Vansin
28th Apr 2005, 20:32
I will be heading up your way soon! C182T with Garmin 1000.
Routing into Hamilton, then Burlington, Brampton, Barrie, Toronto
City Island, onward to Montreal.
Any tips, interesting aiports along the way etc
greatly appreciated. Thanks.
MLS-12D
29th Apr 2005, 02:40
Hamilton (http://www.hamiltonairport.com/index.shtml) is a largish airport, which regularly operates 727s and 737s. But it is not especially busy, and the controllers are used to light airplanes. Personally I much prefer uncontrolled airports, but Hamilton is easy, no sweat. They have customs facilities, if you need them. There is a landing fee. :yuk:
The big attraction at Hamilton is the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum (http://www.warplane.com/), which is right on the airport and well worth a visit. They have a decent restaurant, if you'd like to have lunch. Not all of the aircraft fly, but many do. If possible, try to time your visit with one of the flights listed on the schedule (http://www.warplane.com/pages/ptalk.html) ... it is quite something to see a Lancaster takeoff or land right in front of you!
Hamilton airport is about a twenty minute car ride from the city itself. Unless you have family or friends that live there, it's not particularly worth the drive, IMHO.
Burlington (http://www.burlingtonairpark.com/bap.htm) is a much smaller airport. There is one paved runway (with ARCAL), and one grass x-wind strip. They have a snack bar, but it is usually closed. There are various interesting aircraft based at Burlington (including three Stearmans), but most are of the 'spam can' variety. The airport is essentially in the middle of nowhere (about a 35 minute drive to Hamilton, or 45 minutes to Toronto).
Brampton (http://bramptonflightcollege.com/airport/) is considerably larger, and busier, than Burlington. It has two paved runways, both with ARCAL. It is uncontrolled, and for some strange reason most pilots there fly huge, Bomber Command circuits. There is a decent little restaurant. It is more of a commercial operation than a flying club, but the staff are friendly and helpful. The Great War Flying Museum (http://www.greatwarflyingmuseum.com/) is on site. It is much smaller than Warplane Heritage. I have a friend who is one of their pilots, but personally I've never been inside the museum (one of these days!).
Barrie has two airports. Springwater is located on the outskirts of town, and is focused on ultralights (http://www.sportflight.ca/about_us.htm), although there are small airplanes based there and you won't have any difficulty with a C-182. There is only one runway, and facilities are pretty basic. It is quite quiet, and unless you intend to take a cab into Barrie (which is a pretty, waterfront city), there's not much there to hold your interest. They do sell
Barrie's larger airport is Lake Simcoe Regional (http://www.lakesimcoeairport.com/), which is a fairly long drive northwest of town. It too has only one runway, but it is a big one (about 5000', I think). It is a somewhat slick, commercial sort of operation that I've only flown into once (it's not really my kind of place). It is uncontrolled.
Toronto's City Centre Airport (http://www.torontoport.com/airport.asp) is worth a vist, although there is a landing fee. :( No jets are allowed, but turboprops share the airport with two or three flying schools, a medevac helicopter, a seaplane base, and some private airplanes. Downtown Toronto is very short (~30 second) ferry ride away, and of course there are lots of things to see and do in Toronto. The ferry costs about $2 or $3 (return trip). It is a controlled field.
Kingston (http://www.cityofkingston.ca/residents/transportation/airport/index.asp) is approximately halfway between Toronto and Montreal, and is a convenient stop. The airport is uncontrolled, is about a 15 minute cab ride from downtown. Unfortunately, it recently imposed landing fees (why?!). The city is very pretty, with lots of historic buildings etc., and Fort Henry (www.forthenry.com) is worth visiting, especially in the summer months. Kingston is also home to Queen's University and Royal Military College, which both have scenic campuses.
Ottawa is not directly on your route to Montreal, but it is worth a short detour. Rockcliffe (http://www.rfc.ca/) is the local GA airport, and it is not far from the parliament buildings and all of the various tourist attractions. Additionally, the airport is home to the National Aviation Museum (http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca/). It is an uncontrolled field, and (if I recall correctly) there is no landing fee.
That's about all I can think of for now. I hope this helps! If you have any other questions, just ask.
Confabulous
29th Apr 2005, 15:02
G1000?? I wouldn't even want to get out of the aircraft if I had one of those! (Even if it's a Cessna)
Nice to see the proper glass cockpit models (Avidyne doesn't count) finally gracing the skies.
Out of curiousity, what's it like to fly with the G1000?
Confab