skis, then bolting a strap over the tires to hold them in, and using bungee cords to balance the ski fore and aft while airborne.  A very poor arrangement at best, but an indication of the attempt by maintenance to provide solutions to some of our flight problems.  The skis were cumbersome and difficult to maneuver.  In fact, with heavy winds on the ground they made it almost impossible to turn the aircraft around.  In such cases, Charlie would get his team of horses to drag the airplane back to the ramp.

            And so, I battled my way through the Winter, enduring ice and blizzards, enjoying the clear days, gaining experience, building my confidence.  Of course not everything went smoothly all the time but I was able to cope with the frustrations, particularly those on ‘my’ day of management, when I was cooped up inside doing the motley chores of keeping the office open.  This I didn’t care for too much.  That wasn’t the best part of my job.

            With a bare minimum of flight instruments on the panel, flight was accomplished mostly using ‘seat of the pants’ instincts.  We could operate under these circumstances down to weather ceilings of about 200 feet with visibilities as low as ¼ mile, using ground references.  Because of the flat terrain on this route we could use these limits throughout the entire length.  On one occasion, I had landed at Pembina after an unusual steady snowfall.  With the runway disced and a very strong wind blowing I had difficulty turning my aircraft around.  However, I managed, and was able to taxi to the ramp and swivel around.  Snow, melting as it was sucked around the engine by the propeller, plastered the windows of the cockpit; my heavy breathing on the inside caused frost to build upon the glass.  I thought of having Charlie clean up the windows but it didn’t seem necessary as I believe all of this would evaporate before my departure.

            When it came time to leave, I took my seat in the cockpit, all alone of course – no hardy passengers expectantly waiting for a cruise to Fargo.  The wind blowing quite strong, and the glass in the cockpit still frosted up, all except for a streak in the right window that was wide open.  I could see the bright orange doors of the hangar gleaming through and determined that this would give me enough visibility.  The wind was blowing directly to me as I faced the taxiway to the runway.  Because it was so strong, I made the decision to take off from the ramp, knowing that the aircraft would become airborne long before reaching the runway area.  Being especially sure to warm up the engine and testing both magnetos and plugs, I applied full power, then unlocked the brakes and began my takeoff run.  All went well till I left the area of the orange doors.  Then the whiteness of the snow blended in with the frost on the windows-all became white, I was rolling blind, too fast to attempt to stop now.  I looked to my Turn and Bank, an instrument which had a pointer to indicate turning right or left, and a ball in a curved tube to tell whether the wings were level, or dipped in either direction.  I had never before been in such a situation but now had no choice but to glue my eyes to these indicators.  I was airborne almost immediately, carefully flying out.  As the flight progressed the frost on the windows cleared up and, again all was well.  I was pleased to find I was able to fly under those circumstances, until my return to Pembina on my next flight.  Charlie, at the first opportunity, quizzed me on my takeoff the previous trip.  “Joe, you took off from the ramp didn’t you?”  “Yep”, I said.  Charlie-“what were you trying to do, give us a thrill?  I watched you leave the ground and then your left wing dropped down and you made a long slow turn with your left wing tip just off the ground, I thought the wingtip was going to catch the wire on the fence at the south end of the field; boy, was I glad to see you start climbing out of there!”  End of conversation.  Can there be any question of a Divine Providence sometimes protecting us from our own stupidities.  Not in my mind, at least!