Woo-hoo! I was booked months ago for two rides today, as part of my membership at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum at Hamilton Airport. I put myself down for the DC-3 Dakota at 11am and the 1942 Beech D18S Expeditor at 1pm, but the crazy summer storms we’ve been having wreaked havoc in today’s schedule, too.
It wasn’t just the weather: after we were all buckled in, the pilots noticed a mechanical issue and we were evacuated for a bit until they sorted it out (hydraulic lock) and we got on our way. I uploaded a short clip of the flight to Flickr for now — there’s more to come.
This is my second flight in the museum’s DC-3 Dakota, my first flight was November 4, 2006:
All the flights got delayed due to this mechanical issue and the stormy skies, eventually leading to an intense downpour that hangared every single one of the museum’s planes out for rides and cancelled flights for the rest of the afternoon. It was sunny by the time I was on the QEW, but one flight was enough for me today. It’s still incredibly hazy and humid — not really ideal flying conditions — so I’m happy to wait for a better day for a flight in the Beech 18.
Now that I’ve got my flying mission accomplished, on to mission #2 for today: a haircut!!
