Trip report to Canada and Vancouver International.

[AdamFrisch]

The usual setup - had work in Vancouver and what better way to enjoy the beauty of the west coast than to fly up? Also, the old girl had been a bit neglected recently. Party financial strains, partly being away a lot. And when I was home, just dutifully taking her out for her weekly 30 min flight to get the oil warm. It was no way to live, obviously.

I'd heard horror stories of the hassle of crossing the border to Canada in a private plane, so it was with some trepidation I approached this. I read as much as I could on the subject and tried to prepare, even changing my ELT battery prematurely. Didn't want to necessarily add to my workload by going in to a huge international airport with lots of heavy metal like CYVR, but because I had to pick up a work visa for my stay, I had no choice. After filling out the eAPIS form online, which not only was a no-brainer (as they say here), but quick as well. I'd imagined pages and pages of hard data to plug in, but it was very straightforward. That was pretty much it. You have to specify a time when you intend to cross the border, but that's not hard to do with even the most rudimentary navigation skills. There is another part to the border crossing, but I'll get to that in a minute.

http://www.adamfrisch.com/images/cyvr/ipad.jpg
The iPad with Foreflight is my main navigational tool and it has proven to be a godsend. Never lets me down and is cheap and clear to use and very capable. However, it would not work for me in Canada, as it doesn't have the Canadian VFR charts.

Off we set. I'd planned on flying up to my old mechanic Morris and have lunch with him and then proceed to Washington and the Portland area to stay the night at JimBob's, the ferry pilot who helped me bring my 520 back to California when I first bought her.

http://www.adamfrisch.com/images/cyvr/morris.jpg
Morris is still busy saving Aero Commanders on a daily basis in his shop in Stockton. There simply is no one that knows more about these birds than him.

After lunch in Stockton (a horrible place btw, avoid like plague), the route inland starts to carry you over some spectacular scenery and rugged terrain. Oregon is covered in dense forest and high mountains with relatively few airports around should anything go wrong. But stunningly beautiful. Soon a pack of CB's and heavy, patchy rain was surrounding me. As if looked after by a guardian angel, the ceilings were high and there were clear passages in straight lines between the CB's, almost like my own little personal tunnel. I got rained on a little, but not bad at all considering. However, it was very bumpy and I had strong headwinds all the way. The controllers kept warning me of heavy buildup on their radars and giving IFR traffic deviations, but I could see it wasn't very bad in my path. I hardly deviated at all on the entire trip up. Sometimes it's nice to be VFR.

http://www.adamfrisch.com/images/cyvr/thunderstorms.jpg
Some lighter buildups and mild thunderstorms flanked me on both sides on the way up through Oregon, but thankfully my path ahead remained clear. Ceilings remained mercifully high in the high terrain.

The old girl chugged along leisurely showing about 140kts TAS and 130kts GS at 8500ft with the headwinds at economy cruise. This plane is at her best between 6500-14000ft. Much higher than that and she runs out of steam, although it is certified to 24000ft. Don't know how they ever got up there to be honest, but maybe with brand new engines....

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I passed an unusually early brush fire in Oregon.

Landed at JimBob's home field which is a pretty tight 2700ft strip with huge douglas firs at the approach end making it interesting. Stayed the night.

http://www.adamfrisch.com/images/cyvr/jimbob.jpg
This was my airport ride from the hotel the next day courtesy of JimBob and his dog. Beautiful GTX.

Next day - still a bit nervous about the border crossing - I made sure all my ducks were in a row. I also degreased and wiped down both the nacelles and got rid of all the oil spill (which is a lot on these old GO-435's!) lest they think I'm a drug runner or a born-to-lose daredevil. Didn't want to give the border people any reason to tear the plane apart. Had a little scare int he morning when I checked the oil - it looked like there was metal in it. After further inspection it was just tiny bubbles from running the engines to reposition for the fuel pump. Phew. Off we went - last stop before the border.

http://www.adamfrisch.com/images/cyvr/grove.jpg
Just refuelling before departure at Grove Field in Washington. Feverishly trying to wipe the bugsmasher down so as not to arouse the ire of the Canadian border inspectors. I needn't have worried. Notice JimBob's 680E in the background.

Here's the other part of the border crossing I mentioned earlier: You have to file a VFR or IFR flight plan for any ADIZ crossings. Now, I never file VFR plans, I just get radar service. So this was a little bit of a new experience for me. Called up Portland Radio, opened it and got a squawk. Then when I asked for radar service back with the controller, they immediately asked me to squawk something else. Don't really know why they don't coordinate it, but it's all good to me - whatever gets the job done.

Trip up took me just about 1hr30mins and took me to the west of the Seattle Tacoma airport and the Bravo airspace surrounding it. It was smoother this day and beautiful clear skies. I was bang on target for my filed border crossing time. As I got closer to the border, the US controller pulled a fast one:

"Stay on your code, frequency change approved, see ya later".

No, no, no - I wasn't gonna be left hanging like this, being very unfamiliar with Canadian airspace and clutching a Canadian VFR chart I could barely read (my iPad software doesn't cover Canada). So I prodded him on who to call up next and bless him, he gave me a freq to Victoria TML.

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Enroute I get ample opportunity to practice my stern and smoldering "I have nothing to declare"-look for the benefit of the border officials. Never got to use it.

Victoria couldn't have been more helpful as I told them I was unfamiliar and it was my first time flying into Canada. He steered me towards Point Roberts, which was the last reporting point on the US side and on my eAPIS file and then as quick as that I was in Canadian airspace!

"Do you see the ferries south of the river?".

Yes.

"That's Coal Point. Descend to 1500ft. Contact Vancouver TWR on 188.7 and enjoy your stay in Canada".

Ten seconds later I'm cleared to a left base for 26L and then cleared to land. Couldn't believe it. The ground controlled more or less progressive taxis me to the border hut and less than 2 minutes later a friendly Canadian customs guy appears in my window asking for my passport. "Sit tight and I'll be back in 10 mins", which gave me just enough time to call in and cancel my VFR flight plan (don't trust the tower to do it as I'd heard they won't). That was it. No sniffer dogs, no inspections, no drug tests, no rubber gloves.

Literally 10 mins later my engines were turning again...

I had checked earlier what the ramp fee/parking was at CYVR, but Millionaire's (aptly named as it turned out) wanted $110/night...:eek: Far too rich for me, so I'd planned on going just upp river to a smaller airfeild called Pitt Meadows. Now, on these big airports where there a Clearance freq, I never really know what to do. Does it apply to a VFR departure? Or IFR only? I called them up and told them what I wanted to do. Again, the lady was as friendly as they get - gave me a squawk and said she would tell the controllers to guide me up the river as I was unfamiliar.

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Bastards have me waiting for two Air Canada 767's. Don't they know how much a 520 burns per hour? Outrageous.

Had to wait on few departing Air Canada 767's, but it was nice sitting on the taxiway seeing them take off. Finally it was my turn and I was approved for a left turn restricted to 1000ft. A scenic trip up the Vancouver river with guidance from CYVR tower controllers ensued. They were falling over themselves to help me. 10 minutes later I was on the ground at Pitt...

http://www.adamfrisch.com/images/cyvr/river.jpg
Scenic route up the Vancouver river right past downtown on my way to Pitt Meadows (CYPK). CYVR TWR was falling over themselves being helpful and guiding the tourist from far away lands. Thanks for the great welcome and service!

So far, a great trip. Maybe I had it extra smooth, but a border crossing into Canada is nothing to be afraid of and should be embraced. Great country to fly in and it reminds me of a more aviation friendly Sweden. As smooth as it can be. In fact, so smooth that I think this is the future of travel - I'm going to get spoiled now and have to go by private plane for all future Canadian work....

The return into the US on Wed night might perhaps be, how shall I put it, a little more al dente....;)

[Shunter]

Very nice. I have to say that of all the countries I've flown in Canada rates amongst the best; everywhere I flew people went out of their way to be friendly and accommodating.

Getting a local license is easy also. Having emailed scans of my stuff over in advance it took about 30 minutes and $40 at the Vancouver TC office. Interesting wording on the license too, along the lines of "all your ratings are valid, anything you can do in your state of license you can do here too". When I queried if that included national ICAO ratings like the IMC the answer was a resounding yes, although I never needed to put it to the test. Go figure...

Anyway, sounds like a great trip. I never seem to have enough time on my hands when I'm in the US to build in another trip up north. Damn shame.

[westhawk]

Thanks Adam, I enjoy your flying enthusiasm and style of sharing your experiences. Keep 'em coming! :ok:

BC is among the most scenic of places I've done much flying in. I've also found Canadian officials most friendly and helpful. Yes, have your ducks in a row for your visit to US customs upon your return, but they're not so bad if you do. Hopefully your future trips might allow you the opportunity to see some more of that breathtaking province as I have. You won't regret it.

I guess you just exude the kind of enthusiasm and wonderment I used to feel before I got involved with flying for money. Refreshing!

westhawk

[maxred]

Another great trip Adam. I have only ever flown that on Microsoft FSX. 26L in the stock CJ.

Question. I opened the thread thinking I would see the maiden voyage of the Aerostar 601P.

The trip is in the lovely Aero Commander. Any update on the purchase? Or did I miss something.:suspect:

[AdamFrisch]

Thanks Max.

The Aerostar is coming, I just need to have some time to go to Alabama and train on her and take her back to California. Should have her by the beginning of June.

[maxred]

Superb. Look forward to that report:ok:

[custardpsc]

Pitt Meadows is a great place. Chris Georgas at Pacific Rim is the man to know on the field. Not much he can't sort out and he has maintenance and hangerage at CYPK if yu need it. If you get time, fly down the river to Chilliwack - more varieties of pie in the cafe there than I have ever seen before. Hope you enjoy it there. Do let us know how the reverse border crossing goes, been thinking about doing that trip myself.

[AdamFrisch]

Well, here's the follow up on the return.

After working all day long on set, hard physical handheld work, I broke one of my own rules: to fly when you're tired - and at night. Problem was I had to get back to LA from Vancouver the day after as I was about to jump on a flight to Europe. I could not miss this, or I'd never work for these people again as well as suffer financially. I desperately wanted to clear customs that evening, so I could devote all of the next day to potentially avoid weather. The forecast was pretty good, but there were some buildups in northern California I'd have to get around somehow, so I had less than 18hrs to get her back in total. Not much when one has to incorporate sleep, customs, weather and a 6-7hr journey time without refuelling. It was either committing that evening, or leaving the old girl behind in Vancouver and go on a commercial flight down to LA. But even if I only got to Seattle and had to leave her there, it would be a little closer to home. So I decided it was worth it to try to push through.

Arrived at Pitt Meadows as the sun was setting. I'd filed eAPIS and a Canadian VFR flight plan during my lunch break earlier that day to KBFI. Thankfully the plane had 3/4 full tanks and the hop to Boeing Field in Seattle to clear customs would only be about 45 mins. Plenty of margin w. fuel. Took off and the controller at Pitt Meadows immediately handed me off to Victoria Terminal who held my hand across the border. As usual, very good and helpful these Canadians. They even use the word 'decimal' in frequencies rather than the US's 'point' like the do in the UK. I guess it isn't called British Columbia for nothing..

http://www.adamfrisch.com/images/cyvr/bordercrossing.jpg
Crossing the border to the US. Beautiful silky evening as the sun slips away. Notice the cyan glow from my new UMA panel lights - well chuffed with how they turned out.

Less than 10mins later I was in US airspace. The Victoria guy held on to me pretty long into the US, before he handed me over to Whidbey App, just north of Seattle. By now the sun had set and just a faint sliver of daylight was seen towards the west. It was silky smooth and clear conditions, and plenty of lights everywhere, so I felt very safe and calm even though there was water all around me.

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The lights of Seattle in the distance luring me in, enticing me, prodding me on.

Minutes later: "You are cleared into Seattle Class Bravo airspace, N20VE". And that was it. I descended and set myself up for a right downwind into Boeing Field's 31R rwy. By now all daylight was gone. Tower cleared me to land and advised me to taxi to stand 4 at the customs terminal. I dreaded this - if US customs when one travels by the airlines is anything to go by - this could be painful.

http://www.adamfrisch.com/images/cyvr/seattle.jpg
As I approach Boeing Field for my customs clearance, the last remnants of daylight are fading away.

Out pops a officer with a Geiger meter that he circulates the aircraft with. Through my vent window he asks for my FAA license, my medical and my passport.

"Ah, you're not an American citizen - we have to go inside to do this. Follow me".

Literally 3 minutes later, I was walking back to the aircraft. Nobody even looked inside the aircraft or checked anything on either of these crossings! Could not have been smoother and the US CBP officer was very nice, even letting me slide for not having the $25 CBP customs decal one's supposed to buy before departing the US. Ah, if only the customs were this easy to clear at LAX!

Rejuvenated by this experience, I decide to press on for another hour to Hillsboro airport in Oregon and try to get some sleep there. I knew there was never going to be time to go get a hotel, so at best it would have to be a few hours of kip in the plane. Off we go and the Boeing Field controller helps me to get out of the complex airspace. As I get handed off I was squeezed by the low Bravo above me and the terrain below me, but the controller never gave me a clearance to climb higher. Probably due to the big iron departures from Seattle/Tacoma right next to it. I'm sure it would have been plenty of room in daylight hours, but at night it all looked a little uncomfortable with lit giant telecom masts and bridge towers scraping the belly beneath me - or at least that's how it felt. Another few miles and I was out the Bravo and could start a VFR climb. I decided to go even further south to McMinneville and spend the night there, adding about 20 mins to my flight.

http://www.adamfrisch.com/images/cyvr/177.jpg
Leaving Seattle I catch some nice tailwinds and show a rarely seen 177kts GS. It didn't last very long, but was nice to see it on the tail and not on the nose for a change.

As I got halfway though, the steady hum of the engines and with less visual cues in form of lights, I realised how tired I was, how I had to squint to make sense of the world outside. Better not push your luck, dear boy, so I once again amended my flight following with the controller to end at Hillsboro. Just alongside Portland, I tell him that I have field in sight and he asks me to squawk 1200 and have a good night - radar services terminated. There's a little Cessna in the pattern doing practice ILS approaches, but otherwise very quiet. Tower is long gone home. As I land I realise that this airport is actually a lot bigger than I thought it was. The problem with bigger airports is that they normally don't have transient parking. This means paying for overnight ramp fees at an FBO. Never a cheap thing. As I taxi around aimlessly trying to find a good spot to shut down, I decide to call up the FBO nearest me, called AeroAir, on the published unicom and ask what the ramp fee is. Couldn't hurt, right?

And here's where America is so great when it comes to these things: Not only is there a guy there answering me at midnight when the airport is deserted, (no PPR's or any of that c**p) - he says I'm welcome to park and even sleep on the pilot's lounge sofa! No tie down fee as long as I'm off in the morning! Tim, that was his name, from AeroAir comes out an greets me and shows me around the impeccable FBO offices and shows me the huge sofa. "Feel free to sleep there as long as you want, coffee is over here if you want it". My goodness, what a class act. I fill the old girl up with his less-than-cheap-fuel just to show my gratitude.

"What year is your Commander? Did you know we're a Commander service center?"

I take a peek in the hangar before bed, and sure enough there's about 5 impeccably shiny Turbine Commander 690's all in there gleaming. We had come to the right place!

I sleep like a baby and get up at 5am again, weary of the fact that I need to have ample margins or else I could miss my flight. The sun is just rising as I grab a quick coffee with the medevac pilots and then set off. As I climb out, nibbling on a dried fig, I can see there's ground fog in patches. I climb to 7500ft and it's a silky ride, but the fog below is starting to cover more and more ground as I progress south. Only a few peaks and higher terrain protrudes from it, most of the valleys are covered in it.

http://www.adamfrisch.com/images/cyvr/hillsboro.jpg
Early morning ground fog is engulfing the Oregon landscape. It will get worse further south.

Had I been in a single, this would have made me rather nervous as there were almost no escapes should the donkey quit. The fog was to the ground. I didn't know if it would clear up further south, but I had a feeling it would as the sun got higher and the earth warmed up. Also, further south the flat and wide Central Valley of California would emerge, and I doubted the fog would stick around there. As I approached Mt Shasta the clouds beneath me were everywhere and I was grateful I was sitting in a twin. A twin with only one hydraulic pump, mind you, but nevertheless...

http://www.adamfrisch.com/images/cyvr/overcast.jpg
VFR on top. Soon the low fog/clouds are everywhere beneath me and that's one of the moments you're grateful you're sitting in a twin...

After the California border it predictably cleared up. I had a robust breakfast at a small airport cafe and filled her up and the last 2,5hr leg to LA was uneventful at 9500ft. I landed at 12.30pm, giving me ample room for my evening flight to Europe. All in all a great and wonderful trip, and I now know not to fear border crossings, here or there. In fact, this is the way to travel and not have to deal with the rigmarole of customs for airline travel.

http://www.adamfrisch.com/images/cyvr/mtshasta.jpg
Giant Mt Shasta towering over the valleys. No real emergency landing options here. It went on like this for about 1hr, but cleared up as predicted as we got into northern California.

Just a word of caution for any non-US citizens contemplating a border crossing. You need to have a visa to enter the US on a private plane. The visa exemption that you get flying on airlines, the ESTA, does NOT apply to private aircraft. It's easy enough to get, but you have to go to the embassy and get it done.

Now please Lord (or relevant lottery ticket issuer), can I have a Piaggio P180 Avanti, or a Commander 695 and limitless funds so I can fly myself to anywhere in the world and not have to deal with airlines ever again? Please?;):E:ok:

[Shorrick Mk2]

Just a precision re ESTA and visa - if one comes in on an ESTA on a commercial flight it is then possible to leave the US to the contiguous territories and come back without visa while flying on a private flight.

Otherwise amazing flying stories as usual :)