I was on the trip in question, mine is the Bonanza in many of the pictures. The planning did indeed take more than six months and even then, it almost didn't happen because we had missed the last freight ship heading north in September - the trip was in March. It just happened that Svalbard found 4 x 200 litre drums of avgas, which was almost exactly how much we needed. The next major expedition is now being planned for the summer of 2007 - Yes, more than a year in advance. But if you want to go to places that seldom if ever see piston engine aircraft and especially places that are in extreem locations, then prior planning is all important. We're not talking about a hop accross the channel here..!