Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
By Lefty
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1347215
I'm starting the planning to fly from the UK to Oshkosh this year - in a Cirrus SR22.
I know I've seen some references on here to the best routes - and the special requirements to enter Canada and the USA - other than on a scheduled airline.

Could I please ask for any information people might have on this?

If easier - please feel free to email me via the email icon

Thanks
User avatar
By G-BLEW
Boss Man  Boss Man
#1347217
Lefty

Is it N reg or G reg? N reg will be significantly easier.

Suggested route

Scotland
Reykjavik
Sondrestrom (divert to Kulusuk if you don't have the fuel due winds)
Iqaluit (sort out Canadian customs in Greenland, 1-888-CANPASS IIRC)

Head south from there depending on weather and avgas availability. Pause and make sure that you get the exit from Canada and the entry to the US bit right.

Special stuff?

Survival kit
B1/B2 US visa for all on board
Insurance

Erm, that's all I can think of for now.

Ian
PS Try to have enough time to go to Ilulissat for a day/night, an hour and a bit north of Sondrestrom
User avatar
By jasoncuk
#1347220
Shorter is Narsarsuaq/Goose Bay. No idea if a cirrus can do that route though.
User avatar
By G-BLEW
Boss Man  Boss Man
#1347223
You need HF or FL250 or above for that route

Ian
User avatar
By Adrian
#1347227
From my massive experience of doing it once..... (pitiful compared so some here):

- Ian's route avoids the need for HF radio.
- Don't be late landing in Greenland. I landed 7 minutes late due to headwinds and pointless vectoring to keep me clear of the one other aircraft within 500nm, and the late landing charge cost me more than insurance for the whole trip. Which brings me to the next point:
- Shop around for insurance. Hayward's wouldn't insure me unless I took someone who had done the trip 5 times, although I know they don't apply that rule to everyone. My US insurer insured me as PIC for $1000.
- Buy or borrow one of these. Great for getting weather reports from friends on the ground, staying entertained, and getting rescued quickly should the worst happen.
- Put some ultra-strong bug spray and a mosquito net in your survival kit, just in case!
- Read up about CANPASSfor arrival into Canada.
- You'll need a US Customs Decal on your aircraft, even if it's N reg.
- Refuelling in northern Canada, make sure you have enough room in your tanks for a whole barrel of Avgas (guess how I know....), and if you happen to land at Kujjuaq (CYVP - best avoided), take your own pump.
- Read the Oshkosh NOTAM, and watch the videos so that it seems a bit more familiar.
User avatar
By Ben Twings
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1347229
Beware arriving in Greenland out of airport hours. It can be very expensive. Well it's quite expensive anyway, but check time zones, public holidays and avoid Sundays if you want to avoid huge bills. I go along with Illulisat; well worth spending a day to look around and visit the Ice-Fjord.
The Greenlanders at least have pumped Avgas. You need to plan carefully in Northern Canada. Frobisher Bay and Schefferville have it in 50 gallon drums, but check availability in advance. The annual supply only arrives after the sea ice has gone away some time around July.

I may be able to help with things like flares and some of the other survival stuff as my kit is mostly still in the UK. PM me if this is of use.

I almost had a gotcha at Sept Isles as Canpass is only available there Mon-Fri. Fortunately Moncton and Fredericton are available at weekends or Sault St Marie if you are heading that direction.

I'll be flying there too this year, but heading from the opposite direction. Likely be camped near the North 40 party tent!
By Lefty
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1347265
Thanks all.
A/C is N Reg, SR22 G2 (Turbo) has de-ice and plumbed in oxy.
Owner / P! has FAA IR
I have UK & EASA PPL's (plus IRR) - plus an FAA piggyback PPL - which I haven't used for some years. How do I ensure it is still valid / reactivate it?
We have access to a portable HF, but haven't yet figured out how to mount the antenna

NB - we want to spend a day or two in Goose on one of the sectors (for me to revisit my haunts from being based there with the RAF 1969 - 1972)
By Lefty
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1347267
Getting into specifics - a=has anyone got any info on the following

Fuel prices and availability on route - (in June / July)
Survival suits - do we need ones that are approved by Canada or USA ??
Lifejackets
PLB
ELT
what is the Necessary paperwork for customs
Finding somewhere who can do us a 50 hr check and an oil change on the way home.
Hotels near airports that we can book but cancel without charge
Possible car hire at Oshkosh
User avatar
By G-BLEW
Boss Man  Boss Man
#1347268
I have UK & EASA PPL's (plus IRR) - plus an FAA piggyback PPL - which I haven't used for some years. How do I ensure it is still valid / reactivate it?


Once you leave the UK your EASA stuff will not mean much (legally) - to get your 61.75 active take a BFR with an FAA instructor. Assume it is the plastic credit card type?

Fuel prices and availability on route - (in June / July)


Should be no problem right up to Iqaluit - after that you need to check on the day. Also worth checking on Iqaluit, they shouldn't run out, but as it is shipped in…Fuel is not cheap.

Survival suits - do we need ones that are approved by Canada or USA ??


Don't think so - get the best you can that you can wear all of the time, some of the big orange alien suits don't look that practical.

Lifejackets
PLB
ELT


Get these too :-)

what is the Necessary paperwork for customs


You will need to call Canada before you leave Sondrestrom (or wherever it is you are laving Greenland from)

For the US you need the visas, you need to go in via a customs airport (one that can handle people with visas, not all can), you will need to file an eAPIS online manifest and you should play it safe and call ahead to make sure it's arrived and is in order. More info here https://eapis.cbp.dhs.gov/ You should also get a customs decal - you can do that online here https://dtops.cbp.dhs.gov/

Finding somewhere who can do us a 50 hr check and an oil change on the way home.


Get that done in the US - the Cirrus owner can find a good shop by asking on COPA (Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association)

Hotels near airports that we can book but cancel without charge


We didn't book any in advance, it all worked out OK. That won't work quite so easily for Oshkosh though.

Possible car hire at Oshkosh


Hertz in the main terminal or via the FBO

One more thing, the Cirrus won't like the rough grass taxi that you may have to endure on the ground at Osh. There's a Cirrus to Osh thing that has arranged hard parking at the FBO (I think) - details from COPA
User avatar
By Adrian
#1347272
Fuel prices - should have come down, but in August 2013 I paid the following (all prices are in USD per US gallon)

$10.96 - Reykjavik (BIRK) + $324 handling and $64 landing
$16.94 - Kulusuk (BGKK) + $127 handling and $44 nav charge
$14.17 - Sondrestrom (BGSF) + $148 handling and $44 nav charge (and $1214 late opening fee.....)
$15.20 - Kuujjuaq (CYVP) + some smallish nav fees invoiced later
$8.61 - La Grande Rivière (CYGL), about 400nm SW of Kuujjuaq

Survival suit - just get a good quality comfortable one. Nobody asked about approvals. I had an old one which is waterproof but not well insulated, so wore layers under it. My friend bought a fabulous one that floats and is well insulated.... but it was very expensive. The rental ones were appalling. Keep a PLB in a pocket of the suit.

You'll need lifejackets and a good raft. (Edit to say that you hopefully won't need them.... but should you need them you'll be glad that you took really good ones!)

Customs paperwork - for an N-reg, all you'll need is the VAT paid certificate for when you come back to Europe.

Hotels - there's a hotel on the airport at Reykjavik, which the handling agent can book. All the Greenland airports have hotels - not cheap though; at Sondrestrom I paid $640 for 2 rooms and a good meal and a beer or two. Finding accommodation in Kuujjuaq was an epic, but we ended up finding a really nice place for $175 per room, and there was a frozen pizza in the kitchen that we shared.

Car hire at Oshkosh is no problem if you reserve well in advance. Easier to rent at the nearby airports of Appleton (north) or Fond du Lac (south).

50 hour check.... if you fancy a trip to Maine (from where you can do a non-stop flight to Goose Bay), I can put you in touch with an excellent mechanic who knows SR22s well and who prepared my Mooney for the trip in 2013. Hangarage available too.
User avatar
By Steven Day
#1347281
Lefty

Great plan. You'll have a superb time. The North Atlantic crossing in a light aircraft is memory and a half.

As above from the guys.

If you are flying to Oshkosh, fly to Oshkosh. Not the nearby airfields, despite them being easier. I know Adrian won't mind me saying it but you don't want to be going elsewhere. There is nothing like flying into Oshkosh. Do the Fiske arrival. It is monumental.

To summarise, you'll need:

A B1/B2 visa each
Aircraft insurance
Dtops decal
Canpass
Customs entry port into USA
Eapis - which needs registering for online and needs submitting at the right time before flying into the US.

Each of you should really have your own plb, you can get Arctic grade and as good as they get comfort wise suits for a reasonable rental rate at Survivtec in Aberbeen.

Great service from them too http://survitecgroup.com/sectors/aviation

The raft is a must obviously.

Do get the In Reach.

You simply MUST go to Ilulissat.

And take lots and lots of pictures. :)

You might find some more insight here (start at the bottom and work up):

https://dayair.wordpress.com
User avatar
By kanga
#1347406
Lefty wrote:..

NB - we want to spend a day or two in Goose on one of the sectors (for me to revisit my haunts from being based there with the RAF 1969 - 1972)


you could even check to see if a bit of my shirttail is still up on the GBFC wall, from 1968 .. :)

[oh, and there's now a bridge over the river at NWR; old cable car has been preserved on a plinth]

Have a great trip
User avatar
By Flyingfemme
#1347503
Spooky! I came across my copy of 2Ds blog this morning..........

There's a serious wealth of knowledge on this forum and all the advice is here. 8)