So a bit of back story. June 30, 2014 was the Chris Hadfield Youth Leadership Summit at Gatineau Airport hosted by Vintage Wings of Canada. Chris, the Snowbirds and a number of aviation and military speakers were on hand to discuss the future possibilities to roughly 300 Air Cadets, and Chris' grand entrance was to be flown into the airport by his brother Dave in the P-40. I contacted Dave a few weeks ago when I saw the schedule and asked if I could hitch the one way flight outbound when he went to get Chris. He said yes and the rest is history.
It was just a short flight from Gatineau to Rockliffe, but it was worth the wait! one of the most exhilerating experiences I have ever had. acceleration on take-off was like nothing I have ever experienced and the in a flash we were airborne. We stayed down around 1200-1400 feet due to a low ceiling, but that afforded a better sense of the speed. After we landed in Rockllife, I hoped out, and after a brief family reunion with Chris, Dave and a few others(plus a healthy dose of randoms wanting autographs and pictures!!!) Chris climbed in and they headed back to Gatineau while I waited for my dad to show up and drive me home...not the most dignified end to a great flight!!!
Here are a few picture from the day, I didn't take much in the plane, mostly video.
Me in the plane:
And then a few of CHris, Dave and the family:
Chris and Dave putting some ice in the oil cooler before they left(It was about 32 degrees Celsius):
and finally me with Dave and Chris, after Chris convinced me to get a picture with them. He can be quite convincing when he wants to be!!!
and here is the Youtube video of the flight. It is a little long, but you can jump around a bit to get the feel if you don't want to sit for 15 min.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKauidZVJHYSean
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