Tom, I'd also like to express my appreciation of your service to both our countries.

Fellow members, thanks for all of your kind words. It is most appreciated & it makes an old fart feel good, ha!

Once I get familiar with photobucket, perhaps I'll try to post a few 'action/hero' shots in a new thread...

TAM

I'm just jealous you got to fly one of those heliocopter thingamabobs. The few times I've had a ride, its been waaay too much fun!

Yup, it's the most fun that you can do while sitting up, except perhaps for having a couple of afterburners kick you in the butt on a cold winter's day.

Used to do that in my younger days as well...

TAM

Did you fly those Martin Mars Tom, I seen one take off from Lake Cowichan one time camping on a small island just across from Youbou.

I swear I could see the pilots eyes ,he was so close to me. What a site to see that was! Wow Yes, and thanks for serving!

No, In fact I've never ever flown a prop machine, even in basic flight training. In the late 60's for a couple of years the RCAF started us out directly on the CT114 Tutor Jet (of Snowbirds fame); however, attrition was so high that they switched the program to small prop jobs to give new pilots a fighting chance. Looking back, I don't know how I made it, ha!

As for the Martin Mars, it was recently featured on Discovery Channel's 'Mighty Planes' series where they followed it from Vancouver Island on a deployment to a reservoir in Texas to fight forest/brush fires just over the border in Mexico. It has been outfitted with modern electronics & it looks really nice inside & out.

Mighty Planes is an interesting series if you like flying machines...

TAM

Now I'm double jealous.

Most fun I had in the air was my second experience heli skiing. The company used old surplus military choppers. The ones they used in Viet Nam. Those things were powerful... and noisy.

And old....don't forget old.....

You've been heliskiing???!!! Can you not see what Mark is posting, Grampa?

In my one and only true powder experience, which I experienced in near zero visibility, I encountered the worst case of vertigo I ever had.

Obviously, first time in powder + zero visibility = one nearly dead Andrew so I stopped for a rest before I truly killed myself. Then my skis started vibrating. 'That should not be happening' I think to myself. Eventually, I realize I'm not about to die in an avalanche because my skis are vibrating because despite what my brain is telling me, I'm actually sliding down the very steep hill sideways. I give up trying to dig in and try to ski to what I think is my right where the crazy guy who took me here assured me I could find a more gentle slope. I wisely left a trail of puke from the combination of exhaustion and insane vertigo, just in case I had to double back.

PS,
Thanks from me too Labdriver. Two of my good friends were rescued out somewhere east of the Grand Banks by a S&R crew in very nasty weather. Brave work indeed!!