Recovery of the Columbia 400

We have a friend who had to abandon his airplane (Columbia 400) in Port Hardy on Vancouver Island, B.C. due to weather. So we took our plane (Cessna 172, N41ME) up the following week and flew both back. Bruce flew 41ME home and John Strauss and I flew the 400 home. The 400 is a high performance airplane, just off the line (still smells like a new airplane inside!).We flew the west side of the island 200 to 500 feet off the water with the speed between 200 to 230 knots. We then climbed to 23,000 feet and plugged in the oxygen.

We met at PDX for customs (in the above photo the Columbia 400 is in the background) and departed there for Aurora as a party of two which allowed us to take off together (Becky flying 41ME and Bruce and John in the 400). What a great trip.