Pretty cool video from one of the guys that worked on the Ice Pilots show. Be sure to click on the “full screen” link.

Ice Pilots NWT Time-Lapse from Reel Earth Productions on Vimeo.

I’m trying to find some resources on things to think, worry, know about when it comes to owning an airplane.

Specifically I want to calculate the total cost of ownership when it comes to having an airplane. I know you’d have to factor in insurance, fuel, oil, and hangar space. However, are there formulas or other tricks to think about when calculating these items?

What about other user fees? NavCanada charges, do you pay sales tax on the private sale of an aircraft? How does one “test drive” a potential sale? Do …

While I was vacationing in Samoa, I hade the opportunity to take a quick flight from Savai’i to ‘Upolu on a Polynesian Airways twin otter.

I arrived at Maota airport to find only two other people on my flight: A father and son who were on their way back to American Samoa via Apia (where I was going). I had some time to speak to the son about the airport. He told me that it had been closed for a while by the government citing safety issues. The runway was in …

Terrace Bay, Ontario used to have an airport. However in 2005 the city council voted to close the airport to save the community approx $40,000 a year.

It’s a shame whenever an airport in Canada closes, especially for the people who work there. I came across the final METAR for CYTJ, it reads:

CYTJ 242100Z 34002KT 15SM BKN030 04/M03 A3025 RMK SC5 LAST OBS/ PERIOD. ABANDONED WX STATION. BYE-BYE! SLP258

*waves* Bye!

Starting in December, NavCanada is changing the abbreviation used for the term “below”. Currently it is “BLO”, but the new one will be “BLW”.

AIC 27/09 has the details:

Beginning 17 December 2009, the Canada Flight Supplement (CFS) will print the abbreviation “BLW” for “below” in all text and charting instances. The abbreviation “BLO,” currently used for “below,” will be replaced with “BLW” throughout the publication.

Visual flight rules (VFR) charts will adopt the same change from “BLO” to “BLW” in all charts published after December 2009, in accordance with the publication schedule …

I’m back from vacation! I do have a vacation specific post to talk about, but in the mean time check this out.

Ice Pilots NWT is a 13-episode real-life docu series about an unorthodox airline in the Canadian North. Yellowknife-based Buffalo Airways flies WWII-era propeller planes – big old aircraft built by “Rosie the Riveter” and pretty much unchanged. Rookie pilots defy bonechilling temperatures to fly cargo and passengers through blizzards, breakdowns and transatlantic journeys. It’s an impossible job in a merciless place.

The premier is tonight at 10pm ET on the …

Here are some statistics I gathered from CADORs regarding airplanes getting hit by lasers (for 2009):

May: 7

June: 4

July: 7

August: 26

September: 18

One particular report I read noted that the copilot was injured by the laser:

From CADORS 2009O1962:

UPDATE Supplemental information received from Canadian Helicopters Ltd. [2009/09/09]: The operator voluntarily provided additional information on this occurrence. The aircraft registration was provided and the point of departure was corrected. While en-route from Pembroke to Ottawa Civic Hospital with a patient and escort, and approximately 10NM from the Ottawa Civic Hospital, at an altitude of …