Read this article in the June edition of EAA´s "Sport Aviation" Magazine to get a feeling for what this means:
http://www.sportaviationonline.org/sportaviation/201006/?pg=48&pm=2&u1=friend
*** Last updated: Thursday July 1, 2010 ***
KVRB-KCTY: Flight time 1.5 hours - Distance 180nm.
KCTY-KDFI: Flight time 4.5 hours - Distance 702 nm.
Local Weather at Landing: Wind 270 @ 9, gusting to 18 / Visibility 10 / Scattered clouds at 6000ft / Temperature 27°C / nice and sunny!
We called this the Warm Up for a good reason: How does the Cessna behave with full fuel, at max. load? How is the mileage? There are many reasons to make the pilot sweat while the passengers can relax in row B. We´ll stay here for a day or two, get an oil change at TAS Aviation (they specialize in Cessna Twins) and have one of the fuel gauges tweaked a little.
The guys at TAS Aviation have done an awesome job in no time. When we checked on the Cessna at lunch time, the fuel gauge was fixed and all the extra fuses, O-rings and whatever a Cessna needs in her hand luggage was prepared. Since the weather forecast couldn´t be better, we decided on taking off to Lewiston, Maine on Friday.
Our favorite locally owned and operated places to eat: Bud´s Restaurant (best strawberry pie) and Scotty´s Club 111 (awesome ribs).
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Crew in flight - Downtown Defiance - Bud´s - Affordable real estate - TAS Aviation
KDEF-KBUF: Flight time 1.5 hours - Distance 217nm.
KBUF-KLEW: Flight time 2.25 hours - Distance 374 nm.
Local Weather at Landing: Wind 310 @ 7 / Visibility 10 / sky clear / Temperature 29°C / nice and sunny!
During the cruise along the south shore of Lake Erie, more tests were performed, i. e. checking the calibration of the aux fuel gauge by running down the aux tanks to zero without choking the engines and scaring the heck out of the passengers in row B and arranging for a rental car using the satellite phone. As for excitement: Seeing the Niagara Falls has been on Sylvia´s bucket list for a long time. Seeing it from above in your own airplane definitely topped the usual way of being shoved around by fellow tourists on the ground! That Gerd had some trouble finding the falls (note: they drop to the north) and following the circling procedures fortunately didn´t disturb the controllers at all. If you ever get to fly to Niagara, circle the Falls!
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Cleveland - Niagara Falls - More Niagara Falls - AARRRGHHHH! - Constellation Connie
Poor Gerd had to throw in a work session. The co-pilot and the passengers in row B were ready for a break, so we decided to explore the city. Auburn-Lewiston is a cute little town with street cafés and friendly down to earth people which reminds us a lot of Germany.
Our favorite locally owned and operated places to eat: Gritty McDuffs Brewpub & Restaurant (lobster rolls and microbrews) and Holly´s Own Deli & Restaurant (try the Curry Chicken Salad and make sure you get there when they have the belly dancers).
Remark for Jens - tonight´s Canasta score: Sylvia 65/Dirk 675/Gerd -270 (ha! Dirk hat ihn voll erwischt :-)
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Two Great Falls - Court House - Road to Airport - Airplane Spotter - The last cheap fuel
KLEW-CYYR: Flight time 3.75 hours - Distance 680 nm.
Local Weather at Landing: Wind 180 @ 6 / Visibility 15 / few clouds at 6800 / Temperature 20°C / even nicer and still sunny!
The flying part from KLEW to CYYR was purely routine since the weather was severe VFR. There are only minor distinguishable differences between the controllers in the US and Canada. What makes that leg a memorable one are the bureaucratic hoops we pilots have to jump through now.
1) Flight planning: Plan the flight and calculate an estimated time for the border crossing.
2) File the flight plan using the DUATS international flight plan filing. You fill out an ICAO flight plan heavily assisted by the DUATS software.
3) File a departure report with eAPIS, the web site from Homeland Sec. and Border Protection. If you are not computer savvy, well, you are screwed.
4) Call Canadian Customs on a toll free number and give them flight arrival and names and birthdays of all people on board (concerning your estimate for arrival you have +/- 30 Minutes, they seem to have kept some common sense).
5) Check your email if aAPIS allowed you to leave the country.
6) Then comes the easy part, drive to the airport, get fuel, your clearance and fly as usual.
There really is not much going on in Goose Bay besides a bunch of adventurers and some industrie. We couldn´t help but think that Goose is the preferred starting point for all kinds of pilots who want to cross the North Atlantik to and from Europe. We didn´t stay long either, only one short night.
We still found our favorite locally owned and operated place to eat: Trapper´s Cabin Bar & Grill (insider hint: this is a GYOS=Grill Your Own Steak restaurant)
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Always hungry - Frozen lake near Goose - On final at Goose - On the ramp - The Labrador Inn
KLEW-CYYR: Flight time 3.75 hours - Distance 680 nm.
Local Weather reported before Landing: Wind 250 @ 13 / Visibility 10 / few 3000, 5400 broken, 8500 broken / Temperature 14°C. The METAR was quite optimistic looking at the outcome of the approach.
Should we fly to Nuuk or Narsarsuaq? Getting up at 6:00am and checking the weather was no help. The forecast for Narsarsuaq was generally good but temporarily looking for ceilings in the 2000 feet area and reduced visibility. Not healthy for Narsarsuaq. Nuuk was generally better, but there Gerd does not like the 3100 feet runway. So we decided to get breakfast and then call a briefer from Halifax for some local advice. While taking to him later a new forecast for Narsarsuaq came out, FEW020 (few clouds at 2000 feet for outsiders), SCT80 (scattered clouds at 8000 feet) and practically no wind. That looked good, conditions improving and good enough. There is a little bit more to judging that but these are the basics. So we dutifully calculated the time enroute to all our waypoints, we filled out the ICAO paper flight plan form paper sheet (very unusual for an American) and filed for FL190 (19000 feet) by fax at the FBO. Picking up the clearance we run into some very strange problems for not having HF radio. We ended up getting a clearance for FL250 (25000 feet). Up there everything is fine, even without HF.
The adventure was not over yet. We climbed up to FL250 where at -34°C the setup of the engines took considerable time. Finally Gerd was ready to give the controller the necessary estimates (she called already and asked twice for it, but Aviate, Navigate and then Communicate) and we started cruising along. It was fascinating to finally experience flying over the ocean without radar contact and only LAT/LON waypoints. To read and learn about it is sure different from really experiencing it. The next lesson came during the descend. You leave controlled airspace below FL195 and are now in uncontrolled airspace. And guess what, approaching Narsarsuaq a Greenland Airliner Fokker called in and gave an estimate for reaching over the airport for starting the approach two minutes after our Cessna. And this on an airport with probably 20 airplanes taking off or land per day at most. And we both would be in solid clouds by then. He decided to hold and come in after our Cessna. On the ground Gerd took the chance to talk to the pilot and learned a lot from him. There is a way to resolve a conflict like that in a better way.
Flying the approach was the next surprise hit. Instead of seeing FEW030 / BRK054 as advertised minutes before, we broke out right at minimums already getting ready for the missed. So far for the weather forecast. At landing we had light rain and the ceilings came further down. Now we really know why we do all the fuel planning and pick out an alternate. The updated forecast at the time of landing was just 4 hours old and called for BRK050 as the worst, which was far from accurate. Another surprise was that they used Runway 25. Take the flightsim, ceilings at 2000 feet, fly the NDB/DME approach to runway 7 and circle to 25. Do not hit the mountain abeam the numbers 25. Nobody ever mentioned having to circle on that approach. The Fokker pilot said from coming in at least 50 times he had that situation 3 times at the most (including today). When Gerd shut down the engines he was sweating. Very, very intense four hours with a steep learning curve despite years of preparation were behind us.
By the way, the fuel calculations were spot on and our Cessna did not skip a beat. Great airplane and great mechanics maintaining her. All controllers probably felt the apprehension and were very helpful when there was a little question every now and then.
We crossed the pond halfway already - now we need a break!
Remark for Jens - tonight´s Canasta score: Sylvia 725/Dirk 1470/Gerd 920
There is just one favorite locally owned and operated place to eat: Hotel Narsarsuaq is offering authentic Greenlandish food, like seal blobber, crabs, dried cod fish, salmon, whale and reindeer. Don´t miss their "Gronlandsk Buffet"!
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Before takeoff - minus 38°C outside - Breaking out of the clouds - Watch for ice bergs - UFF, we made it!
This is just a quiet and peaceful spot. We´ve seen icebergs, wrote post cards and enjoyed the unrealistic silence. The long days (sunset not before midnight) and the gorgeous weather made it hard to imagine this place in darkness and snow. We tried to bike and hike to the glacier, but stopped at the waterfalls. Since it was late already, we did not dare to start the 1.5 hours long climb on hands and knees, 300 meters up to the top of the ridge, only to tumble down the 300 meters on the other side to the base of the glacier. Nevertheless, eating caviar smorebrod with a view over the whole valley filled with streams of glacier water was well worth the effort to get there.
We need to review our preoccupation: Narsarsuaq is not simply a place for crazy ferry pilots, but the perfect hideaway from the world. Only downside: bring the big wallet.
Remark for Jens: We now know how to play pool billiard the Danish way, which requires much more skill.
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A Boeing 737 on the ramp - Mountain bike fun - Narsarsuag Harbor - Ice bergs in the fjord - Wollgras (does anyone know the English word for this grass?).
BGBW-BIRK: Flight time 4 hours - Distance 682 nm.
Local Weather at Landing: Wind 050 @ 5 / Visibility 10km / few clouds @ 2500´, overcast 3000´ / Temperature 13°C / light rain
Do not believe what you read! In Narsarsuaq you always land from the fjord towards the mountains (rwy 7) and always take off away from the mountains towards the fjord (rwy 25). Correct? Wrong, as you already know, we landed on 25 and on the day of departure Gerd got the suggestion to take off on 7, towards the mountains. The runway is uphill and the departure path goes up the fjord. Gerd went up into the tower and talked to an old (therefore not bold) pilot-controller. He explained the preferred procedure to us and explained the airflow down the fjord and what to expect (some downdrafts in the turn away from the mountain). So Gerd did some book work to verify the Cessna´s performance data, defined a limit for aborting the takeoff and then we went. It all worked out and due to the blue skies the views of Greenland were breathtaking as you can see below.
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Last view of Narsarsuag - Endless glaciers of Greenland´s ice cap - Glacier water - View through left window - Greenland´s east coast
Arrival into Reykjavik (BIRK) was fairly standard. When we were about one hour from BIRK we had radar contact again, got a squawk code and could omit position reporting. After a step down descend we got vectors to a left base to runway 10. Everything was routine again. On the ground we met some ferry pilots and talked about the HF issues we had with Gander. They see the same problems and have a feeling that Gander is trying to push a new policy without any information why. They are very concerned that it might mean the end of ferry flying due to the substantially increased cost. Even over the North Atlantic the bureaucrats seem to work on destroying another business.
Between getting some rest, watching a few World Cup Soccer games in local sports bars, catching up with our online report and Gerd´s paperwork there was not much time to visit the countryside. However we managed to see The Pearl in Reykjavik where they have a manmade geysir and a very informative Viking museum. From the viewing platform you can overlook the whole city and the surrounding mountain ridges. In walking distance of Hotel Loftleidir is downtown Reykjavik with it´s buzzing life and eclectic people. Since the sun does not set before midnight and rises again at 3am this time of year it is easy to build a substantial sleep deficiency.
Our favorite places to eat: Laekjarbrekka in Reykjavik. Their lamb and fish dishes served in their historic restaurant are simply a culinary feast.
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Quite a few planes on the ramp - Manmade geysir - Native of Saga Museum - Typical house - Feeding the swans is a favorite pastime in Reykjavik
BIRK-EGPC: Flight time 3.9 hours - Distance 650 nm.
Local Weather at Landing: Wind 220 @ 13, variable 180 to 220 / Visibility +10km / scattered clouds @ 3700´/ Temperature 18°C / Altimeter 1013mbar / nice and sunny
Here is a question for aspiring Flight Safety Students: You get handed off from Iceland Radio to Scotland Control at FL190 and the controller is asking you what kind of service you want. Ouch! You admit that you do not have a clue and ask what´s available. Then you get the choice between basic, traffic or deconfliction service. Which one do you request? To get the answer, attend our EAA99 presentation in the fall!
Otherwise it was just routine, a solid overcast covered the ocean so we felt as if we were flying across the US. The immersion overall was comfortable and kept us warm, everything was working just fine and the Icelandic sandwiches served on board were delicious. We only need to work on the coffee service. Loosing radar contact was countered with pulling out our position report sheet and preparing the estimates between lunch and dessert. What a difference a week makes. It was very interesting to listen to all the airliners on frequency, Air Berlin, Lufthansa, Delta, Aliatlia, Air France and Greenland Air. They were all there, just a few thousand feet above us and working on their clearances, flight levels and SELCAL tests. All the controllers we talked to so far were friendly and helpful. There is clearly a margin for lack of experience with local procedures, but there is no margin for sloppiness or lack of preparation. In a lot of areas there is no oversight, no taking your hand and guiding you. You have to be prepared, have to know what you want and then find a way to get it. As long as everything is working on your airplane you will be fine then.
BTW: For customs notification the flight plan is sufficient. To avoid thousands of EUROS in penalties, you just need to know when you have to land on a AOE airport and when you can land anywhere. After landing you need to know which services to ask for (Immigration and/or Customs). So if you exactly know about the differences between Schengen countries and EU countries it is a piece of cake. A three year college degree should prepare you well.
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West coast of Scotland - On final at Wick - A fitting license plate - Mackay´s Hotel - Something is wrong in this photo ...
EGPC-EDSB: Flight time 4.7 hours - Distance 732 nm.
Local Weather at Landing: Wind 010 @ 07, variable from 340 to 040 / Visibility more than 10 km / CAVOK / Temperature 31°C / Altimeter 1018 mbar=30.06 inches / hot and sunny
Who would have thought that the last leg from Scotland to Germany would be the most interesting weather and navigation wise! We started in Wick in uncontrolled airspace over the North Sea towards Amsterdam, Netherlands. Our planned route was a zigzag of 22 waypoints, due to the famous patchwork of European Air Traffic Control. At first we had a quiet ride in FL170 above the clouds in the clear. When reaching continental Europe (and finally controlled airspace as well) over Amsterdam a big thunderstorm system greeted us. But the controller approved deviations to fly around and after passing it we were on a direct route to Frankfurt Airport. First they wanted to push us down to FL110 in the towering soup but with a little negotiation we could stay at FL150. We skimmed along in and out of the clouds, picking up some clear ice. However we were still high enough to see the big buildups. Our route kept us clear of the biggies and the radar picture on the screen was supporting our view. So finally we were right over Frankfurt Airport and a slight turn brought us down the Rhine Valley towards our final destination. Apparently the Frankfurt/Langen controllers are not used to having pistons flying in the mid teens in their airspace anymore. It seems that the usual procedure is to get descend clearances only after switching to Strassbourg Control. But that would not work with our piston powered airliner which takes it´s time to get down, so Gerd had to negotiate a little to get a descend. Turning on final on the familiar Baden-Airpark the sensation was overwhelming. We finally landed on our familiar former home airport in Germany, with our own airplane after crossing the pond. After 10 years of dreaming, building flying experience and planning a dream came true.
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Towering clouds - Deicing - Black Forest in the background - Baden Tower (notice the flag?) - We made it!
In the past two weeks we traveled through continents, climates and landscapes you usually only read about. English was spoken with accents as colorful as the currencies we have in our purse. There was little time however to explore more of Greenland, Iceland and Scotland. This is what we plan to do on our trip back home. And just to eliminate some rumors: we have no intention at all to leave our beloved, trusted and prooven Cessna in Europe!!
Stay tuned! Planned departure for the return trip: after August 3rd.
In the meantime we enjoy our favorite locally owned and operated places to eat: Erbprinz & Hartmeier´s Bistro for dining in style / Vogelbräu (microbrews) / Michelino´s authentic Italian ice cream shop / Valtellina (Italian Restaurant) / Lindenbräu (another microbrewery) / Oma Erika´s homestyle German pancakes / Oma Hildes best-in-the-world potato salad.