Everett to Reno

DAY 8, LEG 44 - Everett to Reno

Unfortunately our stop in Everett didn't allow us any time to visit the Boeing assembly line because it was time to head south to Reno.  The city is a popular visiting spot for tourists from California and hosts a large number of casinos as well as being one of a few remaining air racing venues.  It is also a sister city of Yellowknife, where we started our day.

Climbing away from Paine Field.

Downtown Seattle.  Just visible is the Qwest Field stadium, home of the Seattle Seahawks NFL team.

Seattle International Airport and Mount Ranier.

Turning overhead Seattle Airport.

Reaching our cruising altitude as we pass Mount Ranier.

A step back into the cabin for a better view of Mount Ranier.

Mount St Helens, north-east of Portland, Oregon.

Crossing the Columbia River into Oregon.

Being overtaken by a Jet Blue Airbus from Seattle to Long Beach, California.

Goose Lake.

Final approach into Reno with the city centre casinos visible.

Taxi into Reno GA parking area.

KPAE - KRNO stats

Take off time:  1009

Landing time:   1206

Flight time:      01:57

Fuel used:        858kg / 1888 lbs

Calgary to Everett

DAY 8, LEG 43 - Calgary to Everett

On this leg we enter the USA part of our journey which will have us crossing back eastbound to take in the huge number of sights to see in this vast country.  We begin this leg by flying across the Canadian Rockies towards Everett, just north of Seattle to visit Boeing's long haul production line which has been present at the site since the flight of the first B747 in 1969.

Routing over Calgary after departure from CYYC.

Climbing out over the Canadian Rockies heading towards Cranbrook.

Clear skies for most of the climb out.

Cloud building over Kootenay Lake.  The latest forecast for Paine Field tells us we can expect an ILS approach to runway 16R due to low cloud in the Seattle area.

Entering US Airspace and the cloud beginning to clear allowing us to enjoy the scenery on this part of the route.

Lake Chelan National Recreation Area and also our top of descent point.

Intercepting the ILS for 16R at Paine Field in IMC.

Short final with the Boeing production facility on the left hand side of the picture.

CYYC - KPAE stats

Take off time:    0809

Landing time:     0950

Flight time:        01:41

Fuel used:          713kg / 1569lbs

Yellowknife to Calgary

DAY 8, LEG 42 - Yellowknife to Calgary

Our first leg of day 8 is our last leg in Canada as we head south to Calgary.  The route takes us south over Hay River towards Edmonton and shortly after that we begin our descent.  For the first time in a while we will enter some busy airspace which will make a refreshing change!

Take off from Yellowknife.

Reaching our cruising level of FL250 as we route around some large cloud buildups.

Looking at the rising sun as we route towards Edmonton.

A view of Utikuma Lake in the foreground and Lesser Slave Lake in the background.

Breaking through an overcast cloud layer to the east of Calgary in the descent.

Final Calgary.

Taxiing to the GA parking area as a Westjet B737 begins it's take off roll to Regina.

CYZF - CYYC stats

Take off time:   0458

Landing time:    0749

Flight time:       02:51

Fuel used:         1202 kgs / 2644 lbs

Resolute Bay to Yellowknife

DAY 7, LEG 41 - Resolute Bay to Yellowknife

This will be the last leg of day 7 which has been a very productive day in terms of distance covered on the tour, but very long thanks to the seven hour timezone change we have experienced.  We are heading south to Yellowknife on the shores of the Great Slave Lake in the North West Territories of Canada.  It is our first destination on the mainland of continental America and is a central location for the mining industry in the area.

Lined up at Resolute Bay with the windsock showing a crosswind of at least 20 knots.  In fact, the ATIS was giving gusts of up to 30 knots!

Established in the cruise turning overhead Cambridge Bay.

As we head south the snowy landscape begins to clear.

Evidence on the ground of the warmer summer climate south of Cambridge Bay.  We are beginning to experience some turbulence as the 65 knot headwind blows at us.  Our groundspeed is only 230 knots!

We descend to 17,000 feet to escape the turbulence and cloud buildup.  This gives us less of a headwind and a higher TAS which quickens our progress but at the expense of fuel burn.

Descending into Yellowknife as dusk begins to fall.

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Turning downwind to runway 35.

About to intercept the localizer to runway 35 at Yellowknife over Great Slave Lake.

Final approach.

Taxi in past the busy terminal at Yellowknife.

Parking next to the famous Buffalo Airways hangar.

Parked at Yellowknife and unloading our bags for the night.

CYRB - CYZF stats

Take off time:    1556

Landing time:     1816

Flight time:         03:20 (-1 hour time difference)

Fuel used:          1433 kgs / 3153 lbs

Ilulissat to Resolute Bay

DAY 7, LEG 40 - Ilulissat to Resolute Bay

The forecast at our destination was for gusting easterly winds and a very low cloud base.  I decided to take full fuel tanks once again to ensure plenty of spare fuel to allow me to hold nearby in case the weather did not permit an immediate landing.  Resolute Bay is very remote so there is not a wide choice of suitable alternates.

The town itself is located on Cornwallis Island on the Northwest Passage.  This sea passage links the east coast of the American continent to the west coast and is now navigable in the summer months due to the rise in global temperatures and subsequent melting of the sea ice. The settlement is only 350nm from the magnetic North Pole.

Taxi out at Ilulissat for the three hour flight to northern Canada.

Lining up in the opposite direction to which we landed.  The winds were only light so we could afford to take a small tailwind for take off.

Lined up on runway 08 checking flight controls before departure.

Shortly after departure from Ilulissat - the nav display reads 849nm to go to Resolute Bay!

A KLM A330 from Amsterdam to Vancouver passes overhead us.

First sight of Baffin Island on the horizon.

Descending through the layers of cloud towards Resolute Bay.  The weather has slightly improved since the original forecast so we should be within limits to shoot the ILS onto runway 35.

Parked at Resolute Bay.

BGJN - CYRB stats

Take off time:    1542

Landing time:     1545 (-3 hours time difference)

Flight time:         03:03

Fuel used:          1276kg / 2807lbs

Reykjavik to Ilulissat

DAY 7, LEG 39 - Reykjavik to Ilulissat

Our next destination is the first stop on the American continent, though Greenland has closer links to Europe than it does to America.  It is a dependency of Denmark and Ilulissat (also known as Jacobshavn) is the most popular tourist destination in the country due to it's proximity to the local icefjords.  The airport has links to most towns in western Greenland and summer charter flights to Reykjavik.

As we taxi out at Reykjavik a USAF 737 parks on our stand.

Taking off from runway 19.

Overhead Keflavik International Airport, the main gateway to and from Iceland.

Crossing the eastern coast of Greenland.

Flying over the expanse of central Greenland.  The strong headwind means we only have a groundspeed of 250kts which is making for very slow progress across the ice!

Whiteout for miles.

Passing upwind of Ilulissat positioning for a right hand circuit to runway 26.

Downwind at Ilulissat.

Final approach.  Bit low on the PAPIs but with such a short runway an early touchdown is important.

Parked at Ilulissat in between two Air Greenland Twin Otters, the nearest of which has just arrived from nearby Qaarsut.

BIRK - BGJN stats

Take off time:    1509

Landing time:     1525 (-3 hours time difference)

Flight time:         03:16

Fuel used:          1347kg / 2963lbs