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

Day Two (Thursday) ... CYQT-CYXL-CYYB- CYUL

I woke up eager to get going. Before even opening my eyes, my fingers were dialing Flight Services. Yes! Another fabulous day. It took less than an hour to pack, check out, and get to the airport. That’s when I discovered that Thunder Bay can be as cold as Regina. Another -20°C day!

De-icing in Thunder Bay

Of course, the airplane had some frost on it, as I had suspected, but not nearly as much as on the first morning at Regina. I talked to the line crew about the preheater, and they got it setup within minutes. While it pumped hot air directly underneath the cowling, I used a large broom to sweep off as much of the frost from the control surfaces as I could. I stopped every few minutes to stand in front of the preheater and warm myself up too. I even took one of the hoses from the preheater and "sprayed" warm air over the wings to help melt the last thin layer.

I was ready to go by 0900h local. The flight planning called for 3 stops today, so I wanted to get going as soon as possible. I originally planned to fly from Thunder Bay directly to Sault Saint Marie, diagonally across Lake Superior, and I had brought a life vest with me for the trip. But when I called FSS to file, they suggested that the life vest was useless in Lake Superior, and I might want to consider following the north shore of the lake. I agreed, and modified my flight plan to include a fuel stop at Wawa (CYXL) instead of going as far south as the "Soo" (CYAM).

I called flight services for the usual weather briefing, and asked about flight following (which is continuous radar coverage much like an IFR environment). The specialist told me that there are large areas with no radar, but I could always reach flight services on 126.7, via "DRCO" outlets. I have never used a DRCO, so I asked what that meant. He explained that Dialup Remote Communication Outlets don’t have a continuous link to a flight service station. Instead, they have a telephone that dials the FSS. You have to click the mike 4 times on 126.7, and wait, listen to the dial tone, listen to the digits being dialed, listen to a mechanical voice saying "Link Established", and then call "Thunder Bay Radio" (or whatever). I made a mental note to try it enroute.

Wawa Ontario from a few miles back

The trip to Wawa, around the north edge of Lake Superior was beautiful. I turned Wawa around in under 30 minutes, and got airborne again. North Bay was only 240 miles away, so it would be a quick hop (compared to some of the others).

North Bay was also a quick stop. I was anxious to get to Montreal.

By the time I got to Montreal, it was just sunset. I have flown into Montreal many times, so I am familiar with the zone. Although this time it looked different. I was approaching from the northwest, instead of the usual southwest, so it took a little bit longer to find the runway. Of course, I had been talking to Montreal Center since approaching the Ottawa zone, so he reeled me in all the way, like a marionette.

I pulled up to my favourite FBO (Shell AeroCenter), and told them that I’d be staying for the night. I called FSS to determine if I should hangar the plane, and they explained that there was only a slight chance of frost. I decided that I was making good headway, surfing the high pressure ridge from the prairies all the way to the maritimes, and that I deserved a late start the next morning. The plane could warm up in the sunlight of the morning instead of paying big bucks for the overnight spot indoors.

I called Solly on my cell phone during the cab ride to my nephew’s place. He told me that the plane should be delivered to Halifax, instead of St. John’s. I was disappointed that I wouldn’t be taking it right to the east coast.

My nephew and I had lots of catching up to do, so we talked until late into the night before exhaustion got the better of me. I was glad that I had already decided to sleep in the next morning. The next day’s flight would take me into the Maritimes, where I’ve never flown before, so I wanted to be sure that I was in good shape to handle it.

Dreaming about the last two days’ flying was a good way to end the day.