NavCanada is implementing quite a few changes in the next week or so that will affect both IFR and VFR pilots in Ontario and Quebec.

The largest change is the elimination of some Victor and Jet air-routes in favour for new RNAV routes (designated as T, Q, or L routes). The T and Q routes are controlled for low level or high level travel respectively. L routes are low level uncontrolled RNAV routes. This also means that there are new STARs and SIDs for airports like Ottawa, Toronto, and Montreal.

How this will …

The weather in southern Ontario on Christmas eve was perfect for a flight. Destination: Midland Ontario (CYEE).

My pre-flight planning was showing a 30 min ETA. I used World Flight Planner of course. It was handy having all the NOTAMs in one place, especially when they contained runway surface conditions.

I also used NavCanadas new internet flight plan filing service. Worked very well. Much better than their old system.

I had some radio problems on the apron. This particular airplane has a flakey radio stack and I could never get COM2 to work properly. …

Hope everyone has a great holiday! This video cracked me up

Last weekend, Sara and I hopped into a plane and decided to head down to the Dunnville Airport (CDU9). We headed to the airport for a 7:30am departure packed with a snack.

This was the first time I flew the carborated 172 in almost a year. I prefer flying in the fuel injected ones, however none was available this time around. No big deal really… Just a different engine-start procedure and no carb heat (and possible carb icing!) to worry about.

Of course I used World Flight Planner to plan the flight, …

The ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital will be doing a Canada wide tour to show of the state of the art aicraft.

The converted DC-10 Aircraft has both surgical and teaching facilities and is used to help people around the world to fix various eye problems.

The viewing dates are available on their website. They do ask that you donate $20 towards their cause as “admission” for the tour.

I plan on hitting the weekend tour.

I’ve had the opportunity to visit the Toronto Area Control Centre on two occasions. It was a great experience and made me better understand what goes on on the “other side” of the radio.

I would like to extend an invitation to any air traffic controller or flight service specialist to accompany me on a flight out of Buttonville (CYKZ). I would like to return the favour to allow you to experience what it is like in the cockpit of the aircraft you may be controlling.

The flight can be as quick …

Just came across this sigmet today:

WSJP31 RJTD 030330
RJJJ SIGMET A01 VALID 030330/030730 RJTD-
RJJJ FUKUOKA FIR RDOACT CLD FCST WI N3718 E14052 – N3714 E14102 -
N3718 E14112 – N3725 E14115 – N3733 E14112 – N3736 E14102 – N3733
E14052 – N3725 E14048 – N3718 E14052 STNR INTST UNKNOWN=

Yup, that’s right: Radioactive Cloud. Stay away! It’s also being depicted on the SIGWX charts for the region:

Interestingly, yesterday Nav Canada was doing quite a few tests of their systems. They issued test sigmets and test volcanic ash sigmets:

WVCN34 CWUL 022104
SIGMET A1 VALID …

The Aviation Safety Letter (ASL) is a Transport Canada publication that is mailed to every pilot, controller, and aircraft mechanic in Canada (and I’m sure elsewhere).

Starting with issue 1/2012 they will be publishing the letter online only. You will no longer get a paper copy in the mail.

I personally enjoyed getting the hard copy every quarter. It made good reading material on the train, bus, streetcar, etc…

If you would like to continue receiving the ASL (albeit the digital copy going forward) you will need to fill out the form at …

When you plan a flight, do you check the relevant NOTAMs? How do you know if they are important to you and your flight?

Did you know that if you cause a danger, incident, or accident because you didn’t check the NOTAMS you can be “charged” under CAR 602.71?

A NOTAM, or Notice To Airmen, is a way for Air Traffic Controllers (and other entities) to deliver important and timley information to the pilot. A NOTAM can disseminate information to:

Notify pilots of an error in a publication. In this case, the information …

Being a pilot is great. You have the freedom to fly where ever you like. So once  you’ve got a few $300 hamburgers (when was the last time it was $100?) under you belt, you’re looking for something new.

Here are a list of some things you can do after getting that licence.

Join an Organization
There are two main organizations you can join in Canada:

EAA is probably most famous for setting up Airventure in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. However, they do have a Canadian presence. EAA is all about sharing the passion for flying …