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.

"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

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. :-))

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. :-))

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

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

"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

"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

"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