NimpoCub
Registered User
Nimpo Lake, BC . . . AKA "the Floatplane Capital o
Hi, I'm Logan...
I moved to this stunning country (the Chilcotin) in BC, Canada 3 yrs ago from Vancouver Island. A little place named Nimpo Lake. Lots'a folks around here own floatplanes & they all offered rides (I now realize I was just an excuse to go for a fly) and I jumped at every opportunity to go up. It was apparent that it is a waste to live in this country & NOT own a floatplane.
My next-door neighbor (Terry) is a Cub enthusiast (he owns 6 of 'em) and I went up often with him on floats & skiis. From the start, I sensed the advantages of a SuperCub. No other plane jumped off the lake like a mallard, nor would they fly slow enough to track a moose. I was always asking questions about flying, the airplane, what he was doing/thinking, what-ifs, etc, just interest stuff. I was fascinated as well as excited.
One day we met out on the ice, & as I prepared to do my contortionist impression getting into the back seat, Terry said "You get in the front today." My look of disbelief made him smile, and he assured me I could do this, and I was aware that he could fly it just fine from the back seat.
He told me what to do/expect, and just like he said, with 2 notches of flaps & 40 mph it just lifted off & we were flying. My heart was 1000' above our chord line but my brain stayed with me & we climbed out over the trees & toward the mtns. It occured to me to stay away from the mtns, as I just wanted to get the feel of her in calm air. After nearly an hour of turns, fig-8s I felt quite comfy, & Terry said "I'm bored w/this, let's go somewhere."
I flew around, asked questions, he explained & brought up lots'a other stuff which made me even more anxious to "know it all right now". I started thinking "I gotta have me one of these."
When we turned final over Nimpo Lake, I fully expected him to take over for the landing, because I know that's the hard/dangerous part (from flying RC models). He just told me what to do & just watched me do it. Damned if it didn't work!! I never felt any input from the aft stick, nor did I hear any shouting. Guess I did good.
I was absolutely hooked. I know just what Leonardo meant about flight. I wanna do it again!!
I had already been innocently perusing the aircraft classified ads, but $100K for a Cub on floats was just too many $$ for a toy for me. Once in awhile I'd see something cheaper that seemed like it would work, but my (predjudiced) mentor said no, for whatever reason. We have a remote cabin in the mtns @ ~6000' & that would be about 20% of the reason to have our own plane.
I had pretty much given up the idea of owning a floatplane, as I didn't want something that would not do, besides, we're building a new (log) house. Then, a neighbor down the lake decided to sell his ratty, timed-out (read: cheap), SuperCub as he could do just fine with his C-185 & his Beaver.
I lusted after this opportunity but still, it was not a good time for another major expense, so I waffled. Wife-unit saw me gazing at a floatplane going over, and announced "The house can wait, buy your damn airplane." I thought about that for about a nanosecond & called & made a deal. Whoa! I own a SuperCub on floats!! No sleep that night.
Oh, there is one other minor problem... I'm such a noob that I have no licence. Well as luck will have it, another part-time neighbor is a flight instructor. Seems like this is coming together. Well, kinda.
It was last month when I bought the plane, and immediately thereafter, this would-be instructor had to go back home to Wash. Still not back here. So, here I am with my new toy sitting on the ramp softly calling my name, and all I can do is sit in it & make vroom noises. I'm ecstatic about having it, and at the same time depressed about having no adult supervision.
I'm close... I'm sooo close... I've read almost all the mess's here, looked at all the pix, and still I'm convinced that patience is a grossly overrated virtue. One of these days I'll have some better news for ya's.
Thus endeth my first Tale of a PA-18.
I moved to this stunning country (the Chilcotin) in BC, Canada 3 yrs ago from Vancouver Island. A little place named Nimpo Lake. Lots'a folks around here own floatplanes & they all offered rides (I now realize I was just an excuse to go for a fly) and I jumped at every opportunity to go up. It was apparent that it is a waste to live in this country & NOT own a floatplane.
My next-door neighbor (Terry) is a Cub enthusiast (he owns 6 of 'em) and I went up often with him on floats & skiis. From the start, I sensed the advantages of a SuperCub. No other plane jumped off the lake like a mallard, nor would they fly slow enough to track a moose. I was always asking questions about flying, the airplane, what he was doing/thinking, what-ifs, etc, just interest stuff. I was fascinated as well as excited.
One day we met out on the ice, & as I prepared to do my contortionist impression getting into the back seat, Terry said "You get in the front today." My look of disbelief made him smile, and he assured me I could do this, and I was aware that he could fly it just fine from the back seat.
He told me what to do/expect, and just like he said, with 2 notches of flaps & 40 mph it just lifted off & we were flying. My heart was 1000' above our chord line but my brain stayed with me & we climbed out over the trees & toward the mtns. It occured to me to stay away from the mtns, as I just wanted to get the feel of her in calm air. After nearly an hour of turns, fig-8s I felt quite comfy, & Terry said "I'm bored w/this, let's go somewhere."
I flew around, asked questions, he explained & brought up lots'a other stuff which made me even more anxious to "know it all right now". I started thinking "I gotta have me one of these."
When we turned final over Nimpo Lake, I fully expected him to take over for the landing, because I know that's the hard/dangerous part (from flying RC models). He just told me what to do & just watched me do it. Damned if it didn't work!! I never felt any input from the aft stick, nor did I hear any shouting. Guess I did good.
I was absolutely hooked. I know just what Leonardo meant about flight. I wanna do it again!!
I had already been innocently perusing the aircraft classified ads, but $100K for a Cub on floats was just too many $$ for a toy for me. Once in awhile I'd see something cheaper that seemed like it would work, but my (predjudiced) mentor said no, for whatever reason. We have a remote cabin in the mtns @ ~6000' & that would be about 20% of the reason to have our own plane.
I had pretty much given up the idea of owning a floatplane, as I didn't want something that would not do, besides, we're building a new (log) house. Then, a neighbor down the lake decided to sell his ratty, timed-out (read: cheap), SuperCub as he could do just fine with his C-185 & his Beaver.
I lusted after this opportunity but still, it was not a good time for another major expense, so I waffled. Wife-unit saw me gazing at a floatplane going over, and announced "The house can wait, buy your damn airplane." I thought about that for about a nanosecond & called & made a deal. Whoa! I own a SuperCub on floats!! No sleep that night.
Oh, there is one other minor problem... I'm such a noob that I have no licence. Well as luck will have it, another part-time neighbor is a flight instructor. Seems like this is coming together. Well, kinda.
It was last month when I bought the plane, and immediately thereafter, this would-be instructor had to go back home to Wash. Still not back here. So, here I am with my new toy sitting on the ramp softly calling my name, and all I can do is sit in it & make vroom noises. I'm ecstatic about having it, and at the same time depressed about having no adult supervision.
I'm close... I'm sooo close... I've read almost all the mess's here, looked at all the pix, and still I'm convinced that patience is a grossly overrated virtue. One of these days I'll have some better news for ya's.
Thus endeth my first Tale of a PA-18.