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Trip Reports and Visits
Travelling through Iqaluit Print E-mail

OLJ goes camping at York SoundOver the years, we've met a wide range of pilots in a wide range of aircraft travelling through Iqaluit on their way to and from Europe and Canada's Eastern Arctic.  Ferry pilots, vacationing private pilots, adventurers going around the world, military pilots and many more.  Here are some of the interesting people we've encountered, and some of their stories.

Most stop through Iqaluit on their way between Canada and Greenland, as this is the largest airport on the Canadian side of the Davis Strait crossing.  For most people in smaller single engine aircraft, the route between Iqaluit and Sondre Stromfiord or Nuuk, Greenland offer the shortest time over water on a north Atlantic Crossing.

Others visit Iqaluit on the way to Pangnirtung, Qikiqtarjuaq, Cape Dorset, Kimmirut or other spots as far north as Pond Inlet, Resolute, Eureka and the North Magnetic Pole. More stories and links are added each summer season. And check out our Planespotting at CYFB page.

Last Updated on Saturday, 24 October 2015 20:37
 
Vans RV-8 all the way from L.A. Print E-mail

Vans RV-8 N731MBMark Albery dropped us an email recently to send a couple of photos of his trip through CYFB Iqaluit, Nunavut in April 2013.  Mark was flying his Vans RV-8 N713NB. He stopped by enroute from Los Angeles to the United Kingdom.  He says the visit, though short, was great.  Mark got a chance to meet our friend Wes Alldridge, Chief Pilot at Air Nunavut.  Check out Mark's collection of photos of the trip here, including the one at the left.  He's parked in front of the Frobisher Bay Touchdown Services FBO building at CYFB.

Last Updated on Friday, 07 June 2013 21:53
 
Grise Fiord by 172 Print E-mail

C-GEGG enroute to Grise Fiord, NunavutWerner Koch of Vancouver made a trip from CYPK Pitt Meadows, BC to CYGZ Grise Fiord, Nunavut in July 2011.  He went via CYZF Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, CYCB Cambridge Bay, CYYHTaloyoak, and CYAB Arctic Bay Nunavut,  to Grise Fiord. The return trip was via Arctic Bay, Cambridge Bay, CYCO Kugluktuk, CYVQ Norman Wells, NWT and Muncho Lake, BC.

Last Updated on Saturday, 24 October 2015 20:46
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Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 Print E-mail

This HHawker Beechcraft AT-6awker Beechcraft AT-6 (model 3000), serial number AT-1,  dropped by Iqaluit in July, 2011 on its way to the 40th anniversary Royal International Air Tattoo at the Royal Airforce Base Fairford, Gloucestershire, England.  The AT-6 is Hawker Beechcraft's new attack/surveillance aircraft, based on its T-6 Texan trainer.

Last Updated on Saturday, 24 October 2015 20:48
 
Jens Abildgaard Print E-mail

Jens from DenmarkJens Abildgaard was through Iqaluit a couple of years ago on one of his longer, international trips. He's done a 'round the world flight, a trip from Europe to the US and one to South Africa, all in a single engine plane.  His website has trip reports and other information.

 
Great Arctic Air Adventure Print E-mail

 

Great Arctic Air AdventureBack in 2008, The Great Arctic Air Adventure completed a circumnavigation of Canada, which included a trip to the North Magnetic Pole,  by float plane.  That’s not something you see up here everyday… visit their site for photos, videos and more. The trip took off from the west Coast, travelled through the Yukon and Northwest Territories, and visited a number of Nunavut communties, including Cambridge Bay, Coral Harbour and Resolute Bay before returning south via the Nunavik region of Northern Quebec. The float equipped deHavilland Beaver would have reminded some of the older arctic residents of the kind of planes that found their way north in the 1940s to 1960s.

Now, their adventure has been documented in a TV special airing on PBS.  Details, including the video trailer, are available here.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 14 December 2011 20:05
 
Ward Welvaert Print E-mail

Ward Welvaert at CYVMWard Welvaert is a professional ferry pilot who has flown a number of single engine aircraft between North America and Europe, via CYFB-Iqaluit, CYVM- Qikiqtarjuaq, and Kuujjuaq.  His website provides information and photos about some of his services, and his blog site provides some recent trip reports, including this one on ferrying a Piper Seneca through Iqaluit to Europe.

 

Last Updated on Saturday, 29 October 2011 11:01
 
Heliventure '10 Print E-mail

HeliVenture 10Paul Bossens, and Pete Koekelkoren made a successful trip in a Robinson R-44 Clipper II (OO-HEY) from Brussels, Belgium to Oshkosh for the airshow and then on to Los Angeles.  The trip covered more than 9,000 nm, flown over a month.

Last Updated on Thursday, 17 February 2011 01:15
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Single Hand, Single Engine, Single Trip Print E-mail

Hans Juergen and Wilma SchwerhoffHans-Jürgen Schwerhoff, accompanied by Wilma Schwerhoff, flew a Cessna P210N Centurion around the world in the summer of 2010.  They started at home in Germany, heading south east, on April 8, 2010 and were back home in Friedrichshafen, Germany on August 20th.

Last Updated on Sunday, 05 December 2010 13:16
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Kate and Karoliina - US to Finland Print E-mail
N756DS in Kuujjuaq, NunavikKate and Karoliina flew their Diamond DA40 from the US to Finland during the summer of 2009. This blog features a trip report and photos.  Their story points out the need to make sure there is avgas available where you're going, and why it is important to check ahead for accommodation on trips through arctic Canada. There's also information about their visit to Oshkosh. We saw their Diamond when they were in Iqaluit, but didn't get a chance to meet them.
Last Updated on Sunday, 01 May 2011 14:30
 
Gary and Alice Nelson Print E-mail

Gary and Alice NelsonGary and Alice Nelson flew their Cessna Skylane from Washington State to Europe through Iqaluit in 2006.  Their trip report contains lots of interesting aviation and tourism information, with some great details about spots we don't often hear about, like Coral Harbour, Nunavut and some of the southern stops in Greenland.

They encountered some interesting weather, and have some good photos of approaches to some of the smaller airports on the way.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 July 2011 19:33
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Larry's trips to Kugluktuk Print E-mail

Challenger at Windy Lake, NWTThere are very few private aircraft in Nunavut.  Over the years there have been a handful of ultralights and Cessna 172s based in Iqaluit, although at present CYFB is without a private aviation presence.  But though Iqaluit is fairly far north by southern Canadian standards, it is not the most northerly spot for private aviation in Nunavut.  Check out this blog from Larry at CYCO Kugluktuk, Nunavut (formerly known as Coppermine) on the Arctic Coast.

Last Updated on Friday, 07 June 2013 21:05
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Indian Air Force Print E-mail

Rahul Monga and Anil KumarWing Commanders Rahul Monga and Anil Kumar were in Iqaluit on August 1 and 2, 2007 on day 60 and 61 of their record-breaking ultralight trip around the world. The event was part of the celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Indian Air Force.  On the Canadian arctic part of their,  trip they experienced a few days of bad weather, holding them in Northern Quebec before they could cross the Hudson Strait to Iqaluit.

Last Updated on Saturday, 21 April 2012 09:11
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International Air Rally Print E-mail

International Air Rally in IqaluitThe International Air Rally visited Iqaluit on August 4 and 5, 2006. Iqaluit was the destination for this intrepid group of small plane owners and pilots.  The trip started at the Oshkosh air show. Click here for a map showing their route.

This group plans trips like this to out of the way places just about every year.

Last Updated on Thursday, 13 August 2009 22:53
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Sprenger and Lorenz Print E-mail
Siegmar Sprenger and Harro LorenzSiegmar Sprenger and Harro Lorenz arrived in Iqaluit from Germany on June 15, 2005.  They came for a bit of arctic sightseeing in their Flight Designs CT advanced ultralight.  Their trip report, with photos, is available in German. An English version can be found here.  In this photo, we're just about to park the plane in the Polar Pilots hangar for Siegmar and Harro head out to explore Iqaluit.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 08 June 2010 19:14
 
Healey and Lohr Print E-mail

Pat HealeyPat Healey and John Lohr flew their 2001 American Champion on quite a trip in 2003.  Starting in Maryland, they travelled through Iqaluit and on up to the Magnetic North Pole. Their trip report has lots of photos along the way.  In addition to the Magnetic North Pole, they also flew the western part of the Northwest Passage in 2004. Here's the route map for those trips. 

The photo shows Pat Healey on the ground in Resolute, Nunavut.

Last Updated on Saturday, 18 April 2009 11:02
 
Terry Jantzi Print E-mail

Terry JantziTerry's 1999 visit to Iqaluit was our first introduction to the RANS-RV6. And Terry's was a beauty. He won an outstanding workmanship award at Oshkosh in 1998.

That's Terry on the right, with Pat Nagle after Terry took him for a quick flight around the Iqaluit area.  Terry's thing at the time was speed records. He set one between Ottawa and Iqaluit on his trip here.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 May 2010 00:20
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Arnim Stief Print E-mail

Armin Stief and Thomas StalzerWe've seen Arnim Stief come through Iqaluit a couple of times. In the photo on the left, he's seen with Thomas Stalzer.  In 2004, they were in Iqaluit ferrying a Cessna Cardinal from the rebuild in the U.S. to Stalzer's aircraft rental company EC-FLY in Mallorca, Spain.  EC-FLY rents to private pilots, so look him up if you're heading that way.

Armin also stopped by again in 2006, ferrying this new Cirrus for a German fractional ownership company.  And we bumped into him again in 2009, when he was flying with a group from Germany to the airshow at Oshkosh.

Last Updated on Friday, 21 December 2012 08:14
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Small Plane, Big Planet Print E-mail

Small Plane, Big PlanetChristian Science Monitor reporter Brad Knickerbocker wrote a series of articles in that paper in 2000, covering a trip around the world in a Cessna 182. The series was called Small Plane, Big Planet.   Unfortunately, their great website no longer seems to exist at CSMonitor.com.

Last Updated on Monday, 03 January 2011 14:21
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Cold Weather Testing Print E-mail

Airliners.net Photo ID 1000023 Click here for full size photo!Because of the length of the runway, the cold winters, and proximity to Europe, Iqaluit is a popular destination for cold weather testing of new aircraft.  In the last few years we've seen the Boeing 777, new helicopter designs from Eurocopter, and of course, the Airbus A380.  The largest passenger plane in the world, the A380 dwarfed just about everything when it underwent cold weather testing in the winters of 2006 and 2007. This photo from Airliners.net.

Last Updated on Saturday, 16 February 2013 13:34
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And it never left... Print E-mail

DC-3 in winterOn November 3, 1975, C-FOOY, a 1944 Douglas C47A 10DK Dakota 3 (DC-3) belonging to Kenting Atlas Aviation was carrying a group of Inuit on a charter from a meeting in Pond Inlet back to Iqaluit (or Frobisher Bay as it was then known). Bad weather forced it to miss refuelling in Pangnirtung or Broughton Island (now Qikiqtarjuaq). It ran out of fuel and landed on the tundra about 45 nm north east of Iqaluit.  The passengers included many of the original Inuit group that worked to develop the idea of Nunavut, which became a territory on April 1, 1999.  Like many arctic plane crashes, the plane is still there to this day.

 

Last Updated on Saturday, 24 October 2015 20:39
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Drag 'Em Oot Print E-mail

C-47A N5831BIt is not every day we get a chance to have a look at some serious aviation history.  This 1943 C-47A N5831B (c/n 19345) dropped by CYFB in Iqaluit in May 2005 on its way from Arizona to to its new home in England.  At the time, it appeared to be just another of the many ferry flights that travel through YFB every year.  But, thanks to Ruud Leeuw, there are web pages outlining N5831B's World War II history, its post-war past, and its restoration.  Quite a story.

Last Updated on Saturday, 28 February 2015 02:22
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Mira Slovak Print E-mail

Mira SlovakMost of the visits we write about happened since our involvement with general aviation in Iqaluit began in 1993.  But this is one story that had to make the page even though it happened more than 40 years ago.  Mira Slovak made the Atlantic crossing via Greenland and Iqaluit (or Frobisher Bay as it was then known) back in 1968.  He did it in his motorglider, a Fournier RF-4D, built by Sportavia in Germany.  Think big wing, one wheel, and a 36 hp Volkswagen engine.

Last Updated on Saturday, 24 October 2015 20:54
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Wilga2000 Print E-mail

Wilga 2000 TF-REDYou don't see one of these every day in Iqaluit.  It is an EADS 'Warszawa - Okecie' S.A. PZL-104MA Wilga 2000.  Quite a powerful, multipurpose aircraft.  Built in Poland by PZL,  they're used for everything from towing gliders, to training, to border patrol.  The Canadian Air Cadet program had purchased one PZL-104MA, and was planning to buy more, but EADS is apparently no longer making it.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 19 October 2011 05:27
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Matt Hyde Print E-mail

Cessna 182 N58437Matt Hyde dropped by Iqaluit in August of 2007 on a trip from Seattle, Washington to Baffin Island in his 1973 Cessna 182P.   Matt met us at the fuel station at CYFB. He dropped by at the same time as Indian Air Force pilots Rahul Monga and Anil Kumar. At the time,  Monga and Kumar were two thirds of the way through their record-breaking trip around the world.

Matt took some spectacular photos on his Baffin Island trip, including flying through the Aksayuk Pass near Pangnirtung, some great photos of Auyuituq National Park, and more.

Last Updated on Thursday, 31 March 2011 21:10
 
Sikorsky S-38 Print E-mail

Sikorsky S-38B Flying YachtThis 1928 Sikorsky S-38B (N28V) has certainly been one of the more unusual visitors we've seen at CYFB.  The restored beauty stopped by on Monday August 23, 2010 on the way from Minnesota to BerlinTom Schrade of Unlimited Adventure is the owner and pilot of the S-38.  It was wet when they arrived on the Monday evening, but the weather was bright and sunny for their departure to Greenland on August 24th.

Last Updated on Thursday, 31 March 2011 21:15
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Reto Godly - Cessna 185 to the North Pole Print E-mail

2005 Arctic trip mapWe've never met Reto Godly. But his trip report of an Arctic flight from Germany, to Norway to Canada and Alaska via the North Pole is quite something.  His website provides a day by day log of this flight in 2005, plus others he's made to Alaska, Africa, South America, and a circumnavigation of the world. The latter trip included a rather long stop in Iqaluit due to persistent bad weather.  Which happens around here sometimes.

His website features detailed daily trip logs, and photos.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 04 August 2010 21:55
 
South to South Print E-mail

Millenium Microlight Expedition in the ArcticIn 1999, Mike Blyth and Olivier Aubert made quite an amazing trip in trike-type microlights from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Cape Town, South Africa. They did it the long way. Up through South and North America, and back down Europe and Africa.  They covered more than 25,000 miles over 8 months. We had the pleasure of seeing them when they stopped in Iqaluit on the way. 

Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 May 2010 00:16
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Brian Goranson Print E-mail

Brian Goranson celebrates! Brian Goranson flew his Cessna 172 C-GECQ from Weyburn, Saskatchewan to Ljungby, Sweden and back in the summer of 2008.  He started July 30th and was back home by August 24th. He did the trip by himself, spurred on by a desire to meet his Swedish relatives, and fulfill a dream of having a challenging flying adventure.

Last Updated on Saturday, 01 November 2014 22:55
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Small Plane, Big Adventure Print E-mail

Vancouver Sun blog

The title is reminescent of a trip that Brad Knickerbocker of the Christian Science Monitor chronicled back in 2000.  Brad's trip was called Small Plane, Big Planet. His was a trip around the world in a Cessna 182. And while Small Plane, Big Adventure is more modest, flying a C182 from Vancouver to Glasgow, it is certainly a big adventure.

Brenda Bailey and Eli Gershkovitch are blogging the trip in Vancouver Sun.

Last Updated on Saturday, 17 October 2009 21:08
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Gerd and Dorothy Wengler Print E-mail

Gerd and Dorothy Wengler in IqaluitGerd and Dorothy Wengler have visited Iqaluit twice so far in their Turbo Skylane.  The first trip was a stopover on the way to Ireland in 2005, the second for a sightseeing trip in 2007 to Pangnirtung, Qikiqtarjuaq and Greenland.

Gerd has written a very thorough trip report on their 2005 trip, which you can read here.

Last Updated on Saturday, 01 September 2012 19:55
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Bob Webster Print E-mail
Eureka weather station, Ellesmere IslandBob Webster has a site full of photos of his 2004 trip from Oklahoma to the weather station at Eureka on Ellesmere Island.  Eureka is the northern-most civilian outpost in Canada.  The only more northerly location with an airstrip is the restricted military site at Alert, at the top of Ellesmere. Bob also has a very good site with useful information for people planning a trip between Europe and North America on his Flying to Europe website
Last Updated on Sunday, 08 March 2009 10:36
 
Paul Nopper Print E-mail

Paul Nopper in his Aviat HuskyPaul Nopper and his Aviat Husky visited the South Baffin Island region a few times.  He has a great trip report on line, with lots of photos, of his 2000 trip to Qikiqtarjuaq through Auyuittuq National Park.  As you read, remember this was nearly 10 years ago: the prices have changed!

Paul had an experience on one of those trips that reminds us of the unforgiving nature of the terrain, and how fast weather conditions can

Last Updated on Tuesday, 20 April 2010 21:15
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Brian Milton Print E-mail

Brian Milton in IqaluitMeeting Brian Milton was quite an event.  He was the first person to travel around the world in a microlight, back in 1998. And that, of course, brought him through Iqaluit.  He had quite a story to tell about his amazing trip in an open ultralight.  Much of the story is detailed in his book Global Flyer. And you can check out this article which names him one of the Top 20 great British adventurers.

 

Last Updated on Monday, 25 May 2009 23:23
 
George Vose Print E-mail

George Vose and Scottie MonteithOne of our most memorable visitors was George Vose, who came to Iqaluit back in 1999.  George didn't fly his Cessna 172 up here from his home at Taurus Mesa near Alpine, Texas. Despite having logged tens of thousands of flying hours, he said he wasn't all that keen on the long flight over Hudson Strait in a single engine plane.  And he said he just wanted to have a look around, to see the landscape he remembered hearing about as a school boy in the United States.

Last Updated on Saturday, 06 August 2016 22:46
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Polar First Print E-mail
Polar First ExpeditionThis 2007 'round the world via the poles helicopter trip made a number of Nunavut stops. It isn't often we see helicopters on adventure trips through Iqaluit. Jennifer Murray and Colin Bodill's website tells the tale of the journey, with lots of photos and a journey log.
Last Updated on Sunday, 19 April 2009 11:06
 
Ras Nielsen Print E-mail

Ras Nielsen's Beech 18 at CYFBRas Nielsen has owned this beautiful Beech 18 since the 1960s. He stopped by Iqaluit on a refuelling stop on a trip from Seattle, Washington to the Stauning Air Rally in Denmark in May of 2007. This airplane really turned heads here in Iqaluit.

You can read the story of their adventure on his blog, which also has some great pictures of the trip. Click HERE and HERE, as well as on the picture at the left for more views of the Beech. (photos courtesy of John Graham).

Last Updated on Sunday, 19 April 2009 10:51
 
Uwe Thomas Carstensen Print E-mail

the Rose Painted 206Uwe Thomas Carstensen did a two part 'round the world trip in 2007. He arrived in Iqaluit in some rather bad weather on September 6, 2007. His website contains a trip report on the adventure, including photos of the Churchill, Manitoba to Iqaluit, Nunavut section.

 

Last Updated on Friday, 07 May 2010 22:52
 
Floats Print E-mail

An unusual sight... float planes at CYFBSomething you don't see lined up at the fuel station everyday in Iqaluit - float planes. The nearest water here is Frobisher Bay. Salt water, high tides, and pretty rough if the wind is blowing.  As a result, float planes are few and far between.

But that didn't stop these intrepid amphibs from stopping by on a sunny Sunday in July 2008.  You'll see a Cessna 210 out front, a beautiful deHavilland Beaver, and a Bushhawk. We've even seen a Lake Amphibian once or twice.

Last Updated on Saturday, 04 February 2012 17:57
 


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