Dateline: December 7, 2024.

Click on each image to greatly enlarge it.

    On about the first of November 1983, I got a call from a fellow I worked with, asking if I was interested in buying a 1/3 share in an airplane. He had found a good deal on a Cessna 172 but needed to find two parters to make it affordable. I had only recently gotten back into flying after getting my private licence in 1968, and only had 30 hours of solo flying under my belt, but I said I was interested, and the three of us met at the Abbotsford, BC, airport that afternoon. I don't remember the details of how it happened, but within a couple of days we had drawn up a partnership contract, paid the $24,000 or so, and became the proud owners of 1972 Cessna 172L Skyhawk C-GWDM.

    The first entry for C-GWDM in my log book was on November 12, 1983 - 1.1 hours with an instructor at Langley. After another 0.7 hours wth an instructor, I started flying family around the Fraser Valley on November 20th.

    The mountains and coastlines and wilderness of British Columbia became my playground, and my log book rapidly filled with the names of airports and landing strips throughout the province from Prince George south. I used any excuse to fly, with family members, guys I worked with, or other friends joining me for the adventures. I flew to heritage conferences, I flew a delegation to Victoria to make a presentation to our MLA. I got my night-flying endorsement, and would fly to Kamloops, Kelowna, or Penticton for a midnight coffee and doughnut. Nanaimo, Revelstoke, Nelson, Castlegar, Oliver, Vernon, Barkerville, Port Hardy, Alert Bay, and Pemberton, were among the other places that got added to the log book in the next 18 months.

    Then came the trip that changed my life in a major way. On June 14, 1985, two guys I worked, one of them a partner in the plane, joined me on a 14-day adventure that took us as far as Tuktoyaktuk and Fairbanks. The #1 goal was to be on the Arctic coast on the Summer Solstice, and we succeeded! By the time we got back to Langley I had fallen in love with the North - the land and the people - and in 1990 I left everything to go to Whitehorse to drive tour bus on lengthy routes all over the Yukon, Alaska, and the Northwest Territories. And 34 years later, I am still in Whitehorse, with no intention of ever leaving. The trip is described (and illustrated with 24 photos) in an article titled 1985 Flight of Discovery.

Whisky Delta Mike at Revelstoke, BC, on June 6, 1984.

Camping with Garth and Wendy under the wings of Whisky Delta Mike at Tofino, BC, on June 9, 1984. This was a very successful COPA fly-in.

Whisky Delta Mike and a friend at Oliver, BC (AU3), on October 21, 1984. I had taken a couple of fellows I worked with (Ivan and Ben) there for brunch at the motel/restaurant in the background. It was 1.5 hours direct from Langley, 1.8 hours via the Coquihalla route on the return.

Me with Whisky Delta Mike at Oliver the same day (October 21, 1984).

Fueling Whisky Delta Mike the hard way at Stewart, BC, on June 15, 1985. This was Day 2 of the Flight of Discovery.

Whisky Delta Mike at Tuktoyaktuk, NWT, on June 21, 1985.

Camping with Whisky Delta Mike at Tatla Lake, BC, on July 2, 1987.

Whisky Delta Mike at Tsuniah Lake, BC, on July 2, 1987.

Cessna 172 Whisky Delta Mike at Dease Lake, BC, on August 26, 1987.

Whisky Delta Mike taking off on the rough strip at the Glenora Guest Ranch, BC, on August 27, 1987.

    The last entry for C-GWDM in my log book was on September 5, 1987 - a 2.1-hour wander with my son that included a stop for lunch at Chilliwack (YCW). I sold my share of the plane and then rented Cessna 172s and Piper PA-28 Cherokees, then moved up to a twin-engine Gulfstream American GA-7 Cougar to get my rating, then several aircraft types including twin-engine PA-34 Senecas and a single-engine Piper PA-38-112 Tomahawk while earning my commercial licence. In the Spring of 1990 I moved to the Yukon, and the huge reduction in my earnings eliminated my ability to even rent aircraft anymore. But my love of flying, even as a passenger, has never waned...