7000 feet up with Justine

Justine Jorgensen in the cockpit
Frank Wood photo*
*Correction for accuracy

Justine Jorgensen

On Wednesday, July 23 I got the chance to fly an airplane. Well, not for the entire hour and a half flight, but for at least a good forty-five minutes. I was flying with Frank Wood, who owns two small planes and flies regularly. Our time in the air included travelling over the town of Pincher Creek, the Oldman River, and near Waterton - I even glimpsed Lethbridge on the hazy horizon. Although there was a spattering of rain at first, the weather cooperated nicely as the sun soon broke from the clouds.

Flying is a unique experience. For most of our days we are grounded, used to seeing the world at a certain perspective. In an aircraft, that perspective suddenly changes as you break the laws of gravity. Vast fields become only squares on a patchwork of earth, rivers turn into ribbons, and the sky is enlarged. The horizon is literally expanded. It's easy to feel small so high up because everything on the ground looks tiny.

Pincher Creek
Justine Jorgensen photos and video except*

I loved the view. Cars became little moving dots below and the multitude of lakes reflected the sky. I especially enjoyed seeing the mountains. They were still big and intimidating, but it was from a different angle; I could see more detail and how they stretched into the distance.

I asked Frank what the draw of flying was, for him. "It's to get up, and the thrill of doing it, and seeing the world from a different perspective, and testing my skills as a pilot - it's a challenge. I enjoy making perfect landings and that's, to me, an achievement. I have to make sure that everything is perfect."

Shell-Waterton

When he turned the control of the aircraft over to me, I was pleased and a little freaked out. Flying the plane was all about small adjustments; I had to keep parallel to the ground and make sure not to be ascending or descending, to keep the plane level. *Frank indicated due to progression turning one way or another would affect the plane differently - this meant that whenever we made a left turn, the nose drifted up and the plane would begin to ascend. Whenever we made a right turn, the nose drifted down and we began to descend. These were all things to keep in mind as I steered.

Far above the office at the Ranchland Mall

Frank explained to me that the 1979 Piper Tomahawk we flew is not built for speed; however, it is perfect to take for pleasure flights. Last year he had been working on his other plane, a Europa, that is now finished and ready to go. "It's much faster," Frank said about the Europa, explaining the differences between the two planes. "It's fully aerobatic. And it's a home-built, so it's governed by different regulations than the other one, which is a certified aircraft."

Frank went on to say, "There's a lot happening in the aviation world at the moment, private aviation anyway. The cost of flying is going up. The cost of fuel is going up, the cost of insurance is going up."

"Aircraft don't really go down much in value. Although there is a bit of a drop in the market at the moment, but frequently aircraft will increase in value. Some of the older ones that are around here are probably worth three of four times as much as they were originally sold for."

Oldman River

There is a group of aviators around Pincher Creek that frequent the airport. "If anyone else is interested in learning to fly, there's a bunch of pilots out here, we have a pilots club and it's a lot of fun. All you need to do is contact one of the local pilots and I'm sure that a flight can be arranged."

To aspiring aviators, Frank's words of wisdom were "Get out there and do it. It's fun." I completely agree with that statement.