Morning's Glories, Evening's Worries by Bob Tilden

Stories from a Night Express Caravan Cargo Pilot

Morning's Glories, Evening's Worries

By Bob Tilden

Each morning as I climb away from Newark, I wonder what sort of glory will be provided by the coming dawn. By the time that the sun actually rises I will be 150 miles away, but still I look at the day's first light in the northeast to see if the sky offers a hint. I watch, wait, and anticipate while daybreak moves into dawn.

As the sky brightened last Wednesday morning, I could see a cloud bank in the distant right. It was unusual in that it was a fairly regular deck of tightly grouped puffy clouds with a jagged ...almost saw-toothed... ridge of clouds at its far edge. The ridge contained small clouds that were profoundly vertical in nature; almost like miniature thunderheads. It became apparent that I was gradually converging with these clouds as I traveled northwest.

The sun makes a bright spot on the horizon as I cruise above puffy clouds at 8000ft.

I took several pictures as I flew along in the brightening sky, and by the time that I was crossing Canandaigua Lake, the cloud deck had melted into a thick haze below my altitude. The vertical clouds had crumbled too, but their remnants cast long shadows into the golden sunlight that had set the haze aglow. It was a fascinating sight, like pillared ruins standing in desert sands.

I knew that I was looking at the pretty side of bad news, but that was OK. There was talk of thunderstorms for that evening, and the sight of small clouds able to blow straight up at dawn is a confirmation that the atmosphere was becoming unstable. Wednesday was hazy, hot, and humid, and it was no surprise to see thunderstorms erupt in the late afternoon.

I had an uneventful 8 PM trip from Elmira to Rochester, but my 10 PM departure from Rochester was made in rain that was flanking a thunderstorm. I paralleled the easterly track of the storm until I could cut in front of it, and thought that my worries were over. The controller called to say that "the computer" had re-routed my flight over the Catskills rather than the Poconos, but that the storms in that area were dissipating rapidly. I flew on happily, with the assurance given by the controller.

As I crossed Hancock, I passed into the next control sector, and things were different. This was a more easterly sector, closer to the action around the City. It was apparent that this sector was the twilight zone, where the Computer's projections were met by the facts of the weather. Some poor guy in a business turboprop wanted to turn right, around a storm, but the controller couldn't let him. Other planes were being given holding instructions.

I realized that the rest of this flight would be busy, because once planes start to hold, there is no guarantee of anything. Arrival could be delayed minutes or hours, and the hold could last so long that the plane would have to go someplace else for fuel before resuming the trip. Once you are given a hold, you have to know what sort of weather is around, what airports are available for refueling, and how long you can stay in the hold before you must break away.

I was just entering the sector, and as soon as the controller got the other planes settled into holds, he told me to return to Hancock and hold there. For the next half hour I flew race- track ovals ten miles on a side while I figured my options and listened to what was going on ahead of me. When I was released from the hold I was told that there would be no further delays, but shortly I was put into a stack of other company Caravans in a holding pattern near Port Jervis.

After fifteen minutes we were sent on our way one by one, a caravan of Caravans in a line heading for Newark's short runway. We landed, and the first guys helped the later arrivals tie their planes down, so that we could make the long walk to the freight terminal together. We laughed about the evening, exchanged the last 24 hours of Company gossip, and told the usual sorts of jokes on the way in.

We walked in long purposeful strides, anxious to close out the flights and sit down for a quick nap. After all, it was only three hours before time to take off and wonder what sort of glories will be provided by the coming dawn.

*The author Bob Tilden flew a Caravan for a Night Express cargo company for 10 years and has also written a book, Gone Flyin'. To order it, visit goneflyin.com or search Gone Flyin' on ebay.com

- CaravanNation.com

Update: Wasaya Airways Grand Caravan cargo airplane was found

*Update - Wasaya Airways has issued this statement: Wasaya Airways has learned Search And Rescue (SARs) ground crews have reached the aircraft site of Wasaya flight 127.

Upon arrival, crews found the lone occupant of the aircraft, our Captain Nick Little, not responsive and he could not be resuscitated. Rescue crews are on site now and will remain on site through the night awaiting additional resources to airlift our fallen crew member home.

Rescue efforts were hindered by poor weather conditions in the area. A helicopter dispatched was unable to reach the site due to heavy icing. The Ontario Provincial Police, together with SARs technicians, launched a ground rescue initiative at approximately 3:51 PM when it was clear the helicopter was unable to reach the site. The SARs Techs arrived at the aircraft site on foot at approximately 10:50 PM.

Michael Rodyniuk, President and CEO of Wasaya Airways said, “We are devastated by the loss of Captain Little. We have lost a dear friend and valued colleague. Our thoughts and prayers are with Nick’s family.”

More information will be released as soon as it becomes available.

December 11, 2015

Wasaya Airways has issued a statement at 9:21 am. that it has received information that Flight 127 was "overdue and no longer in radio contact."

The airplane of concern is a Cessna Grand Caravan. It was carrying cargo from Pickle Lake, ON Canada (CYPL) to Wapekeka First Nation, ON. (CKB6).

The flight distance of 166.5mi (268km) should have taken about an hour.

It is believed that there is only one person on-board, the pilot.

Search and Rescue personnel are actively searching along the flight path.

Caravan Flying for MAF by Jim Vanderburg

Caravan Flying for MAF
by Jim Vanderburg

MAF Caravan 9Q-CAU in Zaire (DR Congo) photo by Jim Vanderburg

In the early 90’s I had the pleasure of flying a Cessna Caravan around the country of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). I was there to support the many humanitarian, medical and missionary efforts in the eastern region of the country. The Caravan I flew was 9Q-CAU, serial number 10.

Our home base was the village of Nyankude, located about 1000nm from the country's capital, Kinshasa and around 400nm from Nairobi Kenya. Nyankude was a prime location, with a fully equipped hospital and two hangers to service and repair the aircraft based there. We had a fleet of around three 206’s and the one Cessna Caravan.

MAF C206s in Zaire (DR Congo) photo by Jim Vanderburg

Around once a week I would make the trip to Nairobi in the Caravan to pick up the mail for everyone in our village. We worked over there before either telephones or the Internet were accessible. Mail usually took about four weeks for it to be delivered or received. If there was ever and emergency we had the option of using an HF radio in the Caravan to patch a call to the United States via Switzerland.

Many hours were spent flying over the Ituri rain forest, where the upper canopies would reach heights of 200ft. In the event an airplane did go down out in the rain forest; there would be little to no chance of it ever being found. Although I avoided thinking about it too much, looking back I realize how much my life and the lives of everyone I flew depended on the reliability and safety of the Caravan and PT-6.

MAF Caravan 9Q-CAU serial number 10 photo by Jim Vanderburg

Occasionally I would make the trip to the country's capital of Kinshasa. I could usually make the trip to Kinshasa non-stop due to the winds being out of the east; but on the return trip I would have to stop for fuel. The fuel stop would depend on the route taken, it would sometimes be a city like Kisangani, or at a remote out-station we had set up with stockpiles of fuel barrels.

I recall a particular incident on this route when I was to deliver a family with all of their belongings from Kinshasa to a remote village on the eastern side of the country. The trip would require a fuel stop at an outstation that was carved out of the forest. We arrived at the outstation without incident, and I started the tedious task of refueling the Caravan at the fuel stockpile. It required filling 5 gallon jerry cans from barrels using a hand pump, I then had to stand on the wing while someone passed me the can and I would poor it into the fuel tank with a funnel.

After successfully refueling the plane, seating the family back in the plane and preforming the pre-flight, I went to crank the PT-6. To my dismay there was no light off. I realized that the familiar ticking of the igniter, that we take for granted, wasn’t there. After checking and re-checking, sure enough the igniter box had failed, and in the worst place. I succeeded in contacting our base in Nyankunde on the HF radio, and unfortunately we didn’t have another box in stock. The closest one they could locate was at Wilson Field in Nairobi.

We then made ourselves comfortable in a couple of vacant homes in a nearby village, while waiting for help. I have memories of eating lots of bananas during those days, as well as taking tour on the river in a dug-out canoe. Two days later, one of our 206’s arrived with a new igniter box and I proceeded with the simple installation of bolting the new one in place. Since that time, I believe that Cessna has added a second igniter box for just that type of circumstance.

MAF Caravan in Zaire photo by Jim Vanderburg

The Caravan was an amazing plane to be able to, not only work on as an A&P but also, fly as a pilot. I am grateful for the opportunities that I had at that time to use it to its full potential serving the people in Congo.



For more information about MAF, please visit their site www.maf.org


- CaravanPilot.com

Fly the Whale is back in South Florida

N208JP at Volo Aviation

Fly the Whale is back in South Florida for the 2015/2016 season. Flying to beautiful destinations that are only accessible by boat or floatplane. 

Their Grand Caravan Amphibian (Whale Force One) is getting their passengers from Fort Lauderdale to Bimini in only 20 minutes and Eleuthera Island or Harbour Island (Bahamas) in only 1 hour 15 minutes. They also fly to Nassau, Cat Island, Marsh Harbor, Key West, Spanish Cay and many other destinations.

For more information about this company and their land and sea based charter flights, visit their site flythewhale.com

- CaravanPilot.com

Featured Caravan Operator - Air Juan

This featured Caravan operator is Air Juan, a charter airline based in the Philippines. They fly to 11 destinations from 3 bases, with plans to add 10 more destinations soon.

Grand Caravan Amphibian owned by Air Juan

The company was founded in 2012, "with a commitment to Philippine progress by making business and leisure destinations easily accessible by air". 

Along with its fleet of Cessna Grand Caravans and Grand Caravan Amphibians, it also operates a couple of Bell Helicopters and a Citation jet.

A couple Grand Caravan Amphibians at Manila Bay

Air Juan, with its private docks, is the best answer to avoid the country's over congested and poorly managed airports. Their Sea planes fly to the most beautiful island destinations that the Philippines have to offer. Check them out at AirJuan.com

- CaravanNation.com

Barter - Your transition from Piston to Turbine Aircraft

Below is my answer to an email that I received from a Jump Pilot that is looking to transition from a piston to a turbine powered aircraft. After writing it, I felt that I should post it because I thought that it might help other pilots. It is an answer to a question that I get frequently.

Hi David,

Thank you for the compliment. I had people help me while I was learning to fly, so I'm just trying to pay it forward.

As far as your situation, keep in mind that all pilots get caught in that dilemma of: How to get hired into a turbine or twin when I don't have any turbine or twin time and yet ALL of the companies are asking for at least "25hrs in type" (a number dictated by the insurance companies).

For me personally, when I was looking to transition to the Caravan and was getting frustrated with the above mentioned dilemma, an idea came to me. 

I had recently read an ad for a drop zone that was looking to hire a Caravan pilot. That particular DZ also owned a Cessna 206, a model that I had a few hundred hours of experience flying skydivers in. So I called the owner of the DZ and ran my idea by him hoping that he would agree. I asked him if he would agree to train me to fly his Caravan in exchange for me flying his C206 for his skydiving company for 1 month. 

He agreed, trained me and actually only made me fly 3 weeks instead of 4. Also, that company smartly maximizes the use of their Caravan via scheduling so I ended up only having to fly the C206 about twenty or so loads.

I have friends that have been hired by DZs that own a piston and a turbine and they received paid training in their turbines. Obviously, that is the best type of situation to get into, but it is not always practical for all of us. 

I am still very happy with my bartering idea to get trained in a larger aircraft and I always recommend it to Jump Pilots that are looking to transition. Although it is a proposition that is more easily accomplished in the Jump Pilot world, I have heard of pilots in other industries using that method. 

As far as the Flight Safety route, I would not encourage a Jump Pilot that is looking to transition from a piston to a Caravan to pay that $4000 fee. Most of the pilots that utilize those programs are not paying for it with their own money. The companies that hired them are paying for it. Flight Safety is a first class company with great programs but their fees are usually too steep for the average piston Jump Pilot.

I hope that I answered your questions but if you have any more, please feel free to ask! I love helping my fellow pilots.

~Chris Rosenfelt

CaravanPilot.com

New Long Sleeve CaravanPilot.com T-Shirts available!

We have new long sleeve t-shirts available from our site, CaravanPilot.com! 

The logo is on the back and on the front upper left chest. These shirts are 100% cotton and come in all sizes. To order your t-shirt, visit caravanpilot.com/shop.htm 

Thank you for all of your continued support!

A FedEx Cargomaster aircraft crashed into the waters near a Caribbean Island

A FedEx Super Cargomaster operated by Mountain Air Cargo crashed into the waters Southwest of Saba Netherlands Antilles after experiencing engine failure.

The cargo aircraft was enroute from San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Airport Puerto Rico to Saint Kitts Golden Rock Airport at 10,000ft when it lost engine power on Wednesday August 12.

According to Flightaware flight tracker the aircraft started a 600-800ft per minute descent starting at 11:39 local time and continued until it struck the water about 1/2 mile off the shore of Saba.

Luckily the pilot was the only person onboard and is in stable condition at a local hospital.

- CaravanPilot.com

Drone almost collides with Seair Caravan near Vancouver Canada

According to a Transport Canada report a quadcopter style drone flew within 10 feet of a Seair Caravan Seaplane (C-FJOE) near Vancouver BC. 

C-FJOE at Vancouver Water Aerodrome

At the time of the incident the aircraft was approaching Vancouver Water Aerodrome (CYVR) in VFR conditions. According to the pilot, when he was 40 feet from touch down a black drone came within 10 feet of his windshield. It was last seen heading northbound, away from the Aerodrome.

This latest near midair collision with a drone and an aircraft occurred on August 3 and is only the latest in a long list that have happened recently.

- CaravanPilot.com

The Iceman Cometh by Bob Tilden

Stories from a Night Express Caravan Cargo Pilot

The Iceman Cometh

By Bob Tilden

It was a morning after a clear night had brought the first frost to many areas, but Syracuse laid under a blanket of lake- effect clouds and rain showers. The usual cruising altitude of 6000 feet was just above the cloud tops, in air that was well below freezing. The white expanse of clouds below me was not as flat as usual, and northeast of Ithaca, I had to tunnel through a ridge that crossed my path. As the clouds swallowed the airplane and blotted out the sun, I looked out to the leading edges of the wings and saw the season's first ice forming on the plane.

Near Ithaca the lake- effect clouds start to break up below and around me.

Continuing southwest towards Elmira, the lake- effect undercast disappeared, and I gazed at lush green grasses and green leafy hills. Islands of white frost floated among this landscape, filling the low areas that are sheltered from the breezes and accumulate cold air on clear autumn nights. Descending for landing, I passed two thousand feet over Odessa, and couldn't help but marvel how vibrant and vivid the world seemed in the early morning sun.

Part of this transformation is the result of cooler temperatures and increased rainfall, but every year there seems to be a sharp change in nature's world after the first frost. It is as though the trees and plants embrace their fates and make one last and glorious show before their souls are lifted to heaven. I see this from the plane, but it is an observation that I have made year after year with my feet on the ground.

As I descended lower and passed over the high ground south of Odessa, the iceman gave me a steely flash of his eye. I looked to my right just in time to see my shadow pass into a deep green alfalfa field. With the airplane directly between the sun and the dew covered leaves, the field filled with a shimmering silvery light, a cold metallic brilliance that was devoid of both color and life.

A cross section of our typical winter sky; a layer of clouds resides between 4000 - 6000 ft. whenever the wind is out of the northwest.

Gone for now are the scorching summer days when we could say with assurance "at least it won't snow today", and gone are the evenings when I can look at a forecast of bad visibility with low ceilings and say "that's OK, at least there won't be any ice." Whether we like winter or not, for the next six months we will be working to keep the iceman at bay.

*The author Bob Tilden flew a Caravan for a Night Express cargo company for 10 years and has also written a book, Gone Flyin'. To order it, visit goneflyin.com or search Gone Flyin' on ebay.com

- CaravanPilot.com