Russ invited me (Walter) to go flying with him on July 26, 2001. He picked up a Cessna in Vernon after work and Ken and I met up with him at the Salmon Arm airport. We spent a thoroughly enjoyable 1:30 returning the plane to Vernon.

At the time of this flight, Russ only needed to complete his cross-country and gain another 10 or so hours of experience to earn his Commercial License, and he was withing a few hours of earning his float endorsement.

The pilot, after completing his pre-flight inspection

The Pilot and his Passenger

We were as high as 7,800 ft most of the time to clear some of the mountains with six or seven hundred feet of separation which contrasts with most of my experience flying in the East and Prairies (flying at 6,500 feet was 'unusual'). I was the perfect passenger (the only thing I did was look out the window); Russ is an excellent pilot - he smoothly controlled his equipment until we joined traffic downwind in Vernon, landed smoothly, and the flight ended.

Here is some of the scenery...