Bob tries out a new plane.

It was a cold winter day up in Alberta, but I was­n’t about to let a little thing like the weath­er keep me from tak­ing my new Pil­at­us out for a spin. With the Ski Kit attached, I knew I could handle whatever the moun­tains threw at me. And let me tell you, those moun­tains were call­ing my name.

I took off from Edmon­ton with a sense of determ­in­a­tion. That plane flew like a dream, and I felt like I was fly­ing with the eagles. But I made a rook­ie mis­take. I did­n’t check my fuel levels before tak­ing off. Can you believe it? I ran out of fuel just past Hinton.

I did­n’t pan­ic, though. I’m Bob Yeager, and I don’t give up eas­ily. I made an emer­gency land­ing on the frozen Ath­abasca River, and I hiked two kilo­met­ers to High­way 16. I called a buddy of mine, who brought me a 20-gal­lon can of fuel.

After a quick break, I hiked back to my plane and refueled. And let me tell you, that fresh fuel gave me a sense of power. I took off from that frozen river and con­tin­ued on my jour­ney to Jasper without any fur­ther incident.

The moun­tains were beau­ti­ful, and the air was crisp. When I finally landed in Jasper, I felt like a true cham­pi­on. I had faced a chal­lenge head-on and come out on top. That’s what us Yeagers do, after all.

So there you have it, folks. My little adven­ture up in Alberta. A bone­headed mis­take that could have spelled dis­aster, but I did­n’t let it. I used my grit and determ­in­a­tion to make it through to the oth­er side. Because that’s what it takes to be a pilot. A bit of skill, a bit of luck, and a whole lot of can-do attitude.