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Flying to Canadia?

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Grumman guy

Type and Altitude unknown
Joined
Jun 22, 2004
Posts
115
Going to B.C. for the first time and leaving from the S.F. bay area. I have never flown out of the country before and have no idea how to do it. I know about the DVFR flight plan and all that, but where to you stop for customs, who do I talk to? where do I get charts? whats ATC like up there? Do they all really have beedy eyes and flappy jaws?


any help would be appreciated
 
Grumman guy said:
Going to B.C. for the first time and leaving from the S.F. bay area. I have never flown out of the country before and have no idea how to do it. I know about the DVFR flight plan and all that, but where to you stop for customs, who do I talk to? where do I get charts? whats ATC like up there? Do they all really have beedy eyes and flappy jaws?


any help would be appreciated
Don't laugh, but sporty's is a very good source for canadian charts. I used to fly through Canada a couple of times a year between Alaska and the lower 48 and sporty's was the best source I found for charts. If you're flying IFR, you'll notice a few minor differences in terminology, but ATC works pretty much the way it dowes in the US.

One important note. If you are flying at the MEA on an airway, and hte next segment has a higher MEA, start your climb *before* you enter the next segment. In the US, if there's minimum crossing altitude, you start your climb when you get to the next segment. In Canada, (and many other parts of the world) you can hit a mountain doing that. Start your climb to be at the new MEA, before you enter the segment with the new MEA.

Canadian CUstoms is much more professional and competent than US customs ..... by a very wide margin. FInd out where Customs is available and make one of htose airposts your first stop. You'll want to notify them in advance. They used to have a system of preregistering called "CANPASS" which was very easy to register for and made things go much smoother. With CANPASS often clearing customes took only a phone call. I haven't flown through Canada post 9/11, so I don't know if things have changed.
 
CANPASS is the way to go!! AOPA has good info on flying into canada. Have fun, B.C. is a place I would love to go!
 
ive flown to vancouver from california twice post 9/11. two different experiences. the customs ramp is the same as the fbos ramp. two customs people came out, looked like they were upset for waking them up, regular customs type questions etc. second time a year later i walked up into the office there and there was a pay phone with a sign. i called the number and gave the agent my contact info. i was told to place a piece of paper with an assigned # on it in the windshield. make sure to file a canadian flight plan on the way home then land at bellingham, wa. for us customs. there is a tower so you can get progressives to the customs ramp. you will park in the "box." don't leave the box untill the agent arrives. pretty minimal effort should give you no problems, just have your paperwork all together. have fun on your trip.
 
Grumman guy said:
Going to B.C. for the first time and leaving from the S.F. bay area. I have never flown out of the country before and have no idea how to do it. I know about the DVFR flight plan and all that, but where to you stop for customs, who do I talk to? where do I get charts? whats ATC like up there? Do they all really have beedy eyes and flappy jaws?


any help would be appreciated

I've used CANPASS about 8 times going into Victoria. Its the way to go. When you file with OAK center just tell them your using CANPASS. I dont have the 1-1800 number for CANPASS on me but the AOPA should have it. You can order charts online. Get your Canadian weather online at AWWS. Just type canaidan aviation weather into Google you'll find it. You can print out airport diagrams but not terminal procedures on that site. For the charts just order them online. They look just like NOS charts. Or you can get a trip kit for Jeppson. I wouldn't pay for that though. ATC is pretty much the same. If your going VFR they may tell you to make a right circut. That would just be a right traffic pattern. The AWOS stations have Canadian accents too. I get a kick out of that.
 
888 Can Pass 24hrs prior is a good idea. Need first middle and last names of crew and pax plus d.o.b's.. File your flight plan with your flight service and advise them you have notified Canpass.
On the return leg file thru Canadian FSS 866 992 7433. It works in favor to have a local number for your returning Customs service and give them a comp 24 hour notice to stroke their ego's.
Passports expedite things but are not req'd for now. If you are hunting and carrying firearms contact your U.S. customs and they will get the ball rolling paperwork wise.
 
http://www.pigdog.org/categories/canadia_sucks.html
Canadia is the proper spelling for a country where the people call themselves "Canadians". If the country's name was spelled "Canada," then the people there would call themselves "Canadans." Since they call themselves "Canadians", it's only reasonable to spell the name of their country "Canadia." After all, people from Germany don't call themselves "Germanians" do they?

 

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