it did not want to
move. At one point my control bar was pulled from my hand and into the turn,
because my left wing got into updraft. A year ago or so I would totally freak
out, but I am getting more used to these funny weather phenomena.
113. Kamloops
Flying with GoPro on the Selfie Stick, Feb 29, 2016
The perfect
weather continued so I decided to go for second flight. I mounted GoPro camera
on telescopic hand held selfie stick. I was hoping for some interesting shots
while "steering" with one hand and fiddling with camera with the
other hand. I chose the sand bars on South Thompson River where the wind and
turbulence are more predictable. One hand operation is not always the most
pleasant experience, so I wanted to have as few variables as possible.
I was
particularly after the video and pictures while in turn. Normally camera does
not take true representation of reality, if the camera is fixed to the plane. The
plane stays horizontal, but the actual horizon in background is tilted. While
flying I tried to rotate camera so that it is horizontal to the actual horizon.
It is not always easy to do, because I cannot watch the camera 100% of time
while flying. I think I took some decent videos and pictures from the screen
shots.
112. Kamloops
Flying to See Wild Horses, Feb 29, 2016
It was one
of those "Must-Fly-Days". The weather was perfect for whatever doing
outside, but especially to fly. I decided to fly pack to SE of Mt Peter to see
and video the wild horses again. I flew there on Feb 6, but my GoPro did not
work so I flew there again. Unfortunately the horses were scattered all over
and especially on the downwind slope of the ridge. The snow was gone so they
have no reason to stay down on bared land. I made several passes around them
and the "meadow" and on the top of Mt Paul. I was also very close to
soaring eagle north of the airport. I tried to follow it, but I had no chance
with my 65 Hp engine versus the perfectly natural creation of the eagle. It was
fun.
111. My
Birthday Flying in Kamloops, Feb 6, 2016
This was my 69th
birthday, which is frightening and unfair. It is the last year when I will not
be in seventies. Regardless, it was very good weather to go flying. My original
intend was to fly to Harper mountain ski hill, but I did not find it. I stayed
in South Thompson River valley and on the way back I buzz above herd of wild
horses. I counted 22 horses in that spot and 6 in another place. I was flying
so, that I could take video of them from my control bar camera, which I can
control by hand. When I landed I found that the memory card was full from the
previous flight, so no video from that and intended angle. You can still see
them from my wing camera.
110. Exploring
West part of Kamloops North Ridge and Sand Bars, Jan 24, 2016
The weather
was perfect for flying. I decided to explore the mountain area north of
Frederick Rd. This is very beautiful and popular area for hikers, particularly
the section between Kamloops Lake and Frederick Rd. The north parts of
mountains, north of Frederick Rd is very steep and rugged terrain, which I knew
very little about. Now it was time to expand my knowledge.
109. Flying
from Kamloops to Tobiano, Jan 20, 2016
It was absolutely
perfect day to go flying. I just installed engine electric carburetor heaters
to prevent icing of the carburetors. I am very well experienced with carb
icing, but it was not a big deal when flying in Fort McMurray. There was always
place for an emergency landing. I removed the iced up carb there and used hair
dryer to melt the ice and then dry it. I installed it back and flew again.
The carb
icing is much more dangerous in Kamloops region. There are very few places for
an emergency landing. The heaters gave me an extra confidence in my beautiful
bird.
The air was
very smooth so it was pleasure to fly in +5C and blue sky weather. Flew west
over Tobiano golf course and residential area situated on the south side of
Kamloops Lake in spectacular location. Flew further west over the hoodoos and
back. Took a lot of pictures. The day was so perfect that I decided to fly
again. See the next video #108.
108. Flying
from Kamloops to Ajax Mine and Nicola Valley Clouds, Jan 20, 2016
The weather
was so perfect that I could not waste it. I decided to explore Ajax Mine area,
which is very often in the news because of the "pro and against" mine
issues. I took many pictures from low level and 6,000'. When at 6,000' I
noticed further south that Nicola Valley was totally covered by clouds. This
very deep and wide valley looked like river filled up to the brim with clouds.
I had to explore it. It was phenomenal.
The west
side from intersection of hwy 5A and Campbell Creek Rd was 100% in clouds and
the east side was clear with cloud transition by the intersection. I never had
seen something like this and especially not from the air. I took a lot of
pictures while flying across the valley above those clouds. The sundog was
leading me on my NE side when flying back. I had very strong urge to burry
myself in those clouds, so only my head and the wing would be above them. I
chickened out. I had no idea how this would influence my flight and I did not
want to take any chances.
107. Flying
from Kamloops to Harper Mountain ski hill, Jan 13, 2016
Plus 5C was inviting temperature to fly in snow covered Kamloops. Flew to Harper mountain ski hill. The area below me was partially covered in clouds which added an extra excitement.
106. Kamloops
Flying over South Thompson River Sand Bars, Nov 21, 2015
It was cold,
but reasonable day for flying, so why not to fly. Checked my popular sand bars on
South Thompson River. Nothing extraordinary happened, but it was good flying
day.
105a. South
Thompson River Sand Bars from the Air (Slide Show). Nov 2, 2015
Slide show of the beautiful sand bars with relaxing
music to listen to.
105. Kamloops Flying over South Thompson River Sand Bars and NE
of Kamloops Lake. Nov 2, 2015
It was very
beautiful day for flying. Turbulence was manageable and scenery spectacular by
the NE of Kamloops Lake. The highlight of the day was to fly over the North
Thompson River delta with ever changing sand bars. The nature is the real
artist in this aspect.
104. Kamloops Flying over North Thompson River, Mara Mt and Sand
Bars, Oct 20. 2015
It was
perfect, chilly day for flying, with no wind and a little of turbulence. The
best part was to fly low over the South Thompson River. The late summer, fall
and winter create continually different and larger sandbars as water level is
decreasing. I like those creations of nature. I met with several birds and
flocks of birds there. I flew over very colorful, now dry slew near Tranquille
farm.
103. Kamloops Flying to Knutsford Fly-In Breakfast, Sep 27. 2015
Sep 27 was
an excellent day for flying to Fly-in breakfast organized by Knutsford flying
club. Beautiful, but crisp sunny morning with no wind in Kamloops. It became
very windy as soon as I cleared the hills south of Kamloops down town.
Typically very windy in Knutsford which is just 10 km south of Kamloops. I just
ate my breakfast and headed back before it would get worse. Took of into 10 kn
wind and came in totally still air in Kamloops. Spent some time above emerging
sand bars from lowering river water level which is annual natural occurrence.
102. Kamloops Flying to Chase and Squilax Air Strip, Aug. 19,
2015
My another
flying millstone: The longest flight of 181 km and 2:50 hr total flying time
over potentially hostile environment in case of emergency. Flew over the
following lakes Paul, Pinantan, Niskonith and Aylmer, before I reached very
large "Little Shuswap Lake". There were no places to land if needed.
Finally landed on Squilax air strip to change my GPS and GoPro cameras
batteries. The country site is spectacular like any other places around Kamloops.
I encountered some almost unpleasant turbulence, but nothing like in my past
flights. On the way back while waiting for other aircraft to land or take off I
spotted 15 pelicans near Tranquille farm. I did not know that pelicans are in
Kamloops. This 20 min video is result of 5.5 hours video clips.
101. Kamloops Flying, Aug 15, 2015
I tried to
chase low clouds after a day of heavy rain. Unfortunately clouds dispersed
before I could reach them. The sky turned very grey, so I lost appetite to do
any big explorations. It was just 50 min flight. My wing camera refused to
cooperate so this is just single camera view video.
100. Flying over Tranquille Farms and NW Ridge, July 28, 2015
I had good
fun flying morning over the farms and West part of North Ridge. I experienced
sudden blast of cold air by the edge of Mara Mt. I did not expect anything
pleasant from it so I hopped quickly into the safe air further south. I can say
that I handle the turbulence very good. I just relax and only control the
moving hang glider from extreme angles. It flies by itself. I actually move
much less than in an airplane, because I am suspended from the wing center of
gravity so while wing is dancing above I am more-less stationary at least in
compression with fixed wing aircraft.
99. Flying Kamloops, Knutsford, Campbell Rd Valley and East of
Kamloops, July 23, 2015
I attempted
to fly in the Campbell Rd valley several times before, but I was always forced
back by the nasty turbulence or wind there. The Campbell road is in deep and
narrow valley surrounded by dark colored ridge slopes and green colored ground.
Large lake in that area also contributes to sever turbulences. I was finally
brave enough to fly through, because I am also much more experience with
turbulent air and I am more tolerant to it. It was good flight.
98. Happy Canada Day. Flight Past Sunset, July 1, 2015
It was one
of the best flying days ever. I took of this second flight of the day at 8 pm
with plan to stay up until legal time allows. I could stay up till 30 min past
the sunset, which was at 9:45 pm. I flew several times around downtown, landed
in Knutsford and then explored the Mt Peter & Paul. Counted 25 wild horses
in one small area on the top. Saw spectacular Blue Moon sunrise. I wish I could
fiddle with camera to take something close what human eye could see. Unfortunately,
I had to fly too so the electronic record is not even close to human record. I
landed at 9:45. The ground was totally dark, because the sun sets behind the
mountains, which makes very sharp difference between day and night. I was
wearing my Canada Day T-shirt, which already celebrated 15th Canada Day. It was
gift from my daughter 15 years ago. It was good day.
I noticed
that GoPro struggled with low light conditions which resulted with a bit fuzzy
video by the end.
97. Canada Day Morning Flying, July 1, 2015
It was very
nice early morning with crisp air and blue skies after torrential rain day
before. I took off towards Kamloops downtown to check on preparation for
usually big Canada Day celebration in the park. I was just buzzing around and
had fun. I followed North Thompson river to explore the river valley. It was
very relaxing flight. After watching this video I realized that the air was
also turbulent, but I did not even remember that. I guess, I am getting more
tolerant to those bumps
96. Flying to Logan Lake and Highland
Valley Copper Mine, Nasty
Turbulence, June 23, 2015
Almost 2 hours flight started early morning in
Kamloops with no wind, blue sky and temperature around 25C. Peaceful flight
changed quickly into very bumpy ride. I was considering turning back, but
continued. I eventually got used to it, so I continued S-W towards Logan Lake
village and then Highland Valley
Copper Mine open pit
which covers many square kilometers of land. I wanted to fly around the mine to
take pictures and videos. I changed my mind when I saw the fluffy clouds above
the mine and I knew that this would be very unpleasant. I was also very cold
and started shiver. The temperature at 7,200' was just 12C and 70 km/h win
chill from my open cockpit did not help either. I turned back as soon as I
reached the S-E edge of the open pit. At that moment it felt like someone turn
switch on of the turbulence generator. I was acceptable 3 minutes before but
frightening now. I had about one hour of flying ahead of me. This was
definitively my worse flight ever and I wish to be on the ground rather then in
the air. Many pilots would say that it is always better to be on the ground and
wish to be flying rather than to be flying and wish to be on the ground. This
was exactly my case. It was difficult to control my trike acting like spooked
wild horse. The heat turbulence was relentless and lasted all the way to the
airport runway. I was really surprised that I was not air sick, because I get
very air or carsick from just playing video game. But the airsickness caught up
with me just by Affton mine and I felt it for another 3 days after. My control
bar camera quit for no reason about 45 min before the end and the wing camera
batteries died 5 minutes before landing. At least I have good video, which show
how peacefulness could change into nastiness in just a minute.
95a. Mini Air Show, Knutsford June 14, 2015
After flying
club BBQ, some members showed their toys. See this mini air show.
95. Flying in Kamloops, June 14, 2015
Flew from
Kamloops to our small field airstrip in Knutsford, where I had to fix my wing
camera which was not recording. Flew across Kamloops downtown towards North
Ridge. Had to wait on south side to allow Air Canada Dash 8 in its descend
flight towards airport. Took several pictures of Brock residential area flooded
farm fields on west side of Kamloops.
94. Flying Kamloops May 28, 2015
Flying over
Kamloops downtown, Knutsford, Nichola Valley, Mt Peter & Paul and North
Ridge.
93. Flying Kamloops May 12, 2015 (Knutsford, South to Nichola Valley and North
Ridge)
Finally very
good flying weather. I took off early in the morning when sun heat did not
create too much of havoc, so my flight was mostly peaceful. Flew over the Ajax
gold mine, Knutsford airstrip and then further south to Nichola Valley. There I
encountered the first bumpy ride due to rising sun heat and cold water at the
valley bottom. My original intention was to fly further south, but I did not
want to push my luck. Turner back over downtown and then North Ridge, flying
about 1000' higher then normally. This gave me new perspective view, but speed
perception dropped sharply. Explored the north part of Frederick Rd valley and
6,000 ft. It was enjoyable fun.
92. Flying in not very Peaceful Air, Apr 19, 2015 (Knutsford and North Ridge)
Air was very
peaceful on the ground, but it was different story in the flight. This video
shows it very clearly. I am getting used to these conditions, but a year ago I
would totally freaked out. 1504190001-Knutsford-NRidge-Turbulence.mp4. Click
here for pictures
91. Trike Flying to Savona during Heavy Turbulence. My worst
flight ever, Apr 5, 2015.
Previous day
I drove my motorcycle through the mountain area to Oscar hang gliding launch
area (N50.79707 W120.90213), NW of Savona, BC. I came to watch a bunch of hang
gliders to take off. It brought me back to 1974 when I started with this sport.
The activities were planned for the next day too, so I decided to fly there. I
knew that it will not be easy flight, but I did not expect that it will be so
scary. The weather was very peaceful, sunny and no wind. There were some heavy
fluffy clouds around, so I was prepared for some surprises. I was eventually
facing 10 kn (18 km) head wind from west with occasional kicks from thermals
and down drafts from shades, but nothing too exciting. I have now much higher
tolerance to nastiness of weather when compare to my first days of Kamloops
flying. These conditions would be frightening before, but acceptable now.
The wind was
still blowing from west when I turned NW towards the Oscar. It started to get
more unpleasant. As soon as I spotted the hang gliders on the edge of mountain
and I wave to the people, the forces of the nature grab my hang glider control
bar from me to show me who is the boss. To my surprise, I was on down wind side
of the mountain. The wind was blowing from East, while up to that point it was
from the West. I was in the middle of the forceful downdraft pushing me down
and thermals pushing me up and everything in between. If you do not have
patience to watch it, then skip to 2:30. I think it is interesting to watch. It
was so bad that I could not even take any pictures, because I could not let the
control bar from my hands. I felt like garbage bag in the wind.
90. Trike Flying to Knutsford Area and North Ridge During Heavy
Turbulence, Apr 2, 2015.
I took off
at no wind from Kamloops airport and 15 km south the wind was blowing 38 km/h.
The thermals from the sun shining through holes in the clouds were getting
unpleasant to my stomach, so I decided to go back over downtown and eventually
over the North Ridge. Base on the past several weeks of really strange weather
changing within an hour I decided to go down before it is too late. Actually
the weather stayed good, but I had my flying fix already.
89. I made it to a local movie.
I was
interviewed, by inspiring young BC filmmaker, Kora Vanderlip in January 2015. She also used few
seconds of my GoPro clips. Check it out.
88. Trike Flying to Knutsford Area and Detail View Flight around
Mt Peter and Paul, Feb 20, 2015
It was
another beautiful day to fly in this beautiful nature surrounding Kamloops.
Flew several times around Kamloops horizon landmarks, famous Mt Peter and Paul
to show how they look from the close up. Click here for pictures.
87. Trike Flying North Ridge, South Ridge and Sand Bars Feb 15,
2015
The second
day of perfect flying over the Kamloops beautiful nature just few minutes from
our house. Explored areas over the North Ridge, flew over Mara Mt and then
crossed the Tranquille Valley to Frederick Rd. Hit some major turbulence. The
wind was very light, but changing in 180 deg direction. It was very difficult
to predict if I will be on upwind or downwind side of the hills. I took many
pictures to document all that natural beauty. There is spectacular view on the
North shore of the Kamloops lake towards the Frederick village. Continued
across the airport to South Ridge which opened another spectacular view of
those mountain ranges. Click here for pictures.
86. Trike Flying Sand Bars and North Ridge, Feb 14, 2015
Finally, after 3 month without flying, I had my perfect flying day. I explored ever changing river sand bars and then flew over the North Ridge mountain terrain to have real fun. I hit some turbulences which I am more relaxed with now and I even enjoy them. The weather was perfect, which shows in my videos and pictures. Click here for pictures.
85. Trike Flying GPS Fast Track of above
Flight, Feb 14, 2015
GPS
downloaded my flight path and animated to see how and where I was flying
84.
Trike Flying to Knutsford and North Ridge, Nov 12, 2014
This was first, really cold day in Kamloops, but the blue sky lured me up.
I almost did not make it to the Knutsford airstrip, because my fingers were
very numb. Once I passed the half point I had to make it there to put another
gloves on. I hit occasional turbulence, but I am used to them now. I do not
fight them, I just fly with them.
After short chat with my fellow pilot and with another gloves on, I took
off towards Kamloops downtown, then to North Ridge for some buzz around,
chasing my fun
83.
Good Flying Day, Nov 2, 2014
Weather was forecasted as one of the still relatively warm days. I had
to do it. Flew over the famous North Thompson river sand bars, then river
upstream towards Kamloops center and eventually ended up in Knutsford Flying
Club airstrip. Chatted with my fellow Beaver pilot Cam Villeneuve during
excellent sunny warm weather. We took off west, while I continued towards
Kamloops airport and Cam turn south to search for his ventures. It was very
good flying day especially considering the next day which was just opposite:
cold, rainy and miserable. I was glad that I did not wasted my day.
82.
Trike Flying to Deadman Road Valley, BC.
Oct 9, 2014
This was one of the best and the most beautiful flights. The flight took
2 hours to cover 140 km, through extremely beautiful mountain valley. Leaves
were in full colors in spectacular scenery. I encountered several very heavy
turbulences, but I had fun with them. I explored that region the following week
from the road. It is definitively very beautiful area.
81. Trike Flying to Ski Resort Sunpeaks, BC. Oct 8, 2014
It was my true first cross country mountain flying through potentially
very hostile and quickly changing weather conditions. The weather was perfect,
but still with occasional heavy turbulence. Eventually I enjoyed those
challenging flying conditions and even sought some thermals under mountain
clouds. I gained a lot of confidence. I had to repeat this experience the next
day with flying another mountain cross country.
80. Trike Relaxing Flying above Kamloops Rivers, Sep 28, 2014
It was very unusually turbulence free day for very relaxing flying above
and along the South and North Thompson rivers. The visibility was not the best
and especially the low sun position on the western horizon did not help either.
79. Kamloops Flying Trike to Buse Lake Area in Heavy Turbulent
Air, Sept 12, 2014
It was beautiful, a bit crispy day with no wind, while sun heat started
to slowly change the tranquility of the still air. Originally my flying goal
was much more ambitious, but turbulence did not allow me to reach it. It was
getting unpleasant and fear of air sickness was very real for me. I was pushing
my comfort envelope with hope that I will have very good video from my bumpy
experience. I was not disappointed from this aspect. You could see from the
video how the terrain is complex below and around, and how many potential
sources of thermals and downdrafts are there. Kamloops is beautiful, but also
dangerous or at least challenging to fly in very light aircraft.
I used special post processing software, where the video from the wing
camera is transformed into more realistic viewers experience. Instead of
background moving around and the trike stationary in one place on screen, the
software reverses it. The trike is realistically moving in the air and the
background is relatively steady. It looks like someone else took the video of
me. It is very tedious process, taking hours, but very cool effect.
I speeded up some sections up to 4x to show the beauty, but eliminated
boringness of the normal speed flying, which sometimes looks like I was
stationary there.
78. Trike Flying to Tranquille Farms, North Ridge and Thompson
River Sand Bars, Aug 31, 2014
I flew west over Tranquille farm to take pictures of newly created corn
maze. Continued NW over the Kamloops lake cliffs for those spectaculars views
to capture on my camera. Flew then NE over the North Ridge which had the peaks
covered in clouds. Played a bit around those clouds. Final stage was over the
South Thompson river sand bars, which are again growing up covering larger and
larger areas as the river water level is going down.
77. Trike Flying to East of Kamloops, Aug 5, 2014
Early morning flight in smoky sky from BC forest fires, following South
Thompson River East. Very tranquil flight up to the last minutes. It was
turbulent above city on the way back. Strong sun heat created many local up and
down drafts based on the ground colors. Overall it was very good flight.
76. Trike Flying to S-W of Kamloops Lake to Tobiano Golf Course,
July 25, 2014
Just short, 50 min flight to get my flying fix.
75. Trike Flying from Kamloops to Merritt and Back, July 12,
2014
I was thinking about this flight for a long time. I was watching very
carefully the strange Kamloops area weather and finally I decided to go for it.
The final point to convince me that it might not be too bad was the fact that
most of the time I will be flying above very wide 4 way highway, which is much
more safer to land on (provided that drivers will let me) that somewhere in the
bush.
I felt almost like Lindberg when he decided to fly solo across the ocean
from Canada to France. I too could not sleep while going through all those
negative possibilities. The life could be much more complicated in just few
seconds.
I was ready to take off at 5:45 am. It was just 19C, which was very
pleasant compare with those 40C hot days. It took a lot of pushing "up
hill" from 1100' to 6000" to cross the mountain peaks. I do not like
to rev up my Rotax 582 too much, which I no not think it is healthy for it.
I was following more-less the Coquihalla highway, the
famous highway from Discovery channel series Highway Thru Hell.
Government in July of this year increased speed limit
there to 120 km/h. This was met with very vocal opposition, because it is
dangerous, people will die and all this normal nonsense. I was ready to
document all those dead people and vehicle pile ups along the highway.
Fortunately and of course there was nothing of this gore stuff to photograph.
The weather was perfect, no wind and no turbulence, which does not
happen very often here. I landed in Merritt Municipal airport (2090') after 75
min flight. Took some pictures, refuelled from my spare fuel can, and took off
again further south towards Merritt town. I did not spend too much time there,
because I wanted to enjoy the same perfect weather on the way back. It was
already 25C, so the heat was on...
I was enjoying the scenery even though the visibility was not the best.
It was actually the first day this summer with hazy sky. The flight was very
uneventful and I was almost day dreaming when suddenly I received several jolts
of unexpected turbulence. I still had about 30 min to go so I was hoping that
this will not be my fun spoiler. Luckily it lasted just about 5 minutes, but I
decided not to go exploring, but head straight home. In 45 minutes of in bound
leg flying I was back at the Kamloops airport. It was 9:30 am and already 28C.
This was my milestone flight, the longest cross-country so far.
74. Flying Trike in Kamloops to Mt. Peter & Paul, Knutsford,
Ajax Mine, June 30, 2014
It was one of the best flying days. Warm, no wind and
no turbulence, which is very rare combination. Flew over Kamloops North Shore residential
area, Mount Peter and Paul and then landed at Knutsford. Flew for some pictures
and videos over Ajax mine. It was very good flying day.
73. Flying Trike to O'Connor Lake, NE of Kamloops, June 22, 2014
This Sunday morning was perfect day to do some flying.
Checked the flooded areas near Tranquille Farm and then turned East and
eventually NE to follow North Thompson River upstream. Saw some interestingly
looking mountain areas on the West ridge so I decided to investigate. Found
O'Connor Lake and surrounding areas which look spectacular from the air. I am
taking my dual sport motorcycle there to check that spot from the ground too.
72. Flying Trike in Knutsford Mt Peter and Paul, North Ridge
Grasslands Park, May 14, 2014
It was beautiful weather with almost no wind.
Turbulence grabbed me as soon as I was air borne. I fought it for several
minutes, but eventually gave up, because it was dangerous. I was back in my
hangar in just 5 min, where I discovered that I forgot to turn my video cameras
on.
Tried again in the in the evening and it was fun. Explored NW of North
Ridge where I had to stay due to skydivers activities in the NE region. Tested
Garmin sport camera "VIRBelite" which I forgot to set in the same format
as the other two GoPro Hero2 cameras. It seems to me that the stabilization of
Garmin is better and it appears that it stabilizes background (horizon) and the
trike is moving as this is how it supposed to be. I do the same with my GoPro
camera in very lengthy and time consuming process with Muvee TVS (see
http://youtu.be/GT1MQhoJxK8 for explanation). GoPro has overall better and more
natural colors. Garmin colors are bluish especially under contrast or low light
conditions.
70. Flying Trike to NW of Kamloops North Ridge with Power OFF
Glide, April 25, 2014
Flew to NW of beautiful region of Kamloops North
Mountain Ridge with spectacular view of 150 m deep Kamloops Lake. Turned east
above Mara lake to 4900' for power off glide back to airport. This was my long
time adventure consideration to do it one day. This was the day. Glided almost
exactly 5 minutes down to runway at calculated 5.2 : 1 gliding ratio. I
received many questions from people wanted to know the gliding ration. Since I
did not knew I decided to find out. It was a bit apprehension to do it into
fully functional and sometimes very busy airport. I felt that the conditions
were right with almost no wind and very mild turbulence. It was better than I
expected and it turned me back 40 years when I started flying Rogallo hang
glider. It was very peaceful fun.
69. Flying Trike to Knutsford, Rose Hill and NE Mountain Ridge,
Apr 5, 2014
I am getting better now in handling turbulence. I came
from Northern Alberta, where terrain was flat and weather predictable. Kamloops
area is very challenging weather-wise. The terrain is complex with many micro
weather abnormalities. That day the air was turbulent, with no wind. Friend was
grounded 1000' below me, because as he said the wind sock was horizontal. It is
weird here. I had fun and took many pictures from this beautiful country site:
68. Flying Trike to Ajax Mine, Knutsford and Downtown, Mar 23,
2014
It was very good day for flying. Check the Kamloops region beauty.
67. Flying Trike in Turbulent Air, South Ridge, Kamloops Mar 14,
2014
Very light wind and ideal flying conditions at the airport turned into
22 km headwind and unpleasant turbulence. Half way to my original place to fly
I had to turn back, because it was not fun to fight the elements. The video
shows the effect of turbulence on this light aircraft.
66. Trike Flying - Chasing Clouds in Kamloops, Mar 9 2014
It was very promising day for enjoyable flying. Low clouds hanging above
and around the peaks which I liked to explore. Flew east following the North
Mountain Ridge towards Mt Peter and Paul. Noticed that my neck camera was low
on juice, so I turn back to get fresh batteries. I encountered some bumpy right
around to Mt Paul. Flew NW of Kamloops Lake to check the "Sediment
Wall", which I discovered a few days earlier on my hike. Did some low
flying above the Frederick road. I brought back 5.5 hours of video files from three
on-board cameras. The 19 min excerpts show how beautiful it is here.
65. Flying Trike around Mt Peter and Paul, Kamloops Feb 26, 2014
This was the first movie which I edited in updated version of MovieMaker
2.6 for Windows 7. It allows to take default of GoPro HD 4:3 format (widest
viewing angles in 1280x960), edit it and save it into the same format. Up to
now I always had to use several different packages. I like 4:3 format because
you can see it perfectly on iPad which is in 4:3. Majority of people watches
YouTube videos on mobile devices which are mostly in 4:3 format. The industry
is pushing 16:9 format, cameras follows and editing softwares all ignores
millions of mobile devices and the majority of users. The resulting 16:9 video
viewed on iPad loses 25% of pictures with black stripes above and below the
video. I processed small section from the wing camera in Muvee Turbo Video
Stabilizer, which stabilizes background so the trike is moving instead,
normally and unnaturally other way around.
64. Flying AirBorne Trike in Kamloops in Heavy Turbulence, Feb
13, 2014, Version 2
I re-edited the previous version into 16:9 format. I used 2 GoPro
cameras at 4:3 format and ActioPro at 16:9, The original version did not look
good. I spent several days to fiddle with this nonsense. Millions of people are
using GoPro cameras which is set by default to 1280x960. It is the best format
for flyers, skiers, bikers, because it captures the most info. Every other
format is in camera cropped result. Majority of people watches the YouTube
videos on iPad and similar devices which is in 4x3 format. There is nothing on
the market (as far as I know) to just take HD 4:3 format, edit it and save it
into lossless original format. 16:9 is the best on TV, for minority of YouTube
watchers, 4:3 is the best for mobile devices, which is the majority of people.
1. I processed ActionPro (wing camera) in Muvee Turbo Video Stabilizer,
which stabilizes background so the trike is moving instead, normally and
unnaturally other way around.
2. I used AVS Video Converter to Crop the upper portion of video files
from 2 GoPro cameras mounted on the control bars. I changed it from 1280x960 to
1280x720 to have the same format like the wing camera. I could set GoPro to
1280x720 in the first place, but there was very good chance that it would crop
wrong portion of the frame. I cannot see what camera see, I just estimate the
aim.
3. I used MovieMaker 2 (I am PC guy), which is very simple, free and
produces excellent video quality, but unfortunately, it is in *.wmv format
which is then butchered by YouTube by their conversion.
4. I then process complete video from MovieMaker in Corel Video Studio
X6, by following procedure from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZmFhm_yoSc to
get the best video quality on YouTube.
It was very nice weather, almost no wind, just ideal conditions for flying.
I took off with 3 cameras mounted to get different views. The tranquil
conditions changed very quickly. As soon as I
was over the North Mountain Ridge, the turbulence started to bounce me
around. It was still bearable, so I continued to North. It got really bad. I
was searching for some better conditions to go higher, lower, in the valley,
above valley... Nothing worked, but it was getting increasingly worse. I was
like garbage bag in the wind. Eventually I made it back close to the airport,
but my timing was wrong. I had to wait for 3 airplanes to land while I was
kicked up and down like a yoyo. It was the most scary flight so far.
Finally I could cross the airport to partially frozen South Thompson
River. It was very peaceful there. I flew very low over the frozen sand bars
towards downtown and then follow North Thompson river for some picture taking.
I saw at least 15 eagles. Eventually it was very good day and I have very good
video to prove it.
63. Flying AirBorne Trike in Kamloops in Heavy Turbulence, Feb
13, 2014
It was very nice weather, almost no wind, just ideal conditions for
flying. Took off with 3 cameras mounted to get different views. The tranquil
conditions changed very quickly. As soon as I
was over the North Mountain Ridge, the turbulence started to bounce me
around. It was still bearable, so I continued to North. It got really bad. I
was searching for some better conditions to go higher, lower, in the valley,
above valley... Nothing worked, but it was getting increasingly worse. I was
like garbage bag in the wind. Eventually I made it back close to the airport,
but my timing was wrong. I had to wait for 3 airplanes to land while I was
kicked up and down like a yoyo. It was the most scary flight so far.
Finally I could cross the airport to partially frozen South Thompson
River. It was very peaceful there. I flew very low over the frozen sand bars
towards downtown and then follow North Thompson river for some picture taking.
I saw at least 15 eagles. Eventually it was very good day and I have very good
video to prove it.
62. Flying AirBorne Trike in Kamloops, North West Mountain
Ridge, Feb 12, 2014
Finally,
after month and half of unusually cold weather in Kamloops, the weather looked
very inviting for flying. Meanwhile I bought
another GoPro camera, so I was looking forward to see the result of the final
video from three cameras. Unfortunately, I forgot to press Record buttons on
both GoPro Camera. The result is from ActionPro wing camera and re-stabilized
with Muvee Turbo Video Stabilizer. You can see my demo clip what it does here:
http://youtu.be/GT1MQhoJxK8. The weather was perfect so I did some low flying
through the mountain range.
60. Flying AirBorne Trike in Kamloops, Dec 28, 2013
I took advantage of very good weather and above freezing temperature.
Flew 70 minutes above local mountain and snow covered sand bars. Saw many
eagles.
59. Video Stabilization Test, Mar 3, 2012
Normally when you fly with a camera attached to your wing the plane is
stationary and the horizon is moving in opposite direction of the plane
movement. This is not natural. I found on line software "Muvee" which
does very cool stuff. It stabilizes background and the plane is moving with the
turbulence as it should. It looks very cool. This is the demo clip. The first
half is the original clip and the second half is the same clip run through
Muvee Stabilization. See the difference. In normal, from just camera stabilized
clip, the wing is anchored in the upper screen corner and the background is
moving accordingly. After the clip is Muvee stabilized, the wing is not
stationary any more, but it is moving with the air current, which is how it
supposed to be. This is very cool improvement. The software is not full proof
and it creates serious an unacceptable mess in other situation. For example
during the same clip when taxiing. The software stabilize also the horizontal
panning, which creates unrealistic wheels skips. They are on something, but it
need some improvements.
58. Flying AirBorne Trike in Kamloops, Dec 15, 2013, Version 2
This is the shorter version of the same video posted under the same
name, but I used new feature. Normally when you fly with a camera attached to
your wing the plane is stationary and the horizon is moving in opposite
direction of the plane movement. This is not natural. I found on line software
which does very cool stuff. It stabilizes background and the plane is moving
with the turbulence as it should. It looks very cool. Check it out
57. Turbulent Flying AirBorne Trike in Kamloops, Dec 15, 2013
After several weeks of unusually cold weather we had sunny and warm day.
It looked like perfect time to go flying. I decided to fly east above the river
towards Kamloops downtown and then turn south over the hill to Knutsford and
area. There was almost no wind at the airport, but as soon as took off,
turbulence was acting up. It was difficult to hold camera steady to take
pictures. There was headwind about 10 knots at 800' above ground. When I turn south
over the downtown and started steadily climbing up to clear the hills the wind
shifted 90 deg to about 25 knots. I had feeling that I was not moving
forward. I was bounced in all directions
as it is also shown in the video. Finally I had enough of fighting the
turbulence, turned around towards the airport. The scenery was spectacular and
snow and dark roads made very contrasting patterns on already very complex and
interesting landscape.
Eventually I decided to fly across the airport on the north side over
the North Mountain Ridge. I was very surprised how good and peaceful it was
there. No wind and no bouncing around.
56. Flying AirBorne Trike in Kamloops, Nov 14, 2013
It was beautiful day with Spring like conditions. Took of from the
Kamloops airport heading over the North Ridge. It was very nice weather for
picture taking with many fluffy clouds and different light contrasts. Peace was
over when I entered snow covered areas. Turbulence was getting unpleasant so I
turned back South and followed South and the North Thompson Rivers and their
well sculptured sand bar beaches. I had good time during this 70 min flight.
55.
Flying with Cam's Beaver, Oct 29, 2013
It was very beautiful, but crispy cold afternoon. Took off south-west and turned towards Knutsford, our
flying club location. Mid flight I "met" Cam Villeneuve in his bright
yellow Beaver. I tried to keep up with him, but his wing is much more efficient
than my hang glider. Eventually we landed at Knutsford airstrip and took some
pictures. Wind started to pick up and because one never knows what will happen
there weather-wise, I decided to head back to Kamloops. Actually the weather
was very good so I continued flying. Buzzed over sand bars, check on the birds
and generally enjoyed myself in that beautiful countryside
54. Flying to Lac do Bois and River Sandbars. Oct. 17, 2013
I took off into cold, but sunny morning over the North Ridge towards Lac
Du Bois (lake) to explore area which I walked through the previous week. Made
several low passes over the pasture. Then I flew south, crossed the airport
runway to my popular area, South Thompson River sand bars. The water level is
traditionally low at this time which exposes very uniquely sculptured sand
bars. Since water is clear you can see the underwater shapes too. There were
flocks of various birds, including at least 10 eagles. Had chance to capture
train going through the tunnel.
53. October 1, 2013 Morning Fun Flying
Finally weather look more settled than last weeks. It was beautiful and
crispy morning. Took off west to take pictures on newly cut corn maze, but it
was getting rougher with every minute. Notable difference in Kamloops Lake
water color did not make me feel comfortable. It was black (waves) in the west
and glossy in the east (closer to airport). I decided to stay closer to airport
to have short distance to safety. Crossed south to check and photograph sand
bars, which are never the same. They are beautiful as always. Took pictures and
video train, which looked like open necklace laid on the edge of mountains.
52. Flying from Kamloops to Shuswap Airstrip, Sept. 13, 2013
This was my another major cross-country trip and partially over a
hostile terrain. I took off into 2 knots wind and as soon as I turned East and
2000' the tail wind become stronger and stronger, but at least steady and not
gusty. The visibility was very poor. Very hazy with low sun directly into my
face. The sun also reflected from the river which acted like a mirror. I had to
manoeuvre to change the sun angle, so I could see better. With 18 knots (32
km/h) tail wind, I was making very good progress towards Chase which is on the
west side of Little Shuswap Lake. Occasionally I was getting thermal kicks and
downdraft pushes, so I was changing elevations between 2000' and 3000' looking
for more friendly air.
The terrain up to the Chase is flyer friendly with almost always some
farm land to put it down just is case something goes wrong. The situation
changed from Chase with no farms, just very winding road which would need a lot
of luck to put it down safely. The Shuswap Air grass strip is located east of
Little Shuswap Lake. It is very beautiful and peaceful place.
I just spent several minutes there to install fresh batteries into my
cameras (4 in use plus one in pocket and phone camera too). GPS showed enough
power to last the trip back. I wanted to take off as soon as possible, because
of now the 18 knots headwind.
I took north side of the lake over the mountains, which appeared to me
more acceptable crush alternative then water. I wish I could spend more time
there to enjoy the scenery. I was very relieved when I was back over the Chase
in more friendly environment. The trip back to Kamloops was very slow but with
only mild turbulence. There were places where my GPS showed continually longer
time of arrival due to the increasing head wind.
Kamloops radio reported 2 knots wind, but 1000' higher it was 18 knots.
My trike did not want to go down onto the runway 26 due to thermal from already
superheated asphalt surface. It was good trip.
51. Flying past the Sunset, Sept. 10, 2013
Took off
into beautiful, but hot evening (36C) with aim to time my cameras memory cards
and batteries to last till the legal flying limit, 30 min past sunset. I made
it and was rewarded by very enjoyable flight.
50. Flying above the Clouds in Kamloops, BC, Sept. 8, 2013
Took some
pictures of the newly created Corn Maze by Tranquille Farm. Buzzed above the
Sunday Flee market and then headed to chase the low clouds above the North
Ridge. It was fun during my 65 min flight. This 16 min video shows Mount Paul
and Mara Mountain from close up. Very few people has this opportunity to see it
this way.
49. Trike Flying, Kamloops, Tobiano, Knutsford, Downtown, North
Ridge, Mara Mountain,
Aug 8, 2013
Beautiful
flying day with calm but hazy air. Explored Tobiano golf course resort West of
the Kamloops airport. Flew to Knutsford where I met 2 pilots who flow in from
Vancouver area. Turned towards Kamloops downtown which is always interesting to
see and to photograph. My day was finished by mountainous North Ridge with Mara
mountain. Had to circle north of airport until all the traffic clear before I
could land. The camera battery quit so I missed a rare opportunity to capture
Canadian Air Search and Rescue planes and helicopters on tarmac. They just
successfully located missing local student pilot, unfortunately he did not
survive the crash. Son of my pilot friend died while following his dream to
become pilot like his father.
48. Trike Flying, Knutsford, Ajax Mine, Afton Mina and
Tranquille Farm area, July 16, 2013
Interesting
views of the controversial Ajax mine, aerial view of Afton Mine and beautiful
view of 10 min video from Tranquille Farm area, Kamloops, BC.
47. Trike Flying over Tranquille Farm, July 2, 2013
10 min video
from video taking over Tranquille Farm, Kamloops, BC.
46. Trike Flying, Kamloops, Mount Lolo, Floods. June 12, 2013
A day earlier
I discovered from my motorcycle very nice areas NE of Kamloops, Cold Creek and
Mount Lolo. I decided to check it out from the air. I flew up to 6500' over Mt
Lolo which used to be popular with hang gliders. Flew over Paul Lake, Harper
Mountain ski area towards South Thompson River valley to check the high water
level in the rivers. Took pictures and video of flooded farms NW of the
airport. 75 min flight compressed into 15 min video.
45. Trike Flying Kamloops, May 29, 2013
Kamloops, downtown, North Ridge. Beautiful crispy day without any surprises. This video is the first
attempt to synchronize video cuts with the music beat. It was after thought,
when I was watching my original edit. The video was almost in synch with the
music. I tried to 8x fast track the boring section. I had to use music instead
of the original sound, because MS Movie Maker mutes sounds in other speeds that
1x. I did not like the fast speed section so I started again by cutting out the
boring stuff and synch the other cuts to music. The 1st section is not well
synched, because I had all ready these cuts made and it is impossible to adjust
them in this video editor. It will be better next time.
44. Trike Flying Kamloops, May 1, 2013
Kamloops, Kamloops
east, North Ridge, Mount Peter and Paul, Mara Mount.
Beautiful flight
east of the city until I hit a major turbulence which spoiled my peaceful time
up there. Turned around close to mountain ridge to show the Kamloops area
beauty. Discovered another interesting part N-W of the airport with very sharp
slabs of rocky faces. made several passes over there to see more details. Used
two cameras for more diverse views, but could not combine the results into one
video. After several hours it quit. There was something incompatible between
those supposedly compatible formats.
43. Trike Flying Kamloops Short Video, Apr 17, 2013
Bought and
installed another action camera ActionPro 1080P HD which looks like GoPro, but
has many more features and accessories and cost just $150 US. I wanted to have
more variety in the camera views. Decided to go for "cross country"
since the weather was very good, until I cleared the South ridge. It was very
turbulent and unpleasant to fly. Turned around and flew over the city. I also
found, that I forgot to turn both cameras on!!! So eventually I ended up with
only half trip taken with my new camera only.
42. Trike Flying Kamloops, Savona, Oscar Hill, Kamloops, March
31, 2013
Wanted to
watch hang gliding gathering west of Savona. Tried to land on International, hang
gliding landing spot, but did not have confidence that I could make it safely
on my small wheels. Checked the hang gliding take off spot, Oscar.
Unfortunately, my timing was off, so I did not see anybody flying. I wanted to
fly with them for some aerial videos. Oh, well. I hope it will happen
sometimes.
41. Trike Flying, Kamloops, Knutsford, Sandbars, March 29, 2013
Planned
cross-country trip with my pilot friend in his Beaver did not materialize. It
was too turbulent. We turned back and I finished it again flying over ever
changing South Thompson River sandbars.
40. Flying Kamloops, Feb 15, 2013
Short video
from sunny, but turbulent air: Kamloops airport, Ajax, North Shore, North
Ridge, Airport.
39. Flying Kamloops, Ajax, Jacko Lake, Sandbars, Feb 10, 2013
Finally nice
weather allowed me to have some fun again during local flight. Explored in close
up Ajax mine, Jacko. Spotted several eagles.
38. Trike Flying, Jan. 30, 2013
Fifty
minutes flight over snow covered mountains North of the Kamloops airport. Flew
over totally cloud covered valley.
37. Trike Flying, Jan. 9, 2013
New snow, so
after shovelling out snow between hangar and Runway I was rewarded by a
beautiful, flying day with temperatures above freezing. Flew Kamloops, Mara
Mtn, Dome Hills, Peter & Paul Peaks, downtown, Aberdeen, Dufferin Hills and
snow covered sand bars. Spotted many eagles.
I like this
very complex scenery, with big contrasts between snow and dark roads, rivers,
structures... I am very lucky to be able to experience this sport, which might
a dream for many people. In one year of living in Kamloops, I have seen much
more of Kamloops area than majority of people living here for many years.
36. Chasing the Sun Rays, Dec 29, 2012
Took
advantage of a few sun breaks through the clouds in the snow covered Kamloops.
Spotted 3 eagles.
35. Flying Kamloops, North Ridge, Mount Peter & Paul, Winter
River Sand Bars, Dec 12, 2012
Beautiful
December day and ideal conditions for flying. Ground is partially covered with
show, which makes the features of the hilly terrain around Kamloops stand out.
Took many excellent pictures of that complex Kamloops landscape.
34. Flying Kamloops, Knutsford, Ajax, South Thompson River Sand
Bars, Nov 25, 2012
Beautiful
chilly day, ideal flying conditions to buzz in around Kamloops. Beautifully
complex above and below water sand bars give different perspective on this
river.
33. Flying Kamloops, Ajax Gold Mine, Knutsford, Nov 5, 2012
Wanted to
fly cross country, but the wind increased significantly into 40 km/h headwind.
This would be potentially dangerous in the mountain valley, creating serious
downdrafts. Turned around in Knutsford into very calm weather at the airport.
32. Flying Kamloops, Frederick and Copper Creek, Nov 2, 2012
Flew this route
previously, but my video battery quit in the first 5 minutes. I could not miss
to capture this spectacular scenery to share with my friends. Very ragged
mountain terrain north of huge Kamloops Lake. Flew over two mysterious places
Frederick and Copper Creek, BC.
31. Flying Kamloops, North Ridge and Sand Bars, Oct, 28, 12
Took
off to video mountains, but it was too turbulent. Went back and stayed above
South Thomson river sand bars. They are so beautiful and intricate in their
configuration above and below the water.
30. Kamloops-Barrier-Kamloops, 130 km, Oct 5, 2012
My second
long, cross country flight through and over the mountains. Battling cold and
full bladder, I made round trip 130 km in 2 hours. Unfortunately, camera
batteries failed by the first click, so I do not have any photos.
29. Kamloops Flying Photo-shoot in Oct 3, 2012
Les Larkin,
Kamloops air to air photographer, took several very good pictures from ground
up. It was trilling flight over the river sand bars and very low with sharp
turns.
28. Trike Flight Kamloops - Cache Creek - Kamloops in Sep 29,
2012
My longest
and the most adventurous flight cross country to another airport located
between mountains. Check the south approach where runway is behind the hill.
This was a
major milestone in my flying career. My first, truly cross-country flight.
27. AirBorne Trike Flying in Kamloops Sep 17, 2012
Local flight
above beautiful scenery. Close up look to Ajax mine which supposed to reopen
operation under Polish company ownership. Majority of local residents do not like
it, because it is very close to city residential area. Kamloops, Knutsford,
Ajax, Jacko Lake
26. Flying Kamloops to Tunkwa Lake, Sep. 12, 2012
Kamloops, Afton mine, Tunkwa Lake,
Leighton Lake, Greenstone Mountain
25. Flying 100 km from Kamloops to Paul
Lake to Hwy 1, Aug 29, 2012
My first
major cross country flight over and through the N-E mountains. Battling 35 km/h
headwind on down wind side of Mounts Peter and Paul.
24. Kamloops Flying, Short Clip from Camera on Control Bar, Aug
29, 2012
I forgot to
turn video camera on, so I have the last few minutes only. Tried different
angle from camera mounted on the hang glider control bar.
23. Sunset Flying in Kamloops, Aug 12, 2012
Different
camera angle showing Kamloops area and the pilot's control.
22. Trike Flight, Kamloops - Savona - Kamloops , July 26, 2012
It was hazy, but flying was very
smooth. It is very beautiful country site.
21. Flying in Kamloops, Buse Lake,
Knutsford, July 17, 2012
Flying
AirBorne trike Kamloops - Buse Lake - Knutsford - Ajax Mine with camera on the
wing.
20. It was very good day in July 12, 2012
Flying
AirBorne trike in Kamloops, BC and around exploring new areas. It was very good
flying day. Kamloops, Ajax, Krentz field, Knutsford, Kamloops downtown, North
Mountain Ridge, Mara Mountain
19. Several Trike Flying Days in Three
Minutes
Different
camera angles taken in different seasons edited together to show how it is to
fly motorized hang glider (Trike).
18. Flying in Kamloops, BC with GoPro on the Stick in July 4,
2012
Finally, I
was brave enough to try mount GoPro video camera on Xshot telescopic stick to
get more interesting video angles. Most of the time, hang glider requires both
hands to fly it, but the weather was very good... I did not want the "apparatus" to
go through the prop above the mountains.
17. Flying in Kamloops, BC over Spilled
River and above Clouds in June 24, 2012
Taking
pictures and video over swollen South and North Thomson Rivers. Had second
chance in my life to play a bit with very low clouds. Kamloops, Deep Lake,
Heffley Creek, Tranquille farm area.
16. AirBorne Trike Flying in Kamloops April 9, 2012
Local flight
above beautiful scenery till sunset. Kamloops, Knutsford, Shumway Lake, Walker
Lake, Petersen Creek, North Mountain Ridge, Mara Mountain
15. Flying in Kamloops, April 8, 2012
Played over
South Thomson River sand bars, in 2nd part of the video. Never realized vastness
of these sand deposits until I flew over. All these bars are under several
meters of water half of the time when snow melts from the mountains. This is
perfect place for an emergency landing, which is normally not easy place to do
in Kamloops. Kamloops, Ajax mine, Knutsford, sand bars
14. Trike with Beaver Flying and Sand Bars Beauty, April 6, 2012
Flying
Airborne trike in Kamloops, BC with friend Cam Villeneuve in his Beaver. The
last part shows ever changing underwater beauty of Thomson river sand bars.
Very few people can see this. Kamloops, Knutsford, South Thomson river sand
bars.
13. Flying in Kamloops, BC March 7, 2012
Flying from
Kamloops, Knutsford to Walker Lake, BC (61 km)
12. Flying in Kamloops, BC in March 3, 2012
Nice, overall
view of major part of Kamloops core from the air. Beautiful scenery to
photograph and video.
11. Beautiful Winter Kamloops from the Air, Feb 20, 2012
Slide show
from pictures which I took while flying AirBorne Trike.
10. Flying in Kamloops, BC in Feb. 22, 2012
Flying in
Kamloops, Feb. 22, 2012 with GoPro cam mounted on the side of the trike pod and
facing rear. Interesting to see how much movement is between the wing and
trike. The air was a bit more turbulent than normally.
9. Flying in Kamloops, BC in Feb. 12, 2012
Flying in
Kamloops over the North Ridge Mountains with headcam. Flew over 2nd highest
peak in Kamloops, Mara Mountain (1000 m)
8. Flying in Kamloops, BC in Feb. 11, 2012
Flying in
Kamloops, Feb. 11, 2012 with GoPro cam mounted on helmet.
7. Trike Flying in Kamloops, BC in Feb. 11, 2012, Part 1 of 4
6. Trike Flying in Kamloops, BC in Feb. 11, 2012, Part 2 of 4
5. Trike Flying in Kamloops, BC in Feb. 11, 2012, Part 3 of 4
4. Trike Flying in Kamloops, BC in Feb. 11, 2012, Part 4 of 4
200. My First Float Flying, Fort McMurray 1983
My first
ever flying on floats in 1983. I flew my weight shift Atlas made in Edmonton AB
by Birdman. It was exceptionally easy to fly, but poorly designed machine. I
never took any lesson and I flew it perfectly the first time. The same on
floats. I was very apprehensive after reading so many horror stories about
float flying. I expected to die, but it was much easier that anything else.
199. Fort
McMurray, AB, Flying Weight Shift Atlas in Winter 1983
Winter flying on Snye, the most popular place for winter
activities at that time
198. Fort McMurray, AB, Flying
Weight Shift Atlas 1982
The weight shift Atlas was the best concept and easiest flying machine.
Easily transportable, but very poorly designed. I had several close calls with
this machine: broken prop shaft, stripped prop dive belt, broken cable tong,
flipped upside down on the lake with pontoons and many engine quits.
197. Motorized Rogallo in Italy 1977
This
was an excellent concept of hang glider replacing aeroplane wing. I flew very
well. I wish someone developed and modernized this concept. I saw it in Italy
during our time waiting for immigration to Canada.
196. First in
Flight Selfie Movie, Rana Hang Gliding 1974
Flying
with my improved Dacron type cover material, which was significant improvement
from the previous poly, rain coat, stretchable sail.
This shows my first selfie from mechanical (spring winding) movie camera. The
movie film camera took just 3 min movie before if had to be rewound. I built
camera remote control from the bicycle break leaver and cable. The trigger
worked on the ground, but not in the air. Fortunately, it stacked in ON
position, so camera took just full film movie (~3 min). Yah, how far it was
from the GoPro.
195. Hang Gliding
Pioneers in Rana, Czech Republic 1974
1974
beginning of quickly developing hang gliding sport
194. Rana Hang
Gliding Beginnings in Czech Republic (Czechoslovakia, CSSR) 1974
Beginning of
hang gliding in Czechoslovakia in very popular and ideal learning place, Rana
near Louny
This was one of my best time in my life to be surrounded by people similarly
crazy and in love of this quickly developing sport. This movie shows the first
accident on that hill.
193. How I
Started to Fly in 1974
I never flew
anything in my life. I built a hang glider from home available materials, made
all the cable connections from cooper tubing. Saw the sail from poly rain coat
material. This film sequence show how I learned to fly and learned to fly it in
just couple of hours. Never stopped flying since except for 2 years in 1980
after my serious hang glider accident when my marriage was in jeopardy.
3. Trike Flying in Kauai, Hawaii
Nov 11, 2007
While
visiting my son Petr in
http://www.birdsinparadise.com/index.php
2. Bell Blimp in Fort McMurray,
July 8, 2006
Short clip
of, for me, exciting event to see blimp in close up.
1. Trike Flying by Jan Nademlejnsky above Fort
McMurray. AB in June 2006
I was flying in