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#1
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Trip Report - Canada (long)
Recently I made a trip to Canada (Ontario), and thought I'd share some of
what I learned. When entering Canada, you must land at a designated airport of entry. Location and hours are listed on the Canada Customs website. Call them on the central toll-free number before departing. They will ask for everyone's name, DOB, citizenship and ETA. They expect you to arrive within +/-20mins, but they said we can ask FSS to relay any changes to the ETA. We never saw a customs inspector upon landing. The FBO instructed us to call the toll- free number and we were cleared by phone in a matter of seconds. Dealing with Canada Customs was a very efficient and pleasant experience. It is not always necessary to land at the nearest airport after crossing the border. We flew as close to our final destination as possible. If we had to divert due to an emergency, we were confident we could call Canada Customs and explain the situation. DUATS will not recognize many Canadian airports except for a few large ones. Our destination was Barrie, Ontario (CNB9), and since DUATS would not accept it, I had to file to the nearest VOR (YEE). Our route was across Lake Erie. There is a chain of island between Port Clinton and Point Pelee, and it is easy to stay within gliding distance by choosing that route. I found it interesting that Cleveland Center controls air traffic well past the Canadian border. There was not much difference between the US and Canadian ATC, except for a few minor things. Canadian ATC says "radar identified" instead of "radar contact". They call Approach control as 'Terminal'. Most of the aircraft checking in with Toronto Center and Montreal Center were airlines. I did not hear many GA traffic. It appears that most small aircraft don't fly IFR in Canada. The US and Canadian system are almost transparent under IFR. Therefore it is best to go IFR whenever possible. You always require an alternate when filing IFR. VFR flights greater than 25 NM require flight plans. FSS number is 1-866- WXBRIEF. If you tell them you are not familiar with the flight plan format, they will talk you through it. In addition to all the standard US information, they want to know what type of ELT you have (fixed or portable) and your pilot certificate number. IFR flights always require an alternate. They are serious about getting a destination contact number. I have gotten into the habit of giving my cell phone number, but the Canadian FSS wanted a real phone number. S&R is a serious concern when flying in Canada, even near populated areas, so it makes sense to comply with all recommended procedures. If you are departing from a non-towered airport VFR and IFR flight plans are automatically activated at the filed departure time. If you don't go, you must call FSS to cancel the flight plan. VFR flight plans are automatically closed if you land at a tower controlled airport. Otherwise you have to call FSS. Canceling IFR does not automatically terminate the S&R. It puts you back into a VFR flight plan, and you must close the VFR portion separately or else S&R will be activated. Every time I cancelled IFR prior to landing at a non-towered airport, ATC asked me whether I wanted to cancel the S&R as well. Fortunately, ATC handles both VFR and IFR flight plans, so you could cancel both portions simultaneously without having to call FSS. You don't have to go very far from major cities to enter remote areas. For example, a direct route from Toronto to Ottawa takes you over dense trees and lakes with no place to land in case of emergency. The airway routes take you over relatively safer terrain. I did not realize this safety factor of flying along airways before. This was all in southern Ontario with relatively high population. I can only imagine what it must be like in areas officially designated as remote areas. Sorry, I did not like Canadian VFR charts (VNC's) at all. Restricted areas don't stand out like they do in the US sectionals. The same shading is used for restricted/alert/flight training areas, except for one letter in the information block. Some restricted areas near Ottawa were shown by a solid black circle with no additional information. I could not readily locate the airport information blocks. For example, I still have not found the information block for Buttonville (Toronto). I could not find the block for Rockcliffe (Ottawa) either, but when I did find something, it was not clear which airport that block belonged to. You must have the Canada Flight Supplement (Airport Directory) on hand to get all this information. Airspace markings were unclear. I could not find the top/shelf altitudes for all the rings around Toronto. May be they are in the Terminal Area charts, I don't know. Since most areas of eastern Canada are covered in the US sectionals, it might be better to use them rather than learning the Canadian charts. True, there is some risk involved, but I doubt there would be serious errors. Traffic is very sparse, even in big cities. I never saw another airplane in the air except near airports, and ATC never pointed out traffic. I even flew through 'flight training alert areas' and never saw another airplane. A single FSS frequency (126.7) is used everywhere. At first this may seem like a good idea, but I witnessed how it could lead to confusion. I heard one pilot calling up London Radio for a weather update, and two FSS guys responded simultaneously and kept stepping on each other for several minutes. It took a while to get the confusion sorted out. GA airports generally have shorter runways than in the US. Even at a very busy towered airport like Buttonville (Toronto), the longest runway is only 3900'. A 2500' runway is considered pretty standard in most airports. That was not a problem in the Archer I was flying, but it would be a problem in our club Mooney because club rules don't allow the Mooney to be flown into airports less than 3500'. Night landing at Rockcliffe airport (Ottawa) was an adventure. It is not only hard to locate at night, but only the west 1700' of runway is lit. No wonder they need a separate night rating in Canada. Toronto City Center is a great airport to fly to. The view is fantastic, and is walking distance from downtown. If you buy fuel you get one night tiedown free, which is an unbelievable bargain considering how expensive it is to park your car in downtown. Departing Toronto City Center, I was assigned Island Eight departure. Since I did not have the DP in front of me and tower was not busy, I asked if he could give me the instructions. He said it was very complicated and he couldn't describe it to me. So I departed VFR and picked up my IFR in the air. Later I looked at the DP and found it to be quite simple - a couple of headings and altitudes. I am not sure why he thought that was very complicated. Clearing US customs was a more serious affair. We decided to land at Sandusky, just a few miles after cross the US border. There is no central toll-free number. You have to call the individual customs office two hours prior to arrival. It is usually one guy behind a desk, so you may not get a response if he is out inspecting airplanes, or if he is on his break. We waited for half an hour before someone picked up the phone. He asked for the names, DOB and ETA. At first he said arrive within +/-15 mins, but later gave me only a 15 min window. I asked for his name and badge number as proof of having called, but he said that would not be necessary. I gave him an ETA 15mins beyond my calculated ETA. I arrived about 10mins early, but I was able to slow down by 10 knots and touchdown exactly on time. He asked for passports, what we do for a living, where we went etc.. Unlike the horror stories I heard, he was a very friendly guy. He never looked inside the airplane, or checked our bags. We paid $25 for the annual decal, and filled out the customs form. These are length forms, and it took some time, and it would have helped to have it filled out ahead of time. Canada was a great place to fly, and in some sense they seem to enjoy more flying freedom than here. There are no last minute TFRs, and they seem to be more relaxed about flying than the post 9/11 paranoia we have here. |
#2
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"Andrew Sarangan" wrote in Our route was across Lake Erie. There is a chain of island between Port Clinton and Point Pelee, and it is easy to stay within gliding distance by choosing that route. Right. There is a runway on the South island, and the middle island. Be careful, when landing on the middle island. There is a pedestrian walkway across the middle of the runway. There are usually drunks walking in one of the directions. (after visiting the winery, thereg) Don't ask me how I know that.! Oh, and to add, I was always sailing, not flying. :-)) -- Jim in NC |
#3
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Also a nice runway on north bass island, 1800 ft. The one on middle bass
is new, not the old one near the winery. Winery down by the dock is closed and being turned into a state park. Great places to visit. Pelee island in Canada is also great for walking around. Very nice winery there. Morgans wrote: "Andrew Sarangan" wrote in Our route was across Lake Erie. There is a chain of island between Port Clinton and Point Pelee, and it is easy to stay within gliding distance by choosing that route. Right. There is a runway on the South island, and the middle island. Be careful, when landing on the middle island. There is a pedestrian walkway across the middle of the runway. There are usually drunks walking in one of the directions. (after visiting the winery, thereg) Don't ask me how I know that.! Oh, and to add, I was always sailing, not flying. :-)) |
#4
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Also a nice runway on north bass island, 1800 ft, but with easy
approaches over the water. Nothing commercial there. The one on Middle Bass is new, not the old one near the winery. Winery down by the dock is closed and being turned into a state park. All the islands are fascinating places to visit. Pelee island in Canada is also great for walking around. Very nice winery there. To complete the grand tour, check out Kelley's island - nice and quiet but with a few resturants. Most folks fly to South Bass (Put-In-Bay), but the landing fee of $10 and lots of traffic is something of a put-off. Morgans wrote: "Andrew Sarangan" wrote in Our route was across Lake Erie. There is a chain of island between Port Clinton and Point Pelee, and it is easy to stay within gliding distance by choosing that route. Right. There is a runway on the South island, and the middle island. Be careful, when landing on the middle island. There is a pedestrian walkway across the middle of the runway. There are usually drunks walking in one of the directions. (after visiting the winery, thereg) Don't ask me how I know that.! Oh, and to add, I was always sailing, not flying. :-)) |
#5
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The few times I have flown into the US (Arizona, SoCal, North
Carolina) I have been amazed at the volume of air traffic in some areas. You folks have ten times the population in a smaller landmass, a higher standard of living that allows more people to fly, and better weather, on average. When we fly around out here on the Canadian Prairies or in the Rocks, we get all excited if another airplane passes within a half-mile of us. Most of the time we are all alone, we think, which can lead to complacency and the occasional midair. You are right about the need to be prepared for a forced landing in a remote area. Most of Canada is remote, and it's the law here to carry suitable survival gear on all flights. Most of the time that just means decent clothing and some means of keeping dry while you wait for rescue, but in the officially designated "Sparsely Settled Area" there's a much stricter requirement and a list of stuff that must be carried. Lots of folks have survived the accident only to die of exposure shortly before SAR got there. Lots more have never been seen again; there are many airplanes out there somewhere. Occasionally some hunter/hiker/surveyor/prospector will come across one. There are likely a number buried under glaciers or in the bottoms of lakes. There's the story of a fellow who was forced down in bad weather in the Coast Mountains, not far from a major highway, and whose airplane was found the next day. His footprints in the snow led away from the airplane toward the highway but not a scrap of him was ever seen again. He was wearing a suit and street shoes, which pretty much guarantees death in that environment. Dan |
#6
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Andrew Sarangan wrote in message .158...
Most of the aircraft checking in with Toronto Center and Montreal Center were airlines. I did not hear many GA traffic. It appears that most small aircraft don't fly IFR in Canada. Yep, most of the year you need serious equipment (certified for known ice, etc.), so few private pilots in Canada bother with IFR. Even a lot of commercial pilots don't have instrument ratings (an instructor only has to have one if they are giving training for the instrument rating and bush ops, fire patrol etc. are all VFR). Transport requires a flight test every two years to maintain an instrument rating and most guys who aren't doing it regularily, flunk the renewal ride. (After one year if they haven't satisfied the 6-6-6 rule.) You don't have to go very far from major cities to enter remote areas. For example, a direct route from Toronto to Ottawa takes you over dense trees and lakes with no place to land in case of emergency. The airway routes take you over relatively safer terrain. I did not realize this safety factor of flying along airways before. This was all in southern Ontario I don't believe the airways are planned that way, I think it was just a coincidence. As you noted, most airways flying in Canada is done by the airlines. (However, I could be wrong on this.) In light singles in large parts of the country "I Follow Roads" is a tradition, so if you go down you aren't completely in the "middle of nowhere". Sorry, I did not like Canadian VFR charts (VNC's) at all. Restricted areas don't stand out like they do in the US sectionals. The same shading is used for restricted/alert/flight training areas, except for one letter in the information block. Some restricted areas near Ottawa were shown by a solid black circle with no additional information. I could not readily locate the airport information blocks. For example, I still have not found the information block for Buttonville (Toronto). I could not find the block for Rockcliffe (Ottawa) either, but when I did find something, it was not clear which airport that block belonged to. You must have the Canada Flight Supplement (Airport Directory) on hand to get all this information. Airspace markings were unclear. I could not find the top/shelf altitudes for all the rings around Toronto. May be they are in the Terminal Area charts, I don't know. The restricted airspace is, as you noted, covered in the CFS. (Which also has diagrams for airspace for areas like Ottawa. The terminal chart (VTA) has the details for the airspace it covers, which are left off the VNC (they just put a boundary box on the VNC and don't fill in the rest). In general, they go all the way up to our Class B (which doesn't start until 12,500'). For VFR without a clearance, you just stay under the floor of the ring. To be honest, I find the US sectionals very confusing, with all the different colours (oops, I meant colors:-), etc. I guess it's whatever you are used to, although most areas in the US have much more complex airspace than in Canada. Glad you enjoyed the trip, rick |
#7
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"Andrew Sarangan" wrote in message . 158... Recently I made a trip to Canada (Ontario), and thought I'd share some of what I learned. Sorry, I did not like Canadian VFR charts (VNC's) at all. Restricted areas don't stand out like they do in the US sectionals. The same shading is used for restricted/alert/flight training areas, except for one letter in the information block. Some restricted areas near Ottawa were shown by a solid black circle with no additional information. A good download to have when flying in Canada, available free online, is the Designated Airspace Handbook from: http://ats.nrcan.gc.ca/english/ATS_dah_e.html (Note that the list is pre-populated for revisions yet to come, and the current one is in larger typeface than the others) Among other airspace descriptions, it includes all the Restriced/Danger/Advisory areas. So if all you see on the chart is the hashed circle with "CYR620" beside it, you can look it up in this download and find that it is CYR620 HARRINGTON LAKE, QC (Lac Mousseau) The airspace within the area bounded by a circle of 1 mile radius centred on N45°33'06.00" W075°55'45.00" Designated Altitude – Surface to 2000´ Time of Designation – Cont User/Controlling Agency – R.C.M.P. (613) 993-8675 Effective 0901Z 5 AUGUST 2004 to 0901Z 30 SEPTEMBER 2004 Operating Procedures – No person shall operate an aircraft within the area described unless the flight has been authorized by the User/Controlling Agency. --- and so on. .... snip... Toronto City Center is a great airport to fly to. The view is fantastic, and is walking distance from downtown. If you buy fuel you get one night tiedown free, which is an unbelievable bargain considering how expensive it is to park your car in downtown. Please write a nice email or letter to Mayor David Miller, contact information he http://www.toronto.ca/mayor_miller/contact.htm ......about how wonderful you found it, and how you and your International friends intend to visit frequently and spend lots of money. And to please make sure that he doesn't make the same mistake with his waterfront jewel that the dastardly mayor of Chicago did. And maybe even about how convenient it would have been, had there been a bridge instead of that dumb ferry back into the city. ..... and I AM serious, because we get the feeling that it is hanging by a thread. A bridge was planned, and he is personally responsible for scuttling it.... The lawsuits are still pending, I believe. .... snip... Canada was a great place to fly, and in some sense they seem to enjoy more flying freedom than here. There are no last minute TFRs, and they seem to be more relaxed about flying than the post 9/11 paranoia we have here. -- *** A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within. *** - Ariel Durant 1898-1981 |
#8
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"Bill J" wrote in message ... Also a nice runway on north bass island, 1800 ft. The one on middle bass is new, not the old one near the winery. Winery down by the dock is closed and being turned into a state park. Great places to visit. Pelee island in Canada is also great for walking around. Very nice winery there. Bummer. Many good times there, long ago, but time marches on. -- Jim in NC |
#9
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"Bill J" wrote , check out Kelley's island - nice and quiet but with a few resturants. I've been there, too. I spent one heck of a night, hanging on the anchor in the cove, while a storm blew over. Not sick, but close, and awake at many times, to make sure the anchor was not dragging. Good companionship made it all worthwhile! ;-) -- Jim in NC |
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