Revised Flight Plan

As we'll be heading into the prevailing westerly air flow on the way to Alaska, it occurred to me that we might be better off taking the shortest possible route while at the same time buying the cheapest possible gas. To do this we need to stay in the USA as long as practical as gas is much more expensive once we cross into Canada. So with the help of AOPA flight planner and 100ll.com I worked on an alternative route for the first two days. The other consideration was to keep us over dry land as much as possible and avoid large lakes that needed to be crossed at low altitude. Why you might ask? I'd rather land on a road or a large field than in a big lake if for some reason that became necessary.

Revised Flight Plans

Leg 1 - KGBR - KART Time: 1.30 Fuel 15 gallons (Fuel at KART $4.75/gal.)
Leg 2 - KART - KERY Time: 3.53 Fuel 39 gallons (Fuel at KERY $4.25/gal.)

KERY (Luce County Airport) looks like a pretty cool place - supposedly the Moose Capital of Michigan.

Depending on our departure time on Day 1 we could squeeze in another leg on the first day.
Leg 3 - KERY - KCOQ Time: 2.46 Fuel 28 gallons (Fuel at KCOQ $3.75/gal.) Probably the cheapest fuel we'll buy on the entire trip.

Leg 4 - KCOQ - KGAF Time: 2.14 Fuel 22 gallons (Fuel at KGAF $3.85/gal.)

Let 5 - KGAF - KPWD Time: 2.22 Fuel 23 gallons (Fuel at PWD $4.30/gal.)
Plentywood has a great "wild west" history. Among other things, Sitting Bull surrendered here and Butch Cassidy was a local resident. This will also be our last stop in the USA.

Leg 6 - KPWD - CKK3 Time: 0.36 Fuel 5 gallons (No Fuel at CKK3). Our shortest leg. This is an international border crossing airport - a grass strip located right on the border with both US and Canadian Customs. Seems like an easy and fun way to transition.

Leg 7 - CKK3 - CYXD Time: 3.24 Fuel 34 gallons (Fuel at CYXD $1.63/liter - guess that's about $6/gallon) OPTION - Instead of CYXD (Edmonton City Center airport) we could go to the more GA friendly CEX3 (Wetaskiwin)

The Old and The New

The stack of three are Garmin Mode S transponder, old Northstar M1 Loran, and very old Collins DCE. Don't ask why I left the bottom one in the airplane although it does work. The Loran I use only as a back up if the GPS dies and also to continually scroll to the "nearest airport". I hear Loran is still good until at least November 2010 and this baby comes with a Canadian data base. That means it will always point us to the nearest patch of landable ashphalt or dirt, should we need one, in either the Yukon or Alaska.

Panel Pics#1 - The 530W

Posting these mainly for my cuz so he can see what we'll be looking at for a long time especially if it's all white out the window. Here's the Garmin 530 and to the left is the CDI and the second Glideslope. These make flying an instrument approach a breeze compared to what it used to be like. Hooked up to the autopilot the Garmin will also track a leg and make the turn to the next leg as long as the flight plan is programed in.

Airplane Preparation

The airplane is just out of the shop having had the following checks and repairs as part of the annual inspection. But as we are still 3 months away, I'll have the guys in the shop take another look over her about a two weeks before we leave.

COMPRESSION CHECK: #1 75 #2 72 #3 75 #4 75; CHANGE
OIL AND OIL FILTER; AD CHECK AND COMPLIANCE;
CHECK MAGS; DRAIN CARB; CHECK HYD. RES.;
REPLACE INDUCTION AIR FILTER; CHECK ENGINE AND
EXHAUST; CLEAN AND GAP PLUGS; LUBE STARTER;
CLEAN OIL SCREEN; DRESS PROP; INSPECT TAIL;
CHECK ELT AS PER CFR91.207D; CHECK A/C BATTERY:
12.3v @ 315cca; CHECK UNDER REAR SEAT; LUBE
PRIMER; CHECK SEAT BELTS; INSPECT WINGS; INSPECT
GEAR; GREASE WHEEL BEARINGS; CHECK BRAKES AND
TIRES; GREASE GEAR; CHECK QUICK DRAINS; BLOW
OUT FUEL VENTS; LIGHT CHECK; REPLACE VAC. REG.
FILTER; REPLACE INSTR. AIR FILTER; REPLACE INTAKE
GASKETS ON CYL'S 2,3 & 4; REPLACE HEATER SCAT
HOSE 30"/3"; RETENSION ALTERNATOR BELT; SERVICE
NOSE STRUT; REPLACE ELT BATTERY. REPAIR BOTH
MAIN WHEEL FAIRINGS;

Lots of Great Advice

Seems like there is no end of tips out there from folks who have made the trip. I'm finding some fascinating reading as I surf around looking for more information. This site has some great pictures and practical info.

Music and Red Sox games

Flying up to Burlington VT today in awesome weather - clear blue and spring like temps. Tooling along in the Archer and listening to XM radio in between ATC calls and wondering what kind of music Cousin Chris likes. We'll be some 50 hours in the plane to Alaska and back most likely and I do like my "oldies" channel. Also I'll sure as hell want to be tuning in the Red Sox games which will probably seem like a broadcast from another planet to my Aussie Cuz! Oh well, I guess he'll get the hang of it or tune it out in favor of moose and elk spotting out the window.

A lot to read up on

Looks like the FAA is trying hard to be helpful and has published this list of things to read before flying to Alaska. Some very useful information but it sure is a lot to read. Guess it's better to know it than not know it so I plan to cover it all over the next few weeks. If you want to read along with me click here.

Which Charts?

Doing a little research into what goes in the flight bag. We are going to need a few of these Canadian VFR Sectional Charts as well as the ones of the US and also Instrument Approach plates for Canada and the US portions of our flight.

CBP and eApis

The new and "improved" way of leaving and entering the United States. CBP stands for Customs and Border Patrol. eApis stand Electronic Aircraft and Passenger Information System.

So I've registered for eApis, have my ID and Log In and watched the AOPA video.

Now all I have to do is get Cousin Chris's information to list him as a crew member. Then all we have to do is remember all the steps and make sure to do them before we either leave on enter the US. Sounds pretty simple. Just hope we can get access to the internet in the wilds of the Yukon before we depart for US soil on our way in to Alaska. I guess the flying will be the easy part of the trip.