Cambridge Bay, NU

Cambridge Bay (ICAO: CYCB) airport has been a focus interest of mine for years, ever since FS98 began to afford us a more complete world to fly in. YCB is one of the northernmost airports in the world, and yet, despite its remoteness, it is a relatively high-use resource, serving as a hub for access to the whole western side of northern Canada. The photo above shows two typical planes parked at the main terminal, in the foreground a Fokker F-28 short-range jet operated by Canadian North (call sign "Empress"), and in the background, a Hawker-Siddeley HS.748 twin turboprop operated by First Air.

The photo shows the airport as represented by the default scenery in Microsoft Flight Simulator FS2004. It's not an exact recreation of the real airport, but it's close. There are two parking areas, one for commercial arrivals and one for the use of private traffic; this is the commercial ramp. As you can see from the following image, approach to the airport in a landing situation is enhanced by four features:

1. The gravel-surface runway has medium-intensity edge lighting (MIRL)
2. Strobe (pulsating) lead-in lights help the pilot see the runway orientation from a distance or when visibility is poor
3. VASI lights are almost as good as a radio glideslope indicator for planning that perfect touchdown
4. NDB beacon "MG" (not shown) provides guidance to runway 31. This NDB is service class MH, meaning that it provides up to 37.5 mile range receptivity.
   

There is also a VOR facility located at the opposite end of the runway. "YCB" is an H VORTAC with a service range of 195 nautical miles. As shown on the Canadian enroute charts, this VOR is oriented to true north. The entire airport is located in the arctic control region, and as such, all headings and bearings are given in true rather than magnetic degrees.


Unfortunately, there is a problem with the VOR as modeled in the default scenery - MS provided it with a local magnetic variation, so it is not usable with the navigation charts. But if you have the AFCAD utility for FS2004 (afcad224.exe) you can fix the VOR yourself. Just open the nearby airport, CYCB, choose "View Navaids" from the menu bar, and right-click your mouse on the VOR symbol northwest of the airport. You'll be shown a pop-up menu; choose "Properties." In the properties page, the next-to-last item is "Magnetic Variation." Change the value to 0.0, click OK, and save the airport. That's all. You will then be able to use the VOR for long-distance navigation, and for approach procedures to runway 13T/31T.


After making this change myself, I tried flying from CYCB to nearby Gjoa Haven (CYHK), a mere 205 miles, with the HS.748. The enroute chart shows a course of 094T (True) degrees from the VOR. I tried that, and while it began to deviate a bit from the proper course near the end of the flight, all in all it worked great.


The real challenge in the far north is to develop the ability to navigate with just the radio aids that were traditionally available to pilots there, before GPS, because that's all they had in those days. With some knowledge, skill, and practice (and the use of the proper charts), you should be able to do the same.


For additional information about the airport and the region, Wikipedia provides a useful starting point.