Planes, Trains, Automobiles and Helicopters

Our "chariot" arrives!

We flew out here to the west coast on Air Canada, we plan to come back east on a VIA Rail train, we were chauffeured around by family and friends while here; all means of transportation we have experienced previously, but to get from Vancouver Island over to Vancouver city, we got a chance to experience a new form of transport, Helicopter. 

This trip out to the West coast was planed originally for spring of 2020, and we all know what happened to travel plans then. We were going out to visit my sister and then take an Alaskan cruise, and she suggested we take a helicopter from the Island over to Vancouver City, as the helicopter terminal is right beside the cruise terminal. Regis was not too sure about this as she is a bit of a nervous flyer, but I thought it was a great idea. 

Tight quarters

The cruise got cancelled but this year we decided to still go visit the west coast sister for a couple of weeks, but we would instead take VIA Rail’s Canadian back east. My sister again suggested the helicopter as an option to get us to Vancouver and after a couple of friends assured Regis that it would not be TOO bad she agreed and booked us two seats on the Helijet to Vancouver. 

So on a Tuesday morning we arrived at the Helijet terminal in Nanaimo and checked in for the helicopter flight across the strait. We watched the shiny blue & white helicopter come in across the water and very gently touch down on the Helipad. Our luggage was all taken to be stowed away because there is no “Carry-on” at all due to the size of the helicopter and 10 other people were booked to go with us leaving no extra room. Even my cane had to be stowed away in luggage.

No backing out now . . . .

Now a helicopter is no commercial aircraft. The pilot and co-pilot are right there sitting in clear view, and you are belted in not with a seat belt but a three point harness. There was a pocket on the back of the seat in front of me containing safety information of the Sikorsky helicopter, but there was no entertainment system or fold down tray for food and drinks. In fact there were not even armrests between the seats. If you thought Economy seats on Air Canada were cramped, welcome to Helijet. 

Everyone belted in and the short safety chat completed, all doors were securely closed and

Flying into Vancouver

the engine started and slowly built up speed and sound - they do suggest and provide free hearing protection. The actual take-off is really very undramatic; rather than the sudden thrust forward as a jet tries to build up enough speed to overcome gravity, the helicopter very gently lifts off the ground and once in the air, slowly shifts from upward lift to forward propulsion. The actual flight is quite smooth. The helicopter vibrates and shakes slightly, due to the massive engine and propellor being right over your head, but the flight itself is smooth with no turbulence. At the end of our 20 minute flight, the helicopter slowed, turned and gently set us down on a helipad in Vancouver harbour. 

In my opinion, it was a pleasant but different way to travel, but you might want to ask Regis her opinion. I purposely did not tell her about the helicopter crash in Ottawa the day before. 

Landed safely in Vancouver

Bullets, Bombs & Ancient Mariners

The View From the Bridge

Three years ago we visited San Diego California while on another cruise through Panama Canal. We saw the Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum, but did not have time to actually visit. On this trip we decided to devote our day in the city to a visit to this attraction.

The cruise ship terminal in San Diego is conveniently located right downtown and almost next door to the permanent mooring for the Midway, so a short walk along the waterfront put us at the museum. Actually between our ship and the Medway was a tourist information Kiosk, where we were able to purchase tickets (even got the “Senior Discount”), and we were able to walk right in avoiding the long queue for tickets at the museum entrance.

The Midway is a huge ship, and remained the largest vessel of any type for ten years. Built during the last part of the World War Two, it never actually saw action in battle, although provided air support in the Vietnam and Gulf wars before being decommissioned in the early 90’s. It spent a few years in the boneyard where anything useful or still serviceable was salvaged, and was scheduled to be scrapped when it was decided to turn it into a floating museum honoring the many airmen lost and to provide a picture of the Marine Aviation section of the US military.

All Armed?

A lot of work has gone into bringing this huge carrier back to some semblance of its former glory, but the ship is a museum, not an accurately “restored” vessel. Many aspects of the ship have been modified to accommodate the public and allowing access to the many exhibit areas and displays. For example, the hanger bay accommodates only a few planes and a lot of fun exhibits such as flight simulator games and a large gift shop, and the huge elevator used to lift planes from the hanger to the flight deck is now a dining area. Keeping to the theme however, the chrome chairs and tables share the space with a restored fighter plane.

The flight deck houses an impressive collection of many of the planes that were launched from the carrier fleet, and most seem to be nice restorations or genuine “survivors”. Under the Flight Deck and Hanger, a very well organized self guided tour snakes through the ship showing how life aboard an aircraft carrier would have been for the thousands of young men serving on the ship. I was surprised at the extent of the dental department, which rather than just serving dental needs, actually was set up to improve the dental health of the sailors.

Don't Mess With Huey!

Like the Hamilton “War Birds” museum, this museum is operated by a dedicated army of volunteers, most of who were once servicemen, and many served on the Midway. One enthusiastic senior who gave us a wonderful detailed history of the ship while we waited to take a tour of the bridge, admitted when asked that he actually only served on the midway for two weeks, but you would never have guessed from his evident pride in this museum. All through the ship were these ancient mariners giving their time with pride and enthusiasm to help people enjoy touring the Midway museum. I was told that as funds and material became available, other sections of the ship were being opened to the public and since the ship opened to the public in 2004, it has grown to the 6^th ranked museum in the United States, just behind the Smithsonian.

Engines, Exhaust Pipes, and Oily drip Pans

Ok, so girls, you may not want to read this blog post. I’m afraid it is about my visit to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton Ontario, and I admit it, I love the engines, exhausts and oily drip pans. This one may not interest you.

On the way back from Niagara-on-the-lake I decided to stop at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum with my daughter’s significant other, Mark, who was really interested in visiting this attraction. It is a really nice museum featuring Canada’s aviation history with an emphasis on warplanes from the Second World War. What is interesting about this museum is that it is a working restoration and maintenance facility. As you walk around, you see the planes as they are being worked upon.

This is not a government museum, it is a charitable foundation started by two friends with a love of old planes. They started with a Fairey Firefly, that needed restoration, and now have over 40 planes in a hanger at Hamilton Airport. Their most significant airplane is a Lancaster bomber from world war two that is one of only two currently flying. Their mandate is to maintain a collection of aircraft from the second world war to the present, but a visit to their facility clearly shows that a strong emphasis has been placed on actually maintaining and flying these planes. Rather than sitting safely in a museum, the planes of the Canadian Warplanes Heritage Museum are used, the engines run, and they are flown on a regular basis.

As I walked around the museum, it was fascinating to see these planes being restored and maintained. One side of the museum is a working restoration facility, and you can see the planes in various stages of completion, and you can read about the trials and tribulations of the process. As I walked around, the huge Lancaster bomber was sitting in the middle of the hanger surrounded by people actively working on it. I watched as new tires and brakes were installed and the four massive Rolls Royce/Packard engines were exposed and being worked upon.

A closer look at the group of people working on the planes shows a mixed group of mostly older grey-haired airplane technicians, because although the foundation does have paid employees, 100% of the work done on these amazing planes is performed by volunteers doing it out of a love of Canada’s avation history. As I toured the facility I asked one gentleman who was cleaning a B25 Mitchell Bomber if the engines worked. He explained that any plane that had an oily drip tray under the engine could be started and flown. As I continued my tour I discovered that most of the planes had a dented oil stained metal tray under the engines. I was told that the Lancaster Bomber was being maintained for a transatlantic fright to England for a tour.

 

Interested in taking a flight? One way the foundation raises money to maintain the planes is to take people up for flights. The price varies depending on the plane, but I was told that someone had given over $200,000.00 to be on the Lancaster’s upcoming flight to England.