Getting to Know the Arctic

The picture at left is of a Cessna 182 parked on the ramp at CYSR, Nanisivik, in Nunavut, Canada. Located at the northern end of Baffin Island, Nanisivik is well above the Arctic Circle and one of the northernmost airports in the flight simulator world. The picture was taken at 9:30 a.m., just as the sun was beginning to brighten the sky. It won't be real daylight for another hour yet.

To really get to know the arctic, you have to do some flying there and face some of its challenges. To see what you're up against, there are three routes that will give you a good sampling of the far north.

For a first flight, you can set up your plane (I used a Cessna 208 Amphibian) at Nanisivik at 9:00 a.m. local time on 3-November, and build a flight plan from CYSR to CYIO, Pond Inlet. It's not a long journey - about 119 miles, and it's a good idea to include both the local NDB (YSR, 382.0 kHz) and the NDB at Pond Inlet (YIO, 214.0 kHz) in the plan. You will try to navigate between those two beacons, keeping a course of 157 degrees. GPS is the best way, but you're welcome to try it with just your ADF needle. At Pond Inlet, the runway is called 2/20, but it's a lie. That's the true compass heading of the runway; but your magnetic compass will show the runway aligned on a 360/180 north-south line. Oh, and beware the local mountains. You should have no trouble with the approach, but en route, there is a lot of hilliness to fly over.

Other short routes you may enjoy in the far north are, CYCO to CYCB, CYFB to CYXP, and CYVQ to CZFN.

Cambridge Bay (CYCB) is somewhat of a hub in northern Canada, serving as a jumping-off point for flights to Gjoa Haven, Taloyoak, Kugluktuk, and Resolute Bay. It is usually served out of Yellowknife by 737-200 planes (equipped with gravel runway kits).

The flight from Norman Wells (CYVQ) to Tulita (CZFN) is very short, just 38 miles. I used the Premair (Barry Blaisdell) DHC-2 Turbine with wheels, N6102Y. The flight was hampered by snow and a lot of cloudiness, and at Tulita all the regular parking slots were full, I had to park on the snow, but it was a successful conclusion to a 30-minute flight. This little flight is travelled by a local air service out of Norman Wells daily.

Happy landings!