Back from the North

[Raedwulf]

Last week I got to spend some quality time in Northern Alberta
The North West Territories were just a few miles away

I thought I'd share some pics... some are work related... others are just an interesting look into the life of a real Field Technologist (especially when no road actually exists 6 months out of a year)

[Raedwulf]

The first pic was my ride from Calgary up to Rainbow Lake Alberta, a Beech 1900D

The next picture, that's me in the front seat of a Bell 206 Jet Ranger, we're travelling up to the plant site

There was a camp that I stayed at while working at the plant, it was our base of operations for a couple days

Here's another picture showing the effects that H2S (hydrogen Sulphide) has on metal

[LBJGH]

Looks like permafrost prairies. :P

[CyberGuy]

Man, you aren't kidding when you say "Field Technologist".
That is in the middle of nowhere. I really wouldn't want to get lost there. Beatiful country though :Thumb

[And|]

Thanks for sharing those pictures RaedWulf.

I hope you had a great trip!

[Raedwulf]

It wasn't a total waste
I got to see exactly what is causing so many failures in their sensors, and I'm fairly confident that our company has a solution that's fairly cheap, though not permanent (Change the h2S trapped in the sensors to an inert substance)

We sold a few more RTUs, and I've got some testing of a couple ideas we want to try, and upgrade and test a replacement rtu for one that has obsolete parts installed (it can't do the proper calculation required by the EUB because of the component)

I have another pic... On the way up from Calgary to Edmonton for the connection flight, there was only myself the pilot and co-pilot/flight steward
I got to compare the panel of the actual plane to the panel of an add-on to FS2004 (fairly descent representation)
Here's the view into the ****pit

Obviously there's no security measures in these small planes but you don't have too many terrorists wanting to take a flight up north either

[Maro]

Nice pics Raed - it looks like an interesting trip.

The Plant Picture looks like something out of Far Cry or Stalker :lmao

[Raedwulf]

After the trip up to Bistcho Lake, we got dropped off at Zama 'City'... a whole community built around a logging/drill rig camp (I'll have to post that one tomorrow)
From there we drove from Zama to High Level, where we stayed the night in a Super 8 (heck, they a Water Slide). The next morning, we left for Rainbow Lake made a quick service call on an RTU site about 15 minutes South (by 206)... I needed to figure out why a transmitter had some intermittent comm problems... I would have liked to have access to the power/signal distribution panel but it was 8 ft up (fine if there's about 4 ft of snow and ice on the ground, but there was about 2 ft of water instead

I chose to have some fun with my camera... I 'filmed' the departure from the well site... the gentle lift from the ground, the gentle turn and the acceleration up and horizontal back to Rainbow (I'll have to see if I can post those little clips

I like flying in helicopters, ever since my first ride in a Chinook
Since then R22's, Bell206 Jet Rangers, 206B Long Rangers, OH-1, and A-Stars.

A host of small planes, Cessna 172 and 182, Beech Bonanza, Baron, Kings... and the king of the bush planes, the venerable Twin Otter

This is what field service is all about

[Maro]

Good stuff!

I love Helicopters too - the SARTU (Search and Rescue Training Unit) was based down the road from us in North Wales. They used to take us along as "bodies" . We'd be either dropped off on a mountain or in the sea before they circled and winched us up! Much fun.

We used to fly in Wessex Helicopters (Choctaw's re-engined with Rolls Royce Engines).

[Raedwulf]

Good stuff!

I love Helicopters too - the SARTU (Search and Rescue Training Unit) was based down the road from us in North Wales. They used to take us along as "bodies" . We'd be either dropped off on a mountain or in the sea before they circled and winched us up! Much fun.

We used to fly in Wessex Helicopters (Choctaw's re-engined with Rolls Royce Engines).

Those wouldn't be the UK version of the old Sea King? I know Wessox had a contract to build them... Wessox built other choppers as well

[Maro]

Those wouldn't be the UK version of the old Sea King? I know Wessox had a contract to build them... Wessox built other choppers as well


Nah, the Wessex looks like this:

I think the Choctaw only had one engine - the Westland Wessex has two. They were used in Wales instead of the Sea King due to it being smaller - the rescues in the mountains made a smaller model more desirable.

[Maro]

In fact the wessex looks larger - here is a Choctaw.

BTW the Wessex above, I actually flew in!
:luxhello

[Raedwulf]

Here's a pic of the 206 I flew in

We had just been dropped off in Zama City

Oh what the heck... I'll include an aerial view of Zama as well

[Maro]

nice :Thumb

Did you avoid the mutants? :lmao

[Raedwulf]

Since I don't play the games, the reference is lost on me

but I managed to avoid all bar fights, drug abuse, and drunken binges(I'll drink when I don't need to drive) :beer

Let me make it perfectly clear... Zama was merely a drop off point, we picked up a company truck, visited a site that we're currently installing some demo rtu into, then off to High Level

When we arrived in High Level, our little troup of SCADA Techs went to Boston Pizza and partook of necessary libations and nosh (more of the former... Bistcho Lake camp is 'dry'

[Maro]

Do you have a map of the area ?