With a perfect airshow weather and excited spectators, this show was a breeze.
I had a chance to get a closer look at the F-18. But what was really revealing is talking to Ross Granley, who flew those for six years in the airforce, on how actually capable and maneuverable these jets are – if you know how to.
On the way to Whitehorse it was fun to do several wheels up shows – Teslin, Tagish, Marsh Lake, Carcross. The team spotted some bears and buzzed buffalos on the way. The real treat was to have the F-18 joining us on this VFR mountain flight through the valleys. The F-18 demo pilot, “Glib”, is actually from Whitehorse, and it was very personal and emotional for him to return today into his home town, having realized his childhood dream. Yukon scenery today was absolutely breathtaking! I had hard times flying formation and taking pictures. But I could not help it.
When we arrived to the hotel, I never thought I would be so excited about internet that uploads more than three pictures per half hour! The evening ended with a welcome reception in the local historic museum, incl. a buffalo dinner. We learned from the payor that you can take a cup, and drink the water straight from the Yukon river right here in Whitehorse. But it came with a warning: if you do, you will never leave – because you will fall in love and stay in Yukon.
Eventually, we somewhat combined the breakfast with informal pilot briefing. In a nutshell, it was “Well, the aerobatic box is about here more or less. Have fun and don’t hit anything. Who wants to go have fun first?”
Once the last performer arrived on site, our team was complete and ready to perform!
For many of us, this was the first show of the season, and we were grateful for good ceilings and calm winds. The scenery was spectacular, and having the show box in the river valley made it even more special.
That’s me, just hanging in there:
The crowd was very appreciative of the airshow. For almost all of them, it was the first airshow in their lives. Even when two planes would pass in a straight formation, it was already a wow. Many kids – and adults – came to meet us after. Several told us after the show that they wanted to become pilots. Several people from the village were praying for our safety on the trip. It was genuine, kind, excited, caring.
Several future aviators followed us back the airport, and had a closer look at the planes.
A local artist made a beautiful hair clip for me.
And the mayor presented us with their flag
We departed late afternoon, and there was probably not a person on our team who was not sad to leave.
The trip to Watson Lake not as much on the straight line as we had previous legs. Navigating between thunderstorms with lightning and cumulus granitus made our lead’s job (Ross Granley) challenging. But the weather in Watson Lake was still sunny, and the countryside is spectacular.
We met the rest of the team, some of whom were joining us only now, because not all planes are gravel strip capable. The highlight was the sharp looking new Canada 150 paintjob of the F-18 demo. I’m looking forward to seeing them fly tomorrow!
Watson Lake has a lot of history. Before the Americans officially joined the World War II, they supported their allies a lot with equipment. Lots of it went through Watson Lake on the way to Alaska. This old looking hangar is preserved in the original version since those times. With two Russian Yaks and a Harvard from the same era, it took you back in time.
After a welcome barbecue at the airport, we headed to the hotel. Our announcer here Roy Hafeli, showed us the Sign Post Forest. Amazing thing accumulated since 1940’s when the Alaska highway was built through here – 75 years ago. Home sick soldiers would bring a sign from their home town. Dater it developed into a touristic attraction. And of course we did not miss leaving a memory of the Arctic Aviation Tour here.
Quiet evening in the storm was spent in a nice motel called “A Nice Motel”, and now we are ready to fly over Watson Lake skies!
While waiting for the school kids to arrive, we chatted with the local rangers. I learned that Canada border four countries, and other than he obvious States and Greenland, Russia is not even part of it. We are actually fighting over Hans Island with Denmark. The war goes like this. An expedition from Denmark comes to the island, takes down Canadian flag, put theirs and leaves a bottle of their schnapps. Sometime after, Canadians will show up, take down the flag of Denmark, put ours up, and leave a bottle of whiskey. This is how mature countries fight! By the way, what’s the fourth country?
Kids came from the local (Rainbow Lake) school and the school from the natives reservation. Spending time with them was a true treat. We were playing duck/goose with the kids. And at the end they treated us to a drum dance.
Departing Rainbow Lake we barely escaped the thunderstorm with lightning coming over from the South. After (quoting Bud Granley) a “regular buzz job”…
we were on our Northeastbound way for Fort Liard.
In a loose formation with Granleys and getting PIREPs from the Rocket ahead, the trip was uneventful. Landing on the gravel strip was easy this time – it’s one of the nicest gravel strips on our journey. Gravel here is small and smooth. The plane stops much faster, and we hardly needed a third of the runway to come to a complete stop. Prior to landing, I was in my mind going through the gravel operations techniques: low power only, always keep moving forward, no sharp turns and definitely no static runups.
The Decathlon is now secured for the night. Two trucks took us to the “downtown” half kilometer away, to the combination of the general store and motel.
The Decathlon is now secured for the night. Two trucks took us to the “downtown” half kilometer away, to the combination of the general store and motel.
At the motel check in, they reminded us that the community is on a full water delivery, so saving they would appreciate us keeping the showering short.
After a quick check in, we were invited to the village dinner at the community centre. This was the parking lot:
They started cooking this dinner since yesterday, and it was absolutely amazing! Moose as a main course, with a large selection of salads, sides and deserts. There’s a set sequence in which people comes to pick up their food – elders first, then the chief of the band, then everyone else mostly by age.
By the way, it’s a complete dry community, but it does not mean people are not having fun! A good dinner was followed by a good dance. The drum band was tuning their drums in the preparation. Some of them are made of moose hive, some – almost transparent ones – of cariboo.
They opened with a prayer with drums, then the dance. The dance involved the entire village. From the youngest kids to out hosts’ 92 year old wife – everyone was dancing. And of course the Canadian Arctic Tour team was not left aside!
BTW: if you are sitting around the circle, watch if you are wearing a hat. If you don’t, it means you want to dance, and someone will usually invite you soon.
We left still in daylight, which is very deceiving here. But many of us still needed some work done. The only available WiFi connection was in the village library. For those who know what I’m taking about (Russian speaking population 30 years+): “Бабуля, не подскажите, как пройти в библиотеку?” (at 11pm).
The same Wednesday morning, woken up by the excitement (and the worry about the weather briefing) rather than the alarm, I was soon on my way to the airport.
Flight services’ briefing was in a nutshell “Mam, you would need to either drive or take a commercial flight today”. As if either was an option! After a couple of weeks of severe clear weather, we were paying a rainy price for it right now. If I could get out of the Vancouver Lower Mainland, the rest was easy. Weather cameras showed some blue holes in the clouds in Hope area, so I decided to give it a shot.
Departure was a mix of excitement and worry.
Taking off from Boundary Bay and making it at 1000’ eastbound, then going on top of the first layer – all started not bad. But the camera lied and approaching Hope, there was not a chance to go on top of the second layer of clouds. In fact, the two layers started closing in on me. And with mountains ahead was just not a desirable combination. I went back and landed in Chilliwack airport. Well, 40 miles progress is better than nothing, right?
Shortly after I saw a familiar plane land. Ross Granley, another performer in the Arctic Tour and a friend, just arrived with his Yak! Although the reason for his landing was more of mechanical nature, which always sucks on the road.
Eventually patience paid off! A real blue hole in the sky developed, and I did not delay the take off. By 5000’ I was well on top of all cloud layers and headed Northbound.
Beauty truly starts at home!
By Lillouet area, clouds became well scattered. Some isolated thunderstorms in Prince George area were easy to fly around. And thanks to extra 5 gallons of fuel I added in Chilliwack, I was able to make it to MacKenzie non-stop. This is one of my favorite fuel stops! Not only the fuel here is almost 50 cents per liter cheaper than in Prince George, but the friendliest FBO manager ever Vicky would offer you an ice cream!
Quick refuel, and I was on my last leg to Rainbow Lake. For a moment I hesitated – with all the weather delays it was already approaching 5pm, which is 6pm Alberta time. And I was departing for another 2.5h leg into the mountains. It would not combine well with the night time. Checked Foreflight, and it told me the next sunset 2250. I totally forgot how far North I was and how little night time is here. Soon there will be none at all!
Crossing over the Rockies was beautiful.
And I was happy to rejoin our team upon arrival to Rainbow Lake.
Evening was short after a long day. Warning signs are to be taken seriously.
I am curious – how is it there, in the Arctic? I discovered a few things about the Arctic and the North Pole this week i had no idea about!:
North Pole turns out to be actually pretty warm. About 30oC (60o F) warmer than the South Pole. Average summer temperatures are around 0oC (32oF), highest temperature ever registered was around 12oC (54oF). I thought if i was crazy enough to look for the top of the Earth, it’s would be an icy landing strip… But maybe I should take my swimsuit instead.
I should definitely try the local food (seal?) and get one of those super warm native made winter boots (mukluks)!
The trip to Alert is actually pretty mountainous. Yes, i did learn in my Pilot Ground School that BC and the North East of Canada had the most special (hazardous) considerations for obstacle clearance. I thought it was significantly so due to the cold temperatures. But it’s actually cold AND actually big mountains – together! Clearly, an engine failure would not be fun there. Which brings me to the #4.
There’s nobody out there en route! Hundreds of miles of not even a soul. Unless Polar Bears have souls. I still have not figured out the best caliber for self defense. Which brings me to #5
Polar Bears! Cute on pictures, they are actually much bigger than the feared grizzlys. And they are the only type of bears that would actually track and hunt people for food!
There are no good aviation maps for the area. Maps, for that matter. I never paid attention to it, but most paper products I ever worked with either have the North chopped in pieces or have small provinces competing in size with Africa. A globe helped, but there’s really only that much space in my SuperD en route.
North Pole is not even on the ForeFlight! ForeFlight is awesome, and it has helped me tremendously in many trips for years. But the moment you step outside the Northern tip of Canada, you might as well have assumed the Earth is flat and you have fallen off the end of it. How do you put “North Pole” in your GPS ?
Seriously??!
And yet i can’t wait to see even the smallest glimpse of this beauty. Peak around the corner and get my breath taken away by the magestic views.
LIFE DOES NOT COUNT IN BREATHS WE TAKE. LIFE COUNTS IN MOMENTS THAT TAKE OUR BREATH AWAY.
The #ArcticTour150 is a unique air show event. In fact, it is a sequence of almost 100 events – 97 air shows across Canada’s Arctic to be precise (yes, it’s not a typo – NINETY SEVEN AIR SHOWS!). What’s more important – the Tour will bring the cutting edge of precision aerobatic flying to areas that have only known aviation as a means of survival, not entertainment. EVERYBODY will have a chance to join Canada’s birthday!
In addition to the air shows, this tour offers a large educational component. Many locations along the more than 19,000 miles route are aboriginal communities. Using attention generated through the tour, we hope to educate the rest of Canada about the life, culture and struggles of our indigenous communities, and share their unique experiences. I believe the native culture is rich, fascinating and not known enough. From the art, to the music and food – we will share with you as much as we can through social media as the journey progresses.
Each community we visit is aware of the tour and are planning events of their own to complement our visit. From a music festival, to arts shows, to village barbecues, our performances will be enhanced by the engagement the community themselves contributing to the event. Even as I write thisI get goose bumps just thinking of the scope of what we are about to do. It is truly EPIC!
Why an aviation tour? Northerners have seen planes before, airplanes are actually an integral part of life in the North-a lifeline for food, medical supplies, transportation and technology. Yet most of them have never seen an air show in their life. Seeing something they know–an airplane–in a totally new upside-down perspective, with amix of technology, skill and hard work, we expect it to be an inspiration. Inspiration to not necessarily become an aerobatic pilot, but to be a better, stronger, smarter and braver version of themselves, the best they can be. We hope that youth in these communities will learn nothing else but themselves will be able to stop them from achieving their dreams. We hope to show them, not just through flying, but through a real connection that the possibilities exist and that hard work pays off. The sky is NOT the limit!
I feel particularly privileged being the only Canadian female aerobatic performer on the tour and I hope to inspire young girls to push the limits and pursue their dreams. Changing stereotypes is not easy, and I pray that there will be enough girls encouraged and empowered by the end of this summer who will in turn, make a difference in their lives. Butterfly effect.
Who is making this epic event a reality? The amazing brains and hearts behind #ArcticTour150 are the organizers of Alberta’s Rocky Mountain House Air Show: Nancy McClure, Wendy Fowler, Ken Fowler, Indira Thackorie and the team. When I signed up for the entire tour a friend of mine asked, “Who are the producers? Have they ever done anything like this before?” The truth is, NOBODY HAS EVER DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE! This is what makes this initiative unique, audacious, inspiring and – yes! – a little crazy.
The #ArcticTour150 requires a lot of support from various companies, sponsors, government and the Canadian military. Everything from flying in fuel (there is not much avgas in the middle of a tundra) to medical support, and funding.
The performers traveling with the Tour form another spectacular team. I feel privileged to perform again with the Granley Family, Bud and Ross. Ken Fowler and Eric Hansen from Team Rocket, Dave and Drew Watson from Yellow Thunder, Brent Handy and Stefan Trischuk are among those who responded to the challenge. Some performers are only able to commit to a part of the Tour. Some, like your faithful Sky Dancer, would not want to miss a single day of it.
Where and when? The Tour takes off on 1 June from Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, and will head north for its long journey across the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Northern Quebec and Labrador. We will celebrate Canada Day, July 1, in the geographical centre of Canada–Baker Lake, NT. One of the most notable aspects is the tour will journey as far north as Alert, NU, the most northern permanently inhabited place in the world, only 400 nautical miles from the North Pole! This tourwill set a world record for the longest series of air shows North of 60. The final show of the Tour will be on18 Augustin Nunavut’s capital, Iqaluit, after which I am sure everyone will be sad to see this great summer adventure come to an end.
The team knows the reality will be harder and less perfect than the plan. We will fight the weather, have cancellations and technical issues. I was even asked if I would have a gun for polar bear defense. Oh my! I do hope to see muskox (I promise to share pictures!) and find a nice pair of mukluks, even though they are too warm for my home in Vancouver.
One question I am asked frequently is, “how can someone join the Tour?” The answer is–in a VERY limited way. Some of our more southern locations like Yellowknife, are reachable by most general aviation planes within a reasonable amount of time and fuel availability (expect to pay a premium for the avgas up North). You should still check with your instructor or more experienced pilots before setting off on such a trip. Often your nearest alternate airport is beyond your fuel range, and survival in case of an engine failure is difficult. Mountain flying and weather are other challenges in many Northern regions. Most locations in the High Arctic don’t even have avgas available. The Canadian Arctic Aviation Tour, benefitting from military support, will have fuel for performers flown in ahead of time. But these supplies will not be available for the public.
The most important question though is “how can I support the tour?” and that answer is simple – buy a mile! As one can imagine this project comes at a significat cost and in order to pull this off we need the support of everyone. Please help us to make this a success by buying a mile on our crowdfunding page: crowdrise.com/caat2017.
We encourage everyone to follow us along our journey by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We want to hear from you!
Aviation brings people together. In 2017, when Canada is celebrating its 150th birthday, aviation unites the country by bringing the technology and inspiration of airshows to the most remote areas of the country – where people have never seen anything like this in their lives. With 97 airshows North of the 60th parallel, EVERYBODY will have a chance to celebrate Canada’s 150. Official website: https://caat2017.com. This is a blog of Anna Serbinenko, the only Canadian female aerobatic performer, embarking on this once-in-a-lifetime journey.
The map is impressive. The schedule is tight and event-packed. We will be flying around the clock, as we will have the benefit of the 24 hour daylight. And the special treat – it will be the record of the most Northern show ever! Alert is only 400nm from the North Pole!
