When I get there, you mean. Right now I am still in Victoria, hoping for this darn front and all of the icing associated with it to move along out of my way.

With luck (a lot of luck), I might be able to get out of here Saturday the 25th. It all depends on whether or not I can climb up to 15,000 or 17,000 clear of cloud before leaving the Victoria area, so as to be able to overfly all the underlying icing conditions over the Coastal Mountains.

Ferry flights: The activity that originated the phrase "hurry up and wait..."

Michael

I assume you can't make St. John's to the Azores.

Let us know when you get back. Sounds like a story or 3 to listen to.

Conquest Driver wrote:
Let us know when you get back. Sounds like a story or 3 to listen to.

I'd second that, that's a hell of a trip. The lack of de-ice gear still gives me the willies this time of the year, but you're picking your spots, no surprises for you.

Is your last Nunavut stop CYVM? That's a beautiful spot and the First Air agents are a pretty helpful group if anything comes up while you're there.

We'll all be looking forward to a post-trip report upon your return.

Michael,

How are you making out? Short sleeves yet, or still in the parka? Keep us posted!

Robin

Hi Robin:

Sorry for the lack of news and updates during the past week – I have been pretty busy and covered a lot of ground in the past week. The illustration below shows progress to date. The green line is the great circle route (looks kind of funny on a Mercator projection), the magenta line is the planned route, and the black/grey line is the actual path flown, downloaded from the recorder in the plane.

Plan and Progress Map


Departure from Vancouver Island was delayed until Boxing Day due to persistent icing conditions over the coastal mountains of BC. The frontal system that caused all this icing also dropped record amounts of rain on the Island, and snow on the Mainland, so, I didn't feel too bad about waiting it out – the weather was the top news story in BC that week.

Once we got going, we enjoyed 60 MPH plus tailwinds across the Prairies. I've never seen a 222 knot groundspeed in a Twin Otter before (and I'm not sure I'll ever see it again), so, here's a picture. Note that we were limited by Vmo here… the engines had plenty of reserve left.

222 Knots Groundspeed in a Series 400 Twin Otter


So, first flight was direct from Victoria to Churchill, overflying our planned landing in La Ronge. There was a bit of a temperature difference between Victoria (+10°) and Churchill (-25°), and the AMEs from Calm Air came over to visit us and very kindly offered to add a bit of nitrogen to our tires to bring the pressure differential back up to the correct level. This was just the first of many courtesies that we would encounter on this trip.

With a Little Help from Our Friends


We stayed in Churchill overnight, then left for Qikiqtarjuaq (CYVM, previously known as Broughton Island) in the morning. Much to our surprise, there was no frost on the aircraft when we checked it in the morning, just a very thin dusting of light and fluffy powder snow. Special thanks to Kyle at the Shell refuelling center for waiting so patiently while we topped up the ferry tank system in the morning.

The Ramp at Churchill


Once again, we had great tailwinds on the flight to Qikiqtarjuaq, and the weather was clear with excellent viz when we got there. The instrument approach into Qikiqtarjuaq has higher minima than VFR (2000 foot ceiling and 3 miles viz), and we were worried about that for most of the way north. We had more than enough fuel to divert to Frobisher Bay, but I've stayed at Qikiqtarjuaq before and the hospitality there is just great.

After landing, we fuelled up and went to the "crew house" – a really nice fully-furnished two bedroom house provided by the FBO. The kitchen was stocked, and we were given a 4 pound Arctic Char to cook for dinner.

On Ground Qikiqtarjuaq (CYVM)


The weather forecast for the Greenland crossing the next day was poor (icing), so, we stayed two nights in Qikiqtarjuaq. Some FBOs provide a 'crew car', this particular one provides a 'crew snowmobile'. The co-captain, Michael Robert, is from the Seychelles and had never encountered 24 hour darkness or the Northern Lights before. The 'winter games' were in full swing in the village – the celebrations last for 2 weeks at Christmas – and the local kids enthusiastically invited us into the town gym to participate along with everyone else.

Co-Captain Michael Robert, with Qikiqtarjuaq Crew Snowmobile in background


All in all, Qikiqtarjuaq is a great little village with a really nice people and a FBO that offers service as good as any 'big jet' FBO in Europe. I highly recommend this community as a place to night-stop for anyone making a trans-Atlantic overflight.

After being outside for close to 40 hours, the plane was well and truly frosted over. The folks at Canadian North very kindly allowed us to use their de-ice fluid and equipment to clean our plane off. That took a little while to do.

De-icing in Qikiqtarjuaq (the de-ice tower is too big for a Twin Otter)


We then flew to Akureyri (BIAR), in Iceland, where friends of ours from Air Iceland were expecting us. Akureyri is a small community on the north coast of Iceland, again, a really delightful place to be, not as big as Reykjavik. We enjoyed clear weather and tailwinds all across the Greenland icecap.

Approaching Greenland


High winds were forecast for Akureyri the next day, and our hosts graciously offered to put our aircraft in the hangar overnight. That took a bit of doing, because the hangar was already full with other Twin Otters, but eventually they got it in there.

Putting the Plane in the Hangar in Iceland


The forecast for the next day called for icing at our original destination (Bergen, Norway) but nice warm weather over the British Isles, so, we left Iceland just after lunch destined for Prestwick, Scotland.

High Noon over the North Atlantic in Winter


The weather was kind of misty with limited visibility when we landed, the tower sent a follow-me truck out to meet us on the runway and take us to the parking area. I guess that implies that the weather could have been a heck of a lot worse… The 'Ocean Sky' FBO looked after us there – a very professional FBO with super-fast fuel service.

Taxiing in Scotland (photo credit: Steve White)


The next day (New Years' Eve), we left for Switzerland – a relatively (by ferry flight standards) short flight of only 4.5 hours. We landed at Altenrhein Airport (LSZR), where the tower told us we were officially the last landing of the year at the airport. Upon arriving at the guest house, we enjoyed a 6 course New Years' Eve dinner (just awesome).

The Factory Authorized Service Center in Altenrhein, Switzerland


The aircraft needs to have a routine check carried out by an AME every 7 days, so, we are now waiting in Switzerland for the AMO here to open on Monday morning. It's nice to have some time off to catch up on our sleep (and the email and forums).

Michael

What a fantastic adventure and neat experience! I bet the flight planning and preparation are challenging, particularly given the variety of operational jurisdictions. Thank you for sharing...
Best Regards,
Kirsten B.

Hi Kirsten:

Actually, the planning and preparation is not any more difficult than for any other cross-country flight. The trick is to think of the ferry flight as being nothing more than a series of sequential cross-country flights, and to plan each leg of the flight as carefully and thoroughly as a PPL student plans his or her first solo cross-country. It's also important to never be in a hurry, which is why I always try to pick pleasant places to land at - you never know how long you will be staying in each place you land, especially when making a winter flight with a non-de-iced aircraft.

I use three different tools for planning. To lay out the 'big picture' (the illustration at the very top of the post above), I use Garmin MapSource and WorldMap, which is actually an application intended for personal recreational use. It's great for picking the stops and ensuring consistent distances travelled on each leg.

I then do the route planning for each leg using Jeppesen FliteStar, which automatically obtains current and forecast weather information once the route is constructed. This is an expensive application (about $2K for worldwide coverage), but well worth the price. Once I have planned the leg using this tool, I then go to the various national meteorological services (e.g. NavCanada, Environment Canada, Iceland Weather Office, etc.) and look at the country specific forecasts in more detail. The ASEP depictions offered by NavCanada and Environment Canada are especially useful.

I only fly when the weather is a 'sure bet', and I always replan my strategy as I fly over each major airport enroute. If I have any doubts about what lies ahead, I just land early, prior to reaching the destination. So far, on this trip, that has not been necessary.

Below are some screen-shots of the planning process I use.

Michael

Jeppesen FliteStar route and weather planning
Although the forecast here predicted ice during our initial climb, it was actually 'clear sky' in Victoria when we left, and we climbed in VMC to 17,000 before setting course.


Environment Canada Weather
The forecast for ice here is a little bit more restrained than the Jeppesen forecast, however, the general areas of concern are much the same... hence our decision to climb to 17000 in known VMC and 'have a look' before setting course eastward.


Environment Canada ASEP
I really like the ASEP depictions. Here we could see exactly where the front was (notice the jump in the height of the tropopause), and also exactly where the freezing level was (the blue circle).

Hi Michael,

Thank you for the explanation - it is interesting to see Jeppesen in action with the weather overlay. I have Jeppesen FlightStar with the (outdated) world database, but not the wx subscription. The ASEP depictions are quite interesting - most of the flying I've done in the last while has been low-level and fairly local - I sometimes forget those tools are there! Your processes seem very thorough, and very professional.

What about differing international jurisdictions? Surely this must cause some extra preparation in the familiarization with local regs and operating procedures?

I hope the rest of your journey goes smoothly - please continue to share any photos/details along the way!

Best Regards,
Kirsten B.

How might it be looking for a "debriefing" on the weekend of the 22nd in Sidney? It might give a few of us a pretext to drink beer and eat snacks.

Hi:

No hope for a GTG later this month, I won't be back in Canada until February.

The last week has been hectic - took the plane in to Altenrhein Aviation in Switzerland for the regularly scheduled 7 day inspection, and then found out that there was a bit of a family emergency back home. So, I flew back to Canada (as a passenger) on Wednesday, then from Canada back to Switzerland on Saturday. Thank heaven for the lie-flat beds in the large Air Canada aircraft - I was able to sleep pretty much all the way in both directions.

Anyway - we could not get our ferry flight 'back on the road' when I returned Saturday, because my travel time from Toronto to Zurich counts as duty time, and the AC flight was 4 hours late leaving Toronto. First thing this morning (Sunday morning), we departed Altenrhein destined for Iraklion, Greece. Iraklion is on the isle of Crete, and has all the qualities desired when selecting an airport for a night stop: 1) it's a small town (means it's easy to get around), 2) fast refuelling service (nothing is worse than waiting 2 hours for the fuel truck to arrive because they have 3 Airbus-size planes to fill up before you), 3) a decent hotel (nothing fancy, but clean and quiet).

Last time I was here was on another Twin Otter ferry, but that was 20 years ago. It sure is nice to have the display of the Jeppesen charts on the center multifunction display (along with the aircraft symbol, showing exactly where you are on the Jeppesen chart). I've posted a couple of pictures below. Tomorrow morning (Monday morning), we leave for Sharm-el-Sheik, Egypt.

Initial approach to Iraklion - about 20 miles out


The Jeppesen chart with the aircraft symbol is great... but the follow-me truck is even better!

Here's the second half of the route. Right now we are in Iraklion, Greece (the island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea). Next stop is Sharm el Sheik Egypt, at the north end of the Red Sea.

Same as with the earlier illustration, the green line represents the great circle route, and the magenta line is the planned route of flight.

Michael

Iraklion, can sure get some high winds...

And it is cheaper than Egypt.

Well, not a whole lot of progress to report this week.

We left Switzerland on Sunday morning, and spent Sunday night in Iraklion. Monday morning we flew from Iraklion to Sharm el Sheik, Egypt. Below is a map from the aircraft recorder showing our progress during the last couple of days:

Sunday and Monday, January 9 and 10


From here we plan to fly to Djibouti, at the south end of the Red Sea. Our flight permit to overfly the Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) FIR has not yet been delivered, so, our handler applied this morning for a permit to overfly Sudan and Eretria. Sudan granted the permit surprisingly quickly - this considering that they are holding a referendum this week about dividing their country into two parts - but unfortunately the Sudan overflight permit did not arrive in time to allow us to get to Djibouti before nightfall. The only alternate airports near Djibouti (in the event of a power outage, inability to provide lighting on the single runway there, etc.) are in Sudan, Eretria, and Yemen, and I am not willing to risk having to divert to one of these three locations, that would create a whole bunch of logistical and diplomatic work. So, we will spend the day today in Sharm el Sheik, and depart here Wednesday morning at first light bound for Djibouti.

Below is a picture of the 'crew bus' that the Sharm el Sheik airport management sent out to our plane to carry the two of us 100 meters from the plane to the terminal building. The bus is bigger than the plane...

Ground Handling in Sharm el Sheik

Djibouti is quite safe but really shot to hell and really third world.

The Sheraton is sort of like something in the downtown east side of Vancouver, but was the best hotel in town when I stopped there for a couple of days..

Jeddah is not exactly the place you want to stay if you can avoid it..

Wow, you are cheerful and optomistic...

I have worked in Africa since 1989, always in war relief, so, Djibouti and Jeddah are both quite pleasant relative to where I have spent most of my time before. No-one is shooting each other in either of these spots. In fact, at this time of year, the temperature is quite nice in both places.

Michael

You misunderstood me Michael, I was not indicating that either one was really that difficult to be in.

Like you I also have seen a lot of African countries while flying for employers such as TF1 French television filming in war zones.

As to Jeddah I spent quite a bit of time there on three occasions and am not anxious to go back.

Have fun and don't let that Twin Otter out think you.

. E.

I believe you may remember Michel Schiltz from your Zimex days. He is now flying with CAE out of the Seychelles doing pirate patrol on a Merlin. Maybe hes on duty.

Longjon:

1,000 thanks for that bit of information - It would be great to see Michel again, I will be in the Seychelles for a couple of weeks after arrival (foreseen for Friday) and I will look him up for sure.

Michael

Hope you run into Michel Schiltz, we say that LUX was named after him as he was a senior employee and lives in Luxembourg.

I hear you've made it!! Congrats. I can't wait to hear all the details on your return!

Well, we finally arrived at our destination in the Seychelles, 20 days after leaving Victoria. The ferry flight was interrupted for about a week because I had to return to Canada suddenly due to the death of my mother-in-law. Excluding the time that accrued while I was back in Canada, it took us 15 days to complete the trip.

We flew 11 legs total. We were delayed one day in Qikiqtarjuaq (Broughton Island) due to forecast icing conditions enroute, a couple of days in Switzerland due to the New Year Holiday (we arrived there New Year's Eve), and one day in Egypt due to late arrival of an overflight clearance. All in all, this was less delay than we had expected, considering that we were flying a plane that did not have de-ice equipment installed.

The illustration below shows the last part of the ferry flight.

Last 1/3 of the flight


The longest leg (in terms of distance) was the first day of our trip, when we enjoyed awesome 60 knot plus tailwinds and flew directly from Victoria to Churchill, MB. Unfortunately that meant we missed landing and staying overnight at La Ronge - our first planned stop - but when you get tailwinds that strong, you take advantage of them! The shortest leg of the trip (both distance and time) was from Nairobi, Kenya to a fuel stop in Mombasa, Kenya - only 1.5 hours. As it turned out, looking at things with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, we could have flown from Nairobi directly to the Seychelles without making the fuel stop - we landed in Seychelles with over 2,000 pounds of fuel remaining, far more than we uploaded at Mombasa. But, when a flight consists of a 1,000+ mile trip straight out over open ocean, with no alternate, it's best to begin that flight with as much fuel on board as possible. You have probably hear the saying "There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots..."

The longest leg in terms of flight time was the trip from Sharm-el-Sheik Egypt down the Red Sea to Djibouti. We had 60 knot plus winds on that flight too, except that they were not in our favour. For the most part, the winds were out of the west, directly abeam our course, but we probably averaged about a 15 knot headwind component on that 1,100 mile sector.

Overall, we averaged 5.4 hours flight time per leg, for a total flight time of 59 hours. 5.4 hours per leg is a comfortable number - allowing for about 2 hours preparation every morning before take-off (leaving the hotel, getting to the airport, filing the flight plan and doing other paperwork) and about 2.5 hours of work every evening after landing (fuelling the plane, securing it, customs formalities and getting to the hotel), that yields an average duty day of 10 hours, which is quite sustainable day after day. I've learned over the years that there is not much point in pushing things on ferry flights - if you do a couple of 14 hour duty days in a row and cover a lot of miles, you get fatigued, and then need to take a day off to recover. It's kind of like the story about the tortoise and the hare - the tortoise always gets to the destination first.

The last half of the ferry flight was less interesting than the first half - probably because we were flying over oceans or quite sparsely settled areas most of the time - but, here's a few pictures to bring this story to an end:

Our Ferry Fuel System
We used a 9 drum ferry system, exactly the system described in the de Havilland documentation (AFM). Although the theoretical capacity of this system is 1,800 litres, after allowing for ullage and unusable fuel, the usable capacity is about 90% of that. So, with 1,720 litres (roughly 3,100 pounds) of fuel in the ferry tanks, and 2,550 pounds of usable fuel in the fuselage tanks, we had sufficient fuel on board for 8.5 hours of flight at maximum power (a fuel burn of 660 PPH, yielding a block TAS of 170 knots), or 10 hours of flight at a moderate power setting (a fuel burn of 560 PPH, yielding a block TAS of 150 knots). If we had headwinds, we used the maximum power setting, and if we had no winds or tailwinds, we used the moderate power setting. Might sound odd at first, but the strategy was to minimize the amount of flight time spent in headwinds.

It is a very simple and very reliable ferry fuel system. Drawings for this ferry fuel system, which fits all models of Twin Otter, are available from Viking Air.



We had a very enjoyable stop at Nairobi Wilson airport, and thank the staff at Air Kenya and ALS for their hospitality. Air Kenya was kind enough to allow us to put the new aircraft in their hangar overnight. Below is a picture of us being towed out in the morning. As you can see, there is lots of general aviation activity at Wilson airport (HKNW).

Wilson Airport


As we were refuelling at Mombasa airport, just prior to the final leg of the flight across the Indian Ocean to Seychelles, a group of schoolchildren came by the aircraft. They were on a tour of the airport to learn about different job opportunities in aviation. We had lots of time to spare, so, we gave them a tour of the aircraft, explained how the aircraft worked, and showed them how we use maps and mathematics to figure out where we want to go and how to get there. The kids were very interested, and I think they enjoyed the tour as much as we enjoyed the time we spent with them.

School Tour - Mombasa


The flight across the Indian Ocean - almost straight east along the Equator - was kind of boring, but Captain Robert assured me that it would get interesting by the time we reached the Seychelles. He knew what he was talking about - once we got to within about 100 miles of the final destination, we started to see some really serious late afternoon thunderstorms developing up ahead.

Thunderstorms near Seychelles


The Honeywell RDR 2000 did a great job of showing us where the potential trouble could be, and together with the display of the STAR and the final approach course on the FMS (overlaid with the radar image), allowed us to select a remarkably calm visual route through the storms. We picked up the 13 DME arc to final, which was outside of the storm area, and flew a visual ILS to landing.

Radar Image - Beginning of Final Approach


Both of us were happy to be 'home'. The picture below of Captain Michael Robert of Air Seychelles, the person who really did all the work on this ferry (I just sat in the right seat and talked on the radio occasionally), sums everything up better than words could.

Captain Michael Robert, after landing at the Seychelles International Airport


All in all, it was a pleasant trip. I'm already looking forward to the next ferry flight.

Michael

Thank you so much for sharing with us! I enjoyed following your process, progress, & the pictures. Of course, the DH6 has a special place in my heart too!

Looks like you're enjoying your work Michael, and doing a pretty damn good job too. Thanks for sharing a glimpse of it, I really enjoyed the details of the flight.