Darin Bondar chuckles when asked what his team's winning strategy was to yank a 67,000-pound plane 75 metres in 22.19 seconds.
"This was the first time we'd ever done this, so there was no strategy," said Bondar with a laugh.
"But, since we made the finals after our first pull, we did know to hold the rope a little lower and start with a hard quick pull to get the plane rolling."
Bondar was the captain of the team of 12 from Leavitt Machinery that competed in Thursday's Haul for Hope fundraiser.
Five other teams were also there to pull the plane -- a 78-seat, WestJet Q-400 turbo-prop.
You wouldn't think it's possible for a dozen people to shift a plane that big and heavy.
But, it is on wheels, after all, so if you attach a thick rope to the front of the plane and jerk the plane into motion it can be done.
All this happened on the huge concourse in front of the KF Aerospace Centre for Excellence beside Kelowna International Airport, which was set up like a festival.
The six teams all had one pull and the top two -- Leavitt Machinery and Emil Anderson Construction -- advanced to the final pull off.
In the final, Leavitt Machinery's aforementioned 22.
For the second year, Kelowna is part of the six-city Haul for Hope circuit (the others are St. John's, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver).
Haul for Hope is a fundraiser for Hope Air, the charity that provides free flights (and accommodations and meals) for a patient, and a parent, parents or other family members if the patient is a child, who have to travel for medical treatment.
So, having a fundraiser that involves a plane is not only a dramatic visual, but a natural tie-in.
"Overall, we're hoping to raise $500,000 this year across the country," said Hope Air chief development officer Jon Collin.
"We raised $30,000 here today in Kelowna."
Members of the six teams raised money and donations were also welcomed.
The money is then used to buy discounted plane tickets for patients and their families from airlines such as WestJet, Air Canada and Porter.
The criteria for help is that the patient is in financial need, they need to travel for medical treatment and that treatment is covered by the provincial medical plan.
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Lee Drennan was at the fundraiser not just to pull with the Siesta Suites team, but because he's the dad of someone who has been helped seven times by Hope Air.
His son, Sawyer, 12, suffered a stroke shortly after birth and had severe epilepsy that required repeated treatment and finally surgery at BC Childrens' Hospital in Vancouver.
Hope Air covered flights for Sawyer and his mom, Nicole Vink, and sometimes Lee, too.
"Hope Air really saved our family," said Drennan.
"Without Hope Air we would have really gotten into debt to pay for flights and stays in Vancouver."
Siesta Suites, where Drennan is the general manager, provides discounted rooms to Hope Air to give to patients and their families who have to fly into Kelowna for treatment.
Last year, Hope Air provided 13,721 flights for 7,172 patient trips, 5,032 of which were with WestJet.
