The big " R" Day.

Today Little Buddy retires after a flying career spanning 41 years!
He got his private pilots licence when he was just 18 & has been flying in one form or another for a living ever since. It's his life, he knows no other, which is why retirement is so hard!

He's first of all, flew for Mitchesons of Saskatoon, Sask. CA.
Then, instructed @ Edmonton Flying Club, before moving on to NorCanAir, in Prince Albert, Sask; from where he flew Beavers on both floats & ski's.
Bush flying took him to isolation bases in the deep Artic.
He was Capt. on THE first ever Beaver, Serial No. 1, Reg CF-FHB - which is now in the Canadian Aviation Museum.
He's very proud of this fact!
Hence the fact, I've mentioned it several times on my blog!He also later, flew Prince Andrew to the Artic Circle, & when the prince came up to the cockpit, he bit his tongue & didn't ask about Koo Stark whose relationship with the prince was the gossip columns 'hot topic' of the day!

In 1974, he joined the commercial airline world & signed on with Pacific Western Airlines, who subsequently bought out Canadian Pacific & Wardair & created Canadian Airlines.
Laid off by the big company, in the summer of 1977, he turned his hand to water bombing.
In his time, he was the youngest Captain to fly Canso water bombers. Re-hired, he flew Hercules freight carriers across the Atlantic... And, to Africa where his cargo was guns and he nearly lost his plane/passport & possibly more there, when challenged by the gorilla terrorists on landing!

Time & planes moved on.

After many years of flying often boring, then again, weather challenging domestic routes across Canada & to the States, he became a First Officer on a Boeing 767. This gave him a flying life style hard to describe - overseas pairings days long.
He flew into Europe weekly!
I met him in Brighton, Frankfurt, London, Manchester, Milan, Munich, Paris, Rome & there were a couple of Honolulu trips thrown in too.
Every single one, had serious crew rest ie days 2,3 even 4 & 5 off @ his destination.
He was offered a captaincy on domestic runs in the mid 90's & turned it down, we were having far too much fun!
This continued, til 2000, when, for pension purposes he moved over to the wide bodied Boeing 747.
But, by then Canadian Airlines had been engulfed by Air Canada, & the merger meant years of seniority were lost, so LB was still only a First Officer! Min. crew rest was introduced & he mainly flew to the Orient.

Then justice prevailed, and he attained his career goal, Captain 767...If, he didn't have to retire @ 60, he'd bid for the triple seven, but that's only a dream now.
Like so many retired pilots, Little Buddies now a lost soul.
He just doesn't know what he's going to do.
He won't miss the struggles with medicals, the regular flying assessments, the writing of exams, the twice yearly simulator training sessions, the constant jet-lag & crazy disturbed sleeping patterns, but the rest... the getting away, the flying, that's a different matter!

He should by now be heading back to Vancouver to finalise his retirement. Shamus, his long term flying friend, & he will be hitting the bottle tonight.
White Rock will rock!!!
Then, tomorrow, hangover permitting, LB will collect his car & start the drive back to Stampedeville.
He's in no hurry!
He's planning the long scenic route.