4 - Friday, December 20, 1985 - North Shore News

1 TOOK a flight on a small single-engine

ee

Bob Hunter

e strictly personal ®

floatplane to the Gulf Islands the other day.

We lifted from behind
the Bayshore, banked as
we lept over the Lion’s
Gate and fluttered nimbly
southward with the whole
Lower Mainland lying
spread out at my = lefi
elbow, with the Strait, the
Island and the rest of the
cosmos, aflame, at my
right. It was late afternoon
and everything was air-
brushed with a platinum
light.

I love flying. One of the
purposes of life, 1 am con-
vinced, is to fly.

On a clear day near
sunset like that, though, it
becomes more than just a
pleasure. It takes the place
of going to church, as far
as I am concerned. Of
course !| pray! Don’t you?
Crazy not to.

From an_ evolutionary
point of view, flying has to
be a pretty kinky impulse.
Yet I have to admit it
thrills me. I can't help
myself.

I would even go so far as
ito say ] am a bit wired on
flying.

Not everyone, I notice,

Gifts for

children

from $270.

feels the same way.

It is always interesting to
see how people cope with
their feelings as they enter
a plane. it is particularly
interesting when they are
clambering aboard an it-
sy-bitsy, teeny-weeny plane
with a propellor not much
bigger than’ an unfurled
bikini top.

To walk through a major
air terminal and down
through an enclosed ramp
into the belly of a
megagargantuan 747 is one
thing. If you are lucky, you
might be seated within a
stone’s throw of the port-
holes. 11 is really too much
to call them windows, And
even if you are right
against the glass, your
viewing area is hardly big-
ger than a TV screen.

The smaller the plane,
generally speaking, the bet-
ter the view.

The guy I was flying
with over to the Gulf
Islands, a gutsy accountant
named Bill Gannon,
doesn't know the meaning
of fear, of course, unless
he sees .a negative cash

THE TREE of happiness
was stolen Sunday before the
sick children it was intended
for received it.

The 13-inch high collec-
tion container to raise
money for the Childrens’
Hospital was stolen from the
Northwood Room at Park

ans

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flow. Are we men or what?

And the pilot — well,
hell, as everyone knows,
pilots are the creme de la
creme of the human
species. I always bow to
pilots. They've ALL got
the Right Stuff,

Bill wanted to get some
acrial pictures of his prop-
erty on Pender Island. He
asked the pilot to do a
couple of passes. Sure. No
prob. So we went into a
kamikaze death-dive,
engines shricking, wings
shuddering, windows rattl-
ing like the teeth of a skull
in an earthquake.

By the time we passed
directly over Bill’s proper-
ty, we were tilted damn
near right over on our side,
the lower wing having
become our keel, it seem-
ed. Over the chain-saw
buzz of the engine (the
ONLY engine!), the pilot
yelled at me to OPEN THE
WINDOW!

Well, of course, no sane
person would do that. It
was only because of my
background as an ex-RAF
man, you understand, that
I autoiaatically obeyed.
(They trained us hard in
the Air Force in the 50s.

Royal. . .
West Vancouver Police
report the stylized green

plastic tree was taken be-
tween 12 and 5 p.m.

Anyone with information
about the theft is requested
to contact the West Van-
couver Police at 922-4141]:

Per ardua ad astra and all
that, eb? Even in Clerk/
Admin.) Accordingly, I
banged the window open.

We did not crash into
the hilltop. We did not
twirl helplessly down into
the forest. About the only
noticeable effect was that
my stomach and intestines
tried to stay behind.
Otherwise: Yahoo! And at
the same time: Gag!

Hey, this pilot was
GOOD! And this was just
routine for hina.

So what } wanted to talk
about tody is fear.

There are two things to
remember accu: . fear.
First, never show it. It's
like lust. The more you
suffer from it, the less you
should let anyone know.

Second, fear can be a
teacher, but never let it be
the boss. It’s like your life.
Once anybody gets control
over you, it’s harder than
you think to get back in
charge of your own
destiny.

Got that? I think flying
is good for you if you sur-
vive. It's like skiing in that

| Tegard, isn’t it? Makes you

think.

i Fly now, pray later?

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