Midair Crisis as Plane Freezes in -40°C Temperatures | Ice Pilots

[00:00:00]Let's push on the wheel.

[00:00:02]>> 1 2 3 go.

[00:00:04]>> It's man versus machine in the Buffalo hanger.

[00:00:10]>> Rocket.

[00:00:11]>> The crew needs to load up the Electra for a military contract.

[00:00:16]>> But first, they have to get it in place.

[00:00:19]All 57,000 lb of it.

[00:00:24]Just going to roll the airplane forward about 5 ft so we don't fast enough to get air behind the load.

[00:00:31]>> 5 ft. Do we have 5 ft? You're putting the truck in the back.

[00:00:36]Come on, Rally. Get in here. Let's go.

[00:00:38]Push. Hey, suck them out. Let's go.

[00:00:42]>> Now we got >> Finally. Manpower trumps horsepower. No, that's why guys.

[00:00:56]>> Now the real work begins.

[00:01:00]>> Just spin the front of that comic around and slide it down here.

[00:01:04]>> Come is basically um a wooden sleigh that is towed behind a skoo. We got a job moving some cometics and skadoo for uh the Canyon Rangers.

[00:01:16]The Rangers are a special reserve unit of the Canadian Forces, a unit made up largely of Inuit. They hail from over a 100 communities scattered across the far north.

[00:01:27]>> They are our eyes and ears on the ground throughout the Canadian Arctic.

[00:01:31]>> They patrol the land in the harshest conditions, protecting Canada's sovereignty, and Mikey's been invited to join them on a training patrol in remote Cambridge Bay. You >> know, the Can forces have been wonderful to us. I got to uh go last year with them paratrooping.

[00:01:51]>> I got to go flying in an F-18.

[00:01:54]You know, this is just taking it to one more extreme. Go in the land. See what it's all about.

[00:01:59]>> But the world above the Arctic Circle is a far cry from the kind of north Mikey's used to.

[00:02:05]>> I've never been to the Eastern Arctic, you know, especially that high. I'm a hell of a lot of pleasure.

[00:02:33]Everybody ready to go?

[00:02:39]The Electra heads for Cambridge Bay.

[00:02:43]And Mikey heads to gear up at the Rangers Yellow Knife headquarters.

[00:02:49]>> I got to get fitted out with the right gear. This is the coldest time of year, so we got to make sure we're dressed properly. Should try some stuff on.

[00:02:56]>> Yeah. You want to try that one on there?

[00:02:59]>> Yeah, for sure.

[00:03:00]>> What uh what temperatures? I guess this is going to be the coldest part of camp.

[00:03:05]>> It's not going to be pleasant though.

[00:03:08]>> How they fit? Good. You going to be able to sit down in the corner? Yeah.

[00:03:12]>> Oh, yeah. That's got lots of room in this one.

[00:03:15]>> They're nice. Awesome.

[00:03:17]>> I like these boots.

[00:03:19]>> What do you have for tips?

[00:03:20]>> Listen to the rangers. Like, these guys will keep you alive. I mean, they know what they're doing. They live this. This is their life and do what they tell you.

[00:03:28]Yeah.

[00:03:29]>> Very uh very excited, very happy to get the opportunity to go out to see what you guys do for sure. Firsthand. Well, thank you so much for having us. But roughing it on the land at minus 50, Mikey might not stay happy for very long.

[00:03:53]Back at the hanger, Buffalo Bravo hanger.

[00:04:04]>> Buffalo's answering the call to help on another mission. for an entirely different branch of the military.

[00:04:11]>> And Buffalo's answer.

[00:04:12]>> If I can start moving it, I'm not going to stop.

[00:04:14]>> Is Chuck.

[00:04:15]>> Hey, what we got to do though, we should get that nose wheel a little bit of an angle to get this thing moving. I'm not going to be able to move it straight on.

[00:04:23]See, we're getting at >> the plunging into the minus40s and the Air Force needs to get out of the cold to work on their grounded CP140 Aurora.

[00:04:34]When they got Y, it was 40 some odd below when they had uh cold weather problems with your airplane.

[00:04:40]>> We were trying to take off. It was the coldest morning so far of the year in Yellow.

[00:04:48]>> Prop number one started to leak and we looked at number three, she was leaking as well. So, uh, we needed some hanger space.

[00:04:55]>> Buffalo Joe's agreed to take them in so they can do a quick prop change.

[00:05:00]>> We can do full engine changes in in in less than a day. So, I'm thinking maybe 2, three days max this row is going to be in here and we'll move on.

[00:05:11]>> Oh, yeah. I guess we'll let everything warm up before we start around.

[00:05:14]>> Yeah.

[00:05:15]>> But Buffalo can't wait forever.

[00:05:19]>> We fly our planes every day. We're not in a maintenance facility. So, at any point they were under risk of, you know, being pulled out into the cold.

[00:05:28]For now, it's the Buffalo mechanics who have to work outside in the bitter cold.

[00:05:34]>> You're not going to be able to bring it again.

[00:05:36]>> Well, we'll just work outside.

[00:05:39]>> And Chuck, the least by the book guy at Buffalo.

[00:05:43]>> Want some 18 power right now or you want to have a pot, >> will be the Air Force liaison.

[00:05:49]>> Yeah. Relax.

[00:05:52]No one else seems to be coming around to help the brothers out, eh?

[00:05:56]You were a bunch of good guys, man.

[00:05:58]>> The Aurora aircraft and the Electra aircraft are very similar. And Chuck has a wealth of information on the Electra and some of that translates to the Aurora.

[00:06:11]You see them two arms?

[00:06:14]Our initial game plan was to change number three prop completely.

[00:06:18]>> But first, the strict military guidelines require a test. And the results are about to reveal much bigger problems.

[00:06:27]>> This is part of our normal maintenance procedure to remove a product. We do a thing called a breakaway torque check.

[00:06:32]>> They need to make sure the propeller nut hasn't vibrated loose and caused damage to the gearbox inside the engine. The reading has to be at least 170 lb of resistance from the gear.

[00:06:49]>> Really?

[00:06:50]>> Yeah.

[00:06:50]>> That's not good.

[00:06:51]>> No, it's not.

[00:06:53]And it's not even close.

[00:06:56]>> Well, I thought it was not aligned properly and it came off at a fraction of what it should have been.

[00:07:01]>> So, you're looking about uh you're at 39 now.

[00:07:04]>> 39 seconds.

[00:07:06]>> Have a look here.

[00:07:07]>> [ __ ] Out of the box. That's an engine change.

[00:07:10]>> Yeah, you had gearbox.

[00:07:11]>> Gearbox change, but for us on the road, it's an engine change.

[00:07:15]>> It's a much bigger job and headache than Sergeant Clifford expected.

[00:07:20]There was an original plan, but of course stuff happens and things don't always go according to plans.

[00:07:26]>> So, we just wanted to know uh how is that going to affect you guys?

[00:07:29]>> You don't know when your engines come up, right?

[00:07:31]>> Hopefully the next 24 hours right now.

[00:07:33]>> I think I'll just play by ear every day.

[00:07:35]>> Okay.

[00:07:36]>> This setback will keep Buffalo's own crew stuck on the freezing ramp.

[00:07:41]>> Cold on the old hands, eh? Y >> it'sing cold. Something's been rubbing on here. Chuck will have to play by the military's rules a lot longer than anyone expected.

[00:07:54]>> If the military had to make money, they'd be doomed. That's the difference between us and them.

[00:08:04]>> 850 kilome north on Victoria Island, high above the Arctic Circle, the hamlet of Cambridge Bay is home to 1,500 people.

[00:08:20]And for today, it's home to Mikey.

[00:08:23]>> I've never been in a cage today before, and uh it was like being on a whole another planet. Unbelievable for a northerner like myself.

[00:08:30]>> Around here, Mikey's actually considered a southerner.

[00:08:35]>> Everything was frozen. Everything was frosty. You could see the frozen skis and frozen cars.

[00:08:42]Out just in the streets of Cambridge, Bay, not even on the land. It was - 47 out. And that's not including the windchill. Once the windshill takes its toll, uh it's in the 50s and it doesn't really matter after that. It's just just cold.

[00:08:58]Check this out.

[00:09:01]That is the Arctic Ocean. Not very many places in the world you get to see salt water frozen solid. Oh, there's a scoo coming. This is awesome. Get a good picture of this guy.

[00:09:16]What I got myself into is something pretty extreme. Uh we're going to go uh live in a tent out in the Arctic uh in absolutely in the middle of nowhere.

[00:09:25]Personally, I'm nervous to be put into a situation to, you know, go out and live in the most harshest climates in the world. I'm a little excited. I'm a little scared.

[00:09:33]Walking around Cambridge Bay was an eye opener and maybe a little bit test drive to see what I was getting myself into.

[00:09:39]Tomorrow, Mikey will find out that nothing could prepare him for the days ahead.

[00:09:56]In Cambridge Bay, Nunovet, the Canadian Rangers are about to head out on the land for training along with their greenest trainee. I'm uh a little nervous, but you can't think about it too much. You can psych yourself out. You might as well just get on that suscanic and get out there.

[00:10:15]>> And while the Rangers Scadoo are warming up, >> Mikey, we need to get this frozen snowmobile going. This is the one.

[00:10:22]>> Yep.

[00:10:22]>> Mikey is frozen solid.

[00:10:25]>> I'm used to just jumping on a scooter, pulling the cord, fires up, and go.

[00:10:30]>> No, no juice in the battery.

[00:10:32]>> Oh, no. Nothing. So you have to manually start >> up here. A stranded scadoo could mean life or death.

[00:10:41]>> This you don't want to jerk it right away. You get some stock on it.

[00:10:47]Otherwise, if you jerk it right from the start, you'll break this.

[00:10:53]>> I grew up in snowmobiles my entire life, and they actually start them in a completely different way.

[00:11:03]>> Almost.

[00:11:04]you don't start.

[00:11:06]>> Pull it over a few times to kind of pre-warm up the engine with the ignition off. Turn the ignition on. Put the choke on and just keep on pulling.

[00:11:15]There you go.

[00:11:19]Throttle. The only time you touch the throttle is when it's warmed up and you're ready to go.

[00:11:26]>> Like most of his fellow rangers, Levi is Inu and he knows about survival up here.

[00:11:31]I've been a ranger for 16 years now and a sergeant for 8 years.

[00:11:38]>> These guys are the masters of this land.

[00:11:40]And for now, they're going to teach me a thing or two on how to live in the north. Even though I'm from the north, this is a whole new one.

[00:11:48]>> Yeah, I do have knowledge that I can pass on to Mikey. A lot of knowledge.

[00:11:53]Keeping warm and keeping your mind positive out here is the trick. If you start to lose interest and start getting cold and stop moving, that's when you start going, I want to go home.

[00:12:13]The Inu would have survived in this unforgiving environment for thousands of years.

[00:12:20]I used to build snow.

[00:12:25]>> But even a couple of days will be a huge test for Mikey.

[00:12:30]You got to wear your gloves in your gloves here.

[00:12:35]Uh, this is pretty cool. I'm uh very excited. Uh, it's getting down to go time.

[00:12:42]>> He'll be embedded into the patrol trying to keep up with the Rangers and keep from freezing.

[00:12:48]>> So, I'm just going to put on my ninja gear here and get ready to go.

[00:12:51]>> But while Mikey suits up in his modern microfibers, the Rangers have their own proven technology.

[00:12:59]These are dog and these are seal pups with fur trip for uh wolf fur trip and careful hummics. If you want to stay warm, this is what you need.

[00:13:18]It's time to head out.

[00:13:23]>> Time to go.

[00:13:25]>> And for city boy Mikey to face a patrol on the brutal landscape of the high Arctic.

[00:13:39]On the Buffalo Airways ramp in Yellow Knife, Buffalo's mechanics are exiled from the hangar, forced to work on the tarmac in minus 40.

[00:13:52]>> Chucks figured out the best way to stay warm is by enlisting.

[00:13:57]>> Who are you working for?

[00:13:59]>> The military.

[00:14:02]>> Without asking, the guy was there.

[00:14:03]>> You going to go or what?

[00:14:05]>> Where?

[00:14:05]>> Anywhere. Going to get some [ __ ] done today. Maybe he's uh clairvoyant or something, but he was always around when we needed him.

[00:14:13]>> What I would do is I would put number one back together.

[00:14:18]Why not?

[00:14:19]>> But military protocol is a mystery to Chuck. He wants to get moving.

[00:14:25]>> That's the way I would do it in. That makes sense, right?

[00:14:29]>> We have technical manuals that detail every step that's needed to complete any particular job.

[00:14:36]Let me ask you this. If they're landed somewhere or they're being shot at, are they going to wait around for somebody to make a decision?

[00:14:44]>> I'm lying.

[00:14:46]They're bound by their leaders, right?

[00:14:50]>> The Air Force won't start any of the major work until their new engine arrives later today.

[00:14:56]>> If it was a chuck engine change, it'd probably be in the hanger like 1 and 1/2 days, but I'm not sure what program they're on.

[00:15:03]>> It's definitely not something that you want to rush.

[00:15:06]uh take our time, make sure we're doing it properly, >> but they won't even be able to get started if they can't get electricity to the plane systems. We tried the power card and that didn't work. Right.

[00:15:17]>> Our relay is rather sensitive to a particular voltage and the voltage coming out of the power unit in the hanger was of a different rating.

[00:15:27]>> That's when it's too much. Show us this.

[00:15:30]>> Buffalo's power cart puts out too much juice. enough to fry the circuits of the plane's multi-million dollar surveillance gear.

[00:15:38]>> All right, let's try and figure this out.

[00:15:41]>> But civilian Chuck is an expert at finding makeshift solutions.

[00:15:46]>> We're going to meter this and bring it down.

[00:15:48]>> Sure.

[00:15:49]>> Yeah. Aim.

[00:15:51]>> Take that Phillips out. Loosen the tool on the back. Slide it forward.

[00:15:54]>> Chuck and the avionics crew adjust the voltage levels from the cart.

[00:15:59]>> Slides out.

[00:16:00]>> Yeah. Okay.

[00:16:01]>> It up.

[00:16:08]There you go. Plug her in. Plug her in.

[00:16:13]>> If they've miscalculated and too much power floods into the plane, Chuck could destroy millions of dollars of sensitive equipment.

[00:16:27]Good to go.

[00:16:30]>> Now we have time. We can do a lot of stuff on our on aircraft. Uh we can open to Bombay, have access to our parts.

[00:16:35]It's awesome.

[00:16:38]>> And the Buffalo crew can get an idea of what this plane can do.

[00:16:42]>> One of the relatively recent additions to the uh CP-140 is the MX20 camera in the nose of the aircraft. A new camera that uses high magnification and gyrostabilized infrared sensors to detect targets up to 20 km away, day or night.

[00:16:58]And a simple miscalculation could have rendered it useless.

[00:17:02]>> Holy.

[00:17:04]If you put 150 volts into this [ __ ] you'd be here for a year.

[00:17:10]>> With power flowing, Chuck wants to get started now.

[00:17:14]>> Okay. Like, see, we could have the engine off now. If you want it, we got to stand everything. It's up to you guys. What you want to do is >> But there's a new wrinkle.

[00:17:23]>> 24-hour delay.

[00:17:24]>> You got to be kidding. Ain't >> coming.

[00:17:28]The replacement engine won't be coming today after all, so Buffalo won't get their hanger back.

[00:17:35]And the temperature is dropping.

[00:17:47]We're going to spin around cuz this is what Joe and I did last time.

[00:17:50]>> This is where our right in his yard here.

[00:17:52]>> Buffalo Joe is on a shopping trip. We can get a sneak peek of the airplanes right through here.

[00:17:58]>> He's in sunny California to bid on some prime firefighting planes.

[00:18:02]>> And for 172, if I can get those airplanes where we fight fire in Canada, it's a logical, sensible thing to do.

[00:18:12]>> These used P3 Orions could replace Joe's out ofdate DC4 tankers. Joe bid on a few of them last year.

[00:18:19]>> My first bid, the owners didn't approve of it. They wanted more. So, he's here to try again.

[00:18:26]>> Hey, Don.

[00:18:26]>> Yes, sir.

[00:18:27]>> Look at the riveting on this patch. And over >> and Joe's brought along some expert assistance for this inspection.

[00:18:33]>> There was on the gun.

[00:18:34]>> Don Deo.

[00:18:35]>> He's the guru of D3's locked product.

[00:18:39]So, he was consulting with me and helping me.

[00:18:42]>> Yeah, I'd say we're getting serious about this point in time to see see what we can do with it. They're ready to sell them and uh Joe's ready to buy them.

[00:18:51]This would be a good uh good opportunity.

[00:18:54]>> All right. Well, I'm going to see where the who the players at the poker game are and who's the dealer.

[00:19:02]But I can slip a couple aces extra in the deck. Hey, how are you?

[00:19:08]>> These planes are attracting a lot of attention, including a group all the way from Turkey.

[00:19:14]>> Do you know Bordeaux in Istanbul? So Joe's trying to figure out just who the other players are here and uh and what their real interest level is to see how it fits in with his plans to pick up one, two, or a bunch of airplanes.

[00:19:27]>> If I bid on these and I win them, I'll come back to you.

[00:19:32]>> It's always good to know who your competition is and what their interests are. So that's what I think he's uh he's doing now.

[00:19:40]>> Well, I knew they're from other countries. There'd be other biders.

[00:19:42]They're very well-known airplanes with coming from a very well-known company.

[00:19:47]So, I I knew they weren't no dark horse.

[00:19:49]>> Have you got any goop?

[00:19:52]>> But he wants to know exactly who he's up against.

[00:19:55]>> And the guy in the blue shirt is a ex uh air union maintenance. I saw the two skinny guys with these guys. I got to go figure out who they are.

[00:20:07]Everybody's holding their cards pretty close so that nobody nobody really identifies themselves. Joe is going to have to outf fox some big players to be the one who takes home the prize.

[00:20:25]Almost 4,000 km northeast. Mikey and the rangers have found their campsite.

[00:20:33]>> We're here. That's our place for 4 days.

[00:20:39]>> It's nice spot. here. The neighbors are nice.

[00:20:42]>> In fact, most of the neighbors around here are hungry predators.

[00:20:49]>> They predetermined that we're going to set up camp on the lake. You know what?

[00:20:53]Honestly, don't tell anybody, but I don't think I've camped outside in the winter time. So, this is my first time.

[00:20:58]So, once we stop, we're in survival mode.

[00:21:02]They told me the first thing you got to do is shelter. So, there's no like eating. There's no, you know, starting a fire. It's shelter.

[00:21:18]They knew what they were doing. I, on the other hand, had no clue.

[00:21:23]>> But he's here to learn.

[00:21:27]It's not very much snow right here.

[00:21:28]>> In minus 50, the cold, dry air is taking Mikey's breath away.

[00:21:34]And even simple tasks are becoming a challenge.

[00:21:39]You >> got rid of trouble.

[00:21:44]>> The one thing that I really liked is how they tied the tents down. You can't drive a spike into the ice too efficiently.

[00:21:52]>> So, the rangers have learned to improvise.

[00:21:55]>> Yeah, that's pretty neat. They're making little uh handles in the ice. I would have never thought of that in a million years.

[00:22:02]>> That's very cool.

[00:22:05]He's got a big needle.

[00:22:10]>> You couldn't get a stronger tie down.

[00:22:12]>> That's awesome. That's a wicked idea.

[00:22:16]Very cool. Turns out being on ice has a lot of advantages. We didn't bring any water.

[00:22:23]So when I first saw them digging, I thought they were digging into the water to pull up water, but no, they were digging just to get the ice.

[00:22:29]>> Oh, this is for my tea. I like ice better than snow. More taste than snow.

[00:22:39]All right.

[00:22:43]That's very simple.

[00:22:46]And there's one more key to surviving the night here.

[00:22:50]>> Ah, fire. The giver of life. This is Iikuma.

[00:22:56]>> Different dialect, different meaning, but I call that the big light.

[00:23:02]>> The big light.

[00:23:03]>> Yeah.

[00:23:04]>> That's pretty cool.

[00:23:08]>> So, this is this is are these both section one here?

[00:23:12]>> Yeah.

[00:23:12]>> Section one, tent one.

[00:23:14]>> Tent one, tent two.

[00:23:15]>> Tent two. Okay.

[00:23:15]>> Yeah.

[00:23:16]>> So, I just just in case I have to order a pizza, I got to know. Section one, tent two.

[00:23:22]But tonight they'll dine on some home cooking.

[00:23:26]>> There's a whole bunch of goodies in here. Eh, today's entree is salmon fililet with tuskini sauce.

[00:23:38]>> We had army rations and everything in the ration is designed to either be, you know, in the desert like Afghanistan or be in the Arctic like Cambridge Bay.

[00:23:45]It's got to be that versatile.

[00:23:50]Bonap petit tuskiny salmon. Here we go.

[00:23:56]That's not bad.

[00:23:58]>> Good. Now, Mhm.

[00:23:59]>> really good.

[00:24:02]>> B. It looks like you're getting warmer already.

[00:24:08]>> We got our shelter. We got our heat. We got our food. I'm thinking it's bedtime, but no.

[00:24:13]>> Listen up. Everybody here?

[00:24:16]>> Yeah. We got a meeting and we're not done. Who's on predator patrol?

[00:24:21]>> From 1:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. Lloyd and Mikey.

[00:24:24]>> And I'm like, what do you mean predator patrol?

[00:24:27]>> Uh, note. Lloyd has a rifle. Mikey has nothing.

[00:24:32]>> Ah, what about the muscles?

[00:24:36]>> So, tomorrow morning 9:00 a.m.

[00:24:38]Everybody's back here.

[00:24:41]>> Okay.

[00:24:42]>> Yeah.

[00:24:43]In just a few hours, Mikey will be standing guard between the rangers camp and any hungry polar bears.

[00:24:51]>> I didn't tell anybody I'm kind of scared of the dark, but we'll figure that one out when we get there.

[00:25:05]Holy smokes. Well, this is the 1:00 a.m.

[00:25:08]Federal patrol frozen step. Oh my god, that was nuts.

[00:25:12]Sleeping on a frozen lake is exactly what it sounds like.

[00:25:18]>> On Victoria Island, Mikey is barely awake, but he's heading out on predator patrol. Fortunately, he won't be alone.

[00:25:27]>> Lloyd kind of took me under his wing.

[00:25:29]His task was to keep me alive.

[00:25:34]>> And he'll have a little more help.

[00:25:35]Despite instructions, Mikey will be packing some heat.

[00:25:40]We got 303 infields. Eh, >> nice.

[00:25:44]>> And hopefully we don't need to use them, but we're ready.

[00:25:48]>> Yeah.

[00:25:48]>> Let's give her.

[00:25:53]We just patrolled for an hour.

[00:25:57]>> What kind of stuff would be out here? It could be a polar bear folk here.

[00:26:02]>> We are just, you know, polar bear food.

[00:26:04]We're just in the middle of nowhere.

[00:26:06]We're in their land. And the smell of food from camp can easily draw in any nearby bears.

[00:26:16]>> I was a little bit scared. It's dark. I can't see nothing. These animals live out here and they can be 2 ft in front of me. I wouldn't see them.

[00:26:23]>> There's a lot of people depending on me.

[00:26:26]Oh my god.

[00:26:28]>> And tonight the temperatur plummeting close to -60.

[00:26:32]A lot colder than what Mikey's used to.

[00:26:34]>> We have gloves underneath here.

[00:26:37]Well, my fingers are freezing solid right now, >> but a camp full of sleeping rangers is depending on them. I got a light here in my trusty bear watcher.

[00:26:59]Can't get it.

[00:27:00]>> It's a new morning in Yellow Knife.

[00:27:02]>> Yeah, a little more.

[00:27:04]>> Okay, that's good. And Buffalo's mechanics are still suffering in the cold.

[00:27:09]>> When things break around here, it's always after 40 below.

[00:27:13]>> But Chuck's working to get the Air Force back on the move.

[00:27:17]>> Okay, we better stop down before I take it this way.

[00:27:20]>> And today, the Aurora crew is getting a special delivery.

[00:27:25]>> It was a pretty uh happy sight to see the new engine showing up. It's like Christmas, right? Toys are here.

[00:27:35]For Chuck, getting the new engine inside is the first major step in getting the plane out.

[00:27:43]>> Here you go.

[00:27:46]>> When we got that engine, I thought it was going to be, you know, no problem.

[00:27:49]Get everything put on and >> get out of here.

[00:27:53]>> I just want to make sure you have enough people to do the job. It's not going to be unsafe.

[00:27:57]>> Anybody? Hear that, Chuck?

[00:28:01]>> And civilian Chuck wants to get this job moving at last.

[00:28:06]>> Now, can you guys put this engine on?

[00:28:09]You bring it nice and close and then start hooking this up before you bolt it on. Or >> the civil world and the military world, they have two different ways of uh performing tafts.

[00:28:20]>> I don't know how you guys do it. I know once >> probably done it that way. Yeah, >> Chuck is definitely the city world.

[00:28:27]That's up to you guys. I'm just pee on.

[00:28:31]>> You just put a couple in.

[00:28:32]>> Yeah, you got it to get it lined up.

[00:28:35]>> I'm not going to walk around like, well, yes, this is a military aircraft. It's ours. Like I say, this is his hometown.

[00:28:41]He knows best >> cuz once it's bolted, you'll never move it.

[00:28:46]>> Want to do a job? I'll go do a job for you. That's what it's all about. I got soldiers standing there locking. Chuck's doing the work. But even Chuck shortcuts won't solve every problem.

[00:29:06]>> Rangers fall in.

[00:29:10]Airways fall out.

[00:29:12]No.

[00:29:14]>> Up in Nunabot, Mikey has made it through a rough night.

[00:29:18]>> Everyone was going, "That was the best sleep of my life." And I'm looking around going, "Holy crap, it was pretty rough. I'm sore. I'm cold. This wasn't a vacation."

[00:29:28]>> And this morning, he's getting right back to work.

[00:29:31]>> There's going to be an igno building demonstration. Mikey, can you show them how it's done? Okay, we need to find some trees.

[00:29:42]>> If you're stranded out in the middle of nowhere, you're either going to die or you're going to survive.

[00:29:56]Oh, look at this. This is a nice one.

[00:30:02]>> Okay.

[00:30:03]>> Push it like this.

[00:30:05]>> So, here from here around and it's going to spiral up until it sits to the very top.

[00:30:15]>> It just went together like like Lego.

[00:30:17]But it was a very master set of Lego.

[00:30:21]All right, so this goes up here. Oh jeez.

[00:30:26]It's all about cutting angles, making them fit.

[00:30:30]>> Push it straight way.

[00:30:37]>> Easy. That's it.

[00:30:39]>> That's it.

[00:30:49]So, it was a little bit like this. I cut out a block and I put it in and it looked good to me. It looked just like the rest of them.

[00:30:57]>> Okay. Remember, Mikey, when you were doing this section when they told you that you had your block two inwards, now it's creating a problem here. I did that so others can learn.

[00:31:14]The worst part of building an igloo is when you get to the top, all the snow is coming down on you.

[00:31:22]Oh, this is so awesome. I can starting to see the last blocks go together.

[00:31:27]>> Small piece.

[00:31:33]>> There we go. Last piece.

[00:31:35]>> Don't break the last piece.

[00:31:37]>> Don't break the loop.

[00:31:43]The end.

[00:31:44]>> That's it.

[00:31:46]>> We We have to um lock in the horses.

[00:31:49]Well, how do we get up now? Oh, there we go.

[00:31:55]>> Oh, that was awesome.

[00:31:59]There we go. That was very cool. Double high five.

[00:32:03]Uh what I would take back is just an undying amount of respect for the Inuit people and what they uh do.

[00:32:17]North that I experience every day is nothing like the north that they experience. And these guys enjoy it to a whole extreme and a whole new level which is really an eye opener.

[00:32:31]Nice job.

[00:32:32]>> Oh, thank well. Thanks for for helping me out and keeping me alive.

[00:32:36]And uh I wish you guys the best of luck in the next couple days. And uh >> hopefully get the stove working.

[00:32:43]>> We'll still have a good time without you.

[00:32:48]>> Mikey's had a taste of the real north, the one the rangers know, but he won't be signing up anytime soon. Kind of jealous of these guys getting to stay for a few more days, but it's kind of awesome that I get to sleep in a warm bed tonight. So, get to go home.

[00:33:14]There you There's that smile again.

[00:33:18]>> It's the last day of the Sacramento airplane auction and Joe's last day in the warm California sun.

[00:33:25]Yeah, the day turned nice today, boy.

[00:33:28]Can't can't kick a day like this.

[00:33:32]>> And he's feeling good about his chances of nabbing a P3.

[00:33:35]>> Today, our plan will be to go over to inventory once more and just have a good hard look at everything. See who the players are out there today and just see how the game folds up.

[00:33:47]>> But out at the airfield, there's some lastm minute competition.

[00:33:51]>> Who's here? I was surprised at the amount of betters the last day, the amount of interest the last day. It It's a big crane operator. The guy with the Oh, >> Ericson Sky Crane.

[00:34:02]>> Yeah, Eric's got the >> Sky >> 747.

[00:34:05]>> There was a lot more people than than we had anticipated.

[00:34:09]>> No, that's another company called DCT10 Tanker. I think it's some It's a >> These guys have some big tankers. They did. They were They got big bucks up there.

[00:34:17]>> Oh, jeez. You know it. When you look around the table and you see other players, uh, you know, you got to tighten up and and you got to rethink your play.

[00:34:27]>> God damn. I'll just have to think this out here for a minute.

[00:34:31]>> Joe's facing down players a lot bigger than he expected.

[00:34:36]He'll have to up his offer.

[00:34:39]>> Yeah. Here, I got a something I want to give you to send this off to your lady at the bank.

[00:34:45]>> Joe submits his bid for one of the planes.

[00:34:48]my opening offer. My opening card, my throw in my early bid.

[00:34:53]>> You always have to change your cards.

[00:34:55]I'm going have to reshuffle the deck there a little bit.

[00:34:58]>> Okay, I'm going to call her right now.

[00:35:00]>> Yeah.

[00:35:00]>> And uh >> tell her tell her at uh just email and tell her I'm standing by.

[00:35:07]>> It's it's the old strategy, you know, if there's nobody there's a lot cheaper.

[00:35:16]Joe's had to dig deep to outdo the competition. But is his best offer going to be enough?

[00:35:36]Mikey's back from Cambridge Bay and there's a surprise in the hanger here.

[00:35:43]>> The Air Force Aurora.

[00:35:44]>> This thing's been here since I've been gone. You know, when I left, this was getting out of the hanger. At that point, we were behind on our maintenance. Is Is my father back?

[00:35:53]>> No, he's not back till tomorrow.

[00:35:55]>> Oh, he's gone, eh?

[00:35:56]>> Yeah.

[00:35:57]>> A rod.

[00:35:58]>> Oh, he's gone somewhere.

[00:35:59]>> I did not expect to see that.

[00:36:01]>> Supposed to be gone one day.

[00:36:03]How's that looking?

[00:36:06]>> Good.

[00:36:07]>> Days behind schedule, the pressure's on Chuck to get the Aurora out.

[00:36:13]>> I'm going to turn the wheels. This thing's >> He's crusty. He's opinionated. At a split second later, he's focused. He's dead on. Bang on. Knows what he's talking about.

[00:36:24]>> Pull that up. Nothing jammed in there.

[00:36:27]Just double check.

[00:36:28]>> 99% of the time, he knows what I'm talking about. Our book says to torque it twice. Once with the weight on, once with the weight on. So the weight's on here.

[00:36:37]>> Yeah.

[00:36:37]>> So we torque these now.

[00:36:38]>> Joe gets back tomorrow and Chuck wants the Aurora long gone before then.

[00:36:43]>> Adjust the chain. Just to bring it down a bit, >> but the engine isn't lining up.

[00:36:49]>> Keep shaking it. Okay, hang on. Now lower the nose.

[00:36:54]>> We're getting close.

[00:36:54]>> Yeah, it is. Have a look inside here.

[00:36:57]Should be no reason why that doesn't go on, man.

[00:37:02]There. That's how you do it in the operation, boys. Excuse me.

[00:37:06]>> It might not be formal military technique.

[00:37:09]>> How'd you do that?

[00:37:10]>> I'll show you.

[00:37:11]>> But it works.

[00:37:13]>> Yeah.

[00:37:14]>> You had some good tips. Still within our maintenance procedures, but things that we hadn't quite thought of before or used.

[00:37:21]>> He's g props going on.

[00:37:25]>> Yeah.

[00:37:26]>> I'm surprised no one's put a Buffalo sticker on there yet. How's Chucky being with you guys?

[00:37:31]>> Awesome. That was a [ __ ] eh?

[00:37:33]>> Yeah, it is.

[00:37:34]>> Anything we've asked for right there.

[00:37:38]>> Now Chuck can tow the plane out for a runup and hopefully send it on its way.

[00:37:48]>> Okay, when we go out there's slowing down. Chucky came over and said, "Brother, she's going.

[00:38:04]Oh my god. What we got to do to get this thing out of here and hopefully no problems.

[00:38:15]Good.

[00:38:17]>> It all comes down to the new engine.

[00:38:21]This is the new engine on the three. So maybe there'll be a problem.

[00:38:25]I don't know if it's going to function properly on the ground. I haven't tested these things.

[00:38:33]>> Okay.

[00:38:37]>> Chuck was right from the beginning actually, but he was very helpful.

[00:38:41]>> But even Chuck can't help them now.

[00:38:49]>> Ready on three.

[00:38:53]My big concern is that there aren't going to be any surprises.

[00:39:03]>> What's going on? The engine driven compressor on number three is giving us problems. We're not getting any oil pressure indication on it.

[00:39:10]>> It's everyone's worst fear. The Aurora is still grounded.

[00:39:19]Our uh offers are in. Our uh our markers are covered. In Sacramento, Buffalo Joe's trying to play with the big boys.

[00:39:33]>> Well, if I get one of the airplanes, I'd uh I'd feel that we've done very well.

[00:39:38]>> He bid all he could afford for one Orion firefighting plane. But more big money American biders have just arrived.

[00:39:47]You're about as far south in the States as I am north into Canada, aren't you?

[00:39:52]>> Just about. Yeah.

[00:39:54]>> The new players that came in, they'll be uh doing what we did for the last couple days. Would you want to take them all then?

[00:40:00]>> I do. Yeah.

[00:40:02]>> You think you can use them?

[00:40:04]>> Yep, we do.

[00:40:06]>> Can you use them in the role that they're built for?

[00:40:08]>> Absolutely.

[00:40:09]>> There's investment firms looking at putting them back to work. Uh there's there's people that I've syndicated together to put them back to work in the USA.

[00:40:18]>> I just want to know if if you wanted all or I just need one, eh?

[00:40:22]>> You only want one?

[00:40:23]>> I'll give you that one in behind.

[00:40:25]>> Yeah. Hi, Joe McBryan here.

[00:40:27]>> So he makes a desperate call.

[00:40:29]>> Yeah. So you going to sell me an airplane?

[00:40:31]>> Hoping to lock down a deal.

[00:40:36]>> So you're going to leave it open until they bid then? Okay, >> there's no use me staying here. I might as well go home and go back to work then.

[00:40:45]>> Joe knows he's already lost.

[00:40:48]>> They'll probably go to a group who who may have bid on all of them. That's what'll put him out of the running.

[00:40:54]>> And he's heading north with nothing to show for his troubles in Yellow Knife. I hope it all goes good.

[00:41:09]After some more work in the hanger, Sergeant Clifford and crew are hoping they fixed the compressor problem in the Aurora's engine.

[00:41:22]>> The runup was good. Ain't Christ.

[00:41:26]They flashed up. Did their full run up.

[00:41:31]>> Very.

[00:41:32]>> The Aurora crew can now leave the hangar and the North behind. wants to go flying.

[00:41:39]>> Don't get me wrong, Yellow Knife is an awesome town. First time I've been here and it's really neat seeing the north, but it'll be good to get back home.

[00:41:50]I was out there watching both is good.

[00:41:57]Well, good luck. Hopefully they don't come back. Oh, no. They can come back.

[00:42:01]>> Come back with a different not that one.

[00:42:04]Maybe something new. We saluted them and they're off.

[00:42:22]>> In the air over the Mckenzie Valley, Captain Devin Brooks and Buffalo Airways C46 crew are heading toward the tiny community of Delan.

[00:42:31]>> Guess I forgot you call the old girl don't like to go down. Yeah, it was just a normal Monday morning. Two stops. Del first.

[00:42:39]>> Today's delivery is the main source of food and supplies for their two stops.

[00:42:44]>> What did you just quit?

[00:42:46]>> And in this record cold winter, it's the worst time to lose a cockpit heater.

[00:42:51]>> That whole week was just a nightmare. 46 below with the windchill.

[00:42:56]>> You know it's cold out when the heaters just drop 40°.

[00:43:01]As cold as it might get inside the plane, the plunging temperatures have been much harder on the isolated towns below.

[00:43:08]>> For the 6 years that I've lived here, this has been the coldest, harshest winter that I've I've experienced.

[00:43:14]>> It was 43 in the Wells. Oh, yeah.

[00:43:18]Brutal.

[00:43:19]>> The morning weather calls for minus 43 in their final stop, Norman Wells. And the town might have a much bigger problem.

[00:43:28]>> Roger. I have a message when you're ready to copy.

[00:43:31]>> Go for my >> I want you to call company there.

[00:43:35]Apparently the power's out in the wells.

[00:43:39]>> Oh, great.

[00:43:40]>> We're hiting two balloon, man. Are youing kidding me? We got Oh, no.

[00:43:47]If the electrical blackout has hit the natural gas plant, the town could be stuck without heat.

[00:44:00]The crew's first priority is to make their delivery here in Delan.

[00:44:05]Nice one.

[00:44:16]>> Now Devon needs to get an update from Buffalo about their final stop.

[00:44:22]>> Can I use your phone for a second?

[00:44:25]Yeah, you dab it.

[00:44:28]Yeah, normal walls is out. Yeah, the power.

[00:44:32]Yeah, we don't know.

[00:44:34]Yeah. Yeah, just come home. Yeah, we'll try again tomorrow. Thanks.

[00:44:40]The whole town's blackout.

[00:44:42]All of Norman Wells at 43 below. It's pretty much a state of emergency. So, they're heading uh nobody wants their food. Nothing's open cuz nobody wants to open their doors. So lose 10° of everything right away. So >> it's terrible timing for Norman Wells.

[00:45:00]>> Oh god. The power goes out just on the worst possible days, doesn't it?

[00:45:04]>> Yes, boy.

[00:45:08]>> Well, that's cool.

[00:45:14]>> There's no delivery to the wells today.

[00:45:17]And until Buffalo can get them their food, the town is in crisis.

[00:45:28]Down in Hay River, Buffalo Joe's on a forced break from work.

[00:45:36]>> You know, I don't even know where this hunting place is.

[00:45:38]>> He's being sent on a hunt for a piece of his past.

[00:45:42]>> I'm like a tourist. I'm trying to find the place.

[00:45:45]>> Joe is turning 69 in a few days.

[00:45:47]>> Is this it? and his daughter Kathy has set up a very unique birthday surprise.

[00:45:53]>> He's worked so hard his whole life.

[00:45:56]That's all he's done is work, work, work.

[00:46:00]>> And Kathy's picked the perfect person to unveil it. Joe's granddaughter, Robin.

[00:46:04]>> You ready to show grand photography?

[00:46:06]Come around.

[00:46:07]>> Yeah.

[00:46:07]>> What do you think he's going to think?

[00:46:09]>> I don't know. We'll see. I guess.

[00:46:15]>> Rojo.

[00:46:17]>> Grandpa. How are you doing, sir?

[00:46:19]>> Good. How are you?

[00:46:21]>> They have such a different relationship with Joe. When you work for him, he forgets your family. You're just an employee sometimes. But Joe loves his grandchildren.

[00:46:29]>> You live in here, too?

[00:46:31]>> Yeah.

[00:46:31]>> Oh my god. It's not good enough for that.

[00:46:35]>> Nothing can make him melt or smile or just stop the world than one of his grandkids.

[00:46:43]>> Kathy's whole family has been working on a one-of-a-kind project.

[00:46:47]We're building basically a northern resort with adventure centers and yurts and cabins and camping. They're getting six cabins built that way and they're each going to have a theme.

[00:47:00]>> And at the heart of the resort is a recreation of Joe's childhood.

[00:47:05]>> There's a nice cabin.

[00:47:06]>> Yeah, it's the Prospector's >> the Prospector's Cabin.

[00:47:09]>> Yeah.

[00:47:10]>> This is a very, very nice setting here for >> Yeah, it is a nice spot. This prospector's cabin is a carbon copy of the places where Joe grew up.

[00:47:20]>> Oh, yeah. There's a Wow. A wood fire on cans of some raw lumber. It gives you a spell that you can't get anywhere else.

[00:47:28]>> Yeah.

[00:47:28]>> Makes you want to start throwing maybe some pancakes on this fire.

[00:47:32]>> So, did you really grow up in one of these places? Did you?

[00:47:35]>> Yeah. My dad had lots of these.

[00:47:38]>> Spend your We're on Cameron Bay, Sawmill Bay, and I know four places.

[00:47:42]>> Yeah. I could show you where I lived in one of these.

[00:47:46]>> Joe's father, Red, spent years crossing the north in search of gold. For young Joe growing up, these remote outposts were home.

[00:47:56]>> Well, my parents were in the mining business. And at that time, of course, it's in the 40s and they're always chasing elusive mother load. We were the only two kids in this camp was Mary, my sister, and myself. The people that were in these properties were gamblers and fortune seekers. They weren't uh marching to any city drum. Their survival depended strictly on their wits >> and also on the aircraft that began to fascinate young Joe.

[00:48:26]>> The airplane was a lifeline and and that the airplane changed the whole day and the airplane had oranges and grapes and cookies and mail and stuff on it. Had strange faces growing up. in a mining camp with the with the airplanes would be the same as the farm boy growing up in the farm.

[00:48:44]He's surrounded with his tractors and at a very young age he takes off and start driving the tractors and that's u really what it was like and I was young and had big ears and big eyes. I just absorbed it all.

[00:48:59]>> Now the family's got some more plans for Joe's afternoon. If you want to go in reverse and just hit this button again and it will reverse.

[00:49:15]This is a long way from the cockpit of Joe's DC3.

[00:49:22]The day has been a nice break for the boss, but there are big problems brewing for him. Back at the hanger.

[00:49:35]Early the next morning, the latest cold snap has hit Yellow Knife, and the timing couldn't be worse.

[00:49:47]Cold out.

[00:49:50]So, normal walls, the power is being put back on. Uh, somewhat everything's back normal, but the extra 6,000 lb has cost us now to get the DC4 ready. You know, it's - 40 out there. They got the four engines. It's going to take him a bed.

[00:50:01]We're going to get everything going and uh race against the clock. Get food delivered. So, this boy's got a big job ahead of me.

[00:50:10]Morning.

[00:50:12]>> The DC4 has the size to deal with the backlog load, but it's been sitting frozen on the ramp for a week.

[00:50:20]>> That one and that one. Hey, pretty much if it's not running right now, it's busted. Co-pilot Graeme Ferguson is going to need every frost fighter heater on the ramp to get the plane thought out. It's >> cold temperature today.

[00:50:37]>> I don't know. It's - 49 with windchill.

[00:50:41]It'sing cold.

[00:50:43]>> Any exposed skin is burning. Most places they won't even let you out there if it's that temperature. They'll let you out there for 5 minutes at a time.

[00:50:53]But Norman Wells can't wait for better weather.

[00:50:57]>> It's life or death. They need those supplies to live it. Because of us, they they have food on their shelves. Without us, it's it's really hard for them to survive.

[00:51:10]>> They need all that to we got everything and then we'll cold.

[00:51:15]>> Captain AJ D. Coast and his crew need to get in the air now.

[00:51:22]I had five uh supposedly working frost fighters, so I should have been okay. Of course, one of those bit the dust on me.

[00:51:28]And >> we'll pull them off this side. I'll get them started on this side, then we'll do the other side.

[00:51:33]>> You're thawing everything. Cables, wires, hoses, gauges, radio instruments, everything. Nothing works in the cold. I guess the fan.

[00:51:45]>> Normally, we'll have about an hour of heat put onto the cockpit. So, it's all hot, warm. They didn't have a heater available. So, cockpit was basically uh frozen before before we got going.

[00:52:00]>> It moves and it bounces. You can fire out the right side and all in the left side. That sound like flat.

[00:52:06]>> Yeah. They need to be absolutely certain that the engines are warm enough to fire up or risk mechanical failure in the air. Watch yourself and start them up.

[00:52:31]Try that again.

[00:52:41]This is going to check the brakes here.

[00:53:05]I need the purple gauge. Yeah.

[00:53:08]57 GC4 to go VFR to normal level 6,500 ft. Looking for runway 3 4 and a run up is required.

[00:53:17]>> Before they can take off, the crew needs to perform a vital test.

[00:53:23]>> During our runup, we're required to check draw on the feathering pumps, which changes the angle of the propeller in case of engine failure. If the pump doesn't work, the plane isn't allowed to fly.

[00:53:37]>> That is quite a drop.

[00:53:39]>> Yeah.

[00:53:40]>> One of the feathering pumps is draining too much power from the engine.

[00:53:45]>> I don't like that drop though on number three though on that feathering pump.

[00:53:49]>> Again, it's 54 below it. So, the pumps and the oils are are pretty cold.

[00:53:54]>> Let's take a look. See what I'm looking at out here.

[00:53:58]Did you better start you?

[00:54:03]>> I got no oil, no puddles or anything up there. I want to be able to follow that engine if something happens. Yeah.

[00:54:09]>> When an engine dies in flight, the flow of air still forces the propeller to rotate. The feathering pump turns or feathers the propeller blades so they no longer catch the wind. If the prop doesn't feather in time, the windmilling can create so much drag, the plane could become impossible to control.

[00:54:30]>> If it feathers, we go. If it doesn't, we go back.

[00:54:36]>> It was our bad for kind of checking it as long as we did cuz we could blow the motor.

[00:54:42]>> Don't work.

[00:54:44]What do you want to do, J? Go back.

[00:54:48]We came back because that's a no-go item. Can't feed the problem. Can't go.

[00:54:53]Period. Simple as that.

[00:54:58]If they can't get going, there will be a hungry town with no food and Joe's reputation will be on the line.

[00:55:10]Don't work >> on the Yellow Knight runway. AJ D to Coast and crew are pulling a U-turn.

[00:55:18]>> What do you want to do, J? Go back.

[00:55:21]>> Their propeller won't feather. And that means no flight.

[00:55:28]>> What are you going to do? And get that airplane going as fast as possible.

[00:55:32]>> It's getting even colder. And this time they need to make sure they get the plane fully warmed up.

[00:55:42]We activate the number two feather and pump the number two prop. So that's that's no good.

[00:55:49]Holy [ __ ] It's buffalo where we got to get a job done. Mean anyone who's here is called in to help. You know, just make sure you know we get heat on what we need to have heat on.

[00:56:01]>> Pretty much we had every heater we could be working on back on that airplane.

[00:56:07]There's another new little one in the via you.

[00:56:16]Cold, brother.

[00:56:18]>> Now the cold is striking at another part of the plane.

[00:56:22]Notice the olios, which is the shock absorbers for the main gear, were low because it was so cold out. It wasn't holding the air.

[00:56:33]The airplane's telling you it doesn't want to fly. It's too cold to go.

[00:56:39]Like the airplanes have personalities of their own and they tell you when they want to fly them.

[00:56:46]So we say, "No, no, no, no. You're going big."

[00:56:50]>> And even as James works on the olios, the frozen engine is still refusing to warm up. Go get those big.

[00:57:04]You're too far behind.

[00:57:09]>> The flight is already 3 hours late and for Joe that's unacceptable.

[00:57:15]>> You guys are home and start over. That's why >> it was not AJ's fault at all. my responsibility to make sure there's heat on that airplane. We're juggling around a bunch of frost fighters. One of the uh feathering pumps didn't get heated quite well enough.

[00:57:42]Comes down to me. There there wasn't enough heat on the airplane. It was my fault.

[00:57:49]>> Joe's calling in the big guns, a monster heater known as a Herman Nelson.

[00:57:54]>> The the Herman Nelson and the DC4 team in the world together, they're old school technology. They give out 400,000 BTQ continuous.

[00:58:04]>> A frost fighter is like a part in the wind compared to a Herman Nelson.

[00:58:09]>> The thing with a Herman Nelson is they run a larger fire risk. Like with a Herman Nelson, you should have somebody watching it 24/7.

[00:58:17]>> If you don't understand how it works and and you're not willing to learn how it works, it can cause you a lot of problems. And we found that the new generation of pilots and mechanics just don't have what it takes to to run a human health. Today, Joe's old school solution works out 29.

[00:58:52]Second time we taxied out, we actually went out as we should have the first time. The airplane was properly heated up.

[00:58:58]>> Take off.

[00:59:00]Lineups are next.

[00:59:01]>> It was fit for flight. It should have been the first time in the green.

[00:59:10]Looks good to hear.

[00:59:22]You want to come [ __ ] happens. Deal with whatever you got. Get her done.

[00:59:42]>> But getting off the ground is just the beginning of their problems.

[00:59:50]Back down at the hanger, Mikey's hoping he's found something to lighten Joe's mood.

[00:59:58]>> Recognize that?

[01:00:00]>> My first helicopter.

[01:00:02]>> Is that your actual first helicopter?

[01:00:04]>> Can't see you.

[01:00:05]>> Yeah, we got some helicopters here.

[01:00:08]>> Back in the 70s and early 80s, my father uh utilized helicopters in Buffalo Airways as a company. You know, helicopters are, you know, amazing machines. They do a lot that airplanes can't do. Did you buy it new?

[01:00:20]>> Joe sold this chopper decades ago and now it's back on the market.

[01:00:24]>> What year did you buy it?

[01:00:26]>> 1970.

[01:00:27]>> Jesus. 42 years ago. 43 years ago.

[01:00:30]>> The first thing they hired us to do was was spray the town for mosquitoes. We did that in May. And right away this the fire started in June. So this helicopter spent that first summer moving the crews around the head of the fire.

[01:00:42]>> What What exactly is it?

[01:00:43]>> It's a Bell 47 built by Bell 1947. Go to MASH. Mhm.

[01:00:48]>> See MASH helicopters coming in. That's MASH.

[01:00:51]>> The Bell 47 was the first helicopter to ever go to war and the world's first medevac chopper. It was a revolution in combat medical response. Carrying wounded soldiers from the front lines to mobile hospital units. The 47 earned its nickname, the Angel of Mercy. For Joe, it's a prize he let slip away.

[01:01:13]>> You know, it's a nice little helicopter.

[01:01:14]>> Did you buy it?

[01:01:15]>> Oh, definitely. We have to sell some cars, though.

[01:01:18]>> Well, I thought maybe we could hawk a couple suns I don't really need around that.

[01:01:21]>> Oh, don't say that. My rod.

[01:01:23]>> And Joe regrets more than just letting the chopper go.

[01:01:27]>> I never did really fly a helicopter. I I've done uh I bought this one so I could learn to fly, but we got busy just managing the company. So, I never did learn to fly.

[01:01:38]>> You know, time goes by very quickly, and I've always wanted to take time off to go learn to fly a helicopter. But um haven't been able to stop the clock long enough to go do it.

[01:01:48]>> What kind of engines in it?

[01:01:50]>> It's got 250 horselike.

[01:01:52]>> Joe's regret is Mikey's inspiration.

[01:01:54]>> My father's birthday is coming up. And what do you get a guy that has everything and doesn't really want anything?

[01:02:00]>> Go buy her, Mike. There's nothing stopping you other than the fear of Christ in the Royal Bank.

[01:02:12]In the air south of Norman Wells, AJ and the DC4 crew are hoping they've left trouble behind. But there's a new problem brewing.

[01:02:24]>> Yeah. Right now.

[01:02:26]Yeah.

[01:02:29]in the air. We noticed that our electrical system was kind of low. So, we were hoping that everything would be fine and dandy once we hit our first destination.

[01:02:39]>> Well, we'll check them again in the well.

[01:02:43]>> The crew is counting on the engine to charge up the battery. But in this cold, they can't really count on anything.

[01:02:53]>> Well, radio 5729 starting final 0929.

[01:02:58]Roger Wind 068.

[01:03:16]>> Oh, I'm sorry. Did we touch the ground?

[01:03:22]>> The crews made it down, but will they be able to leave?

[01:03:32]When we arrived to the ramp in Norman Wells, uh we discovered that our batteries hadn't fully charged on our leg up.

[01:03:39]>> Without that 28 volts, you you can't really start the engines at 50 below.

[01:03:48]>> If all the engines stop spinning, there will be no way to get them going again.

[01:03:54]The DC4 and the crew will be stuck.

[01:04:00]>> But AJ's come up with a solution.

[01:04:03]>> We're leaving one engine running cuz it appears we got some trouble with our batteries. If we don't, then we won't be able to start. We'll be able to leave.

[01:04:09]So, we have to leave one running.

[01:04:10]Basically, >> right now, this engine will keep the power flowing. But once the crew gets in the air, it's going to make them wish they'd stayed on the ground.

[01:04:29]>> On the ramp in Norman Wells, >> the crew is finishing up the last of their offload.

[01:04:36]>> You're you're pushing out the last pallet.

[01:04:40]>> You're looking at an empty airplane.

[01:04:42]You're feeling pretty good.

[01:04:43]>> The DC4's prop is still spinning.

[01:04:47]We're leaving an engine running while we're down because our batteries aren't charging. They've got they're low voltage. It's not enough to start our engines. If we were to shut down right now, we'd be stuck here. Being stuck here would be a bad thing. Being stuck anywhere is a bad thing. Trying to stay on schedule.

[01:05:04]>> Job well done. All we got to do is get home.

[01:05:11]Next stop on flops boost pump is noted already on the right one and four first 360 rotating rotating on the right here.

[01:05:42]>> As AJ and crew head south, their trip is about to get a lot more complicated.

[01:05:49]We're on our way home.

[01:05:51]We were at about I would say 3 and 1/2,000 4,000 ft in the climb.

[01:06:01]Engine Fire 3.

[01:06:10]>> The engine fire at DC4 is a pretty serious event. You got about 2 minutes before that wing's coming off.

[01:06:15]>> The DC4's wing holds hundreds of lers of aviation fuel. The crew needs to cut off that supply to the fire.

[01:06:23]>> Number four is on fire, >> but they're not sure which engine is burning.

[01:06:28]>> Four. Number four. I said engine three, but that's not the engine that was on fire. Number four is on fire.

[01:06:34]>> It's not number three. Don't do anything with number three. It's number four.

[01:06:37]>> In 5 seconds, you could be in a state where you can't get that fire out.

[01:06:43]Number four mixture set off.

[01:06:51]Generator number four going off.

[01:06:55]Fire set off. That's confirmed.

[01:06:59]The fire lights gone out.

[01:07:01]>> The fire's out out here.

[01:07:04]>> Yeah, fire's out out here.

[01:07:06]>> Yeah, the fire's out.

[01:07:08]>> Not going to lie. You know, if we would have kept that engine going for another minute or so, we would have had a a serious engine fire.

[01:07:17]>> [ __ ] my pants.

[01:07:22]>> They've starved out the fire just in time, but killing the engine is only the first step. And the very next thing you do is you feather. So you lose all that drag from that windmilling prop.

[01:07:45]>> The prop blades are refusing to rotate out of the airflow.

[01:07:50]Open up.

[01:07:52]Yeah, she's still spinning. Open up.

[01:07:56]Stay spinning.

[01:07:59]If the dead prop keeps catching the air and spinning, it could create enough drag to pull the plane right out of the sky.

[01:08:06]>> AJ hit the feathering button and it popped out on.

[01:08:12]>> So AJ makes a splitsecond decision.

[01:08:17]We slowed down just a tad. I think it was like a knot or two.

[01:08:24]>> Yeah, she stopped. She said we're good.

[01:08:28]And it was enough to engage the button and completely feather the prop. So it stops spitting.

[01:08:35]>> Number four. Confirm. Confirm. Number four.

[01:08:38]>> That was a good throw.

[01:08:41]>> Thanks.

[01:08:42]>> I don't know about you guys, but that woke me up pretty good.

[01:08:46]>> Once we had it feathered, the fire was out. On our way home, looked out there.

[01:08:50]Okay. Yeah, I still got three three good engines. We're still flying along.

[01:08:54]Buffalo 5729.

[01:08:57]Check that uh we're in done a precautionary shut down of our number four engine. Be advised.

[01:09:04]>> 5729. Okay. Did you want the truck on standby at all or is that not necessary?

[01:09:10]>> Uh that should not be necessary, sir.

[01:09:13]>> 5729. We left space on runway 34.

[01:09:16]>> You see the lights of home after the mission. It's uh it's always a good sign. Good feeling.

[01:09:23]It's a good end to a difficult day, but the temperature is still dropping and the cold is going to spark a whole new set of problems tomorrow.

[01:09:38]>> Well, see the thing is they were out there pissing with those feathering pumps.

[01:09:46]Nobody took charge. in the Buffalo hangar. Joe's not happy about yesterday's DC4 freeze up on the ramp >> because it set for 4 days and 40 blow in that wind. Yet everybody arrives at work later and everybody gives me the opinion what I should do or what I shouldn't do, what how I should run it. So I need a few guys out there doing it instead of telling me how to do it. I know how to do it. I'm on time. I'm here. I did my job. Got to get those guys to do their job with an airplane that's warm and serviceable.

[01:10:20]Not when it's froze up. Going off half frozen 3 hours late.

[01:10:29]>> You guys think that they got all this time, but when I arrived there when it taxi back, we had five or six people.

[01:10:37]>> Shouldn't taxi back in.

[01:10:39]>> And it may and it will again.

[01:10:41]>> You can either do it the right way or you can argue about it.

[01:10:43]>> I'm not arguing. And the problems keep coming for Joe.

[01:10:47]>> Come on. Hurry up. Come on. Hurry up.

[01:10:51]Get in here.

[01:10:52]>> The mechanics are taking too long to close the doors in this minus 40 weather.

[01:10:59]>> Releasing thousands of dollars of heat to flow right out of the hanger.

[01:11:09]Two days now.

[01:11:12]It's not looking like Joe's due for a happy birthday, >> but Mikey still hoping to turn that around.

[01:11:22]>> His birthday is 17th, right?

[01:11:23]>> Yeah, it's a Sunday.

[01:11:25]>> St. Patrick's Day every year.

[01:11:26]>> Every year. Every year it's his birthday. And every year it's St. Patrick's Day.

[01:11:29]>> He's turning what? 69 this year. Next.

[01:11:31]>> 69. Okay. I have a feeling for the next 20 years we'll stay at that age.

[01:11:35]>> Today Mikey's getting some help from his sister Kathy. Me and Kathy went over to Great Life helicopters uh to see if we can, you know, wrangle up a helicopter that we can uh provide them as a birthday present.

[01:11:47]>> I guess we're technically a customer >> potential.

[01:11:52]>> They won't be buying a chopper, just the chance to fly one.

[01:11:57]>> So, what are we talking about? Do we want just give me a few hours or >> for me? Like 20 minutes.

[01:12:03]We talked to the main guy, Paul. He's the guy that controls everything there to kind of see if they have anything available that my father can learn on.

[01:12:10]>> This is would be I think the perfect machine for Joe to go do his initial ride in to see how he likes feel of the helicopter. Just >> it will be completely different from any flying Joe's ever done.

[01:12:21]>> Basically gone back to a rampy status and uh you know start from fresh and you know maybe feel like a kid again. He'll be a little bit out of his comfort zone, but I think he'll he'll get over it.

[01:12:32]>> If Mikey can get him in the seat, because Joe hasn't been in a birthday frame of mind.

[01:12:45]>> And back at Buffalo, Mikey's finding out that Joe's mood has gotten even worse.

[01:12:51]>> There's no one on the floor. Frod's not even here.

[01:12:56]Hey, Mike. Where is everybody?

[01:12:58]>> I ask you the same thing.

[01:13:01]>> Paul's gone. Chucky's gone. Curtis is gone.

[01:13:07]>> Everyone's gone. Where is everybody?

[01:13:09]>> I don't know.

[01:13:10]>> Everybody didn't come back after lunch.

[01:13:12]>> Maybe Joe sent them all home.

[01:13:14]>> I heard >> cuz the doors were wide open. So, I don't know.

[01:13:17]>> Look, it's like a bunch of kids. E, get yelled at once and I wish I yelled at stay at home. That'd be good.

[01:13:23]>> You want to ask Joe if he sends everybody home?

[01:13:34]Did you send everybody home?

[01:13:38]I got to fridge hang on in the park in the back room to have the coffee. I'm not paying them 30 bucks an hour or 50 bucks an hour. Whatever pay next time they'll think about it.

[01:13:51]>> Why not?

[01:13:51]>> No, I was wondering everybody.

[01:13:53]>> Well, I went out there.

[01:13:55]Tomorrow's the big day, and Mikey might have found the perfect gift, but Joe might not be in any mood to celebrate.

[01:14:13]>> The morning DC3 flight descends into Yellow Knife.

[01:14:24]And everyone's eager to greet the birthday boy.

[01:14:29]>> Happy birthday.

[01:14:30]>> Yeah, you're right. Happy birthday.

[01:14:32]>> Can I give you the birthday book?

[01:14:33]>> Yeah. Yeah.

[01:14:35]>> Joe has no idea about the surprise planned for him.

[01:14:39]>> Instead of, you know, getting them, you know, cookies or a cake or whatever, this year we step it up and get them on a helicopter ride.

[01:14:48]>> Mikey's birthday present demands careful timing.

[01:14:51]>> Okay, it's over. Let's go downtown.

[01:14:53]>> And that could be a problem.

[01:14:55]>> My father doesn't really like to be told what to do, especially when and where to be at a specific time.

[01:15:01]>> He's not the one in control. Sometimes he uh uh you know, drags his feet.

[01:15:06]>> And he and my father are at 11:00 sharp and everything was hinging on it.

[01:15:09]>> He's not going to come through that door in a few seconds. I better just call him.

[01:15:14]>> You know, the whole company on standstill just so he can have a couple hours off. And we also had to keep this a secret from him. I don't know. He's not answering. That made him really nervous cuz he didn't know what was coming.

[01:15:28]Helicopter's going to be landing here in about 5 minutes. But typical old fashioned, he's nowhere to be sil before 11. So, >> hey Scott. Hey, did you see the old man over there?

[01:15:43]>> Is he out here? Backyard. Okay.

[01:15:55]All you got to do work around. Just get your ass out of bed. There's lots of work. I always found that out.

[01:16:03]>> Yeah. Okay. So, what do you want?

[01:16:05]>> 11:00.

[01:16:06]>> What the hell's happening at 11:00?

[01:16:08]International time signal. He was kind of curious to figure out what we were up to.

[01:16:16]But Joe's patience is already wearing out.

[01:16:19]>> I can go back in.

[01:16:20]>> No, no, no, no.

[01:16:22]>> I can definitely go back in.

[01:16:24]>> At least it's nice out. The sun's nice, >> huh?

[01:16:26]>> Sun's nice.

[01:16:33]>> But just when Joe is ready to pack it in, >> we're going to go for a helicopter ride.

[01:16:45]It's your first helicopter lesson >> right now.

[01:16:50]>> I'm just happy it was a surprise right to the end.

[01:16:52]>> I don't know how to fly that thing. Snip off the dual controls on it.

[01:16:59]>> Really?

[01:17:00]>> That was the moment when I realized that actually think I got him something that he liked for his birthday.

[01:17:04]>> That's a neat thing to do, Jeff. Jesus Christ. What are they got in there now?

[01:17:10]You all ready to go for a flight?

[01:17:12]>> You got an extra headset in there?

[01:17:13]>> You betcha.

[01:17:15]I don't know anything about these things. I do [ __ ] >> That's where I come in.

[01:17:19]>> You should have got your beginner's log book.

[01:17:21]>> I'm the insurance for your birthday present.

[01:17:23]>> Well, I sure can't fly like that.

[01:17:26]>> Jeff Ryan taught Joe's daughter, Kathy, to fly a helicopter.

[01:17:30]>> Don't walk downhill towards the aircraft. Tip of the blades are the concerns.

[01:17:33]>> And he's the one chopper pilot in town Joe really trusts.

[01:17:38]>> Oh yeah. Here we go. Snug.

[01:17:41]>> Yep. We're set to go. Before he gets a shot at flying, Joe needs to understand how this machine works.

[01:17:49]>> So, this is my throttle, my rotor brake.

[01:17:52]>> So, you got one one RPM like 170.

[01:17:56]>> Yeah, it's governed.

[01:17:58]>> Even if both airplanes and helicopters are in the air, that's kind of where the similarities end.

[01:18:03]>> Unlike a plane, a helicopter is inherently unstable and demands constant balance of the three controls. The collective lever adjusts the pitch of the main rotor blades collectively to create lift.

[01:18:19]The yaw pedals control the pitch of the tail rotor to steer like a rudder.

[01:18:24]And the cyclic stick feathers the rotor blades in a cyclical pattern to bank the aircraft.

[01:18:31]And if that's not complicated enough, adjusting each control affects the others.

[01:18:41]For Joe, it's a whole new kind of dance.

[01:18:44]>> You can't put a helicopter pilot in an airplane. You can't put an airplane in a helicopter. So, even though they're both flying, they're different.

[01:18:52]>> Lift off hanger at your discretion.

[01:18:58]>> So, you're you got lots of power now.

[01:19:00]>> Yeah. the stra giving it more power.

[01:19:08]>> Now it's time for Joe to learn firsthand.

[01:19:19]>> So you're you're now you change the angle of your blade.

[01:19:24]>> You're not changing your power. The angle of your blade. See I increase the power when I raise the collector.

[01:19:30]automatically increase around the engine. So your RPM staying your car.

[01:19:34]Yeah. So yeah, go ahead and grab the cyclic nice and super sensitive. Yeah, I see that. So I'm just going to slow it down. I'm going to let you play around.

[01:19:43]Okay, I'll go that way all.

[01:19:47]There you go. You don't that is Yeah, I'm a nervous flyer to begin with.

[01:19:57]Now we got a an amateur flying a helicopter and I'm in the back. Like for me alone it's a little bit of an adrenaline rush.

[01:20:05]>> Yeah. Okay.

[01:20:08]Hang on.

[01:20:09]>> I'm the insurance there. So now we're going to do another right hand. Just get used to how sensitive it is.

[01:20:16]>> So far Joe's showing he has the right instincts.

[01:20:19]>> Ah, that's pretty good.

[01:20:22]How you looking at that? That's good.

[01:20:25]That's good. But now comes the big test.

[01:20:29]>> The hardest part about the helicopter lessons is, you know, the hover.

[01:20:33]>> Let's go near those.

[01:20:35]>> Yeah.

[01:20:38]>> Hovering in one spot. Constantly balancing the controls shows how much skill a pilot really has.

[01:20:46]>> One spot over right here. Yeah. Up at altitude, Joe can drop 100 ft while correcting on his controls and be able to recover.

[01:21:00]>> But down here, he doesn't have 100 ft.

[01:21:10]There you go.

[01:21:12]You don't use that.

[01:21:18]>> On the edge of Great Slave Lake, Buffalo Joe might have finally found some flying he can't master.

[01:21:26]>> It usually takes about 5 hours of hovering to get used to it.

[01:21:30]Yeah. See, I'm on there. Hang on.

[01:21:34]Balancing this AAR 350 in a perfect hover would usually take hours of humbling practice for a novice chopper pilot. In the hover, everything's super sensitive. You don't over control. Yeah, >> this is kind of dangerous when something goes wrong. If anything would go wrong, this is the time to hit the tail rotor on the ground. Boom.

[01:22:00]Okay, then the drop. Let me get that door straight.

[01:22:09]Okay. Haven't quite figured that one out. Lift her up.

[01:22:14]Up. She goes down.

[01:22:20]Want to stop. Whoops.

[01:22:23]They're down. Back. Stop now. Up she goes.

[01:22:31]That's actually pretty good, Joe.

[01:22:36]>> Oh, yeah. We got it.

[01:22:37]>> Joe's skill is a shock for everyone aboard.

[01:22:41]>> It blew me away to how well he took to it.

[01:22:44]>> Okay, we'll um move back over that direction.

[01:22:48]And uh Jeff in the front, >> you know, Jeff and my father gave me the offer to take over and try my hand at it. And um you know, I couldn't pass that up.

[01:23:01]This is a cyer. Put your feet on pedal.

[01:23:03]See what you're saying. Okay. Direction of control. I'm going into a hover.

[01:23:10]>> Okay. Do you have control?

[01:23:12]>> I have control.

[01:23:22]So, >> I'll just recenter us.

[01:23:24]So, we'll just try it one more time.

[01:23:43]I got >> for Joe. Watching Mikey struggle is an even better gift.

[01:23:49]>> All right.

[01:23:51]>> I got to see firsthand that it's not as easy as it looks. Then we'll enter back.

[01:23:56]Is that good?

[01:23:57]>> Yeah, the view up here is amazing.

[01:23:59]>> And Mikey's pulled off the perfect birthday.

[01:24:11]>> Oh, very good. Very good. I'll have a birthday tomorrow, too.

[01:24:15]If >> I had time, I'd definitely take some more. But yeah, you hate to see it coming to an end. It was a great day. So someday the clock will stop and I'll get out there and I'll take my flying lessons and I'll buy helicopter