This is AN ENTIRELY FICTIONAL depiction of a business that will use general aviation to advance its profitability. ANY RESEMBLANCE TO ANY OTHER COMPANY OR PERSON IS ENTIRELY COINCIDENTAL. Consider this 'FSX fanfiction", or an 'FSX graphic short story', or 'a bunch of half-assed screen shots strung together incoherantly'. Whatever it is to you.
Meet the 'Prospect Creek Mining & Timber Company'. This company was formed in Washington state in 2002, by Evan Christopher, a young man who graduated from Central Washington University as a geologist. Evan is also a private pilot, and he and his roommate at CWU, Abdul Rahkman Hussein, enjoyed many weekends in a rented 172 around the city of Ellensburg, WA. Abdul Rahkman, a forestry manager, and WDOT employee, proposed to the woman who is now his wife in the back of a rented F33 Bonanza near Mt. Ranier that Evan was piloting in 2001.
After graduation, Evan Christopher, Abdul Rahkman Hussein and his new wife, Jennifer Hussein-McAllister (an accountant and business manager) founded the PCM&T Co. The company started by working contracts in the timber industry all along the Green River for its first nine years, solidifying equity, and then expanding. In January of 2012 PCM&T contracted with a Canadian-based timber company to work a lease in British Colombia. By September of 2013, they had secured a group of Seattle-based investors, and were finalizing the purchase of the same Canadian company that had originally hired them to work in BC. Soon after, they began to survey property with an interest in purchasing/leasing in BC for the purpose of mining and timber production.
Our story begins on August 15, 2014, as a group set out from Renton, WA to survey a property in British Columbia, Canada. Along with the company founders was Olaf Brannigan, the logging op foreman. Also in for the ride was Everett Carter, a representative for the investor group, and Nadi Hussein, Abdul Rahkman and Jennifer's ten year old son.
Their destination was Scar Creek, in BC. Some scouts from the Canadian timber company recently acquired by PCM&T Co had set out several days before in ATV's and were already set up to meet the group at an existing primitive runway on the property, which they were reporting was in great shape, with minimal washes.
In the copilot's seat was Evan's older brother Michael, who is a CFI who specializes in float planes, and flies for PCM&T as needed. Since they were flying to an unfamiliar landing strip, Mike is going along.
The flight will be made in the company's newest purchase, a Cessna 207 Skywagon that is based in Renton, WA.
After everybody gets in and loaded up, the useful load is calculated at 1520 lbs, and 352.8 gals (70%) of avgas, still well within the CG and UL limits, and quite a respectable haul for a normally aspirated, 285hp Continental IO-520.
Clearance is granted and the airplane is taxiied to the threshold.
After take-off clearance, Evan holds the Skywagon on the runway till nearly 90 knots to effect a faster climb out. As a professional pilot and aircraft manager, Mike has instilled in him that someone, somewhere is right now cursing in Canuck and burning a lot of jet A waiting on him to get out of the way in his glorified Spam can. Let me take this opportunity to ask you to bear with us and use your imagination from this point forward, as the only occupants of the airplane visible will be two copies of that same guy that Alabeo uses for every single one of their models.
So with the vsi bug set to only 500 fpm, they blast out of Renton, with climbout speeds staying fast, and the airplane manuvering well, making all the weight the poor little Continental is dragging around feel like less of an issue.
Because the airspace is so busy, once above 1000 feet agl, Evan takes his time climbing back into Seattle controlled airspace, while still giving callouts and squawking 1200, thus ensuring any CRJ's in the pattern stay well above him as he leaves the congested airspace.
He's not the only slowpoke in the airspace, and once he's back skimming along the bottom of KSEA airspace with a flight following, the controllers let the C207 and a little red Piper J3 get within 0.7 miles lateral, and 1300 feet vertical separation. Still, their closing speed was less than some airplanes in the pattern land at, so the danger was minimal.
I thought I had some screenshots of Whibdey Island as it went by, but I don't know WTF happened to them. Pretend this is them.
Anyway, after getting out of all the traffic around Seattle, Evan climbs to 7500 feet, where he cruised until he was getting clearance to land at Vancouver to clear Canadian Customs when the camera started working again.
The controllers kept calling "26A" which wasn't clear, and they were unable to get clarification with all the radio traffic, but Evan and Mike figured that since there was a Dash 8 going in 26R, that 26L must be theirs. With not much else to substitute for airpeed, they executed a fast, decending base and short final.
And made the first turnoff, clearing the runway quickly.
Where they were directed by ground control to taxi to parking where they waited on the Canadian Customs Agents.
An hour later they had all emptied their bladders, filled their water bottles, gotten their passports stamped, been welcomed to Canada, had fuel pumped back in the tanks to the 70% mark, made a call to the scouts at CBA7's sat phone to make sure the weather and runway were still a go and were buckling in, with a sunset to race. As soon as Vancouver ground control gave taxi clearance they headed for the runway.
The 207 rolled up the lines of the little GA runway, and got clearance with a caution to mind the CRJ taking off parallel. Off they went, with the CRJ going gear up as it passed them. By the time they were out over the water enough to get cleared for their own navigation, another CRJ was being called as coming out behind them, and also a Dash 8.
By the time they were three miles out at 2000 feet, ANOTHER CRJ went out behind them. "This is why I hate flying to Customs Airports." Mike said, like he said everytime they came thru at Vancouver or Seattle.
Ten miles out at 3000 feet, staying just 500 feet above the floor of the Vancouver Class B, everything is a lot more chilled out. Cruise speed is good, fuel burn is good, but its gonna be close as to whether they make Scar Creek or have to spend the night at Campbell River.
And the sun just keeps getting lower.
And pretty soon Evan has to say over the intercom:
"So, what does everyone think about sleeping at Campbell River, and heading on to the property in the morning? Because we can't land at the property after dark, and its gonna be dark really soon."
So to Campbell River they went.
And set up an approach
And as the last of the daylight faded, found the runway in sight
Lined up
Came in at a much more seat-of-the-pants speed then was required at Vancouver
Pulled out a decent if not "textbook" landing
Headed for a dark corner
And set up camp
Early the next morning, everybody got back up and packed up camp. The three coolers on board had been drained of melted ice, resulting in a loss of 50 pounds off the load. Knowing they'd be doing some flying to complete the survey, and not needing to climb out fast because of traffic at Campbell River, they went ahead and ate up that lost weight in fuel. By the time the sun was all the way up the airplane was fueled back to 95% and everybody was buckled in.
And off they go, headed for Scar Creek CBA7.
Climb to the bug at 6400 feet and the valley that Scar Creek lies in comes into sight.
Time to start slowing down.
The guys down at the property snapped this one as the airplane went by checking out the runway. After agreeing that it looked good, Evan and Mike circled back.
They used the turn to give up more altitude and airspeed and lined up.
Passing over the Canadian timber scouts' camp on short final.
As soon as they got slowed down they spun around and headed back for the campsite at the threshold.
The End (of Episode One). Episode Two: The Survey (coming soon)
