Tracking

Airplanes are like All Terrain Vehicles: point in any direction and go. Literally, the sky is the limit!
Of course, there are some rules, for example maintaining a cruising altitude determined by whether you are flying east or west. The more congested the airspace, the longer the rule book. You can't fly into the Lower Mainland or major cities unless your plane is equipped with a transponder. This allows you to be identified by a blip on a radar screen. You fly very prescriptive approaches and departures, and are yelled at by Air Traffic Controllers if you deviate.
Before we take off - anywhere - Bill files a flight plan with Nav Canada. His flight path to the Coast goes like this: "Nakusp departure, overhead Kelowna, GPS direct to overhead the Coquihalla Toll Booth, overhead Hope, overhead Chilliwack to Kilgard check point, direct Boundary Bay." He estimates an arrival time, must close the flight plan on landing, and has 30 minutes grace before Search and Rescue goes into action.
Although little information has been released about the recent crash out of Penticton, two facts have been: the Piper deviated from its filed flight plan; activation of the plane's ELT (Emergency Locator Transmitter) directed SAR to the accident site almost immediately.

ELT easily accessible

Most Canadian aircraft are required to carry a functioning ELT. We fly to Creston every second year to have ours checked and certified by a specialized technician.  Our ELT is mounted beside the left rear seat, and that passenger is instructed not to play with it, as we don't want a SAR Buffalo suddenly appearing on our wing tip! It can be activated by hand, and theoretically emits a signal when the plane crashes. In practice, it fails to activate more than half the time - appalling in this age of technology. Controversy abounds on how planes can be better tracked:
http://www.avweb.com/blogs/insider/Time_To_Replace_ELTs_203244-1.html
For redundancy, we carry a Personal Locator Beacon in the form of a SPOT device. It has a 911 button that broadcasts our GPS coordinates, providing it sees the satellite.

handy SPOT

In the case of the Piper - miles off its flight plan, in wooded terrain - the ELT worked, and people are alive as result.

Crashes

Yes, planes crash.  So do cars, snowmobiles and bikes, often with deadly results.  Although we have a greater chance of being flattened by a chiptruck on the way to the airstrip than flying into a rock wall, facts are no match for irrational fears.  The media feeds fears with a wonderful job of reporting each and every air accident.
A Piper crashed out of Penticton yesterday on a route that we take each time we fly to the Coast.  We know the Brenda Mine site well. It sits at about 5,000 ft elevation, just east of the summit of the Connector.  It's a stunning distraction in a boring landscape that I usually knit through.

Brenda Mine site, July 6, 2012

Although we normally overfly Kelowna at 8,500 feet and notify the Tower that we are in the airspace as courtesy only, a take-off from Kelowna or Penticton requires considerable climbing to maintain a safe altitude over the central plateau.  The hotter the day, the thinner the air, and the longer it takes to gain altitude.  The more passengers or cargo, the heavier the plane, and the longer it takes to gain altitude.  It's pretty basic physics:  if the terrain rises up at you faster than you can climb, you crash.
It will be months before this accident investigation is made public, but when it is, every private pilot in Canada will receive the results.  Education is a huge key to pilot safety.  We learn from mistakes, and thankfully, in this case, so may three of the four people in that Piper.  Our prayers are with them, and the pilot's family.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/08/13/bc-kelowna-plane-crash.html 

New Denver Glacier

Bill slipped away from the family hub-bub last week to put more time on his new engine.  With the extra horsepower, our favourite wow-the-visitor sightseeing jaunt is easily doable in hot weather.  On takeoff from Nakusp, Bill follows Upper Arrow Lake to Burton, then hops over the back of the Valhallas to emerge on top of 'our' glacier.  Breathtaking!

New Denver Glacier from bedroom deck

New Denver Glacier, up close and personal

If I could find and scan a similar photo taken when I first saw New Denver (1964), there would be far more ice and snow.  Global Warming or natural ebb and flow?  No doubt in this valley.  The receding glacier has been well-tracked:
http://www.slocanlake.net/glacier_.html 

The climber in this video has a pessimistic opinion of its demise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0_q1AK8TT0 

Here's the view of New Denver that his camera could not capture, thanks to Chris who snapped this on a similar flight path in July 2009:

Overtop New Denver Glacier with Village beyond

Above New Denver

One of our favourite flights is very close to home - 5,000 ft above the house!

New Denver, population 556

Carpenter Creek bisects the Village, with the Orchard, Health Centre, Campground, and Marina on the south side.  To the north are Main Street and the school.  Our house is at S-curve at the far north of town.  Our cabin is on Bigelow Bay, a two minute walk down the forested hillside.

Distances are small in our tiny, perfect Village!

A different kind of flying: Jay on the Laser, Bigelow Bay

Today there was an excursion to Idaho Peak lookout.  It's a 12 km drive from Sandon on a bumpy mostly one-vehicle-wide forestry road, followed by a 40 minute hike along a ridge.  At more than 5,000 ft above New Denver, it is almost like being in the plane!

Alamo Basin, on climb to Idaho Peak

Slocan Lake and New Denver from Idaho Peak

The spectacular views make it our most popular tourist destination.  With the snow at that elevation (7,400 ft), Idaho Peak is accessible only briefly mid-summer. If you miss the window of opportunity on your visit here, catch this 360 degree view from the old Forestry Lookout:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgQ18laviO0