NOTICE!
This trip is only offered as a guided tour and is available “On-Demand”. The trip needs to be planned well in advance. Fuel is delivered once a year to some locations and arrangements need to be made to have drums delivered for us and securely stored. This trip is not to be made without serious preparation. The terrain is harsh and unforgiving, hours and hours pass between settlements, there are literally no roads for 700nm, and the weather can be extreme. We need plenty of time to get everyone prepared and ready for the trip.
ARCTIC CIRCLE
Right away, this is not a trip for the faint of heart. This is an adventure of a lifetime. The terrain north of Iqaluit is awe-inspiring in it’s harshness. The vastness of it all and the complete isolation reminds you of how small you are in this world and this feeling will remain with you forever. The land is not something you can conform to build condos, supermarkets, and roads. The land shapes you to conform to it, to work within the limits of what nature has provided. The land does not have a vengeance for humans, it is just simply indifferent to their presence. This feeling becomes more and more apparent as you float above gigantic jagged peaks, unmoved for 3.5 billion years, icebergs in the water, and glaciers 20,000 years old. True wonder lives on in this part of the world.
This is not an easy trip. For the northern third of the trip you will be pumping fuel from a barrel into your plane (best days) or pumping fuel from a local gas station into containers and trucking them back to the airplanes. The mornings will be cold and pre-heaters will need to be set up. If something breaks on a plane, it will be field repaired and we continue on. There are no on call mechanics. There is no support. There is no easy “out”. This is real. This is not a simulated short field landing at a 5000′ paved runway. Risk management and planning is critical.
Availability:
On-Demand. This trip can be completed in April/May or July/August. You let us know when you want to go, and we will make it happen. Recommended times are around late July when things warm up a bit (around 50F). There is 24 hour sun in July. October to March is pretty much dark the whole time.
Cost:
Contact us for details. Expect somewhere around $8000/plane (two people per plane) after fuel, lodging, food, activities, etc.
Available Spots:
5 Planes
Weather:
We cannot control the weather. We will do our best to complete the trip as planned/scheduled and there is buffer time built into the schedule. This trip in particular has a lot of buffer time. There WILL be a day or two or three that we are not able to fly due to weather. It’s the nature of it. We need to be flexible with the schedule and itinerary.
Special Requirements:
Your airplane MUST have valid and full paperwork including: Active registration, POH in the airplane, dataplate, weight and balance info. You must have a valid passport, FAA license, and valid medical certificate on you. BasicMed is NOT recognized in Canada.
Aviation Adventure Routes will assist with, and process for you, any documentation, radio license, etc. required for out of country travel. You really don’t need to do anything special to travel in Canada. We will handle everything you need and go over any important information on the flight as needed and in the pre-trip communications.
Emergency Kit:
All planes must carry a fully equipped emergency kit capable of sustaining life for 7 days. We will provide a list and recommendations for gear. Some emergency equipment is available for loan for the duration of the trip.
KEY DETAILS
Trip Duration: 14 Days
Total Flight Hours: 48
Type Of Flight: VFR Only. IFR capable is recommended.
Average Flight Speed: 95MPH
Average Flight Leg: 3 Hours
Fuel Capacity Recommended: 3.5 hours (plus reserves)
Longest Leg Without Any Fuel Available: 3Hr 15Min. There is a 600 mile stretch with no fuel available. Extra fuel will be carried with us and we wills top and refuel mid way with the carried fuel. Planes with more usable load will be expected to haul for those with less. It is likely that we will all be at max gross for this stretch.
Lodging: Hotels, No Camping. Mixed amenities, from a 7 room inn/convenience store/restaurant in a remote Inuit village to a modern boutique hotel and everything in between.
Additional Costs: Fuel, Food
Food: Breakfast/Lunch – on the go and on your own. Dinners are included in trip cost and are generally sit down as a group. Alcohol is not included.
Airplane Requirements: Auto Fuel Capable. 100LL is not available north of Iqaluit. 91 octane ethanol free is available. 8.5 or bigger main tires. Must be able to land on off-airport locations with runways less than 900′ (clean approach/departure. On/Off the ground in under 900′ only). A required emergency equipment list will be provided. Each plane must carry it’s own survival gear.
Runway Types: Combination paved, off-airport, maintained gravel. There are optional off airport landing areas. For those wanting to do off airport operations, big tires and the ability to be on the ground and stopped in 500′ and off the ground in the same is required. These off airport locations have no obstacles to approach and departure so it is just a matter of getting down and stopped and then wheels up in 500′.
Risk Factors: Flight Over Cold Water. Flight Over Extremely Remote Areas. Arctic Weather Conditions. Cold. No Repair Stations.
Flight Over Water: This route takes us over extremely cold water at times. There are two over water segments of 30nm and 65nm. With 8:1 glide ratio @10k ft, you are out of glide distance. Keep in mind in Canada Class B airspace starts at 12,500 and is “controlled VFR”. You can go higher with ATC clearance. Canada oxygen requirements also start at 10,000ft.
Flight Over Remote Areas: This route takes us over some EXTREMELY remote areas. It can not be stressed enough how remote, harsh, isolated, and cold some of these areas are. They are completely unable to support human life. Emergency supplies are critical. We will provide guidance on emergency equipment requirements.
Physical Requirements: Some walking/light hiking is optional but highly recommended. Sitting in a small plane all day gets tiring and it’s good to keep your legs moving. This trip will be a fair amount of walking/hiking but all at a mild level. The longest hike is at a leisurely pace and roughly 7km on mild trails. You can skip out or turn back on any trail at any time. There are more difficult hikes available as optional activities.
