Cross Canada story
A resume of this great adventure written by Catherine,
Mark (blog) & contributing participants (comments)
Photos: Mark Helseth & Gilles Cuerrier
The challenge :
Crossing Canada (Provinces and Territories) in 17 days to celebrate the centennial of aviation.
INTRODUCTION Participants
The International Rally reputation is without question reaching pilots around the world. We have enjoyed the presence of pilots from as far as South Africa and this year participants from Australia, France, Switzerland, Netherlands, UK, joined the Canadian and US group of pilots. It takes guts to come from a very distant country to fly in totally unfamiliar conditions, obeying to different navigation rules, weather conditions, landscape, timeframes, etc…
Pilot responsibilities
 Youngest pilot flying Cherokee 6 PA32-300 with IFR instructor support Scott, Northwest pilot instructor from USA
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Pilots registering to the Governor General’s Cup are well aware that it is not a tour. It is a FLYING rewarding and fulfilling experience, a highly respected challenge for which pilots, partners and hosts have been preparing for months. Instrument rated pilots will keep on flying if IFR conditions occur. VFR (visual flight rule) pilots are aware that in IFR flying conditions they must remain on the ground until conditions improve to able them to reach the group.
Every pilot knows that when it comes to facing difficult flying conditions the pilot in command is the only one to decide for his/her crew taking into consideration his/her experience, aircraft capacity and level of confidence in his/her ability to handle each situation. This is the reason, in this rally, pilots will file an individual flight plan every “flying day”.
Organizing Committee responsibilities
 Chris Harmon getting the right picture and making his way to destination point
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The role of the Air Boss and the organizing committee is to insure that planes depart and land in an orderly manner, that they obey to Transport Canada and NAV Canada rules and special requirements provided to the committee ahead of time: ie. Approach and landing procedures in Montreal Trudeau, Mirabel, Mont Joli, etc... Pilots are made aware of fuel supply situation as indicated on the itinerary. Fuel is secured for all as per previous arrangements. Travelling in the North is a challenge for any pilot. Coming unprepared is out of the question. On top of weather, terrain and forest fires along the way, Avgaz 100LL is THE major issue and in occasions has to be ordered ahead of time. It is sometimes a financial risk for the organizing committee having no other option than buying barrels to secure supply months ahead. Even with such measures, alternatives have to be considered as “scheduled” shipments “could” be delayed…..
Working as a team, with the group of pilots, using everyone’s expertise and having on board instrument rated and experienced pilots volunteering scouts for the sake of making the route safe for the slowest planes is the only way to insure safety for the slowest and less experienced pilots. Mike, Australian Safari leader, onboard a Piper Arrow, David & Steve directors of the legendary Michigan Air Tour, onboard a Piper Seneca, Tony from Ontario onboard a Piper Comanche & Don from NJ onboard a Mooney, were this year’s scouts, leading the way for the planes giving continuous updates on the weather ahead. However, no matter the rating or the experience when storms were ahead pilots were grounded and that happened in Watson Lake, Yukon.
 Happy young flyers undergoing IFR training while having fun
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This year, the quality of the teams and the team spirit was beyond our expectations. The Australian teams went along as a normal usual everyday Flying journey!!! didn’t blink, didn’t complain, were incredibly supportive to the others including the Canadians !! While so many Canadians are making a fuss about flying the Canadian North, it takes a lot to impress US, Australian and French pilots.
The International Air Rally committee, this year arranged for four instructors to come onboard. One instructor from BC, Mireille Goyer, was introduced to a team from Manitoba to provide IFR instruction to PPL certified pilot sponsored by BITUMINEX. Three volunteer instructors from Minnesota, 2 of them instructors for Western Airline pilots were very keen to come onboard. This initiative was a great asset for many of the non IFR pilots and especially to the young pilots being introduced to aviation.and others pursuing the IFR ratings.. It was also for PPL pilots a measure of security.
Cross Canada Air Rally IFR instructor issue :
Mike Wilson, Australian Air Safari leader commented about
Mireille Goyer’s IFR “so called” instructor (this title was
questioned after we realised that she needed clear blue
skies all the way to fly and was the only one to drag
behind). Her frustration was reflected through outrageous
comments posted on a blog story.
Not being able to respond to any of her comments directly
on the blog, here is what Mike had to say :
Mireille Goyer (PDF, 52.3 Ko)
I learned a lot from the Australian Safari leaders:
Jenny and Mike; especially about handling the ever present
troublemaking pilots …. Jenny showed me how she would deal
with it : As she pointed her hand to the door saying “GO” !!!
Fortunately all but one team understood that the Governor
General’s Cup is actually an event and not a tour. Crossing
Canada is not what pilots normally do in 17 days ! Participants
were aware of the challenge. Pilots were pleasantly surprised by
the quality of the receptions and the interest the local
population was demonstrating in most destinations, lining up
long hours behind fences to see “the pilots” At last general
aviation got its share of “positive attention”. Locals
appreciated even more the presence of pilots originating from
overseas visiting
their
region and meeting the locals.
MAP : Mark added the refuelling points to the map (blue dots) and mileages to give some idea of the distances between refuelling. This map shows that the routing was based on the availability of airports and refuelling point along the way. Some options included refuelling at outfitters lodges where fuel lodging and food had been secured if needed: Kasba lodge, Northern Manitoba was one of them.
JUL 28, 09 - STORY BEGINS … St Andrews, ManitobaToday is the day prior to the 2009 International Air Rally launch which will take place in Russell Manitoba tomorrow the 29th of August..
About half the group is in St. Andrews. The group included the pilots from Australia (3 teams), France and Switzerland and passengers from the Netherlands had taken possession of their aircraft in Winnipeg or arrived on commercial flights.
Mark and George, organizing Committee members had arrived to meet the pilots. Both from Minnesota, they were fortunate not to encounter the bad weather barrier across Ontario. The rest of the organizing committee had to detour via Michigan to reach St-Andrews on the 29th in the morning and get the teams together to depart for Russel Manitoba.
Unfortunately, 4 teams from Quebec and Ontario did not make it that day. The team of Martin and Deborah arrived late afternoon in Russel, the team of Norman and Tanya reached us in Wetaskiwin the next day. One team turned back and the persistent teams of Patsy McGrath and Guy Houde from Quebec would join us in Pickle Lake after 8 days of cautious perseverance.
JUL 29, 09 St Andrews to Russell, MB:
 Aircraft awaiting departure in Russell
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Pilots at St-Andrews airport waited half the day in the lobby for an opportunity to fly to Russell. We finally got a break and made our flight. Surprise ! The locals had waited and waited and waited at the airport for us to arrive. They were curious and impatient to meet the teams and see the planes that would fly across all of Canada.
Finally Martin Elder and Deborah made it to Russell!!! Still 4 teams missing….
 Pilots enjoying a warm supper and reception in Russell
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Mayor Merril Kiliwnik, a very nice, jovial and friendly man was there to greet us all with warm hand shake, hugs and nice words of welcome. The pilots were cold and wet. This reception and the wonderful warm homemade supper organised by Gerald Keating member of the pilot association who travelled around the world with Dave McCulloch (Learjet participant) in the eighties was actually the one who invited us initially to Russell. The great meal including ice cream topped with locally grown raspberries, blueberries and strawberries made our day ! it was nice to be “Home” that’s the way the people from Russell made us feel. They are proud and true Canadians. The meal was preceded by a prayer to keep pilots safe on this long journey.
 Arthur the Mascotte to accompany the participants across Canada
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From that day on we were to meet the greatest people across Canada: True Canadians and Quebecers… proud of their origins and homeland. It would be like going from “home” to “Home” every day for 17 days, with one exception (details on the late part of the story)
Months of work and preparation in finding the right places paid off! The rally was to be a success story again thanks to our hosts “Aviation friendly people” devoted to their community” and to appreciative participant’s with great team spirit.
As part of the Rally this year we will carry flags from each community the entire way. At the end we will take a photo of all the flags carried by the finalists. Mayor Kiliwik gave us a replica of the Russell Mascotte Arthur. Arthur was our good luck charm and did a great job! Arthur participated in all ceremonies throughout the entire rally and appears in many pictures…. As promised to the mayor.
Article :
www.russellbanner.com (PDF)
- The Russell Banner
JUL 30, 09 Russell, MB to Wetaskiwin, AB
First official day of the Challenge
 Pilots getting aircraft ready for departure to Wetaskiwin after briefing
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Morning briefing: front just northwest of Wetaskiwin. In order to make it to our next destination, we would have to beat the front.
The weather at Russell Airport: low clouds so we had to wait. That gave Paul and Steve, part of the Australian teams, time to catch up with us as they were unable to fly into Russell the previous day.
After 4 long awaited hours for the fog to burn off we departed about noon for a four hour flight. Our plan was to go non-stop to Wetaskiwin and arrive there before the cold front section did. Many landed later than the original plan and missed the tour of the aviation museum located at the airport. Couldn’t miss the Canadian rebuilt pride Avro Arrow located in front of the museum. The teams that did manage to visit the Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame said it was a great aviation history museum.
Time for the always welcomed outdoor BBQ dinner offered by the City of Wetaskiwin and Wetaskiwin flying club. Today was the first competition day: Time evaluation and navigation questions. Mayor Don Montgomery met the pilots and handed the flag to the winners of the first competition: Jim & Diane Snyder- Elaine & Tony Lang, Ont. Our hosts prepared the food under a shelter as rain was pouring down. Cindy was coordinating the event.
 Wetaskiwin Flying Club volunteers preparing BBQ under pouring rain
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 Lang/Snyder team wins the first leg, gets the Wetaskiwin Flag
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Tomorrow ! Forecast is for blue skies and sunshine for the next week…!!
Article :
www.wetaskiwintimes.com
- Wetaskiwin Times
JUL 31, 09 Wetaskiwin, AB to Fort St John, BC
 Australian ladies arriving in Fort St-John on a very hot and dry day : 34°C
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Finally a break in the pattern of low clouds and rain; beautiful sunshine and clear skies.
Our route will start its northward trend toward the Yukon. At Fort St John we will pick up the famous Alaskan Highway that was built during World War II. The plan was to follow the road to stay on low terrain for the slower planes. As most of the planes were loaded with fuel and luggage it was a wise option.
 Pilots enjoying a great reception at the Peace Island Park
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At Fort St John we were met by Todd and Jim, retired Fire Chief and Police Chief respectfully. Todd is Managing Director for the North Peace Airport Services.
The people of Fort ST-John have what it takes to get things done !!! Very direct, straight to the point … managing every situation with a strong hand… Fort St-John and North Peace region left us with the impression of a successful community, strong people, motivated but yet enjoying a great quality of life..
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 Bus tour to Hudson Hope
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Some of us got to see the WAC Bennett Dam from the air. However, it was a bit too far out of town by bus for the amount of time we had. Instead we visited the Hudson Bay community of Hudson Hope the “land of dinosaurs and dams”., a trading post and transportation center on the Peace River Valley during the height of the trapping era of 1700 and 1800s. The keeper of this heritage museum was a descendant of the owners of the post (3 generations) and it was very interesting to see the family pictures on the walls and visit the cabin kept as when it was inhabited by his ancestors. Standing on a very beautiful site overlooking the River. we were told the story of this crazy French man Mr. Bedaux who led an expedition through the Rockies with Citroen made vehicles. The view over the river near the museum was breathtaking, the bus took us to the Peace Island Park in Taylor for the evening reception that included the best tender steaks !! Our distinguished hosts included Mayor Lanz of Fort St. John and Mayor of Municipality of Taylor and many other local officials.
Every one was waiting for the expected gold panning competition : Fort St-John is well known for its world Gold panning annual world Championship taking place in August. Helen, from Australia, mother of Jenny got on her knees and panned till she found the minuscule particle of gold. She was allowed to take it with her. Helen is used to Pan for precious stones back home ! Hobby of course. What a great evening !!!! Ashley, George, Michaëlle, Laurent went swimming in the river. As every year a group of young ones regroups. This year ages ranged from 16 to 26 and in some occasion were joined by “North of 50 ….. young at heart “
 Beatrice, Martin, Helen searching for gold
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 Mayor of Taylor
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 Pan with dirt and …
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Article :
www.energeticcity.ca
- EnergicCity.ca - Everything Fort St. John
Young Flyers in command :
 Michaëlle, 18
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 Camil, 16
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AUG 1, 09 Fort St John, BC to Watson Lake, Yukon
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We all enjoyed a good night sleep at
the Quality Inn Northern
Grand Hotel :
www.qualityinnnortherngrand.com
The bus is on time
and pilots all onboard ready for the next adventure and excited
about moving further into wilderness. Impatience started to
build as Mireille, (Diamond crew) was missing!.
This is the
second time!!! complained participants!!!
George, rushed into the hotel.…
This was just the beginning of a series of incidents that led
to the team’s abandon.
Sunshine again today!! We will depart and follow the Alaskan highway all the way to Watson Lake. It is amazing to the amount of traffic on the road as it snakes between the hills and valleys. In some places we can see the ghosts of the original road right-a-way before it was rebuilt for the newer paved sections.
The most beautiful part of the highway passed through two provincial parks flying over the BC Rocky Mountains. The scenery was breathtaking: water falls, rapids, glaciers, lakes with bright blue and turquoise water. As we approached Watson Lake, we did a low pass over the city to salute the town’s people. The circuit was really busy. In addition to our group arriving, aircraft tankers fighting the fires were using Watson Lake as a refuelling base. As we landed, the locals came to greet the pilots and visit the planes.
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One of the aircraft called a Lake took the opportunity to explore a slightly different route along a river that creates a canyon that can be followed to Watson Lake. The Lake is amphibious aircraft allowing it to land on both land and water. When we arrived in Watson Lake, the pilot of the bright red Lake told me they landed on a mountain lake to enjoy a dip the cool clear water It made everyone jealous when seeing the pictures at the Kapuskasing diaporama show!!!
It was a special day: A memorial service was held for the pilots who died on duty in Watson Lake. Mayor of Watson Lake, Nancy Moore, and Yukon deputy premier Elaine Taylor, were two very special guests. Watson Lake was one of the airports used during WWII to transport aircraft to Russia for the Lend-Lease program. Over 8,000 aircraft started in Montana and flew along the our route to Watson Lake were they stopped for fuel and rest before continuing on to Nome, Alaska and then Russia. The town grew up around the Lend-Lease airbase and Army post used for overseeing the Alaskan highway construction. The bases closed long ago but the town is still flourishing and growing with trapping and fishing.
 Pictures found at the airport terminal……
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 Eloquent picture, this soldier had a clear message and he sent it !!!!
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The Town of Watson Lake hosted the flyers with a dinner catered by Brenda Leach of BJ’s and live music provided by Gerald Edzerza and Norman Jack. Several local boat owners were taking people out on the lake for rides and there were
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As soon as I arrived I was directed to Yukon News reporter Valerie and I had the great privilege to spend sometime with Tor and Paul her long-time companion. Paul, a professional renowned photographer who lived in the Bahamas for a long time had incredible stories to tell especially about Orson Wells… Tor was writing a book about her trapping years to be soon published. After Paul and Tor took us to the store in Town We were invited to their home. Tor told us about their friend Rhonda who was visiting Watson Lake to get food supplies for the month. Rhonda and her husband had been living for 30 years in the woods. They arrived age 20, built their own lodge, lived from the land with their dogs. Rhonda was “stuck” in Watson Lake because the fire fighters were using the Beaver she was scheduled to take back to her isolated bush lodge. I knew that was once in a lifetime adventure for the pilot of the Lake !!! Chris, the pilot jumped on the opportunity !!! What a story.
Article :
www.yukon-news.com
- by Tor Forsberg
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We drove to Town to visit the famous signpost forest. There are
currently more than 55,000 signs from all around the world in
the signpost forest.
AUG 2, 09 Watson Lake, Yukon
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As the picture shows, planes will be grounded for a while. Forest fires and thunderstorms were enough reasons to wait at the airport. Hopefully we could depart later in the afternoon
At 4 Pm pilots gave up. Now the issue was the lodging. Surprisingly, Watson Lake is a very busy town; located on the Alaska highway it gets a lot of transit visitors. Lodging availability cannot be taken for granted. We had to act fast. With the help of Tony and Jim we secured enough rooms for every one. We (10 people) were lucky to go back to Lelah’s Airport B&B, a very comfortable apartment with high speed internet, kitchen, etc.. The Dumont family didn’t mind the floor sleeping arrangement in the mezzanine, leaving other pilots the rooms. Now the other issue was transport to get everyone back to the airport early the next morning. Taxiing back and forth was certainly not an option. With Lelah’s help we managed to locate the driver of the bus and arrange for next morning hotel pick up: One way, we hoped!!!. Bill Burdes of Watson Lake airport Flight services was a great help to us lending his car to the committee as did Lelah to get pilots to Town. At the airport terminal, we had noticed the presence of two pilots stranded like us. Unfortunately, we only learned the next day that they both were Canadian Owner and Pilot Association Yukon President George Balmer and Director John Faulkner. Sorry we missed a chance to have a great evening together. Thank you Mr. Balmer, Mr. Faulkner for taking the time to show some support to the participants of this historic Cross Canada challenge.
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Most of us met for a great supper at the Belvedere restaurant.
Arthur, Russell Mascotte was ready for next day’s flight !!!
AUG 3, 09 Watson Lake, Yukon to Hay River, NWT
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We made it!! The weather finally cleared enough that we could take off from Watson Lake. With clouds at 6,000 feet and the hill tops about 4,500 feet we were treated to some great scenery on our flight to Hay River.
Took some planning and strategy to clear forest fires, but fortunately no storms ahead. After clearing the hills and flying down the eastern slope into the flatlands of British Columbia, we arrived
 Just south of town the Hay River tumbles over a set high falls called Alexandria Falls.
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For you airplane buffs; as we were manoeuvring to land we heard
on the radio that a DC-3 was going to be landing on
our
runway coming from the opposite direction in about eight
minutes. This happens sometimes when the wind is calm. Airplanes
land into the wind to help slow them on landing. Since the wind
was calm at Hay River, we (and the DC-3) could sorta do what we
wanted – within reason.
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Needless to say, made sure we were off the runway when he arrived!! As he taxied up it was like a time warp. Rumbling radial engines filled the air drowning out all conversation. Not that any pilot would be talking when something as unexpected as a DC-3 trundled by.
As the DC-3 shut down, I (Mark) noticed four other DC-3s standing guard behind a fence waiting for there turn to take to the air. It seems that up here; DC-3s are still earning their keep hauling cargo to remote villages and mining camps.
Being a day late in Hay River, we missed the party, the people, the activities and all the fun !!! Fortunately Ross DeBoer was there, doing the transporting back and forth to the hotels. We enjoyed a supper and a good night sleep was needed to undertake the long Flight to Churchill and get to Arviat Nunavut. Great weather, no high terrain and a sun setting at 9 PM made it an enjoyable sight seeing Flying day and actually a dream come true for some pilots !!! ”quote on quote”
AUG 4, 09 Hay River, NWT - Arviat, NU - Churchill, MA
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 Kasba Lake lodge
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 Arviat arial
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 Arviat strip-aircraft taking off leaving trail of dust…
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Today, in order to get back into schedule and arrive at
destination to enjoy the company of our host, Mayor Spence,
Albert and Louise, and see the Polar Bears we had to sacrifice
the Tadoule stop. With a little common sense, you will
understand that because each destination has set activities,
reception diners, transport, (all free of charge) hired
personnel to receive the members of the Air Rally in “that”
particular day celebrating Canadian Centennial of Aviation,
It is our obligation to follow the itinerary. The only way to
accomplish this is with IFR qualified crews. This year 4 wise
VFR qualified pilots invited 4 IFR pilots onboard as a
back-up. Other teams like, Tony, Don, Steve & Dave, George,
Mike, Claude, etc… were IFR qualified, rally scouts and ready
to roll.
Tadoule, as explained in the program is a Sayisi Dene Chipewyan community. We had arranged to overnight in the community Aug. 2, however though verbal commitment had been made, we still did not have the details of the arrangements surrounding our venue in the community. As this destination was quite adventurous, we (the Air Rally) did not want to take any chances to have Dory get miserable and unhappy ! Don will understand !! So a plan B was put into place prior to departure for the Rally: an overnight back-up stay at the Kasba Lake outfitters lodge located only a few nautical miles away and conveniently located online with Arviat, NU. Kasba Lake owner had arranged fuel supply for our planes and plenty of food. Should we have been on schedule, the pilots would have proceeded to Kasba Lake Lodge and then flown to Tadoule. The more adventurous ones were to stay in Tadoule the others would have stayed in Kasba Lake… However, none of this happened as we proceeded to Churchill. The Community was notified by Fax Aug. 1 (impossible to be reached by phone !). Of course they did get the Flag created by Robert Sirdey, journalist and writer from France and made to specs by Air Rally supplier. I hope they appreciated.
Arviat photos courtesy of Redmar Atsma, Netherland (Lake Amphibian crew)
 On the way…
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In rallies, the organisers are confronted with unexpected
situations, in fact, the owner of a well know French aviation
magazine warned us about the danger of extensive flying in
remote areas with a large group of people: Different
personalities, … never know what to expect..…. Even with the
warning we were not ready for this one :
“The” commercial licensed and instructor pilot, flying the
Diamond aircraft with on board another PPL licensed pilot
decided that “she” could not exceed maximum regulatory duty
time and flight time. The answer to her problem was quickly
addressed by a few (not only the committee): Just sit in the
back and enjoy the ride ! Being told off in front of everyone
increased her animosity towards the organisers which resulted
on a “raging” story filled with resentment and a version that
does not comply with the reality of the Air Rally.
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HELLO !!! lady !!! this is the Cross Canada Centennial Flight – 6200 NM in 17 days !!! You got on the wrong “TOUR”!!! Needless to say participants sent comments to deny events, all were rejected.. If you come across the story, her statement quote : “Transport Canada recently made using a 406 MHz ELT mandatory in Canada” is wrong: the “Switch to 406” is still voluntary for private, state, and commercial aircraft.
Our first refuelling stop was Stony Rapids. We enjoyed good
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The reason some of the pilots spent so many hours in the air today was that upon departing from Hay River we were told that the supply train with the 100LL fuel had not arrived in Churchill yet. This meant we had to land at Gillam airport 200 miles south of Churchill for fuel (Plan B secured months ahead) and then backtrack to
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Pilots looked at the bright side :
They got to see more of the beautiful Canadian wilderness.
The town of Churchill is known as the polar bear capital of the
world. However, the northern town and surrounding areas have
much more to offer: stunning beluga whales, dazzling northern
lights, migratory birds, and the summer and fall colours of the
tundra flora.
Guide :
www.churchill.worldweb.com
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 Correction from previous : Sun sets at 11PM not 9:00PM
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Mayor Spence, Albert, Louise and other dignitaries were waiting
at the airport with the most delicious pizza ! We were taken to
our hotel the
Polar Inn
and
Tundra Inn
Mike Jenny & Helen managed to get a room at the well known
Lazy bear Lodge.
We then walked a few blocks to the Town hall for a Community
BBQ. Souvenir stores had stayed open late for the pilots.
We were invited to the heritage center for a ceremony and to
meet a great lady: Myrtle deMeulles, a local Cree First Nation
artist who creates Caribou hair sculptures. She told us
about her heritage with great sense of humour. It turned out
to be a very instructive and entertaining evening in company
of great people ! The group of pilots made it on time to the
reception. Even those who made it to Arviat !!! We learned
about the town’s issue with electric supply and Government
neglecting to solve the problem. We were surprised to hear this
from different communities of the North and realised how
spoiled people are in the Southern parts of Canada. Great
difficulties in getting sufficient power supply and services ???
It was even more surprising knowing that the
Polar Bear Capital of the World
attracts thousands of tourists every year from different
countries !!!
 Mayor Spence (right) proudly presents Churchill flag
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We all enjoyed a great evening !! and all wished to return with more time in the near future
Tomorrow! Another even more fun Flying day for Mark! One of the float pilots, Chris Harmon, has graciously offered to let me (Mark) fly right seat on the flight from Churchill to Pickle Lake. We intend to fly down the western shore of the Hudson Bay looking for polar bears and Beluga whales!! Then stop to take a swim in a cold clear remote lake and as a punctuation to end the day, fly low and slow up a river to Pickle Lake to join the Air Rally group.
Activities :
Polar Bear Adventures : www.churchillnaturetours.com
Tundra Buggy Adventure : www.tundrabuggy.com
AUG 5, 09 Churchill, MA to Pickle Lake, ON
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(Mark) : Unbelievable day!! As I indicated yesterday, I got
a chance to ride in the Lake amphibian aircraft today.!!!
It was about 50 degrees this morning with a strong northerly
wind off the bay.
The airport is located right on the Hudson Bay just east of the
Churchill River. Nothing stops the cutting wind as it blusters
in and around our planes on the aircraft parking area.
Loading luggage took on a hurried pace as most of us had not
broken out our warmer clothing yet.
It was a bit crisp. We got the plane loaded, taxied down the 2
mile runway.
I’m not kidding about the length.
Churchill was an old military base with runways built for low
powered 1960s fighters that took forever to get up to takeoff
speed. After our 900 foot takeoff we made a right turn,
descended, hugged the coastline and started looking for
wildlife. We flew about 100-200 feet above the brackish
Hudson Bay waters along the marsh-like western shoreline hoping
we might catch a glimpse of one polar bear.
Little did we know what was in store for us this morning.
For almost 2 hours, as we slowly made our way southward;
we backtracked, circled and reversed course while recording the
incredible diverse wildlife of the Churchill area.
We saw and photographed:
- Approximately 30 polar bear
- Bald Eagles
- Untold numbers of Beluga whales (we stopped counting)
- Two herds of Caribou Thousands of birds
- And the special treat – a Timber Wolf.
 We saw a black bear just outside of town from the bus
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All of this in about 100 miles of coastline! I shot 588 images today. In almost all of the wildlife sightings, I would just hold down the shutter and let the camera bang away at 2 or 3 images per second with the motor drive singing.
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Quite a day as a wildlife photographer…
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Pickle Lake here we come ! North bound, Pickle Lake is at the end of the Paved road.
“The Last Frontier” is truly the feeling you get after you have traveled North bound to this community.
As you can see from the pictures above weather was not a problem. Even after backtracking for 2 hours to get our share of picture shooting…seemed like never enough, we arrived on time for the party !Like all pilots we had chosen to fly into Pickle Lake before the high pressure system started to build and that was a wise decision as we arrived in clear ideal conditions.
 Photo montage, R. Sirdey, 2007
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Since 2003, when the rally became a cross country
International Rally, participants started to benefit from
transatlantic experienced pilots, joining the rally.
No more lazy rides onboard Bombardier’s courtesy DASH 8
(sponsorship to the Air Rally)
Understanding weather movements, learning to read the patterns,
pinpointing the right time to fly according to those movements
is an art.
The presence of pilots of such experience have been very
valuable to Air Rally participants: moving on clear skies to
refuelling points and re-evaluate from each stopping point is
the solution to proceed safely to next destination.
Worst scenario is to wait till it clears but having reduced
Flying distance; the probabilities are 90% that we will get to
destination. Staying behind without the support of the group
and “scouts” providing a “live” picture of the situation is
certainly more risky unless you are prepared to hang around for
a week or more looking for clear skies across the board….
On those basis, no need to join a group. Nine years of
organisation, learning from these pilots is an asset that
cannot be denied. Pilots come out with incredible rewards;
they have tested their capacity and learned from experience
how to evaluate weather movement of pressure systems,
and more, not from books but from real live situations.
The Air Rally learned that including two Flight instructors and
search & rescue members as well as well travelled experienced
pilots increases security and awareness and makes flying a
reality for all. Basically comes down to :
two heads are better than one…
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Unfortunately Martin, Deborah and Chris, Cherokee 6 team were
delayed in Churchill due to a small engine problem. Fortunately
the Diamond crew was there to keep them company.
Good news today: the teams of Guy Houde and Patsy McGrath,
from Quebec City were able to catch up with us.
Pilots pretty much arrived at same time and were greeted by Mayor Shewan (Redbeard). Mayor “Mike” had an apron on and BBQ tongs in hand mastering a BBQ sausage lunch for the pilots in the North Star hangar (major sponsors of the Pickle Lake destination).This kind attention to serve lunch to pilots upon landing was just an introduction to what was to come in the evening !!!
Some of the pilots had reserved at the hotel others were staying
at the beautiful fully furnished and renovated homes
“Lake View Manor”
owned by North Star to receive visitors.
North Star Air Ltd.
is the first and so far only float plane operator in the north
to invest extensively in fleet upgrades which include both
turbine and amphibious float plane capability. They provide
services for tourism, mineral exploration support service,
sightseeing trips to the coast (Beluga whales and Polar bears
and other flora and fauna), fly-in fishing (outpost, yurt
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Bernie and Lynn Cox, North Star owners treated us to an evening party in the back of one of their homes facing the lake. It was a beautiful evening. Mark, Chris, Beth and Redmar were in the first to arrive (still today I cant figure out how one of the slowest planes (Lake amphibian) who did so much sightseeing on the way always managed to be on schedule. (see picture)
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A tour to the gravel pit to see at least 6 huge black bears looking so inoffensive that pilots had to be told to “back off” a little… The evening was not over!!! Fire works on the Lake!
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Thank you so much Mike, Bernie and Lynn for organizing such a memorable celebration party for us all and thank you for all the trouble to transport us back and forth !! the Town of Pickle Lake and Pickle Lake people will be engraved in our memories for ever (and on this website too…)
AUG 6, 09 Pickle Lake, ON to Kapuskasing, ON
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 Alan Matson briefing pilots
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 Planes lined up on tarmac ready to go as per order of departure
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 Kapuskasing provided cement tie-down bars to planes
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Mark: Kind of a normal day for a change. No polar bears, no low
clouds, no rain. Just get in the plane and fly.
Catherine: I had the pleasure of talking with Mayor Shewan while
others were checking weather, refuelling or just relaxing.
Again I learned of struggles, similar to those of Churchill :
poor electric supply and lack of support to help development in
the region.
Should Canadians travel more across their “own” country and meet
other fellow Canadians they would be aware and choked that a
rich oil and natural resources country like ours is neglecting
their own.
Unfortunately these “forgotten” communities do not have the
proper representation in congress like Natives do. Their
problems are set aside in favour to more media & public
sensitive matters. I admire these communities for standing tall
and working together as a team to move on regardless of the
ambushes.
Mayor Shewan drove me to the store to get sandwiches for
Valerie, the “kids” and my crew as well as other extras just in
case some pilots didn’t think about it.
Time to depart ! Weather is good, lets Go… Planes are set to
depart as per take off order of departure 1st, 2nd, etc… Now it
is time for the diamond to go ! Where is the crew ???
Poor Ashley had to push the Diamond out of the way to allow
pilots to proceed setting the diamond back to last position of
departure. It actually decided to stay in Pickle Lake
one more day (“grounditis” syndrome???)
Kapuskasing here we come ! passing over beautiful Lake Nipigon
on our way to Geraldon for refuelling (only 1 hour away) would
allow slower crews to re-evaluate weather ahead. Many did not
need to stop in Geraldon and proceeded straight to Kapuskasing.
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As you can see from the picture : clear skies as we arrived in
Kapuskasing. Kapuskasing, like most northern communities, began
with the development of the National Transcontinental Railway.
The camp, established on the banks of the Kapuskasing River by
the railroad company, grew into a settlement known as
MacPherson. In 1917, the name of MacPherson changed to
Kapuskasing, as it remains today. Kapuskasing means
"Bend in the river" in Cree. The majority of Kapuskasing
population speaks French. Many Quebecers settled there when
Government offered free acres of land during the depression.
Kapuskasing is home of the well known Canadian
Lumberjack heritage Festival
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We had our reception in an old restored community center that
was built back in the 20s as part of the original lumbering
town of Kapuskasing.
My understanding is the NY Times built the town to support the
timber and pulp production plants to supply newsprint for the
newspaper.
The townsfolk turned out with almost as many people as we have on the rally. We took advantage of the giant screen set-up to display a diaporama of the Lumberjack festival and presented Chris Harmon and Mark Helseth pictures of the Arviat-Churchill-Pickle Lake wildlife pictures to the audience.
Chris’s birthday was marked by a cake and candle and over 120 people sang Happy birthday Chris. Too bad Chris friends (diamond) were still in Pickle Lake …… Mayor Alan Spacek & Chantal Rody, proudly delivered the flag to Mike Jenny & Helen Australian crew. The flag will be exposed in Australia!!! Thank you so much Mr. Mayor, Chantal and special thanks to Mr. Brousseau who made it all happen ! We will be in town again! This time for the lumberjack festival.
AUG 7, 09 Kapuskasing, ON to Rouyn, QC
 Another great day of flying!
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 We were greeted at the airport, by Mrs. Marie-Reine Robert Airport manager
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Rouyn-Noranda is known as "National Copper Capital for its
extensive copper deposits and mining/smelting activities.
The city of Rouyn appeared after
copper
was discovered in 1917. Noranda (a contraction of
"North Canada")
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Today we visited the
“Xstrata nickel smelter Horne”
one of the
largest copper transformation
operation in the world and
Rouyn beautiful
Parc botanique "À fleur d'eau" & geological gardens
located in the heart of the City.
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We were right on time for the famous
“Osisko en lumière”
fire work festival that lasts for 3 days and hosts many outdoor
live shows: “Simple Plan” was in town! After the three hour tour
we stopped at the hotel for about 45 minutes to change and get
ready for the formal reception. Mayor Provencher greeted every
one and offered a cocktail buffet to all as well as gifts and
information package that made us realise how much there was to
do and see in
Abitibi-Témiscamingue region.
 Mayor Provencher addressed the pilots with a welcome to Rouyn speech & delivered the flag to the winning team : Martin Elder & Deborah
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 The Mayor actually wrapped the flag around Deborah
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 Arthur, Russell Mascotte attended the ceremony
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There was something for everyone and I was very touched by the present Mayor Provencher had for ME ! a beautiful book about Abitibi Témiscaminque. Thank you very much Mr. Mayor, Mrs. Robert & Mr. Boucher for this wonderful reception and great hospitality.
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Following the reception, we split into two groups; one group (the young ones) were driven by bus to one of the largest Go-Kart, Raphael, Laurent & George excelled at this sport. The older more “settled” ones searched for an upscale restaurant to celebrate the end of the first Cross Canada challenge. We found it !!! The hostess requested a reservation for such large group but being referred by the Mayor help clear the problem. We all spent a very nice evening.
Unfortunately Claude & Guy from France had left us in Kapuskasing but were to meet us back in Montreal.
AUG 8, 09 Rouyn, QC to Montreal, QC
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Absolutely no problem today in getting to Montreal!
Flying a group of planes into Trudeau International was planned months ahead in collaboration with NAV Montreal. For your information NAV Canada assigns individual agents to supervise the air rally event every year. NAV contacts receive complete Flight plan information for each aircraft (problems arise when pilots change aircraft last minute…)
Getting the group of pilots into Montreal made NAV Canada a little nervous. Arriving early in the day would avoid conflicts with International flights taking off and landing more frequently in the later part of the day. Precise instructions were given to all pilots for approach and those instructions had to be transmitted correctly and understood by all prior to departure..
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NAV Canada
has been supportive of the Air
Rally for nine years. We are very fortunate to work with such
great group of people who understand our mission and do not
mind the extra work we generate every summer. I have to thank
NAV Canada for their support and patience in dealing with some
unexpected issues. We also appreciate greatly the contribution
of
Montreal Airports
who, along with the other sponsors made this Cross Canada Flight
possible and collaborated in both Montreal and Mirabel airport
layover.
Skyservice
agreed to provide free parking for all aircraft.
The Hotel Queen Elizabeth, Montreal landmark and 5 star hotel provided pilots with special rate rooms for the night. The Air rally organization provided the transport to and from.
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The City of Montreal, ranking third in the world in the
aerospace Industry generously proposed a glass of wine at
City Hall
“one!!! “
said Mayor’s brother Marcel Tremblay
“Besides, the Mayor was too busy attending the
Italian Festival on that day !”
The conclusion was: Not worth the trouble. Instead pilots would
relax at the Queen Elizabeth and enjoy a night in town.
Montreal was a turning point for some crews:
Finally MayCay joined the group. Delayed by bad weather and
after many attempts to catch up with the rally we all came to
conclusion that best for her was to go back home and return on
a commercial flight to Montreal. We were happy to see MayCay
especially knowing that every destination was looking forward
to her arrival. Martin Elder Piper Cherokee 6 PIC was finally
getting some relief with a highly qualified, IFR instructor
onboard (MayCay), he could at last quit worrying and enjoy
flying.
 Guy & Claude, France
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It was sad to say goodbye to the French crew : Guy and Claude as well as the US guys David and Steve from Michigan, Alan & Scott from Minnesota. Canadian wilderness flying experience is one of the most binding ones !!! The pilots had built strong ties and great friendship. Team work & group identity in an environment totally unknown and sometimes hostile is what creates great friendship and generates memories to last a lifetime.
Newcomers!!! Mark & Francine Delaplante, 4th time participants
arrived onboard their C-185 amphibian plane. Dave, Lynda,
Joseph and Sheryl, Lear jet crew also joined us.
Paul Kelly (Cirrus instructor) & Dan Jorgenson (Michaëlle IFR
instructor) both from Minnesota took over from Scott & Alan.
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Two teams Quit the Cross Canada challenge. Diamond crew:
George, Ashley & instructor Mireille. Glen, Diane & instructor
Nicole, Piper Arrow crew.
We can understand why the diamond crew left the group. George had a commitment to get his IFR instruction completed and had no choice but to follow his instructor’s advice. George wants to be a commercial pilot. Acting independent, being always behind the rest of the group, did not agree with the principles of an event such as the GGC Cross Canada Centennial Flight.
Mireille (Miraille), French born & new to Canada, has a history of flying in California and Nevada blue skies; I suppose she was in for a surprise when flying the Canadian North. Fortunately, other instructors originated from Minnesota & had no such concerns…. But then again… thinking about my earlier comment, the three Australian crews, so used to dry sunny hot weather kept on going & flying rented unfamiliar aircraft was still not a discouraging factor to them.
In Canada, being IFR certified is not a glorifying title it is a NECESSITY for private pilots who want to FLY a decent amount of hours per year.
An advice to all: get to know your Flying buddies before you engage in any kind of extensive Flying. A wonderful Flying adventure could turn into a nightmare.
We never heard from Rainville/Davignon and Asenjo registered teams. So, all together, we were short 5 aircraft for the Eastern challenge taking into consideration the missing Liberty aircraft.
AUG 9, 09 Montreal, QC to St-Honoré, QC
 MayCay & Martin Pilot/co-pilot briefing
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 Steve & David, USA
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 Montreal airport
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Bus pick up was set for 8:00 AM. Lots of effervescence and
tension at the Skyservice terminal: pilots saying goodbye to
departing newfound friends promising to visit each other and
newcomers introducing themselves to the group. Montreal is the
major International airport: Big runways, fast talking air
traffic controllers, jets, landings every minute or two. We
could tell some pilots were very nervous at the morning
briefing by the amount and type of questions.
This was to be expected.
To secure the group within this environment and avoid
interfering with commercial traffic, Camil Dumont, president of
organizing committee, Montreal NAV and airport management
worked together to set up a special airway “corridor” specially
reserved for the small planes.
 Camil and Dan checking on weather
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 Visit of NAV Canada tower at the St-Honoré Chicoutimi airport
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Montreal airport is located on the banks to the St Lawrence
River. This allows for a neat procedure that scoots the small
aircraft under the big jets along the north bank of the river
at 1,500 feet above the water.
We couldn't have gotten a better route for sightseeing. As we
flew up the river in our imaginary tunnel under the arriving
and departing jets we saw the waterfront and city spread out in
front of us. It was fun to see the long bridges filled with
morning commuters up close. It was like being a rush-hour
chopper pilot reporting the traffic. Since Montreal is a major
seaport, there were plenty of ocean-going freighters plying the
waterway and negotiating the locks.
 Mount of Saguenay River
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 Beluga whales
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We continued eastbound long the north shore for about 20 miles.
At that point the air traffic controllers cleared us to continue
on our way under our own navigation. I'm not sure, but I think
I could hear the relief in their voices as they said "au revoir"
to our flock of planes.
 Log Cabins
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Enroute to our final destination, Guy Houde, Quebec City resident, had instructed all to fly over a small island called l’Ile aux Coudres (CTA3 a private airstrip) and say "bonjour Mariette" to the owner waiting by the radio for our message. It was a nice personal touch to an unfamiliar and yet beautiful route.
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 La martingale lobby
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 What looked like a casual dinner turned….
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 The Flag of St-Honoré delivered to Lang/Snyder team from Ontario
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 …….into a enraged dance evening
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 Mayor Marie Luce Martin enjoying herself
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 tables removed.. no stopping us
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 the “Train d’enfer band” “Hell train band”
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 Elaine & Diane having fun!
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AUG 10, 09 St-Honoré, QC to Havre St-Pierre, QC
 Pilots on the move
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 Time to change socks
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 Marc & Francine reorganizing
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 Lear jet is in no hurry
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 Presentation of CQFA college by Director Mr. Boucher
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 Mr. Boucher, CQFA director
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 Sorry Valerie you cant take the little horse with you…
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We (Mark) were delayed this morning because of rotten weather
at the destination. To pass the time some group members elected
to do some badly needed luggage reorganization. While waiting
for the weather to clear a bit we had the opportunity to enjoy
a home cooked lunch at the school cafeteria while the students
were in class. After departing St-Honoré we back-tracked the
previous day’s incoming route along the Saguenay River. As we
flew along the middle of the river gouge admiring the steep
cliffs on either side; the air traffic controller at nearby
Bagotville Air Force base asked us to call him when we passed
Cap Trinite (TRIN a Tee). When we quizzed him to repeat the
name so we could locate it on our charts, he said, check for a
point with a statue on it" George and I looked at each other
to be sure we heard the same thing; a statue? We agreed we did
and told him we'd call when we got to Cap Trinite. After about
five minutes of flying, appeared out of the haze on a dark
green pine filled hillside perched high above the river, a
brilliant white statue of the Virgin Mary. We could even see
the flowers and gifts that were laid at the feet of the statue.
We understand the statue was placed on the hill in 1881 to
bless and protect the sailors.
 Northern coast landscape
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 Havre St-pierre airport at sight
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(Catherine) The flight was beautiful along the Quebec Northern
coastline. It was an amazing scenery beyond Sept Isles, no
vegetation at all & lots of swampy land in the main land,
however could not miss the beautiful
Anticosti Island
as we flew towards Havre St-Pierre. This Island is recognized
as an exceptional territory for deer hunting and salmon fishing
enthusiasts & offers a spectacular natural environment to
visitors from all over the world. Havre St-Pierre airport was
at sight. Beautiful blue sky as we landed right after
Mike Piper Arrow & Don Mooney and before George & Mark Cherokee,
the boy’s (Paul, Laurent & Raphael) Cirrus crew and
Martin Elder’s Cherokee just beat a small line of the fog
moving towards the airport like a white blanket covering up the
runway. We heard the engine of Steve Cessna but unable to see
it. Mike was on the radio to them and we were on the Icom
checking. All of a sudden he broke through over the runway and
there he was safe and sound. Unfortunately other Cessna’s had
to turn around back to Sept-Iles for the night. So sad !!!
They missed the greatest seafood diner ever! Lobster,
shrimps, crab, you name it ! and the morning tour to the
beautiful Mingan Islands.
 Mayor Cormier, Dany Jomphe & Chantal at the airport, happy to see us !
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 Don Berliner, Mooney pilot receiving a medal
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 Steve Knight receiving a medal with Gillian right by is side !
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Located 225 kilometres east of Sept Isles and in front of the
Mingan and Anticosti Islands. Havre-Saint-Pierre has what it
takes : Port, regional airport, good road access from the East
or the West, to facilitate the industrial and commercial
development of the region while providing a great living
environment. The new Quebec Hydro electric 15 year project of
the “La Romaine” river is causing an important affluence
of workers from all parts. The town is confronted with a
constant flow of people to the region. Need to provide xtra
services and accommodations are eminent. Beautiful sandy
beaches, great outdoor activities, hospitable people, easy
access to the
Archipel-de-Mingan
make it very attractive to Canadians and visitors from abroad.
 Food was abundant as half the pilots were missing. Sorry !
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 Raphael receiving the medal
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 Gilles Cuerrier receiving also the honours
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Mayor Cormier, Mr. Dany Jomphe and Chantal Petitpas were at the
airport to greet all. Many locals had come to see the pilots.
They drove us to the hotel and set a time to meet at the harbour
hall for the great seafood diner. During the dinner the Mayor
had medals to deliver to deserving pilots: Don Berliner for
being such a great scout helping pilots behind, Raphael de
Kalbermatten, for his great “first” flying performance, Gilles
Cuerrier for his fidelity to the Air Rally (9 years) and Steve
Knight for his great pilot skills. The Flag was delivered to
Steve and Gillian from Australia. The flag will travel a long
way to Australia.
 We had a great evening! In company of Mayor Cormier, Dany & Chantal
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 Steve & Gillian from Australia receiving the Havre-St-Pierre Flag to take home
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AUG 11, 09 Havre St-Pierre, QC
 Boat tour to the Islands
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 Old lighthouse on the Island
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 Romantic time for Mike & Jenny from Australia
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Having missed the boat tour to the Islands previous day, we
reported it to early the next morning. The weather was
absolutely beautiful. we departed at 7:30 AM for the boat tour.
Mayor Cormier and Mr. Jomphe as well as Chantal Petitpas were
there bright and early to drive us to the pier and joined us
for the tour to the
Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve.
This is an area made up of countless islands and steep cliffs
along the northern shore of the St Lawrence River.
 Amazing rock
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 The Fox
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 Amazing rock
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The park is full of marine wildlife, birds - and a fox. While the marine life and waterfowl were everywhere and our guide was able to provide an interesting background about the park and its inhabitants; it was the fox that caused the most excitement. The guide told us the fox was the largest mammal on the island and she was hard pressed to understand how it got on the island. It is a good 1 Mile swim to the nearest mainland. She didn't seem overly concerned about its presence, but we could tell it was a surprise.
It was exciting getting close and talking to the fishing boat crews in the area watching them in action collecting nets of crabs and other shellfish. One of the captains was a lady. The mayor knew their names. Great experience!
Thank you Mayor Cormier Chantal and Dany Jomphe for this unforgettable experience and great hospitality. We will be back for more!!! As you know we flew back in May from Montreal in one day. Good to know you are just a day away !
We all stopped at the local store to pick-up sandwiches and off we went to the airport. No problem today! Destination Lourdes Blanc Sablon last frontier between Quebec and Labrador and crossing point to Newfoundland. At that point we would meet the missing planes before crossing the Strait of Belle Isle.
Interesting event happening at the same time we were on
location:
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An old American war plane wreck found in Minganie Underwater August 10,2009 near the Mingan Island (Longue Pointe) The military aircraft dated from the Second world war. For three years, the archaeologists of Canada Parks have searched waters of the St. Lawrence gulf in the search of elements that marked the history of the Mingan Archipelago. They discovered the aircraft in May, putting an end to a mystery which lasted 70 years.
” The scientists have all the reasons to believe it is the PBY-5A of US Army Forces, an amphibious aircraft called “Catalina”, which sank off the village of Long-Point-of-Mingan, in November 1942. Five members of the crew died in the accident. The American and Canadian authorities must however proceed to formal identification of the wreck, ... ”
Article :
American War Plane Wreck (PDF)
- Le Soleil
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Flying over Northern Newfoundland southbound to Deer Lake was
quite an experience. Beautiful velvety green hills and lakes,
looking like Scotland Highlands said Raphael who travels (walks)
through the region quite often looking for artistic photographic
opportunities.
No welcoming ceremony ahead, no one waiting for us, therefore we
took our time to enjoy the scenery.
We very much appreciated the collaboration of Deer Lake FBO NALAIR especially the work of Courtney who secured parking for our aircraft for the night.
Mr. Schwartz Deer Lake airport manager had advised months ahead that the airport reserved a 6 parking positions on the apron for Air Canada & Air Canada Jazz. We were told that a NOTAM would be posted advising all aircraft that overnight parking was not available as no more than 3 aircraft could occupy the apron at any given time.
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Thank you Courtney as we say “Where there is a Will there is a
way”. Nalair is a great company and must be recommended to all
who travel (Fly) through Northwestern NL.
To our great surprise, all aircraft were placed in a hangar for the night. Tim Horton coffee and donuts courtesy of NALAIR were served and the FBO and Airport T-shirts were delivered to the FBO for us. Thank you !!!
A charter bus, organized y Air rally committee transported the pilots to The Glynmill Inn a Registered Heritage Old English Style hotel located 45 minutes from Deer Lake.
Since no officials from Corner Brook showed at the airport or at the hotel, we were on our own. The pilots enjoyed the comfort and class of the hotel, the cozy English style King Henry’s Pub, had a taste of the old lager and Irish beer on tap and proceeded to the Wine cellar gourmet restaurant for a cozy candle light dinner. Why go anywhere else???
According to the Lear Jet crew who arrived hours ahead of us (they had skipped the Havre St-Pierre stop), a reception was arranged at the Town Hall. After 14 days of being welcomed across Canada by locals and officials upon landing our aircraft, we couldn’t figure that one out! We missed the dinner but were happy to hear from the news that the food was delivered to a charity fund raising event and benefited others in need.
“Our apologies Mr. Griffin, members of Council. On behalf of the pilots who have for the most part come from distant countries and continents for the purpose of crossing the second largest country in the world, OURS, in celebration of the Canadian Centennial of Aviation, I would like to bring to your attention that our pilots were looking for a nice warm welcoming hand shake from you and the people of Corner Brook ! A gesture of greater value than a free lunch “called consideration”
Our past 2007 experience proved the saying “Newfoundland hospitality is alive and well!” to be true. We are so sorry that visitors, from Australia especially, could not experience the fun we had to also approve of it.
Here are some good memories of the past (R. Sirdey photo Stephenville 2007) to confirm
AUG 12, 09 Corner Brook, NL to Municipality of Digby, NS
 Planes were let out of the hangar
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 Prince Edward Island
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In Corner Brook, NL we awoke to clear blue skies. At 8 AM,
Pilots boarded the bus for the 45 minute ride back to the airport.
Today would be a longer leg of about four and half hours. The
route was broken roughly in half so the teams could have a
chance to stretch and get fuel along the route. Pilots would
fly over Prince Edward Island on the way and had the opportunity
to land in Charlottetown. Some pilots decided to land in
Baddeck, NS.
When some of the pilots landed in Port Hawkesbury for fuel, a
journalist for
the Reporter
was waiting for us to take notes about our adventure and
commitment to celebrate the Canadian Centennial of aviation.
At last, the most anticipated stop in the Maritimes : Welcome to Digby "The scallop capital of the world"
 Digby as we flew in
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 George was happy to show his plane to kids
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 MayCay posing with RCMP officer
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The reception at
the airport
“the highest Airport in N.S”, showed us what great Nova Scotia
hospitality is about. It was a hot and dry day (32 °C)
A tent and table was set and our hosts were cooking delicious
“sauté” fresh scallops with fried seaweed giving pilots a taste
of what is good in Southern Nova Scotia:
Digby delicious scallops !
 Becky, Catherine, Gordon handing the Digby Flag to the pilots
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RCMP officer in his full dress uniform greeted crews and even
with the heat, didn’t mind the multiple picture taking requests
by the pilots.
Residents lining the fence, kids lined up to see the airplanes,
dignitaries amongst the crowd welcoming us and all the scallops
we could eat !!! That was quite a contrast to previous day. It
was good to see again Becky, airport manager, Gordon Wilson &
Robert Hersey members of Council. We were happy to hear that
2007 Air Rally visit had triggered interest from the NS
Government and a very much appreciated funding envelop was
approved for the development of the airport in association with
the development of tourism and residential fly in community.
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A quick ride to the
Digby Pines Golf & Spa Resort
to freshen up and it was on to the reception.
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Nestled on the shores of the Annapolis Basin, the Digby Pines Golf Resort and Spa is Renowned as one of the country's premiere golf courses designed and built by the Canadian architectural master Stanley Thompson. The Digby Pines is a high class majestic old style hotel with beautiful rooms and chalets. The large lobby harkens back to the art and architecture of the turn of the century.
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This year, the reception took place on the hotel's terrace
overlooking the bay with sailboats canvassing the picturesque
vista in the light winds. The terrace, the surrounding gardens,
the employees dressed in white, the gourmet food, we could
easily imagine being in one of the select hotels on the Riviera
with one difference: the great company.
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A 7 station dinner including Scallops, Salmon, Sushi, Stirfry,
fruit plates and a colourful desert presentation that caught
everyone's eye. We owed this great reception to Mr. LeBlanc,
Digby Pines Manager. We spent a wonderful evening in company of
Digby dignitaries Warden Jim Thurber, Deputy Warden Jimmy
MacAlpine, Gordon Wilson Deputy CAO, Becky Doucet, airport
manager and Ministry officials of the city and region.
The young enjoyed a dip in the pool, others walked to town and to the harbour/Marina, others just enjoyed the beautiful gardens. Digby will always live up to your expectations!!!
 Valerie was named “great Mom” of the year !
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Valerie took on the challenge for her two sons. Both Raphael
and Laurent by her side were introduced to flying during 18
days, Flying a rented Cirrus, coached by volunteer instructors
Alan and Paul.
They logged 22 hours all together and performed many –touch & go- exercises all the way across Canada. Lucky guys!
Article :
www.novanewsnow.com
- Leanne Delong / Digby County courier
 R. Sirdey 2007 photo –Hotel lounge
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Good old memories :
R. Sirdey 2007 photo –Hotel lounge
AUG 13, 09 Municipality of Digby, NS to Saint John, NB
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As happens near water, the morning temperature was a bit
refreshing with a slight breeze off the bay. We enjoyed a full
breakfast buffet set in the dining room beholding the fishing
boats as they parted the water on their way to sea.
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Departing the small Digby airport, the planes made a northerly turn for the short one hour hop across the Bay of Fundy to Saint John, NB. Digby locals circled an area on a map that might be good for whale watching as we cruised toward St John. The area indicated Flying over Grand Manan Island where Seals, whales and a great variety of birds can be found. One aircraft was lucky to catch a glimpse of one breaching whale spout.
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Our arrival in St John was another community event. People
gathered at the airport to meet the planes and crews. Stacey
Richards, Operation manager AFC
“Saint John Atlantic Flight College”
FBO organised a meet & greet luncheon in one of their
hangar.
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 Patsy McGrath PIC and Sylvie Lauzier from Quebec City were proud to receive the Saint John Flag to carry all the way to the finals.
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Pilots were greeted by Saint John Air Cadets, helping with the luggage, Bernard LeBlanc airport manager, Sally Cummins, Tourism Saint John who made it all happen with partners from Saint John Hotel Association, Saint John Airport Authority, Steamers Lobster Co., Saint John Transit and Go Fundy Events. The reception included local delicacies, Moosehead beer and Dulce (a dried seaweed snack).
The reception again was beyond our expectations. Wanda Hughes from Go Fundy volunteered to be the guide and gave us a tour on the way to the Delta Brunswick Hotel.
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Saint John "The Fundy City" is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the oldest incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy
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After dropping the bags and changing into some “evening party”
clothes, the group was treated to a walk along the waterfront,
Saint John museum visit and lobster dinner entertainment and
dancing at the Steamers Lobster Company restaurant.
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 Tim Maloney, a talented entertainer turned the show into a rock & roll wild party !
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Tim Maloney changed Steve into Elvis Presley and taught Camil
and Laurent how to perform hypnosis on a lobster.
Laurent’s lobster was the one to stay still the longest.
Amazing !!! Rubbing the back of the lobster actually works ...
 We got pretty steamed up at Steamers !
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We had a great lobster & mussel diner and enjoyed greatly our visit to Saint John. Thank you so much for your great hospitality.
AUG 14, 09 Saint John, NB to Mont Joli, QC
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Another beautiful day ! CAVU ! Final briefing and time to go !
We crossed the province of New Brunswick heading North West to
Mont Joli located on the Saint Lawrence River, South Shore, in
the beautiful touristy region of
Gaspesie,
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Unbelievable! As we landed at the Mont Joli airport we could see
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Pilots were overwhelmed by so much attention and moved by the presence of so many young children. Pilots had no hesitation in letting kids onboard. “I want to be a pilot to be free to go anywhere I want!!!” said one of them.
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 Tony happy to invite kids onboard
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CIRRUS crew, Raphael & Laurent from Switzerland & Paul volunteer
instructor from Minnesota, USA got a lot of attention. The
locals proved to be very appreciative of aviation in general.
Must say they have every reason to be proud of their airport. In 1940, this land was selected by the RCAF as ideal location for a military airfield. Construction was completed in April 1942 : Three paved runways and 50 buildings were constructed for what became known as RCAF Station Mont-Joli to be used as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan for a bombing and gunnery school until the end of World War II. Less well-known was RCAF Station Mont-Joli's critical role during the Battle of the St. Lawrence when RCAF Eastern Air Command used it as a coastal patrol base; during 1942-1944, dozens of Canadian cargo and warships were sunk by German U-boats in an effort to close the critical
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Carole Duval, Airport Manger invited the Cross Canada centennial Flight to stop in Mont Joli and coordinated our visit with the help of Mayor Jean Bélanger, Mayor Jean-François Fortin, Mayor of Sainte Flavie
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Once ready, pilots were offered a tour of the beautiful Métis
gardens
“Reford Gardens”
We had the privilege of meeting Alexander Reford, Director and
great-grandson of Elsie Reford, founder of the gardens. It was
a very hot day !!
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Finally, off to the Mont Joli motel by the sea to refresh and get ready for the reception at the old restored Presbyterian house
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We just walked down the hill and could hear the music (Jazz) in
the old Presbyterian garden.
A delicious sampling of various foods was offered along with
wine and beer. It was a wonderful evening everyone enjoyed. It
was also a very special day. Michaëlle, my daughter, youngest
pilot onboard turned 19 and it was time for celebration. She
did not expect what was coming: The guys got together, lifted
her up and threw her in the air several times!
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It was time for the flag reward ! Again, Martin Elder received the honours from Mayor Fortin, Mayor Bélanger & Carole Duval
Thank you so much Mont Joli and Sainte Flavie! It was a memorable time that we will never forget. The celebration was followed by a night cup at the hotel terrace enjoying the last moments together before we parted the next day.
AUG 15, 09 - Final Day ! Mont Joli, QC to Mirabel, QC
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We left Mont Joli and proceeded south along the Saint Lawrence
River to finally arrive at the Mirabel airport located in the
City of Mirabel (57 Km from Montreal) From primarily
agricultural, Mirabel became with the years and the
diversification of its activities a city in full industrial
growth. Mirabel, with its huge airport facility, once, one of
the most modern state of the art International Airport in
Canada, built by Pierre E. Trudeau, today attracts large
companies: Bombardier, Bell Helicopter Textron, Technicolor,
are now established there. Mirabel continues to grow with the
venue of other major International corporations but keeps the
charm and peaceful, natural environment of the past.
“Aéroports de Montreal” owners of the Mirabel airport and major sponsors of the event had approved special request to leave our planes overnight in a designated parking area. Thank you Mrs. Dubuc, ADM Airside operations!
Organizing a final at the Bombardier aerospace building and a visit of Bombardier manufacturing plant of commercial & business aircraft required a lot of preparation and red tape clearance. The building and surroundings are under tight security night and day and it took a while before we all cleared the gate.
 Photo courtesy of Bombardier
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Bombardier Inc. is a Canadian conglomerate, founded by
Joseph-Armand Bombardier as L'Auto-Neige Bombardier Limitée in
1942, in the province of Quebec. Over the years it has been a
large manufacturer of regional aircraft, business jets, mass
transportation equipment, recreational equipment and a financial
services provider. Bombardier is a Fortune Global 500
conglomerate company. Its headquarters are in Montreal. The
aerospace branch accounts for over half of the company's
revenue. Bombardier's most popular aircraft currently include
the Dash 8, CRJ100/200/440, and CRJ700/900/1000 lines of
regional airliners. It also manufactures the CL-415 amphibious
water-bomber and the Challenger business jet. Learjet
continues to operate as a subsidiary of Bombardier and
manufactures jets under the Learjet name.
With the acquisition of ADtranz, Bombardier Transportation
emerged as the largest manufacturer of railway rolling stock in
the world. Bombardier is considered the largest in the world in
this category. Now you can imagine why we had reasons to be
proud to be there for the finals:
Bombardier is the principal
sponsor of the Governor General’s Cup event.
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It was a great privilege to be received on a hot Saturday
afternoon by key people of the Bombardier Aerospace
Corporation :
Robert Dewar,
Vice president, commercial aircraft development in charge of
 Mr. Hubert Meilleur, Mayor of Mirabel
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Mr. Nicolas Poirier Quesnel, Public Affairs and Communications, to whom we owed the organisation of the finals and the visit.
Mr. Hubert Meilleur, Mayor of Mirabel (photo) and sponsor of the event.
Corporate communication Representatives from “Aeroports de Montreal” were also present for the occasion. Both Robert Dewar and Mayor Meilleur addressed the pilots.
 The Governor General’s Cup was awarded by Robert Dewar to the
winners :
The Elder crew :
Martin Elder, Deborah Hind, Chris Gallant, & MayCay Beeler,
co-pilot and AOPA appointed journalist.
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We enjoyed a tour of the production installations: Cleaner than any hospital I have ever visited, highly automated, so neat that it looked more like a museum! No picture taking of course. The tour was very educational.
Pride and satisfaction is what I felt: honouring a group of incredible people, you pilots, in nothing less than the premises of the third largest aerospace company in the world. Pilots who have flown 6200 NM (11500 Kms) across the second largest country in the world to celebrate the Centennial of Canadian aviation deserve nothing less !
I am sure that today, you think back and say WOWWWW!!! As one of our participants said once “the best is yet to come: Sitting by the fire in my living room having a scotch telling my friends all about it !”
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In my speech I tried to communicate as well as I could my
gratitude and sincere appreciation to you all. I felt
embarrassed when you came to me and Camil with presents and a
card signed by all to express your feelings about the whole
journey. I owe you the success of this difficult adventure!!!
For your information, I never take off the beautiful bracelet
that reminds me of you all, as for the bottle of scotch, well,
it was a great choice and didn’t last very long. The card is
sitting on top of the fire place.
For those who have never participated in one of the 9 “Flying Adventure Air Rallyes”, I am sure you understand by now that it is not just about Flying it is about people.
 Aussie ladys wearing the awarded flags they will proudly take back to Australia
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I love you all !!!!
Catherine
 Winning team wearing the Aussies scarves in their honour
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CONTACT : Meet the Teams !!!!
List : Download the Team List (PDF)
Administrative Contact :
Catherine :
450-969-2247
ctobenas@airrally.com
