Alaska by DA62

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photoSteveZ
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Alaska by DA62

Post by photoSteveZ »

My wife and I and our old flying buddy, Stuart, leave for an Alaska adventure next week. I’ve equipped us with a life raft, survival gear, PFDs and PLBs. We’re planning to fly KBLI-PAPG through Canadian airspace, with no plans to land on Canadian soil. Passports, of course, in case we have to declare an emergency and land in Canada. I’ve also got a 2023 Customs sticker, just in case.

From all my research, it seems that we don’t have to mess with customs at all flying on an IFR flight plan from one US airport to another US airport through Canadian airspace. Looking for confirmation from the brain trust: do all y’all concur?
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michael.g.miller
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Re: Alaska by DA62

Post by michael.g.miller »

Just got back from flying a similar route (completing my RTW trip). As I'm sure you're aware PAPG is the ONLY "cheap" JET-A in the Panhandle. I had to stop in Sitka due to weather.. and it was over $10/gallon! At Petersburg, you can get it for $6.50/gallon.

Correct, you do not need to clear customs for that route. Make sure you file a flight plan (either VFR or IFR) since you are crossing borders, even if not landing. As you are doing, good to bring a passport. Also worth noting that BasicMed is not permitted in Canadian airspace, even for overflight. So make sure you have a valid medical.

Make sure you give the Alaska Aviation Weather Unit a call before your flight - 907-266-5110. They are some of the most helpful meteorologists I've talked to on my flight around the world. They'll give you a customized weather briefing for your specific legs, and let you know about any local weather phenomena to be aware of.

Have an awesome trip.
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danno2000
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Re: Alaska by DA62

Post by danno2000 »

photoSteveZ wrote: Tue May 30, 2023 11:56 pm From all my research, it seems that we don’t have to mess with customs at all flying on an IFR flight plan from one US airport to another US airport through Canadian airspace. Looking for confirmation from the brain trust: do all y’all concur?
Agreed. But you miss out on a lot, and my experiences with clearing customs (albeit in the eastern US) have generally been easier in a private plane than it is either flying commercially or driving.

I first drove to Alaska in 2000 during a quarter-life crisis. I was fortunate enough to take my time and ended up spending two weeks in Yukon on the way up. I go back every couple of years now. It's stunningly beautiful in a much different way than coastal Alaska, and there's a ton of history as well. Overflying the Alaska Highway and seeing Wrangell-St. Elias and Kluane from the air would be incredible (weather permitting, of course).

There are three paved runways - CYXY Whitehorse, CYDA Dawson City, and CYQH Watson Lake. And from Whitehorse it's an easy hop back down to Skagway/Haines and the coastal route if going back that way appeals.

Maybe I'm reading too much into the tone of your post. But don't let any anxiety about customs stop you from crossing the border if you have any interest.

enjoy,
dan
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Re: Alaska by DA62

Post by photoSteveZ »

michael.g.miller wrote: Wed May 31, 2023 12:47 am
Make sure you give the Alaska Aviation Weather Unit a call before your flight - 907-266-5110. They are some of the most helpful meteorologists I've talked to on my flight around the world. They'll give you a customized weather briefing for your specific legs, and let you know about any local weather phenomena to be aware of.

Have an awesome trip.
Thanks for that: I’ll be sure to call for a briefing.
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Re: Alaska by DA62

Post by Colin »

When I first flew across the northern border I was crossing from Michigan and landing in New York state. I was handed off to a Canadian controller and I asked if there was some fee I needed to pay for entering their airspace. The controller said, "Yes, coming up you'll see a toll booth."
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photoSteveZ
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Re: Alaska by DA62

Post by photoSteveZ »

352783376_2554268548056378_2481664238069673926_n.jpg
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01_KnikGlacier_A2A.jpeg
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Last Thursday, Marcia and I flew from KBFI to PAPG (fuel stop) to PANC (fuel stop) to PAAQ. With nice tail winds we burned a total of only 107 gal from BFI-ANC.

We're spending the week based out of Palmer. So far we've flown the DA62 for an air-to-air photo mission on the one nice day, but not made any other day trips: the weather hasn't been very good, with low freezing levels amid lots of cloud layers, and high surface winds. We did spend a morning with friends flying a C206 on straight floats, landing on a glacial lake (in the rain).

Maybe we'll get up to Fairbanks one of the next two days, though the weather forecast seems stuck in an early spring pattern, with mixed precip and low ceilings.
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Re: Alaska by DA62

Post by haykinson »

This looks amazing. And, it was nice bumping into you before your departure from BFI!
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Re: Alaska by DA62

Post by photoSteveZ »

Following up with a few more photos of our Alaska trip. These were taken on a single flight when, tired of waiting for the weather to improve, we launched from Palmer and investigated a bright spot in the overcast to the southeast, over the Chugach out toward Prince William Sound. We worked our way up on top of layers VFR, then got a pop-up IFR clearance to fly back to the NNW toward Denali, in and out of clouds at 17,000’. As we got closer, the tops lowered until we were able to make a pass around Denali, cleared VFR on Top at 17,000’. We watched a Caravan with tour passengers climb through our altitude, heading for the summit.

Knik Glacier and the Chugach
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Surface detail of Knik Glacier.
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In the Chugach
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Denali from 17,000’, VFR on Top
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Glaciers emanating from the Alaska Range near Denali
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Temporary refuge for the DA62 at Blue River Aviation, Palmer (PAAQ)
IMG_4146.jpeg
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thommy152
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Re: Alaska by DA62

Post by thommy152 »

These photos are amazing!
2000 C182S (N882SP) / 2023 DA-62 (N271CF).
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Re: Alaska by DA62

Post by photoSteveZ »

For more great photos from one of the photographers I flew the DA62 for earlier in that week, here’s a link to Dietmar Schreiber’s gallery from the air-to-air shoot.

https://www.airtoair.at/keyword/n-btbGtj/N62DZ/
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