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Diabetic pilot makes north pole trip

Pilot Douglas Cairns flew in his twin engine Beech Baron, to the geographic north pole in April 2009. He landed a short distance from the pole, at the Russian Barneo ice research station, on wheels. He left on April 20th from Barrow, Alaska. Cairns has diabetes. In the US, he is allowed to fly with diabetes. In Canada, the rules are somewhat more restrictive.

According to this Reuters news article, the original plan included a support plane landing at the pole on skis to scout out a smooth ice surface for Cairns to put down his Baron. Plans changed when the support plane wasn't able to make the trip. Cairns headed for the Russian ice research station Barneo instead. The Barneo ice station blog site has photos and video of Cairns' arrival there. There are also some great videos of other planes landing there.

Cairns planned to set a speed record beween Barrow and the pole, and to establish the Guiness World Record as the first to land a light twin piston engine aircraft at the pole. He says he's making the trip to draw attention to what can be done by people and pilots with diabetes. Cairns has made a number of unique, awareness and fundraising flights, and has written a book about living and flying with diabetes.

Last Updated on Monday, 02 January 2012 12:42

Kivalliq Air opens new hangar

Kivalliq Air (also known as Keewatin Air) has opened a new hangar at the Iqaluit, Nunavut airport CYFB on April 7, 2011. Kivalliq Air provides scheduled air service and air ambulance in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut, out of Rankin Inlet and Winnipeg. And with their new facility in Iqaluit, they're moving into the air ambulance/medivac business in the Baffin Region.

Last Updated on Saturday, 09 April 2011 23:40

New Boeing 747-8F cargo jet

The 747-8F freighter stopped by Iqaluit on March 14, 2011 for an overnight cold weather test.

Chris Harbord got some great video of the runway 34 takeoff on a nice sunny, -27 degree celcius afternoon, March 15th.

The Iqaluit airport attracts cold weather testing from a variety of aviation companies. These tests have brought some interesting aircraft to our town, including the Airbus A380, Eurocopter and more.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 30 July 2014 20:39

Contaminated Fuel Causes Engine Failures

Aero Commander lands short of runway A 1971 Aero Commander was forced to make an emergency landing shortly after take-off from Rankin Inlet, Nunavut on July 18, 2010.

After both engines quit, the pilot attempted to return to the airport, but had to settle for a forced landing on the tundra a short distance from the runway.

The Canadian Transportation Safety Board published the report on the incident recently. The report cites fuel contamination as the cause of the engine failures. It appears that one of two drums pumped into the plane was from a 'slop' drum, containing waste jet fuel among other things. It is a good lesson in making SURE you've got good fuel. Here's the CBC story on the report . A copy of the full TSB report is available here.

Last Updated on Friday, 18 March 2011 20:55

The Aviators

Television shows about general aviation, or aviation in general, are few and far between. The Aviators seems to be doing well, now into their third season. re's a new one that made its debut last season fall. They're running on a number of networks, including PBS in the United States, and they have episodes of the program available for sale on their site. You can also join their site, and get on-line access to episodes from the first seasons The website features previews of some of the programs, story lists, trailers and photos. Some areas require paid membership.

Last Updated on Sunday, 27 January 2013 13:20

Ever thought about learning to fly....

Saturday, May 19, 2012 is International Learn to Fly Day. It is a day to encourage everyone who's ever thought they might like to learn to get out and give it a try. Visit the site here for information about how to hold an event, or participate in one. And don't worry if you log in too late for this year's event. You can always get a head start on next year's!
Last Updated on Saturday, 02 July 2011 19:51

Aklak Air hangar burns

Aklak Air, a charter and scheduled flight operator in the Beaufort region of the Northwest Territories, lost 3 planes in a hangar fire in Inuvik, NWT, Canada on November 4, 2010. Read more from CBC News.

Lost in the fire were a King Air 100, a Beech 99 and a Twin Otter. All three aircraft were well-known for long service across the north.

The loss cuts the Aklak Air fleet in half. However, Aklak is jointly owned by the Inuvialuit Development Corporation and Kenn Borek Air, which should mean it will have access to Borek's larger fleet of aircraft to maintain Aklak's scheduled and charter operations. The Aklak medevac (medical transport) aircraft was not damaged. It was being stored in a different hangar at the time of the fire.

The Inuvialuit Development Corporation, which owns Aklak, announced in September, 2011 that Aklak plans to begin construction of a new hangar in the spring of 2012.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 27 September 2011 22:49

Sikorsky S-38B Flying Yacht

This 1928 Sikorsky S-38B (N28V) made a stop in Iqaluit on a flight from the US to Germany in August 2010. It was quite a sight (and sound...). We've got more information in the Trip Reports and Visits section of our site.

Last Updated on Sunday, 29 August 2010 15:38

WAC Charts Discontinued

NavCanada is discontinuing production of World Aeronautical Charts for Canada. They are also withdrawing the existing inventory, effective September 23, 2010. After September 23, 2010, WAC charts are no longer authorized for operational use.

Here's the text of NavCanada Aeronautical Information Circular 17/10, which contains the details. We've added links to the NavCanada site for convenience:

Last Updated on Tuesday, 28 December 2010 20:20