Rev Heads East...

This seems to be a year for circumnavigations. So, being at liberty as I am, I decided I’d make my own round-the-world flight.

East seems like the right direction, and the Caravan seems like the right plane. It’s reasonably fast, definitely rugged and fuel-efficient, and roomy enough for plenty of odds and ends, charts, parts, and junk. And a few cans of avgas. The “big round trip” has been done before in Caravans, and it has great short field/no field capabilities.

I’ll depart from KSTP St. Paul. My idea is to stay as far north as possible initially, and cross the pond from Gander, Newfoundland, to Greenland, to Iceland, to Ireland. From there I’ll head SE across Europe and skirt Asia, working my way back towards Alaska.

The route across the North Atlantic is well within the capabilities of the Caravan. The season will make things more interesting, of course. Once into Eastern Europe and Asia, I expect things to get even more interesting. Given political and logistical realities, I wonder how difficult a trip like this would be in real life?

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Fly safe, and keep the shiny side up!

RRW001
Departure KSTP St. Paul, MN 22 Jan 2009 1930 hrs local
23 Jan 2009 0130 UTC

Wind: 160 True, 4 Kts
Vis: 4861 Meters, 3 SM
Clouds: None
Precip: None
Temp: -9C Dew: -11C
Pressure: 1008 mb, 29.76 inches

No chance of sleeping, so figured I might as well get going tonight.
Besides, there’s another front coming in, and by dawn it will be colder than a gut-shot wolf bitch. No sense waiting around for that. So I fed the fish, left a note for the cat, and I’m off.

Drove my 1987 Ford Ranger the short mile to KSTP. Tossed the pickup load of stuff into the Caravan, and then left the Ranger in the lot. The door locks haven’t worked since ’95, but nobody ever seems to both it. Coffee thermos, granola bars, charts and extra pack of cigarettes are all up front with me; everything else in the back. I tried to alternate squishy items with rigid items, but it will all settle wherever it wants to be, anyway. It’s the “auto-CG adjust” feature.

KSTP can be pretty active during the day with corporate jets, the Nation Guard wing, and helicopter traffic, but it was dead quiet tonight. Wheels up at 2003 hrs local, 0203 UTC.



I took my first flying lessons here, in the summer and fall of 1962. I was 16 years old. Lessons were $11/hr, solo time was $7. The plane was a Champion 7FC—the best aircraft I’ve ever flown, and the one I hope to fly in heaven. Airspace was a much simpler concept then, and there was a great little coffee shop in the old terminal building. Things have changed, and not really for the better. Those memories of my first flights, my first solo, golden September afternoons over the practice area east of the airport—those are some of the best memories I have.

I filed IFR for 7000 feet to KANJ (Sault St Marie, Michigan), but right after takeoff I asked for FL 170 and got a nice kick from the winds aloft. They’re on my tail at 50 knots, and over EAU I have an IAS of 135 kts and a GS 235 kts. I can live with that.

On the ground or in the air northern Wisconsin and the Michigan UP is lonely country. The lights of the towns are sparse, and there’s virtually no other traffic. I’d intended to cancel my IFR flight plan, but decide not to because, honestly, I don’t want to break the human connection the radio chatter provides. The cabin is warm, and the coffee tastes good. I’m betting I’ll be able to get a cab and decent motel room, in Sault St. Marie. The airport is right in town. I’d like a nightcap, and a shower and breakfast in the morning.

Landed 0424 UTC, visual approach to runway 14, in calm wind and 10SM visibility. Total flight time 2.3 hrs.
<br /><br /><!-- editby --><br /><br /><em>edited by: Rev45, Jan 23, 2009 - 05:56 PM</em><!-- end editby -->

RRW 002
KANJ Sault St Marie to CYQB Quebec
558 nm est. 3:40 est. fuel 864 lbs Fuel on board 1534 lbs
KANJ SSM YEL YSB YYB YMW YMX UFX YRQ QB CYQB

It was early noon before I finished breakfast, took a quick tour of the snowy town, and got ready to head for Quebec. The weather could have been better, but the winds aloft looked very favorable. Forecast 98 kt tailwind at FL180.

Wx at takeoff:
Wind: 310 True, 14 Kts Vis: 4861 Meters, 3 SM
Clouds: 900 Scattered, 1600 Broken, 4100 Overcast
Precip: Light Snow Temp: -3C Dew: -6C
Pressure: 1003 mb, 29.61 inches

I filed IFR for 13,000, again expecting to request a change after takeoff.

It was cold on the ramp, but thankfully just some light snow to brush off and the engine started easily. I got clearance from Toronto, was handed back to Minneapolis after takeoff, then almost immediately handed back to Toronto. I’ll take that to mean I’m officially in Canada now. Climbed to FL 170 and again got a nice payoff in ground speed—258 knts. I broke out of the overcast at 11,000 feet, and it remained solid below. Sadly, I didn’t even get a glimpse of the Great Lakes shoreline I was flying past.

I’ve never been to Quebec, but the cold doesn’t inspire me to do any sightseeing. Likewise the Separatist politics.

Gander, Newfoundland is the next stop after Quebec, and I have been there before. It was 1964 and I was taking Icelandic Airways from New York to Luxemburg, riding a DC-6B. I believe the ticket cost about $100. We refueled in Gander at 2 AM. We were allowed off the plane for about a half-hour, but there wasn’t much to see or do. I remember a dark, depressed-looking terminal with a few locals sitting around. I think a couple of them were hookers. It wasn’t too many years later that commercial jets put an end to Gander’s golden age as a refueling stop for transatlantic flights.

Landed CYQB 1625 eastern. Total flight time 3:35 Act. Fuel 832 lbs
ILS approach in frigid pea soup.

My little Caravan will spend the night in a heated hanger. I plan to spend a good portion of the night in a hot tub or sauna. Off to Gander at dawn.

RRW003
CTQB Quebec to Gander CYQX


I feel like this trip will really start in Gander, I suppose because I’ll be heading out over the Atlantic from there. The waypoints on this leg are all NDBs except the first one. Glad it’s the age of the GPS, despite the romance I feel for navigation methods of old. Route: CYQB YYY ME PH NA DF QX CYQX

Wx at takeoff from Quebec:
Wind: 070 True, 12 Kts Vis: 2431 Meters, 2 SM
Clouds: 2000 Overcast Precip: Light Snow
Temp: -11C Dew: -16C Pressure: 1003 mb, 29.63 inches



Some history and info on Gander from Wikipedia:

Gander was chosen for the construction of an airport in 1935 due to its location close to the northeast tip of the North American continent. … On January 11, 1938, Captain Douglas Fraser made the first landing at "Newfoundland Airport", now known as Gander International Airport, in a single-engine biplane, Fox Moth VO-ADE. During the Second World War, as many as 10,000 Canadian, British and American military personnel resided in Gander. The area became a strategic post for the Royal Air Force Air Ferry Command, with approximately 20,000 American and Canadian-built fighters and bombers stopping at Gander en route to Europe. Once the war was over, the airbase became a civilian airport and the location of the town was moved a safe distance from the runways. Construction of the present town site began in the 1950s and the present municipality was incorporated in 1958 and the settlement around the airport was eventually abandoned.

After the Second World War the town grew as the airport was used as a refuelling stop for transatlantic flights, earning its name "Cross-roads of the world" as nearly all overseas flights had to stop there before crossing the Atlantic. … The Gander airport played an important role in world aviation in the immediate hours following the September 11, 2001 attacks when all of North America's airspace was closed by North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), and 39 transatlantic flights bound for the United States were ordered to land at the airport—more flights than any other Canadian airport other than Halifax International. … Over 6,600 passengers and airline crew members unexpectedly found themselves forced to stay in the Gander area for up to three days until airspace was reopened and flights resumed. Residents of Gander and surrounding communities volunteered to house, feed, and entertain the travellers in what became known as Operation Yellow Ribbon. … In May 2007, Money Sense ranked Gander as the 10th best place to live in Canada. The magazine ranked communities strictly by crunching numbers relating to 12 measurable factors including weather, real estate values, income levels, unemployment rates, discretionary income, murder rates and signs of prosperity such as the percentage of late model vehicles.

Maybe Gander’s golden age isn't quite over yet.


<br /><br /><!-- editby --><br /><br /><em>edited by: Rev45, Jan 24, 2009 - 10:33 AM</em><!-- end editby -->

Gander to BGBW Narsarsuaq, Greenland

Gander wx on departure: Wind: 250 True, 18 Kts Vis: 9999 Meters, 20 SM Clouds: 2700 Scattered Precip: None Temp: -12C Dew: -17C Pressure: 998 mb, 29.47 inches

BGBW Weather at departure: Wind: 070 True, 3 Kts Vis: 9999 Meters, 10 SM Clouds: 10000 Few, 18000 Scattered Precip: None Temp: -12C Dew: -15C Pressure: 979 mb, 28.91 inches

If that weather holds at BGBW I’ll be lucky. Estimated flight time is 4:59, which gives me 1.5 hrs of fuel reserve, at best. This airport is “Bluie West One” made famous by Ernest Gann in his memoir Fate is the Hunter.

Note on landing: The weather held, and the flight was wonderfully boring.


<br /><br /><!-- editby --><br /><br /><em>edited by: Rev45, Jan 26, 2009 - 10:36 AM</em><!-- end editby -->

Finally the UK!

Two terminally boring flights of about 5 hrs each got me to Reykjevik BIRK, then to Stornoway EGPO. Strong headwinds made the second leg longer than it might have been. I tried altitudes from FL180 all the way down to 2,000 feet, but it made little difference. The wind stayed within a few degrees of my course heading at 35-45 knots.

EGPO is the largest airport in the Outer Hebrides, and Stornoway is a seaport with a good natural harbor. Remote and quiet, it’s a strategic location in some respects, and rather pretty in a windswept way.

I'm going to head east across Scotland, then SSW to Plymouth, then SE to Nice. I'm just sightseeing and following my nose at this point.
<br /><br /><!-- editby --><br /><br /><em>edited by: Rev45, Jan 27, 2009 - 07:03 PM</em><!-- end editby -->