Flew to the Sharon and Mt. Albert area to photograph my parents’ house, and the farm of a friend from public school. Unfortunately, I wasn’t sure exactly where the latter was, so didn’t get any pictures of it. I’ll have to try again some other time.
Date: 2007-Aug-31
Aircraft: C-FPME, DA20-A1
Passenger: none
Route: CYKF - Sharon - Mt. Albert - CYKF
Flight Time: 1.7h
Takeoffs and Landings: 1
Archive for the 'Logbook' Category
I’m a bit behind on recording my flights on my blog, so rather than go back and write something about each one, I’m just going to post the details that I’d write in my regular log book.
Date: 2007-Aug-08
Aircraft: C-FPME, DA20-A1
Passenger: Elin L.
Route: CYKF - Stratford - Ontario Corn Maze - Elora - CYKF
Flight Time: 1.4h
Takeoffs and Landings: 1
Our Norwegian Fjordhorse farm sometimes attracts young Fjord riders who wish to spend a few weeks or months on our farm during their summer vacation. A few years back, Sofia from Sweden stayed with us, and last November, she introduced us to her friend Elin while we were in Sweden on a combined business trip and vacation. Elin is a Fjord owner and vet student, and she decided to come to Canada for six weeks this summer. It’s always great to have a foreign visitor, as it really opens one’s eyes to the wider world out there. It also gives me a passenger! (I bet you were wondering what this had to do with flying.)
The two main aerial sightseeing attractions around here are Toronto and Niagara Falls, so we decided to take in both on the same flight. We started a 9:00am (early to avoid the inevitable afternoon turbulence on a sunny summer day) and headed towards the shore of Lake Ontario and then along the shoreline to Toronto. I’d hoped for more direct routing through Toronto Pearson (CYYZ) class B, but the winds favoured a runway that would have put a lot of traffic in our path (and us in theirs).
As we approached the downtown, we asked for and received clearance to overfly the city in a clockwise direction, with the 1800′ high CN Tower about a mile off our right wing. It’s a strange feeling flying at 2000′ ASL and having part of a building that’s above the horizon (the top of the tower is at 2055′ ASL). We completed the Toronto circuit by overflying the Toronto Island Airport (CYTZ), and then headed back out along the shore towards Burlington. Traffic was quite heavy, and both the Island tower, and later Toronto Terminal, frequently called out traffic above or below us. They were doing a great job keeping everyone separated, and flying in that area without flight following (by staying below the CYYZ airspace) is just plain dumb.
Upon reaching Burlington, we made a gentle arcing turn eastbound and climbed to 5500′ at Toronto Terminal’s request. Over Grimsby, we cancelled flight following in order to switch over to the Niagara Falls sightseeing circuit frequency, and started to descend to 4000′. There is restricted airspace over the Falls below 3500′ for the official tour operators’ use, and I like to keep a 500′ buffer between me and that airspace. On the US side, this space is a “permanent TFR” which I really don’t want to bust.
We made three circuits of the Falls and Elin took dozens of photos (the joy of digital photography). There was another plane in the circuit behind us and about 500′ below, and we kept each other advised of our positions as required by the sightseeing circuit procedures. There were also a number of tour operator planes and choppers in the restricted airspace below.
After getting our fill of the Falls, we headed west towards Welland, then Ohsweken, and finally back to Waterloo Region International (CYKF). The ground was starting to heat up, forming puffy cumulus clouds about 1000′ above us and tossing us around a bit. Towards the end, Elin was getting a bit queasy (but not scared), but she was fine once we landed, glad we went, and looking forward to flying again.
If you’re thinking about flying the Niagara Falls circuit, here are some tips:
- Make sure your medical is up-to-date by US standards. Private pilot medical validity periods in the US are shorter than those in Canada.
- Study and understand the procedure as described in the Canada Flight Supplement (or the US equivalent if you’re flying from there).
- Take a photocopy with you and review it briefly before approaching the entry point.
- File a flight plan, since you will be crossing the border.
- Use flight following until about 10 miles from the entry point, and then ask ATC to let you keep your transponder code (I wasn’t aware this was important, but Toronto Terminal suggested it when I cancelled flight following).
- Once in the circuit, make all the required position reports, and pay attention to everyone else’s reports. Think of the circuit as an uncontrolled airport with no runway.
- When leaving the circuit, follow one of the published exit routes.
Date: 2007-Jul-22
Aircraft: C-FPMC, DA20-A1
Passenger: Elin L.
Route: CYKF - Toronto - Niagara Falls - CYKF
Flight Time: 2.6h
Takeoffs and Landings: 1
Weather and other commitments had conspired to keep me on the ground for almost a month, so it was great to go flying again. I didn’t do anything special on this flight, and I didn’t venture far (just out to my farm and back).
Upon returning to the airport, I decided to shoot some touch and goes to keep my landings in good shape. The first one was a bit of a bouncer, but they settled down after that. For my last landing, I decided to turn a tight circular base and final, rolling out of the turn on short final. It’s a bit more challenging (and interesting) than the typical square circuit with a 3/4 mile final from 500′ AGL or so. It’s also a good thing to practice, since it’s probably what I’d have to do in the case of an engine failure on downwind.
Date: 2007-Jul-05
Aircraft: C-FPME, DA20-A1
Passenger: none
Route: CYKF - Local Area - CYKF
Flight Time: 1.1h
Takeoffs and Landings: 4
Today I took another co-worker flying. This particular passenger was unusual, in that she was nervous about the idea, but really wanted to go. Unbeknown to me until afterward, some of my other co-worker passengers convinced her that it would be really worthwhile to go. In the end she was happy that she came along.
One of her concerns was a fear of heights (another sign of her desire to conquer her fears is that she’s an active rock climber). I assured her that I too am afraid of heights, and that it has never been an issue during my flying. Somehow, sitting in a plane at 2,000 AGL just isn’t as scary as standing on the edge of a cliff (maybe I’ll feel different in the open cockpit of my Volksplane).
Date: 2007-Jun-12
Aircraft: C-FPME, DA20-A1
Passenger: Kaska
Route: CYKF - Hamilton Area - CYKF
Flight Time: 1.1h
Takeoffs and Landings: 1
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