Day 6: Portland

by MarkusPosted on Comments are Disabled

Another non-fly day after two long legs from Greenland to Canada to Portland the day before. We decided to explore the beaches around Portland and the city itself. We started the day with the usual morning run around Bideeford Pool – a small village south of Portland where we rented a rather run down house close to the shore. The run along the waterfront, through the woods and across the beach was wonderful. After another healthy breakfast we took the car to Portland. Portland is a fishermen city and and eldorado for all seafood lovers. We finally got our Lobster Rolls here and visited the piers. While the beaches and nature in the area are nice, the city itself is not really a highlight. The omni-present weed-smell aside, there is a small old town, an artist district and the waterfront with the piers and some fish stores and restaurants.

As there isnt too much to see or do around here and as we still had a few day left until the airline would take us home, we spontaneously decided to to add another destination. After a look at the wather map and suitable airports within a 2hrs radius we decided for Burlington, Vermont. So we went to bed early to get some rest before another flight the next day.

Day 5 – Customs Hazzle and Nuuk (Greenland) to Goose Bay (Canada) to Portland (USA)

by MarkusPosted on Comments are Disabled

After a phenomenal day in Greenland including sailing the Fjord of Nuuk with Icebergs, it was time to move on. While flying from Germany to Scotland to Iceland to Greenland is rather hazzle free, things become a bit more complicated once entering the american continent. For Canada (our first destination) we require a visa waiver upfront (comparable to the US ESTA) plus private flights require an announcement via phone before take-off. This means calling an officer, spelling all the crew names, birth dates, passport numbers, destination and arrival airport and so on. For the US it gets even more complicated: Flying to the US in a private airplane is only possible with valid B1/B2 visas for all crew members plus it requires a customs decleration (online) plus a call prior to leaving the origin country. Means: Its illegal to fly into the US without the prior customs calls where one gets a landing permit – this will become a challenge for us that day.

Back to Greenland: We left the house early towards the airport. Despite temperatures around the freezing point, the plane was not frozen and did not require de-icing. Greenland is as mentioned before mostly un-controlled airspace and so is the airport (even though its the international airport of the capital). This means there is not tower controller providing instructions but pilots decide on their own.

We took off towards the north and turned west, taking course towards Canada. The two and a half hours flight took us across the Atlantic pretty straight into Newfoundland towards Goose Bay. Goose Bay is a huge military airport and mainly used for re-fueling as there is not much else (and you dont want to get stuck there). Our plan was to just re-fuel and immediately continue towards Portland (Maine). We were however unable to reach the customs officer (even though they should be available 24/7) and despite countless calls over the course of an hour and various other numbers and mails we were not able to get our landing permission for the US. Entering the US without a customs landing permit is absolutely illegal – we were stuck. So we had to delay our flight plan while we still hoped for the clearance. After an hour we gave up and re-routed our flight to Groton where we were able to get a hold of customs and a customs clearance.

We finally took off with more then one hour delay and continued our flight over Canadas North. The plane has a satellite phone on-board and we gave the Portland customs call one more chance. The officer finally picked up and gave us the landing permission – in flight. ATC (Air Traffic Control) accepted our request to divert to Portland and hence we were able to continue as planned – with some delay. Once landed in Portland we had to park at the customs office where the officer from the phone inspected us, checked our Visas, checked the plane and gave us some dinner tips for Portland. We then started the engine again to taxi across the airport to our parking stand.

We picked up our rental car and drove to our home in Biddeford Pool. The next day is a ground day to explore Biddeford and Portland.

Day 4 – Greenland

by MarkusPosted on Comments are Disabled

We are in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland which only counts 40.000 inhabitants. After exploring the city where there is plenty of construction going on and dinner we were lucky on the way back to our home to see the Aurora (Arctic lights). They came as a total suprise and we were lucky to just at this moment pass a hill which we spontaneously climbed. The view was amazing (see pictures – they are not photoshopped or filtered!).

On day two we rented a boat and went for a fjord cruise to explore the icebergs. The views were incredible despite very cold temperatures (2C).

Tomorrow (Saturday) we will continue our journey. Our current planning is to cross the Atlantic further to the west and fly to Goose Bay (Canada) where we will re-fuel (and clear immigration even though we only want to transit but Canada doesnt foresee that) and then continue to the US (Portland, Maine).

Day 3 – Reykjavik to Nuuk (Greenland)

by MarkusPosted on Comments are Disabled

Our 3rd leg took us from Iceland to Greenland. A roughly 3 hours flight across the open Atlantic and later the rough terrain of Greenland. The weather was again good and the routing took us pretty direct west. Greenland airspace is mostly uncontrolled which means navigation at own discretion and not guided by ATC (Air Traffic Control). When reaching the west coast of Greenland with wonderful views of the surroundings, we informed Nuuk Tower that we will do some “sightseeing flying” over the bay.

The scenery of greenlands coast is impressive. Shortly after we started the approach into Nuuk International airport (the only international flights depart to Iceland). After parking the plane we experienced the Greenlandian “pragmatism” – made made our way by foot over the Apron towards the Airport, found an unlocked door, walked through the empty security area and ended in the terminal.

Earlier when planning this flight we already noticed a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) mentioning planned “blastings” in the airport proximity. We now learnt that the Nuuk airport currently is being extended (longer rundway for bigger jets). Leveling the rocky terrain takes some hard measures and hence the mountains are being blasted away. This means flying rocks in the air and as our plane parked right next to the blasting area, we were asked to come back later that day to move it to a safe location while the blastings take place.

So we went to our (incredible) house, explored Nuuk and later went back to the Airport where we were able to convince the marshaller to tow the plane with his Pick-up truck. We tied the plane to the middle of the runway and waited for the blast (see video). A certainly unique experience which will repeat the next day.

Day 2 – Iceland

by MarkusPosted on Comments are Disabled

Today was a land day. We started it with a phenomenal early morning sunrise run across the shores of Reykjawik before heading to the famous Blue Lagoon – a geothermic spring fed thermal bath embedded into a surreal environment of volcanic stones. The 40C warm water was the perfect warm-up considering the temperature drop of 20C we experienced yesterday between Stuttgart and Reykjawick.

After a good 2 hours in the warm water we continued our sightseeing tour to Geysir (thats the name of the village – the Geysirs around the world are named after it) and then on to an impressive waterfall. We were lucky to hit a day with blue sky and not so many tourists as the peak season is already over here.

The nature here is very divers with amazing views along the coast. Defintely a place to come back. Tomorrow we will continue our journey from here to Nuuk – the capital of Greenland. The latest weather report looks promising and we are confident to be able to make the trip which will take us pretty much straight west across open water for just shy of 3 hours towars the west coast of Greenland.

1 day until departure – Why?

by MarkusPosted on Comments are Disabled

We got asked quite a few times why someone would take the risk, money and time to cross the Atlantic in a single engine plane. Good question, given the facts that such a trip defnitely comes with signficantly bigger risks than going to the grocery store and costs a multiple of an airline ticket. At the same time our plane offers less comfort, the trip takes much longer (4-5 days) and is mentally demanding and full of uncertainties.

So here is why:

  • We have to: Our plane needs some technical upgrades and the company specialized on performing the work sits in the US (close to Boston). Hence the plane has to get over there – and eventually also back. But as the modifications will take multiple weeks we for now just fly it over, will return by airline and eventually bring it back at a later point in time.
  • We want to: Flying is our passion, and we love being up in the air and challenge our brains.
  • We like to explore the world: Iceland, Greenland and the very far north of Canada are remote areas people usually dont get to easily. While Iceland had a bit of a touristic hypes the last years, its still today complicated and very expensive to get to places like Nuuk (Greenland). Seeing the Icebergs and how people live there is a very impressive experience.
  • It keeps us fit: Flying requires constant training and experience. A trip into challenging areas with new airports, procedures, weather conditions is like a training boot camp that helps to stay current.
  • We love Lobster Roll: At least one of us. And they are hard to get anywhere in the world but in the Maine / Boston area. Hence to get one, we have to go there.

So in summary we combine the duty with the pleasure and are looking forward to a week of new impressions.

3 Days until departure – It`s all about the weather

by MarkusPosted on Comments are Disabled

Our departure is getting closer and hence we are getting a bit of a more reliable picture on the weather forecast. Weather conditions are the most relevant factor next to the planes specifications and equipment and the pilots skills. If a flight is safe and doable depends on the weather, the airplane instrumentation and de-icing capabilities and the destination airport equipment. Some airports are equiped with instrument landing systems which allow approaches also with low visibilty. Others are not and hence certain minimums (e.g. cloud ceiling) must be fulfilled in order to make a save approach.

Besides the visibility, winds and icing are other factors to be considered before making a decision on if and where to fly. Strong winds not only have an impact on the flight duration (which can vary significantly and with that also the maximum distance we can fly) but also are a key factor defining if a safe landing is possible or not, as planes do have limits for cross-wind (wind from the side) landings.

Dense fog but also strong gusts, low clouds and icing can become show-stoppers (or crash reasons) and hence reliable forecast are important. Thats especially the case when flying to remote areas like Greenland with very limited airport density (hence less alternates).

While we are enjoying an exceptionally long and warm late-summer here in Europe, the weather on our route differs quite a bit. At the moment it looks as follows:

Prestwick (Schotland) reports heavy rain, clouds and a maximum of 12C on the ground for our arrival.

Reykjavik (Iceland) predicts pretty decent weather (unusual for the season) with light rain, some clouds and temperatures between 2 and 12C on the ground.

So far so good. Things start to become more interesting in Greenland: The airport weather report for today looks as follows:

TAF: BGGH 162021Z 1621/1701 17008KT 9999 FEW006 SCT025 TEMPO 1621/1624 0800 SHSN BKN005 SCT025TCU

The so called TAF (Terminal Aerodrome Forecast) is a weather report issued by the airport on a regular basis. Above reads as follws:

BGGH = Airport Code (Nuuk, Greenland)

162021Z = The date and time the report has been issued

1621/1701 = The report is valid from the 16th 21:00 (time) until the 17th 01:00 (United Time)

17008KT = Wind with 8kts from the South (170 degrees at 08 KT)

9999 = Current view is 10km or more (horizontal)

FEW006 = Few clouds at 600ft (which is rather low)

SCT025 = Scattered sky at 2500ft

So far thats the actual weather – which is totally flyable. Now comes the forecast:

TEMPO 1621/1624 = Temporary between on the 16th (date) between 21:00 UTC and 24:00 UTC

And here it gets interesting:

0800 = Vertical view 800m (not a lot anymore)

SHSN = Showers of Snow

BKN005 = Broken Clouds (some open areas) in 500ft (very low)

SCT025TCU = Scattered Clouds in 2500ft with towering cumulus (high reaching clouds)

This weather in combination with a pretty challenging terrain and the lack of alternate airports closeby would already make this a very difficult decision. Luckily we are still a fews days away from Greenland and things might clear up until then.