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I saw this job posted in the BFU forums and figured I could get there faster than anyone since the TCS Base is just south of where they were. I signed up for it and went outside to my repaired Beaver amphibian and hopped in.
The weather was good all through the flight until the very end, so finding them wouldn't be a problem. I cranked the thing up, turned around, taxiied to the dirt strip, slammed the throttle forward, and went.
Once I got airborne, I pulled the landing gear up and levelled the flaps. I decided to fly at about 90 kts at about 250 feet, following the coast until I saw them.
Soon, I saw their signal and set up for a water landing.
After a few seconds, I touched down about 20 feet from the sand (a little close but it was fine) and dropped the water rudders as the water slowed the plane down.
After the thing was slowed down enough to control, I turned and dropped the wheels as I taxied to the shore.
I set the brakes but didn't stop the prop. I didn't want to shut down and need to restart it 10 minutes later, and as long as we stayed clear of it we'd be fine. So we met, and loaded up the guy with the broken leg into the back. The leg was already set in a splint, so we were good. As soon as the other hiker got in, I slammed my door, released the brakes, turned around, and taxied to the water again.
I turned the nose southward after we got in the water, set the flaps, and gave it full throttle. The trusty Beaver came right up out of the wet blue stuff.
I decided to cruise low for a while.
As we got closer to AVSM, the ride got a little bumpier, so I decided to climb until we found the top of the wind layer.
We found it at 3000, and I continued to climb until we reached 3300.
Here we are as we neared AVSim Base. Weather still looks good.
There it is. Still looks clear. Here's where the faulty weather system makes it deceptive.
I entered on base and just before I turned final, the weather suddenly went sour. 30 knot crosswind, 2 mile visibility. What happened to the clear sky? Here's me on final (somewhat) after I decided to use the long runway to combat the crosswind.
After getting more than halfway down the runway without touching down, I finally gave the right pedal a shove and put it down.
After standing on the brakes, I turned off of the runway and taxied to the doc's office, where I parked it.
We got the man out of the plane and carried him in. Afterwards, I took him to the cabin for a coffee and gave him a bunk for the night. Tomorrow the three of us will fly to Petersburg to take them home. Nice flight, except for the hard landing. But as the old saying goes, "Smooth seas don't make skilled sailors." I do not know what that has to do with flying, but think outside the box ;)
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