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Final for Runway 33Date: 18/05/2006
At: Sep 09 2010 14:00Z
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February 2009 ArchivesSaturday, February 28, 2009 - 10:31:49 ET
My brother left for Bangkok (via Hong Kong) on a Cathay Pacific flight the other day. Before he left, we had a discussion as to which way the aircraft would fly from Toronto to get to Hong Kong. We were both arguing either west bound or east bound. We were both wrong! I was tracking the flight on Flight Aware and saw their planned routing. Right over the North Pole! V34 YEE J557 YSB 5000N 07952W YGL 5500N 07656W 6000N 07400W 6500N 07200W 7000N 06900W MEDPA 8000N 06000W 8500N 04000W ABERI B934 BINTA B934 USATO B934 MX B155 TUNIR A45 USONA G490 LIRTA G490 SERNA M520 POLHO G218 TMR B458 KR B458 WXI A461 LKO A461 LIG R473 WYN W18 NLG W23 ZUH (Imagine typeing all that in your FMS) I didn't think the necessary infrastructure was in place to allow flights like this. Specifically alternate airports. However I learned that is not the only issue to worry about.
Boeing has a document that describes in detail what is needed for flying the Polar Routes. Some main issues:
There is some political contention with these routes though. Traditional routes were long enough and aircraft were less fuel efficient in the past that caused airliners to have a refuelling stop in Russia. This resulted in the sale of over $20M in jet fuel to foreign airliners back in 1997. As a way to recoup some of the lost jet fuel sales, in 1999 Russia wanted to increase the rate at which airliners pay to fly through Russias airspace. Their justification was that the increase cost would eventually pay for more infrastructure in the Russian FIR, especially in the northern polar regions. At the time radar coverage as not available in the far north. This has since changed as the new fee structure initiated in 1999 pulled in an estimated $70M. Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things
Friday, February 27, 2009 - 09:26:29 ET
There have been rumors going around that YKZ is going to close because of the $1.5M from the GTAA each year will stop. This is the first mainstream media mention about this problem that has surfaced so far. The Toronto Start is reporting that YKZ will have to reduce its operating hours and/or close if the funding is not reinstated. The airport employs over 300 people. It would be a shame for it to have to close. Personally, I don't think that will happen. Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 - 14:59:16 ET
One of my colleagues at work found a family photo of what is believed to be the first ever production Beaver. An article about "the bush plane" has been written by him (He does work for CBC News) and is a great read if you are interested in the history of one of Canada's iconic airplanes. There are some never before seen photographs included in the article that date back to the mid 50's. Check out the CBC Article! Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 14:25:46 ET
Transport Canada is presenting its changes to the Windsor-Toronto-Montreal corridor at a number of locations in Feb and March. It is the topic of tonight's Monthly Aviation Seminar at the Transport Canada HQ in Toronto. The presentation will also be made available at Buttonville, March 11 @ 19:00. Hanger 12 in the Leggat Aviation facilities. The following word document outlines the schedule for other locations. Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things
Thursday, February 12, 2009 - 12:53:11 ET
I saw this article yesterday and the first thing I thought about was "what about all the GA pilots out there?!?" XM Weather is a product provided by XM that allows you to stream weather data to various avionics as well as computers used on marine ships. The scope of the bankrupcy is only for the American arm of the company. However XM Weather is not "officially" supported in Canada. So this means that if the American company goes belly-up, XM Weather may never be available. Garmin may have to find another WX provider. Check out the CBC Article. Comments (0) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things
Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 16:15:50 ET
I just got details of the changes to Torontos Airspace, which are Effective March 12, 2009. The PDFs contain all the details you know. Some highlights: The Buttonville and Toronto City Centre control zones will be expanded to meet along Lawrence Ave, between Yonge Street and Victoria Park Ave. Both control zones will now extend from 2,500' ASL down to the surface. One thing you will notice is that the YKZ Control zone Ends at Lawrence Ave. instead of the 401 now. As well, there is no "dead area" between the YTZ zone and the YKZ zone as they both start/stop at the same location. The Toronto Class C terminal airspace floors will be raised 1 foot, e.g. ''ABV 1700'' to provide VFR aircraft with additional altitude options. VFR aircraft will be able to fly beneath the Class C airspace at 1700 'ASL, 2000'ASL, 2500'ASL or 3500'ASL, without a clearance from ATC. As well, a few Class "F" airspace around Southern Ontario is being removed! These changes will be made available in the March edition of the VTA/VNC.. so make sure you guys grab a copy as soon as they become available! Comments (1) | Permalink | Category: Interesting Things
Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 13:46:47 ET
I'm still alive and well. I've been busy with some life events lately that have taken priority over flying and posting to this blog. I normally try to keep my personal life out of this blog, but I have made an exception here. Things have changed quite a bit over the past three years since I started flying. I got engaged, bought a house, became a little older and wiser, the economy took a turn for the worst, I broke up with my fiance, and my house is now for sale. The original plan was to make flying a career. Go back to school, get what I needed to get, take the pay cut, and fly for a living. My timing was almost perfect. There was a boom in the aviation industry as pilots were retiring. I took the idea that I had 5 different instructors while getting my PPL a positive sign that quick motion up through the ranks was possible. Depending on how you look at it. I either started a year too late or didn't have enough money up front to be more aggressive with my training. Where once I had a dual income and support to help me make this transition, I now do not. So. What have I decided to do? I have accomplished a lot. Not only can I fly airplanes, but I can fly multi-engine airplanes at night! ;) I'm just shy of the 200 hours total time mark. I've already started my CPL training and it would be a shame to stop now. So. Whats the plan now? First thing first is to get my books in order, which involves selling my house. Once that is done, then I can better budget my flying and start getting back into the skies. Who knows how long that will take with the current market conditions. I'm going to finish up my CPL training. It would be a shame to put all that effort to waste. I believe that it will give me the most flexibility when it comes to flying. I would hate to turn down a part-time/weekend job because I didn't have a CPL. All the while, I plan on saving up for my own aircraft. I'm not sure what kind of airplane I would like to own. I know it wont be an easy decision and I will be sure to solicit some of the current owners that read my blog for advice in the future. I'm going to Australia in October. I'm not sure if I'm going to try to convert my Canadian License to an Australian one or just to get some dual time down there instead. (Side note: I'm flying there on a direct flight via Air Canada on their 777-200LR). Comments (4) | Permalink | Category: Site News
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