Regina to Halifax
Opportunity of a Lifetime:
A Big Cross Country, DRCO, and other stuff
By Captain Dav1d 1998-03-10

Day One (Wednesday) ... CYQR-CYWG-CYQT

I got up early in the morning, ready to begin the real adventure. I called FSS, and they explained that the weather was CAVOK all the way to Winnipeg, and beyond that all the way to Thunder Bay. That’s exactly what I had flight planned, and it looked like it was going to work out! I was ready to go within half an hour.

I had a good night’s sleep. The plane didn’t. I had been asked if I wanted to hangar the airplane the previous night, but I declined. Now, I knew why they had asked. The temperature now (at 0900h local) was -20° C, with a wind chill of -24° C, and CRZ was covered with frost, stem to stern. I tried to scrape some of it away, but quickly found out how tedious and long a task that might turn out to be. I spoke to the line crew, and we discussed a few options. Either I could put it in the hanger now, for a few hours, or I could have it de-iced. The thought of losing a few hours in the beautiful VFR prairie sky, and falling behind schedule outweighed the hangar option.

I sat inside the airplane while they de-iced the exterior by flushing it with glycol. I used this time to get the ATIS, prepare my charts, and get setup for flight. Once the de-ice was done, and they had backed away, I tried to start the engine. No good. The engine was far too cold to start. I needed a "pre-heat" as well. I decided right there that I should carefully consider my options for the next night, including calling FSS for the overnight weather. But that was still hours and miles away. First things first. They used a large heater with a fan, which they called a "Herman heater". After about 20 minutes, the engine compartment was nice and warm.

I departed CYQR around 1700Z (1100 local). The plane flew like its true Piper heritage. Smooth, clean, responsive. Of course, with just me and my personal things on board, it was light. I punched in the direct course to CYWG in the onboard Flybuddy LORAN, as well as my Garmin GPS, and made sure they agreed (within reasonable limits). Then, I relaxed for the long flight.

The prairies are ... FLAT!.

Winnipeg Control Tower off my left wing

Suddenly (which really means more than three hours later!), I was approaching Winnipeg. I tuned in the Winnipeg ATIS, and called Winnipeg Center from 35 miles out, and had them bring me right in. I had tried to use flight following directly out of Regina, but there is limited radar coverage in some areas. So Winnipeg’s voice was much appreciated. An uneventful landing ended the first leg of the first day of my long adventure. As I taxied to the Shell AeroCenter, I thanked the controllers that I had met the day before in their tower, and told them that I’m in for fuel only, and would be out again shortly. They wished me luck on the rest of the trip.

I knew the trip to Thunder Bay would be a long one. But I had calculated that I could get there just around sunset. I checked the lights on CRZ (remembering that Richard had said that they checked out okay.) I also checked with FSS for the official sunset time, and the CFS for hours of operation at CYQT (both the tower and the FBO). I’m night rated, and the lighting systems checked out okay, so I had no hesitation in taking off. I phoned the FBO anyways, just to make sure that someone would actually be there. Then, I departed Winnipeg International Airport.

Suddenly (see earlier definition of this word), I was approaching Thunder Bay. It was about 15 minutes past sunset when I spotted the lit runway. Of course, the tower controller and I had been chatting about it for the last ten minutes. Since he was the only one in the tower, I stayed on the air frequency for progressive taxi instructions right up to the Shell AeroCenter.

I was greeted by the line crew, and asked how long I would be staying. I said "Overnight", and quickly asked "Do you have any indoor hangar space for tonight?" The short answer was no. The longer answer was "We could find out if Bearskin can let you use their hangar, but it’s going to cost you big bucks." I told him that I would check with FSS and then decide if we should try for an indoor spot. FSS said that it would be a cold night, and that frost was likely. I decided that I would chance the weather, and use the cheaper "Herman heater" in the morning. If necessary, I could redirect some of its heat onto the wings. I packed up the airplane for the day, and called the hotel for the shuttle pickup.

My day ended at the Airlane Hotel in Thunder Bay. As soon as I got to the room, I called Solly to report on my status. Then I turned on the TV and settled in, but when I realized that I had no idea what was happening on the screen, I turned it off. My brain went off too.