By Mary “Skip” Brown, EAA 642763
Our three-week adventure began at the Brown dinner table with our favorite pilot friends. Three had extensive experience, one had limited experience and one non-pilot had experience only as a passenger. The question was asked, “Ken, what is on your bucket list?” His answer: “Flying to Alaska.” Six weeks later, after several planning sessions, purchases of camping gear (which we never used), and hours of studying maps of British Columbia, Yukon Territory, and Alaska, we packed our bags, stuffed them into our airplanes, and off we went.
We knew weather would be the deciding factor for the day of departure, but we picked July 1, 2019, as the date our trip would begin. Since the three airplanes would be leaving from three different places on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State — Sequim Valley Airport (W28), 2WA1 Diamond Point Airport, (2WA1) and Rakes Glen Airpark (WA59) — we planned to leave at 9 a.m. and meet at CYXX (Abbotsford British Columbia) to go through customs together. We woke up to low clouds and fog in Sequim, but soon found a hole in the sky, so off we went, arriving close to our scheduled time. Being the only non-pilot in the group, I was experiencing 50 percent anxiety and 50 percent anticipation. After making the call to customs, we were told, “Welcome to Canada and have a safe flight.”
The three airplanes took off in the formation we would be flying for the next three weeks: Ray and Lisa in their GlaStar (#1) would be the lead with the two wingmen, Ernie in his Swift on the left (#2) and Ken and me in our RV-9A on the right (#3). Away we went, heading for our first fuel stop, Williams Lake. Arriving at Williams Lake Airport (YWL) at 12:30, we refueled, visited the bathrooms, and got a snack from the vending machines. Realizing the weather was not conducive to continue flying, we waited a couple of hours, hanging out at the airport, hoping for a weather change. When that didn’t happen, we agreed to spend the night in town. Lisa got on her phone and found us a motel. The airplanes were parked and tied down while we called a taxi and $45 later arrived at the local Super 8.
After our first happy hour in Ray and Lisa’s room with our boxed wine, cheese, and crackers (which became a daily ritual), we walked next door for dinner at the Laughing Loon Restaurant. Although we had not achieved our goal of spending our first night in Dawson Creek, Ray reminded us what he had said at our final planning meeting. “Although we have painstakingly engineered our plan, it will probably not work out; however, we ARE going to Alaska!”
The following morning after lift off at 9:30, we landed at McKenzie Airport (CYZY) for fuel at 11:10. Vicki at Flight Service handed us all a vanilla ice cream cone before starting the next phase of the trip — down the trench. Our plan was to fly the trench, depending on weather. We had no first-hand knowledge, but knew about the potential risks and alternatives regarding weather and fuel.
After refueling our airplanes, we took off in our formation at noon, heading to Watson Lake. We headed down Williston Lake. The lake is the largest freshwater body in British Columbia created by the W. A. C. Bennett Dam. The lake (251 kilometers long and 155 kilometers wide) provided a beautiful sight as we traveled down the trench for three hours. Ray carried a five-gallon can of fuel as his extra reserve. We agreed the other two planes could circle if he landed to add fuel. Fortunately, this never happened. The weather was fine, a rare day.
We all breathed a sigh of relief (and a feeling of pride) when we landed at Watson Lake (CYQH) for refueling. After checking out the airport lounge, we took off at 4:15, heading for Whitehorse where we would spend the night.
Visibility lessened as we had our first encounter with smoke from forest fires, plus a series of rain showers, requiring us to navigate around the terrain. After landing at the Whitehorse (Erik Nielsen) International Airport (CYXY), Lisa booked us a room at Canada’s Best Value Inn. We had a brief happy hour in Ray and Lisa’s room which had a view of the Yukon River but no air conditioning. After dinner at the Klondike Restaurant next door, it was early to bed since we were all exhausted after our very long day of flying (6 hours, 50 minutes). The next morning, in front of the motel, we met Mike Barrow from Reno who was wearing an EAA cap. We invited him to visit us in Sequim at an EAA Chapter 430 gathering and, sure enough, he showed up later in the year.
The next morning, after a walk along the Yukon River and breakfast at the Burnt Toast Restaurant, the guys went back to the airport to check on the airplanes while Lisa and I checked out the town and bought some groceries. We all spent the rest of the day sightseeing.
At 9:30 on July 4 we left the Yukon Territory and headed to Northway (PAOR), experiencing a lot of smoke along the way. We landed at noon, hoping to get cleared to reenter the U.S. in Alaska. Since there were no customs agents, we sat in our airplanes for the next two-plus hours, watching firefighting helicopters take off and land. We were following the rules of the United States — you may not leave your airplane until you have been cleared by an agent. When an agent finally showed up, he threatened us with a fine of $5,000 each for some obscure rule he said we had broken. Welcome to Alaska! We had followed the correct procedures in contacting customs; however, after we gave the required information, the phone line disconnected and we missed the last message of when the agent would arrive.
Leaving Northway, we flew to Tok (PFTO) for refueling and lunch at Fast Eddy’s on the Alaskan Highway. Because of the current weather forecast and flying time to Anchorage, the decision was made to fly to Fairbanks instead of our intended destination, as it was a shorter time to Fairbanks and we were all tired. Again we experienced skies filled with smoke.
We landed at Fairbanks International Airport (FAI) at 6:30 (184 nm) and were greeted at the airport by Ray and Lisa’s friends and a friend of Ernie, who let us use their vehicles for a few days while we were in Fairbanks.
We spent the next four days sightseeing around the area: Chena Hot Springs, the Trans-Alaska pipeline, University of Alaska Fairbanks Museum, River Boat Discovery down the Chena River, Pioneer Park. Because Ray had worked for the FAA at Fairbanks Airport, we were given a private tour of the control tower, approach control, and radar room. Thanks to a Fairbanks EAA member, Terry Wighs, Ernie was able to obtain a replacement trim switch for his Swift.
Because of all the forest fires and low visibility around Fairbanks, we were unable to fly out of the area, so as an alternative, we rented a Ford F-150 and headed to Anchorage on Parks Highway. We had lunch at Denali National Park but because of the smoke and typical summer weather at Denali, we did not see the mountain. Lisa found us a very nice and affordable Airbnb rental in Anchorage and the following day, because Ray had worked for the FAA at the Anchorage Airport Tower, we were able to have a private tour.
Heading to the Kenai Peninsula, we spent the next few days enjoying all the various attractions Alaska has to offer: Whittier, the Gateway to Prince William Sound, Homer Spit, the Salty Dawg, Deep Creek in Cook Inlet, and dip net fishing for salmon on the Kenai River.
Driving back to Fairbanks, we stopped at Talkeetna and watched airplanes taking tourists to Denali Park. The mountains were still smoked and fogged in.
On July 16, we fueled our planes and off we went to Tok for fuel and Whitehorse for customs and to spend the night. Next stop on the following day was Watson Lake for fuel and diagnosing a mechanical problem on one of the airplanes and then on to Fort Nelson. Because of continuing bad weather, we ended up staying two days in Fort Nelson, doing a walking tour of the town, the Visitor Center, and the Fort Nelson Museum.
After breakfast on the third day, there was a gap in the weather so we needed to leave right away. We fueled the airplanes, heading to Fort St. John. Landing at Fort St. John (YXJ), the RV-9A had a braking problem. After successfully maneuvering to the transient parking and diagnosing the braking issue, Ken asked a pilot (a local EAA member working on an airplane in his hangar) where he could obtain a quart of brake fluid. The friendly EAA member handed him a quart, refusing to accept any payment. We spent the night at Fort St. John before starting for home the next day, July 20, the last day of our three-week trip.
After breakfast we headed for Williams Lake. The ever-hanging weather patterns forced us to climb to more than 9,000 feet above Prince George. A hole allowed us to do an elevator descent on the other side of the pass.
After refueling at Williams Lake, we filed our eAPIS and lifted off for customs clearance, landing two hours later at the Port of Anacortes (74S) in Washington state. We ended up where we started, having dinner with our fellow travelers to do a post trip evaluation and share the high and low points of the trip. We agreed there were no low points or days we would do over if we could. Every day was better than the day before. Even the week of land travel in the Ford pickup was fun. We saw and did things we would not have done if we had spent that week flying. We were fortunate on our trip to have a travel agent (Lisa), a cook (Skip), A&P (Ernie), an IT guy (Ken), and an FAA liaison (Ray). In two weeks we logged 28.7 hours of flying time and 3732.6 nautical miles. The maximum altitude we flew was 9,850 feet. We spent seven days on the road, driving 1,450 miles in the F-150.
Someone asked Ken what was the best part of the trip for him and he answered “Survival!” We all took away an impression of the trip. Some of the words we shared: awesome, amazing, fun, exciting, intense, exhilarating, once-in-a-lifetime, and life-changing. Would we do it again? Collectively, our answer was ABSOLUTELY! With careful planning, attention to details, using electronics, making good decisions, and sharing responsibilities, it worked for the five of us. It was a great learning process, discovering what a great country we live in and we got to know our northern neighbors a bit. We left as friends and returned as family. The old adage “where there’s a will, there’s a way” was true for us. If you have a bucket list, start checking off those items.
THINGS TO CONSIDER:
1. There are two types of plans. Anticipated and the actual execution. Do not let the entire planning process dictate what the final course of action needs to be. Stay flexible. All the planning is very useful to the mission. (We learned this on this trip.)
2. At all times be willing to receive advice and correction. It may appear or seem you have all the answers, but once in a while, others may know more. Listen, evaluate, and accept their input.
3. Do not be macho. If it is beyond your limitations, say so. No one will be disappointed or upset. The goal is to have fun and be safe.
4. You can do more than you think you can. Rely on all the lessons learned and act accordingly. Speak up when it is your turn and state your intentions or limitations.
5. Envelopes (personal limits) are expandable if done safely.
6. Pick you team wisely. There is no “I” in teamwork.
One last point: The Electronic Advanced Passenger Information System (eAPIS) is not for wimps, nor are the U.S. Customs rules. Use an international calling plan to phone U.S. Customs before returning to the United States. THIS IS REQUIRED. Ask us what happens when you just show up.
Tips for flying in Canada: Get an international telephone plan before crossing into Canada. They only cost about $10 a month, and we found out the costs are severe for telephone or data use without them.
Get familiar with Canadian aviation procedures before going. Canada requires VFR or IFR flight plans for every flight, and radio procedures are different — especially at non-towered airports. Get old-school paper VFR sectionals and facility guides for Canada. They show the preferred VFR routes that generally follow roads. And remember that most U.S. XM Weather subscriptions do not cover Canada.