Piper PA-28 Cherokee C-GQEU

C-GQEU was built in December, 1976 and was the 67th 1977 model Cherokee built (construction number 28-7725067). It was delivered new to the Halifax Flying Club in Nova Scotia and operated with that organization until the club closed its doors in 1988. 'QEU was sold by sealed bid to our long-time friend Blair MacMillan of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and subsequently sold to us in April 1989. We flew C-GQEU across Canada later that year. We started by putting our wheels over the Atlantic Ocean following take-off from Shearwater on 4 July and ended by putting our wheels over the Pacific prior to landing at Port Hardy, British Columbia on 22 July. The total distance flown was 3,843 nautical miles/7,110 Kilometers over 19 leisurely days. All told, we covered five Canadian provinces and 14 U.S. states.

One year later, the trek was repeated eastbound, with a flight from Courtenay, British Columbia to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The route only differed slightly from the previous "Long Trek" by bypassing California but taking in New York. The Cherokee was then flown to Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ontario, and left for a year (although we did slip back to fly it while on leave) before being shipped to Germany in a sea container. C-GQEU was reassembled at Canadian Forces Base Baden-Soellingen in the Rhine Valley and then taken to Chièvres Air Base in Belgium, near where we were, by then, stationed. Two years later, "home base" was moved to NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen, Germany, where C-GQEU was housed in its own revetment (which stemmed from the Base's time when the Royal Air Force operated Canberra bombers).

During the time we flew our Cherokee in Europe, it crossed the English Channel 16 times, flew as far west as Caernarfon, Wales, and as far east as Prague in the Czech Republic. In fact, C-GQEU was the first ever Canadian aeroplane into Prague/Ruzyne International Airport. Prior to our leaving Europe, C-GQEU was sold onto the U.S. register as N87269, but continued to operate in Germany with a United States Air Force owner. All told, we accumulated about 450 very interesting hours on C-GQEU.

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