Flying in British Columbia

Early morning aerobatic flights in the Super Decathlon


We went for a flight over CYVR to Vancouver Harbour


I was concerned about the flooding around Bangkok

I wasn't up to doing any flying on Monday. This cold has me feeling not so brilliant!

I should always be going somewhere... It creates business when people know I'm leaving and so they want to get some bookings in. It's nice to be wanted!
But not everything can be achieved and so I have left one student incomplete for his PPL training, and another incomplete for her aerobatic flying. For this I apologise. There's nothing I like better than completing a task and having a clear deck but sometimes time runs out.
Mai ben rai, we carry on and eventually we achieve our aims, providing they are realistic.
One student did complete and did her PPL flight test on Saturday, something that lead me to phone SLA from Lat Krabang that evening BC time to find out the result. Jolanta did very very well and I'm proud of her.

It was a long trek on JAL with over three hours on the ground at Narita. I've had a bad cold for over a week and this did not make my journey any more comfortable.
I slept little on the first leg, I conversed with the Thai lady who sat next to me and I watched the video. I watched a series of five "Shaun the Sheep" episodes twice, this children's program from England is very funny.
I watched two Japanese films: "Bunny Drop", very nice, and "Andalucia" which was very good too.
I tried to watch "Hangover II", but found myself scanning through it to see if there was any substance or even any humour in it!, but it was such a bloody awful movie I couldn't be bothered with it. I can't imagine how anyone could produce such crap these days, it has to be the worse film I have ever seen!

I took out some of my Japanese Yen and paid 700¥ for a medium Kirin beer while I waited at Narita.

The flight from Narita to Bangkok took off at 09:27z and landed at 15:40z in the rain... The taxi took me to the wrong 'Residence Hotel' inspite of me telling him it was the other one, over there, not over here! But at least I got to see the flooded road near Maneeda's office where I was to rent a Toyota the next day.
I slept a normal Thai time night, but since then I have been waking up a little early!
I checked local knowledge for the state of the roads between Bangkok and Pattaya and as it was the only flooding I had to deal with was the couple of miles between Lat Krabang and the motorway.

I dropped some Katana brakes discs off at Bang Phra and then drove to Eastern Air Park.
I stayed the night at Alasdair and Gill's.

Alasdair ready to devour

Monday we took a trip to see the local Chinese museum

Flying in Thailand

I'll get my wallet out!

From time to time someone puts together a plan to create an air park resort in Thailand and this can be successful to a point, but there's only so much business to be had.
Pattaya Airpark seems to be doing alright, I visited by road to see how things were going. There were many aeroplanes there including some strange ones such as a Falcon biplane ultralight... The Wilgas are still there, and an assortment of other types. The former Destination Air's Cessna 206 on amphibious floats is still here, it could be useful in the current disaster!
Pattaya Eastern had 150 metres of its strip ploughed in and tapioca planted on it, not a good sign, but at least the aircraft based there can still operate.
On Tuesday I went to Best Ocean Airpark which is a relatively short drive southwest of Bangkok out on the flood plain and associated with a golf course.
The facilities available are extraordinary. Space for enterprises to operate a proper flying school, there's a Robinson Helicopter dealership with one R44 already delivered and another on its way.
The school has obtained HS CMB which I had taught in at Chiang Mai Flying Club.

Of course I didn't 'drive' to Best Ocean, I went on a flight with Alasdair, aiming to fly five hundred feet along the coastline and under the approach path to Suvarnabhumi. This route had been agreed with ATC but is not always allowed by them.
And so it was that as we approached Bang Phra we were cleared direct at 1500 feet across the Oggin... I checked my lifejacket was secure...
ATC passed us traffic such as: 'Boeing 777 at 3,000 feet, 6 miles, in your 3 o'clock', like that was going to effect us!
The flight back was even more uncomfortable. A large cell had formed to the east and another one to the northwest and so we departed in to weather that was MVFR, but ok for the five hundred route along the coast. "Cleared direct to Pattaya at 1,000 feet", not safe I thought. But we were flying away from the weather and as we left the coastline it cleared... But I still am not altogether happy about doing a flight at low level over a tropical sea... Then I think back to flying the Channel in surface effect, (4 or 5 feet?), 11 minutes to cross 22 miles at full throttle in a Condor; perhaps I take fewer risks in my old age!

Sabai sabai, life in Chiang Mai

Thai Airways was on time getting me into Chiang Mai at noon on Wednesday... I had to check in at Pada Mansion, and I'm now in a room next door to the one I rented for four and a half years.
I had an open appointment to see the Orthopaedic doctor who fixed my arm 3pm this day or 3pm the next Wednesday. All's as well as it could be, and it was a good thing I did not allow the Indonesian doctor to operate in Bali, this would have been a disaster. My arm is almost fully functioning now.
I am glad I trusted my instinct, saw the situation at BIMC for what it was, and escaped torture and torment by travelling to Chiang Mai where the hospital treatment is excellent.

I largely rested up the first few days here in Chiang Mai... Am I that fatigued after my summer at Boundary Bay? Can I be that unsocial? Not for long.

I met up with Ed who has been flying supplies to Nakhon Sawan in his Malibu Jetprop from Don Mueang Airport... He saw that even the military had taken everything out of the old Bangkok airport, businesses evacuating in advance of the flood.
Ed flew his aeroplane up to Chiang Mai where we are high and dry.
The news is not good, there's politics and mistakes involved that will exacerbate the problems. I'm glad I'm not in Bangkok.
There were two large crocodiles in the news this morning, they'd escaped and were found swimming down a street... It could be a whole new meaning to be soused and legless in the street!

On Sunday I was up early to catch a SongTaew to Lamphun... This is a forty five minute ride and costs 15 Baht!
I was picked up by Mint and together with her work partner/friend Bin we went to Doi Inthanon which is the highest peak in Thailand and up there it was a chilling +7°C.
The motorcycle's 100cc engines worked hard to get us up there screaming out the RPM with me fully expecting an explosion at any moment... Going up was one thing, but coming down again I recommend you stop and let the brakes cool off from time to time, the smell was acrid!
The journey was long and my bottom suffered for its hours on the seat!

Sorry, I didn't leave much for you...

Bai Doi Inthanon on a motorbike

A friend I met at Bangkok Airport when it was Don Mueang
Thai people are friendly and friendships will last


The stupors disappeared into the clouds



I wore mine! and the girls did too for the main journeys

Flying in Thailand

Harry is flying around the world in a Lancair Columbia 300, Ed has been flying supplies to help flood victims in his Malibu Jetprop, and Tony was the CFI at CMFC

Dinner at the Riverside 24th October

Harry is flying a Lancair Columbia 300 around the world and his blog is here:

Around the world in a Columbia 300

We met up at the Riverside for an aviator's evening... I had my usual Chicken Cordon Bleu, a Lao Beer, and a Tiger beer :)

25th October, Chiang Mai Bimble

Yesterday I had the pleasure of Jon's company for lunch (Mexican food), followed by a bit of aviation in the afternoon.
Jon has just become the champion bicycle racer here in Chiang Mai and the race he won during the past weekend had drained his energy somewhat so some less than healthy in normal circumstances food was in order!

Jon was also a student of mine back in 2005 in his own Katana, HS JON, before he went to London Ontario to complete a Canadian PPL.

Maintenance is not always easy here in Thailand... I'd brought some parts for the Katana Jon now owns, HS AXL, which was the other one of two he had a partnership in with Axel.
Back in 2005 the fact that there were two Katanas at Chiang Mai Flying Club was an attraction to me, I don't get excited about flying Cessnas!

At Ban Thi - Nok Airfield we had to deal with a persistent oil leak that had reappeared after the propeller governor was refitted after its overhaul.
It turned out that a grubscrew was loose and so the remedy was simple, tighten it!

Jon filed a flight plan to depart at 10:00z (17:00 local) for a one hour local flight.
We took off and flew to Doi Saket and then over the Mae Kuang reservoir.
It's brilliant to be able to fly a familiar aeroplane in a different place, very different to BC, especially this time of the year.

Sunset is around 18:30 here and so we flew back to Nok where I did a cuple of landings...
Sanook sanook.

After the flight we went to the Number One Bar in a soi off Loi Kroh road.
The food was good and I had a couple of Lao Beers with chicken noodle soup.
Another bike racer turned up, a German with a penchant for ladyboys... His escort was bigger than the average Thai 'girl' but she was acceptable.
In Thailand tolerance is important, and why not?

Life in Thailand

Lanna style, chorp mak





Ed flew his Malibu Jetprop to England and back, and then as flood relief in Thailand

Travels with Sao

Sao works part time as a travel guide/driver and she came recommended by a friend who did a trip with her to Chiang Rai.
I however am an independent traveller, I know my way around for the most part and so I don't need a driver, nor am I well heeled enough to be able to afford such a luxury!
For Sao I'm perhaps an unprofitable customer... Nevertheless we did travel a little.
Lunch on Thursday was at the Airport Plaza in the Thai restaurants section. Here you can eat well for a few Baht; a good meal being less than $2!
Coffee was a bit more expensive afterwards.

Wat Sri Don Moon, Chiang Mai

On Friday we drove to a Wat east of Chiang Mai and off the main highway from Chiang Mai to Lamphun and beyond.
The Buddha statues had 'flower' hats reminiscent of 'Bill and Ben' and I'm not sure of the significance of this.

There was a ceremony for a novice monk who had had his head shaved and was entering into the monastery. This is a normal path for young men in Thailand.
I'm reading "Falcon at the Court of Siam" by John Hoskin. Set in the 1600's it protrays the life of a Greek who rose high in Thai ranks in those days. In 1685 an ambassadeur from France went to Thailand on a mission to convert the King to the Roman Catholic church, of course he failed, and here we are over four hundred years later and still Buddhism has the major hold in Thailand (Siam).
Personally I like the idea of a religion of peace more than the religions of death and cruelty based on the word of God!
I'm surprised that this ambassadeur was once a Huguenot and who became a zealous Catholic convert when the Huguenots were being persecuted... My father's lineage is also Huguenot and any hint of Catholicism was always looked down upon; such angst is typical between men of the same God, different organisation!
Acts of God today are always disasters, is this how we believe?

Friday evening Sao's uncle was opening a new Thai restaurant in Hang Dong and so we went there.
I took a lot of pictures and I wish I had brought my old flashgun as the camera's own flash was not good enough and it's position guarantees red eyes!
The image of the girl below is one of many images I took during the evening. I like portraits.

We left Hang Dong after 10pm and drove to Warorot Market where Sao wanted to buy flowers for her home...

Walk about Chiang Mai, Saturday

On Saturday I took the 10 Baht Song Taew ride as far as the Iron Bridge. I'd spent the morning editing the photo's of the restaurant.
I can walk for hours thinking about stopping and eating, and never actually doing so! But this time I only walked a few miles.
I went to a coffee shop with the intent to eat there, but instead picked up an iced chocolate drink and carried on walking to cross the Ping River.
On the bridge I met an Australian, pointed out the Thailand Tourism office to him, and took the pictures of the river at the left.

I was disappointed about not finding the Old Thai House restaurant where I had eaten many times before, and of which there are pictures on previous trip reports on this site.
So I turned left onto Tanon Charoen Prathet to go look for it. I found the Old Thai House itself but the garden in front of it belied no evidence of the restaurant ever having been there!
I carried on up Tanon Loi Kroh and finally stopped to have Kao Phad Gai and an iced tea. It was now 14:30; a little on the late side for lunch.
Replenished I carried on to go see Sopa who runs a salon in a soi off Loi Kroh, and who has sold the business to go back to her village to grow herbs, and to teach her fellow villagers. Thais do this, they make some money and return to their families and promote their wealth and health.
I walked on and on around the streets that are still familiar to me, I know this place reasonably well, and then I took a Song Taew to Central Kad Suan Kaew shopping centre.
I didn't stay long, I returned to the centre of Chiang Mai by Song Taew in the rush hour traffic and went to John's Place.

John's Place has all new staff except for May... I suppose the life of pretty girls is not easy as they are hired and let go so very often and so easily as business requires. During the floods in Chiang Mai few are needed, as October begins more are hired, and then let go as the tourist season finishes in April.
All the girls are dressed Lanna style and I like this very much, John's is a much nicer place to go than some of the bars on Loi Kroh Road where the girls might grab the crown jewels.
Most fellows at John's Place are however attracted by the large screens showing football matches...

Sunday Rally at Ban Thi - Nok Sunambin

Sao drove me over to Nok where at 12:00 a group of classic cars was supposed to arrive; they were late!
When they had all arrived there was a nice lunch served of chicken and rice and a green dish (bün?).
It's curious to be at a place where I can't fly myself when there was the offer to do so. A Thai pilot licence validation is applicable to only one club. You need a validation for each and every flying club you wish to fly at. I'd need two validations!
In any case flying happened, and even Sao had a flight. She was scared, but persuaded into flying she enjoyed it very much.
I was dropped off at my place at around 7pm and was somewhat bored afterwards and so went to bed early.
I'm cognisant of the fact I must make my meagre bank balance last, on my return to Canada my instructor rating will have expired and I'll have no reasonable income for many winter months.

I'm supposed to get my teeth fixed, I'll try to make an appointment today and see if the implant and the broken tooth behind it can finally be crowned... (The implant stud has been waiting for this for over two years). In Canada such procedures are far and above my budget!

Same problem now, I should eat lunch, where do I go and what do I eat?