2005-08-02
About a year ago we Take off to work on the actual preparation for this trip. This includes flights from Germany to „Cape North, the Shetland Islands, Iceland, Greenland, and Sardinia including a crossing of the European Alps. We collect valuable experience on these trips. With the Flight Design CT we have an excellent aircraft at hand for our adventure. We had checked the maximum endurance of the aircraft in standard configuration. During this flight we flew 1420 km in 8:32 hours at an RPM of 4350 1/min and at an IAS of 185 km/h. Still we had 14 liter reserve and therefore we were able to calculate a maximum endurance of 9:30 h using 13,6 l/h(~ 3.5 gph). The CT has been build for a MTOW of 600 kg so in another testflight we climbed to 13,500 ft at maximum weight. Still at this altitude we had a rate of climb of 200 ft/min. These are really top numbers in regard of performance considering this is achieved with a two-seat Ultralight aircraft using all its capacity.This performance envelope together with special instruments and emergency gear have been essential prerequisites for the flights over the Atlantic, the Ice cap of Greenland, the mountains, and the endless open of the arctic. Beside basic instrumentation we installed a VSI, a pneumatic driven artificial horizon, manifold gauges, and a separate check light for the fuel pressure. As we would be traveling through various climate zones we installed a cowlflap system which Harro had developed. The shutters are controlled from the cockpit and this system proved of excellent value to keep the engine temperature in its optimum range during all times. The avionics had been completed with a Becker radio and Mode C transponder as well as a Traffic scope. Navigation was handled with the help of a Garmin 196, a Pilot III and a PDA with the complete maps of our route. To ease pilot workload a bit we had a one axis Autopilot installed which was slaved to the GPS. The required Emergency gear consists of an inflatable boat, the life suits for the ocean crossings, the maritime and polar emergency packs including emergency food, ELT, a spare radio, a SAT-phone, a tent and sleeping bags, gas stove, ice saw and knife. The only thing we didn’t have was the gun which was advised to have for meeting with the polar bears. The life suits were tested last winter in an almost frozen lake with -3 °C temperature. With the emergency packs and the life boat we swan for about 1 h in the ice cold water. The test went well and we did not get really cold during the exercise. The emergency equipment is doing the expected job.It took a lot of time for the preparation of the aircraft, acquisition of the necessary equipment and the maps, the clarification of insurance coverage, as well as getting all the country specific rules and permissions to fly an Ultralight aircraft from Germany to Canada. Countless emails and faxes went all around the world and we were able to make some new contacts which helped making our adventure possible. Amongst others I like to mention special support from: Rolf Bausenwein(co-owner of the aircraft), Flight Design, Ernst Schneider(EWS Aviation in Canada), Patrick Nagle(Polar Flight Club Iqualuit), Ultralight Flying Club ‚Märkische Schweiz’, Rosi and Bernd from the “fliegende Kiste” in Eggersdorf, Andrew Bruce in Wick, and many more. Thanks to everybody.Here the flight diary: 04.06.2005 Eggersdorf (EDCE)  Damme (EDWC) Take off: 10:52 Landing: 14:17 Flight time: 3:25 Distance: 407 KmAfter loading all the equipment during the morning we leave Eggersdorf in the early afternoon. Visibility is good untiul we hit some local showers and Cb’s around Hanover. With help of the weather guys at FIS we make it through the showers and land as planned in Damme. 05.06.2005 Damme (EDWC)  Middleburg (EHMZ)Take off: 08:45 Landing: 09:30 Flight time: 0:45 Distance: 341 KmThe showers in the western part of Germany tapers off but over the Teutoburger forrest the clouds are touching down. Therefore we return to Damme and wait. When we land in Damme we recognize some fluctuation with the oil pressure. 2. VersuchTake off: 10:19 Landing: 12:58 Flight time: 2:39We have changed our routing to go north of the Tautoburger forrest towards Holland. Ceilings and visibility are quite good at the beginning but later we have to battle local showers. And whenever we reduce RPM we can recognize the oil pressure fluctuate. Something we need to investigate before we go any further. We inspect the engine but can not find the cause for the problem. We get on the phone with our engine specialist and he recommends we put a washer under the spring of the bypass valve. 06.06.2005 Middleburg (EHMZ)  Beccles (EGSM)Take off: 09:35 Landing: 10:50 Flight time: 1:15 Distance: 177 KmThe maintenance shop on the airfield has the fitting washer and we are successful. The oil pressure is stable and we can move on. The bad weather is to the East of us now. After putting on the life suits we start the flight to the East coast of England. And of course we monitor the oil pressure with special attention. But the oil pressure is stable and with an aircraft of the British coast guard checking us out we safely reach the British Island. 06.06.2005 Beccles (EGSM)  Eshott Take off: 12:16 Landing: 15:13 Flight time: 2:57 Distance: 403 KmOur friend Rainer gives us some good advise for the flight along the Britisch east coast. With lots of attention we cross some military training areas. The weather constantly improves. We cross the Humber river, pass Teeside and Newcastle and arrive in Eschott with beautiful weather. Eschott, situated about 45 minutes south of Edinborough is a nice airfield which caters mainly to Ultralight and Experimental aircraft 07.06.2005 Eshott  Wick (EGPC)Take off: 08:26 Landing: 11:15 Flight time: 2:49 Distance: 446 KmA big high pressure system has formed above Northern England. This allows for excellent VFR flight conditions. We start out heading towards Edinborough and decide to deviate a little bit to fly over the Scottish highlands. Flight service informs us that at all altitudes we will have to expect a significant military flight activity. The flight over the highlands is wonderful even with all the cumulus clouds around which block our view now and then. Without problems we reach Loch Ness and from there we head to our destination in Wick. After the landing we meet Andrew Bruce again. Then an oil change, a thorough checkup of engine and aircraft with no findings, and we are ready to go for the next big flight to Iceland. 08./09.06.2005 Wick (EGPC)  Wick (EGPC)Take off: 09:06 Landing: 11:11 Flight time: 2:05Storms and rain in Scotland and on the Färöer islands are keeping us local and so we decide to have a scenic flight around the Orkney islands.10.06.2005 Wick (EGPC)  Hörnafjördur (BIHN)Take off: 07:44 Landing: 14:10 Flight time: 6:26 Distance: 933 KmThe winds today are much lower then yesterday but just north of Scotland the ceilings are down to 2000 ft. Our radio connection with ATC doesn’t work and we suspect a radio problem. But we can still reach Wick tower where we took off and they are able to give us all information necessary to continue our flight. We utilize a big gap in the clouds and climb on top. At 4000 ft we are on top. The clouds look a bit different then forecasted. After 2 hours the clouds below break up and just short of Färöer island the clouds disappear totally. The whole archipelago is almost without clouds and we are making good time. From Vagar we get the latest weather in Höfn on Iceland and decide to fly there without any further stop. Just short of the Iceland shores we have to over fly a low band of clouds but then we land on Iceland and our friend Garry welcomes us already on the radio 10 miles out. 11.06.205 Hörnafjördur (BIHN)  Isafjördur (BIIS)Take off: 10:39 Landing: 14:33 Flight time: 3:54 Distance: 522 KmWith good visibility we follow the coast line to the south. We then take a flight around Europes biggest glacier – the Vatnajökull. Cloubs start to form everywhere and we fly over the central highlands of Iceland under the clouds. The fjords to the west are all filled with fog and we start to worry that Isafjordur our destination may not be landable with the fog. The approach maps for our alternate destinations come out and we start checking on our options. But our worries dissipate with the fog and we land with no wind at our destination. Temperatures are reminding much more on the arctic then in Höfn and our last task for the day is another careful inspection of our CT. 12.06.2005 Isafjördur (BIIS)  ReykjanesTake off: 14:54 Landing: 15:11 Flight time: 0:17The wether looks great for a flight to Greenland but it is Sunday and all airfields in Greenland are closed Sundays. This allows us to spend a day in the hotsprings of Reykjanes.13.06.205 Reykjanes  Isafjördur (BIIS)Take off: 07:24 Landing: 07:43 Flight time: 0:19Isafjördur (BIIS)  Kulusuk (BGKK)Take off: 10:18 Landing: 14:22 Fugzeit: 4:04 Distance: 666 KmThe weather of Danmark street and Kulusuk looks good. With ceilings around 1000ft we leave Iceland and climb on top. In 4500 ft we are clear and head west. 2 h later the clouds break up and we see lots of ice and light fog. We pass another FIR border line and we can already see the coast line of Greenland. We talk to some Lufthansa airliners on the way. The sky in direction of Kulusuk looks pretty dark and we get the latest weather of Kulusuk. But beside some light fog there is nothing to worry about. A bit later we start talking to Söndre Strömfjord, reach the coat and fly low over the icebergs into the final of Kulusuk airport.14.06.2005 Kulusuk (BGKK)  Kangerlussuaq (BGSF)Take off: 11:44 Landing: 15:20 Flight time: 3:36 Distance: 637 KmThe sun is shining from a blue sky when we lift of in Kulusuk. First we fly south a bit over Ammassalik, then we turn to a westerly course and climb to 10500 ft to fly over the Greenland main ice pack. Oxygen has been made available in case we have to climb higher for possible clouds. Soon all mountaintops disappear and all we can see is the huge Greenland ice pack. Half way we pass the American radar station Dye 3. A Hercules is just landing on the ice. Time is passing too fast when we fly over the 600 km ice pack. When we land on the west side of Greenland we meet temperatures of +20°C! 15.06.2005 Kangerlussuaq (BGSF)  Iqaluit (CYFB)Take off: 11:38 Landing: 17:35 Flight time: 5:57 Distance: 901 KmWe take off with high clouds to the west. Along the coast some fog banks. But Davis street lies ahead of us – calm and with no ice at all. Our radio communication with Söndre Strömfjord FIS works very well. When we hit the next FIR border we can also see the first icebergs. We start talking to Artic radio but the connection is not very good at this time. From about 200 km out we can see the first showcovered mountain tops of Baffin Island. Slowly we get closer to Cape Mercy at Cumberland Sound. The great visibility makes it very hard to estimate distances by eye. After we pass Cumberland sound we continue across Hall peninsula. We reach Frobisher bay and a little bit later we land in Iqualuit. We have reached Canada. 16.06.2005Rest day in Iqualuit17.06.2005 Iqaluit (CYFB)  Pangnirtung (CYXP)Take off: 13:32 Landing: 15:36 Flight time:2:04 Distance: 299 KmHall Peninsula is covered partially with clouds all the way down to the ground. However we can reach Cumberland sound and the weather turns around. We fly low over the icebergs and report in at Pangnirtung tower. The welcome is very friendly in Pangnirtung which is the place we have to stay for a couple of days for various reasons. Pangnirtung (CYXP)  Pangnirtung (CYXP)Take off: 18:00 Landing: 19:20 Flight time:1:20We go for a short scenic flight through Auyuittuq national park. Steep and wild mountains to our left and right. We decide not fl on to Broughton Island on this flight and return to Pangnirtung.18.06. bis 20.06.2005During checkup of our CT we recognize a major damage to our propeller which must have occurred during taxiing the day before. There is no way we can continue our flight with this propeller. The next few hours are spend on the phone trying to figure out how to get a replacement propeller to the arctic. But then it looks like we are lucky. Ernst Schneider, then Canadian Distributor for the CT has a spare propeller in stock and is checking on how he can get it to us. After two days the propeller arrives via Canadian North and Ken Borek. Temperatures are freezing when we install and adjust it but our flight can go on. 21.06.2005Test flights with the new propeller. 22.06. bis 25.06.2005Storms, Rain, Fog, Snow, - no flying.We are interviewed by Canadian TV station CBC.26.06.2005 Pangnirtung (CYXP)  Pangnirtung (CYXP)Take off:18:28 Landing:19:57 Flight time:1:29We try a last time to fly to Qikiqtarjuaq (Broughton Island). Again we fly through Auyuittuq National Park. We overfly the pass and the ceiling starts to drop. About 70 km to go to our destination the ceiling is down to 200 ft. It’s just water below but temperature and moisture look like having good potential for icing and therefore we decide to turn around and return to Pangnirtung. 27.06.2005 Pangnirtung (CYXP)  Iqaluit (CYFB)Take off:12:55 Landing:15:20 Flight time:2:25 Distance: 330 KmAnother day where we have to cancel our planned flight. The weather above Davis street looks really bad and for the next few days there is a forecast for blowing snow and significant coldfront activity for Greenland. A return to Europe over Greenland is therefore no longer possible within the timefram we have available for this adventure. We decide to fly down to Toronto and start with a first leg which brings us back to Iqualuit. Iqaluit (CYFB)  Kimmirut (CYLC)Take off:21:55 Landing:22:47 Flight time:0:52 Distance: 120 KmAfter a short meeting with Patrick Nagle of the Polar Flying Club we fly down Kimmirut which is situated at the south corner of Baffin Island. 28.06.2005 Kimmirut (CYLC)  Cape Dorset (CYTE)Take off:14:17 Landing:17:17 Flight time:3:00 Distance: 404 KmWe fly west to Cape Dorset along the coastline of Hudson strait which is covered in fog. Closer to Cape Dorset the visibility is great but we have a 15-20 knots cross wind when we land in Cape Dorset. Cape Dorset (CYTE)  Kangirsuk (CYAS)Take off:19:48 Landing:23:37 Flight time:3:49 Distance: 679 KmAfter getting some fuel and a short break we cross the Hudson Strait which is covered with ice. We follow the northern shore line from Nunavik to the East to Ungava bay. From here we head south and land between showers in Kangirsuk. 29.06.2005 Kangirsuk (CYAS)  Kuujjuaq (CYVPTake off:16:10 Landing:17:55 Flight time:1:45 Distance: 237KmIt becomes obvious that we are leaving the arctic. There are now more snow covers and the sun is causing strong convectional activity. In Kuujjuaq we reach the tree border. We try to leave before the coldfront arrives which is not far behind us. But when we do our take-off checks we have to recognize that our brakes don’t work and therefore we will have to fix this problem first. 30.06.2005We are allowed to use the shop of Inuit Air and we get good support with the repair of our brake system. 01.07.2005 Kuujjuaq (CYVP)  Nain (CYDP)Take off:15:10 Landing:18:32 Flight time:3:22 Distance: 439 KmFor hours we fly over the empty tundra. When we reach the George river we arrive at the first mountains. From the south a cold front is approaching bringing rain and low ceilings. We cross the border into Labrador and have to fly really low. We reach the Fjord of Nain and land there to wait out the weather. 02.07.2005No flying due to bad weather03.07.2005 Nain (CYDP)  Churchill Falls (CZUM)Take off:11:36 Landing:15:25 Flight time:3:49 Distance: 479 Km35-39 knots wind at take off. We do not have to use too much runway but the downdrafts associated with this wind are threatening to sink us into the fjord. It takes about 40 seconds in ground effect until we can start to climb out. My partners Siegmar piloting experience and the necessary bit of luck have been very helpful in this situation. With up to 50 kts tailwind we follow the coast of Labrador to the south. When we reach Hopedale we change course towards Churchill falls and long before we reach Churchill we can see the huge lakes. Churchill Falls (CZUM)  Wabush (CYWK)Take off:18:25 Landing:20:24 Flight time:2:00 Distance: 196 KmAfter short break we take off again and fly into 30 – 40 knots headwinds over the large forests of Newfoundland towards the south. 04.07.2005 Wabush (CYWK)  Sept-Iles (CYZV)Take off:17:36 Landing:19:59 Flight time:2:23 Distance:315 KmAnother flight over the lonely forests. Further south we cross some mountains and then we hit the mighty St. Lawrence. 05.07.2005 Sept-Iles  Forestville (CYFE)Take off: 13:26 Landing: 16:31 Flight time:3:05 Distance: 363 KmBoisterous weather already when we ake off. The air is boiling and there are Thunderstorms in the vicinity. We follow the northern shores of the St. Lawrence which is covered in fog. With the weather constantly detoriating IFR with thunderstorms ahead we turn around and land in Forestville to wait out the front. Forestville (CYFE)  St-Lambert-de-Lauzon (CST7)Take off: 22:05 Landing: 23:47 Flight time:1:42 Distance: 284 KmThe weather has passed and we have a nice evening flight with good visibility along the southern shore of the St. Lawrance. We land at ST7(St. Lambert) and are welcomed by Jacques Gagne, the Quebec dealer for the Flight Design CT. He operates a nice little airport south of Quebec City and just received his CTSW a couple of months ago. 06.07.2005 St-Lambert-de-Lauzon (CST7)  Greenbank (CNP8)Take off: 13:45 Landing: 17:24 Flight time:3:39 Distance: 691 KmWe follow the St. Lawrence to the West, pass Montreal and fly on the northen shore of Lake Ontario to Greenbank where we are welcomed by Ernst Schneider the Canadian distributor for the Flight Design CT. Our flight ends here.Greenbank (CNP8)  Brampton (CNC3)Take off: 19:45 Landing: 20:16 Flight time:0:31Our CT is flown to Brampton where the aircraft will be waiting to cross back over the ocean in a container. Total distance for the whole trip was 12067 km and it took 80:28 h airtime. On every airfield where we landed the CT was the centre of attention. Not only keen pilots in their search for a new toy, a lot of people who worked at the airports and a good number of Commercial pilots where very interested in the CT. All of them were very intrigued by the performance of the CT and when they heard that we came from Europe then they were even more impressed.The CT did a great job under the conditions this flight has been carried out. Maximum weight, low temperatures, stormy winds, constantly changing fuel qualities, high humidity, rain and snow. The outstanding endurance and range of the CT allowed us to carry out this flight with a good safety margin in regards of weather and alternate destinations. This was a stock CT with no extra tanks, standard engine and propeller. With this flight the CT again has been able to show why the aircraft is on top in its class. Not only the performance made this flight possible. The comfort and space of the CT cabin is without comparison in its class. We were able to stow all the equipment, the emergency gear and were still sitting comfortable. And the unbeatable visibility out the big windows along the strutless wings was a special reward for us while flying over some incredible places of this planet. Thanks a lot again to Ernst Schneider, the CT distributor in Canada. Getting a spare propeller to the arctic in two days is excellent service. This first flight of a two-seat Ultralight aircraft over the Atlantic and over the ice pack of Greenland to Canada has been so far our most challenging aviation experience which left unbelievable impressions on us. Siegmar Sprenger / Harro Lorenz