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Old 21st Oct 2014, 09:57
  #30 (permalink)  
9 lives
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Canada
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you will be better to have prior arrangements for fuel and accommodation and even then, you might get some surprises.
Indeed. A lot of planning is required. I was as far north in mainland eastern Canada this summer with my plane. The prior planning for fuel was done through the lodge I stayed at in far north Quebec. Avgas was $6.50 per liter, and you have to hand pump it yourself. North of there, Avgas requires even more arranging, and high cost. You cannot assume its availability.

The Canadian arctic is magnificently beautiful, but wow, is it big! It's a long way to the far north just to see a whole bunch of white, and say you've been there.

In that part of the world, a small technical problem becomes very serious right away. I carried 50 pounds of tools and "support" for my plane, and that still was not enough for the engine problem I had. Fortunately, I had the problem in southern Quebec, where additional support was close at hand. If the same snag had occurred in the far north, it would have been tens of thousands of dollars cost to get going again. The only reason I ventured as far as I did, was that I went with friend in six other aircraft, so we had lots of crossover support and safety. We each carried pre agreed elements of what it would take to get any one aircraft going again.

With the immense unsupported distances between facilities, it is necessary for every leg of the flight to have a back up plan as to what to do, and where to go, if making it to the destination becomes impossible. Flying an amphibian is very reassuring in those cases. Not only is there a chance for a safe water landing in calm waters, but a slid on crash landing on very rough ground has abetter chance of success.

I would only consider a GA aircraft trip to that part of Canada as a part of a team of people and planes which I really trusted.....
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