When Wolves Fly

By: Neil Amonson

By KAVU

April 27^th, 2021

Once upon a time there was a dog named “Bertu”. Now is Bertu actually a wolf? Probably not, technically he’s a 2.5 year old, 100 lb Shiloh Shepard, but man..... sometimes he really looks wolfish. So, since I’m telling the story I’m going to call him a wolf because it’s more fun.

Bertu loves going flying with his sister Heidi. Heidi is a 3.5 year old East German working line GSD. While she is a good 30 lbs smaller then her younger brother Bertu, she is obviously the pack leader. Bertu prefers to lay down and sleep while we fly, and Heidi likes to sit up and look out the window. When she is really tired she lies down also, but that takes a lot of exercise.

On this days flying adventure, we were able to link up with another pilot buddy, Aaron in his classic straight tail Cessna 172. For those of you who aren’t pilots, the Cessna 172 is the most popular aircraft ever built with over 44,000 of them made. This one is an older model, which in my opinion makes it even cooler.

I’ve made it a habit to always let the dogs out after landing somewhere. Some of you might be asking, “Well yeah, don’t you always get out of the plane after you land?”

Not always, sometimes us pilots do something called a “touch and go” where after you land, without stopping you take back off again. It’s mostly used in training or when a pilot is trying to get better at a certain kind of landing. You could compare it to the batting cages for hitting a baseball. It’s all about repetition. But with the dogs, I make sure they know when we land they will get to stretch their legs and play.

Even though Heidi is the pack leader, every now and then Bertu lets her know he’s had enough. He doesn’t show his teeth often, but when he does I’m glad he is such a gentle giant, because I wouldn’t want to be getting chased by him in the woods at night!

I often wonder on these perfect KAVU flying days, "who has more fun.... us pilots or the dogs". I think this photo sums that question up perfectly.

Both have the most fun!

You can see Aaron and Bertu obviously loving life..... the smiles being a classic symptom of a KAVU day being had!

A third pilot, Mike, joined us later in the afternoon in his Bearhawk. The dogs know Mike and his aircraft well and as soon as he gets out of his plane, they like to try and tackle him like an old friend.

There is lots of barking and jumping and I’m glad Mike is such a good sport about it.

After a few hours of catching up, Mike and Aaron had to head back to their respective home bases which left me alone with the dogs for the rest of the day. We flew to another location which, ended up being a bit softer then expected. My main tires had enough float to stay on the surface, but my small tailwheel, sometimes joking called a “pizza cutter” in this situation, sunk in a few inches. It’s not a safety issue (unless your mains start to sink in or if you are using a tricycle gear aircraft), but is something to be mindful of when operating off of paved surfaces.

While walking with the dogs, we found what I thought looked like a giant cube of salt. It was bigger then the rest of the rocks around it and was lighter in color. When I’m flying or exploring the local area I often wish I had a geologist with me who could explain all the cool rocks and terrain features we stumble across. Any geologists in the Salt Lake City area who want to go for a flight....

....look me up!

After the giant salt cube, we came across a ship-wrecked sail boat. I had flown over it a few times before I thought it was one of those small 1 or 2 person sailboats that you learn on. However when I actually stood next to it I realized it was much larger, nearly 20’ long!

If only that boat could talk. I wonder how long it has been there and what caused it to get stuck where it was?

Shorty after visiting the boat, the dogs and I turned around to make our way back to the plane. I could tell the dogs were thirsty, and I needed to get home before the sun went down. By this point in the afternoon, I could tell the dogs were content to relax the rest of the day, which was apparent in how quickly both of them laid down after jumping back in the plane. While we fly, the dogs wear special ear protection made by a company called Rex Specs. Their "ear pro" for dogs is great and helps to keep the engine noise more comfortable for the dogs. Some dogs are ok with loud noises and fly just fine without them, but with these two..... and their gigantic satellite dish ears.... well, I figured better safe then sorry.

I’ve mentioned this in previous stories but, before I had a plane, I would day dream about one day getting to take the dogs on hikes in places where there is no other people, leash laws, or cars to worry about. So when days like this happen, even though the dogs and I have visited these special spots before, it still feels very much like a dream coming to life. When I first started flying with the dogs, I found myself to be a bit tense as I would worry about them in the back of the plane and hope they were comfortable. But like most things in life, practice makes perfect. Heidi, Bertu and I have all become great flying companions and I’m so glad I have a plane that can fit them. Before long, Walter, my fourth month old son will be back there with them in his car seat. I guess that’s the next dream, and I’m fondly looking forward to when that dream comes to life as well.