Thread: Flying a CT from the U.S. into Canada

About a month ago, my nephew and I decided to fly to Canada in my CT. This was in part to celebrate my getting my FAA 3rd Class Medical, which allowed me to get my Private Pilot certificate. Here is a summary of the information you need to take your CT into Canada. Two people have been instrumental in my preparation for the trip and enroute, and I would like to thank them publicly for their help and support. The first is the FlightDesign dealer in Canada, Mr. Louis Cunningham of Airmotive Technologies Group, Inc., Collingwood Airport (CNY3), Collingwood, Ontario, +1-705-444-5552, [email:26oajelr]airmotive@bellnet.ca[/email:26oajelr], who helped me get all my paperwork in order and gave me helpful advice about flying in Canada.

The second is Jacques Gagne of Beauciel Inc., owner of St. Lambert de Lauzon airport (CST7, Pvt., 15nm SSE of Jean Lesage International Airport, CYQB) outside of Quebec City. +418-889-8989, [email:26oajelr]beauciel@globetrotter.net[/email:26oajelr], who was a fantastic host and helped me get my bird back in shape (change oil, replace a spring, re-tape the wings, and other things).

I already travelled once outside of the U.S. in my FlightDesign CT-SW to the Bahamas (http://www.ctflyer.com/viewtopic.php?t=1572). Before that trip I checked with the Bahamian authorities and was told that a Sport Pilot with a Light Sport Aircraft was just as welcome as a PPL with a GA aircraft in the Bahamas. I was hopeful that Canada would be the same. What I discovered was that Canada was, at least officially, much more strict than the Bahamas. In practice, however, it was almost exactly the same.

There are several branches of the Canadian Government with regulations regarding border crossing into Canada by a private aircraft. Canadian Customs require that they be contacted by telephone at least two hours prior to arrival at an airport of entry, and that every person onboard carry a valid passport. Transport Canada (in this context they act like our FAA) require that the Pilot(s) In Command be at least a PPL and have a current Medical Certificate, and that the aircraft be GA with a normal Airworthiness (a temporary waiver for the aircraft is available for a fee by prior arrangement) and that the pilot(s) can show a proof of insurance upon request. Industry Canada (in this context they act like our FCC) require that for the border-crossing leg any Pilot(s) In Command have an internationally-recognized Radio Operator License and the aircraft itself have an internationally-recognized Radio Station License. The United States CBP (Customs and Border Protection, part of the Department of Homeland Security) require that every person onboard have a valid passport, every family fill our a Customs Declaration Form, and the aircraft display a CBP Decal (available on-line for a fee). They also need to be contacted at least two hours in advance of landing at an AOE (Airport of Entry). The U.S. FAA obviously allows Sport Pilots and LSAs back into the country. The U.S. FCC requires the same stupid Radio licenses as Canada for the leg into the country.

In practice things are a little different. The Customs and Border Protection stuff is the most important element, and is pretty much exactly the same as the law says for both countries. Make sure you have your passport and you contact them in advance by telephone (the telephone call is VERY IMPORTANT--I forgot to do it on the way back and almost ended up in jail). They do care about their decal (about $27), but if you don't have one the first time you fly into the U.S. they let you go and tell you to get it retroactively on-line after you get home. The CBP folks, both in the U.S. and in Canada, only want to see their relevant documents. They couldn't care less about your pilot's license, your medical, or your radio station license. The only people who care about your license, medical, and the aircraft's certificates are the FAA and the Transport Canada folks (each for their side of the border), and they do not normally conduct ramp checks. And the FAA/Transport Canada folks don't give a hoot about the radio licenses. You have better chances of being hit by a moose than seeing an FCC/Industry Canada representative doing a ramp check. And my guess is that if they do show up and you don't have their paperwork you can apologize profusely for the infraction and get the documents later on (about $100 for an FCC Radio Station License, good for 10 years, and about $60 for each individual FCC Radio Operator License, both obtainable on-line). If you're a gambling person, you can just get your decal and passport, call up the Canadian Customs people and fly in. In the unlikely event that a Transport Canada or Industry Canada person wants to see your certificates you can apologize profusely, appear clueless, and ask to fly back home into the U.S. The only people you should be very careful with are the CBP people. They carry guns and don't have a sense of humor.

This being my first time around, I decided to get all the required documentation in advance. Rather than navigate the complex Canadian Bureaucracy myself I contacted the FlightDesign dealer in Canada Louis Cunningham (see contact information at the top of this message). Louis is a very nice and helpful guy and he is well-connected with Transport Canada. I sent him an e-mail with a scan of my PPL, the aircraft's Airworthiness and Registration certificates and Operating Limitations, my approximate dates of travel and approximate point of entry and he took care of the rest. He told me how to pay the $100 (Canadian) to Transport Canada over the phone (by credit card) to get the Airworthiness waiver. The whole thing took about a day by phone, e-mail, and fax (I got the waiver by fax) and would have taken a lot longer if Louis didn't help me. Louis also suggested getting the Canadia Flight Supplement (CFS), the equivalent of our A/FD. Unfortunately, the CFS is a single book for all of Canada, so it is thick as a brick and very unwieldy when you look up airports, especially in-flight. I got Canadian aeronautical charts but I think they are not as good as the American ones so if you fly not too far into Canada, I recommend sticking with the FAA charts, which cover Southern Canada.

Quebec City is a charming 400-year-old fortified city on the Saint Lawrence River. It has beautiful, European-style cobblestone streets, fine restaurants and fantastic nature right next to the city. It is truly different, and when you fly your own plane there you really feel like you went far away even though the flight was short. My wonderful host there was Jacques Gagne. Jacques owns a grass strip just south of the city. The airport is a little hard to find (make sure you arrive from the North!), so Jacques actually took off and got in the pattern to guide me in. He took care of my rental car arrangements and took me to a cool local restaurant. He is a licensed ROTAX technician and was instrumental in routine maintenance. Being a CT owner himself, he is intimately familiar with the aircraft and helped me with good advice. We flew formation around the Quebec countryside and it was just a fantastic experience, like meeting a distant family member. He also gave me good trip-planning tips for after I left Quebec.

Canada is huge and very friendly to private aviation. It offers many opportunities for us, and I'm sure I'll be back there shortly. I definitely recommend it as a destination to CT pilots.

Day 1, September 2, 2008: Danbury, CT, to Buffalo, NY
An uneventful night flight on a clear, calm night at 8,500ft MSL. Spend the night in a hotel within walking distance from the huge Buffalo International terminal.

Day 2, September 3, 2008: Buffalo, NY, to Toronto, ON
Take off from KBUF and fly over Niagara Falls. Must stay at 3,500 MSL because of all the helicopter sightseeing traffic, but it's well worth it even at this altitude. Just an incredible natural phenomenon. Proceed to Saint Catherines (CYSN) to clear Canadian Customs. I called them in advance so the process was very smooth. Rent a car and drive around the falls. Return after dinner for a night flight to Toronto. Fly around Lake Ontario (cutting just the Westernmost corner), on flight following from Toronto center. Land at the Toronto City Centre airport (CYTZ). This is an island airport just off of downtown Toronto, reminiscent of the old Meigs Field in Chicago (RIP). The final approach in front of the CN tower at night is an experience! Makes the CT feel even smaller than it is. Park at Porter FBO.

Day 3, September 4, 2008: Toronto, ON, to Montreal, QC
Spend the day in Toronto, which is a nice, clean, friendly city. The biggest City in Canada. Subway's much cleaner than New York's... I suppose all subways of the world are cleaner than New York's so this statement doesn't really say much. Take off for Montreal in late afternoon and fly into the night again. Land at night in Montreal's busy Pierre Elliott Trudeau (a.k.a. Dorval) Airport (CYUL). I kept the speed on final at 100 with zero flaps because there was a jet behind me and the tower asked me to expedite. Of course I floated forever, which was a good thing because I needed to exit pretty far down the 11,000-ft runway. Landing fee is about $37, but the FBO charges a horrific ramp fee of $120 for overnight parking (no discount when buying fuel). I negotiated them down to $20 by showing them how I push my CT with two fingers.

Day 4, September 5, 2008: Montreal, QC, to Saint-Lambert-De-Lauzon, QC
It's kind of fun hearing French on the radio. It diminishes situational awareness slightly, but whenever I speak in English the pilots and controllers are polite and switch to English for a couple of minutes. The leg from Montreal to Quebec is a daytime leg, and the flight along the magnificent Saint Lawrence River is pretty spectacular. Getting close to Jacques Gagne's field I end up entering an area of flight training below the shelf of the Quebec City Class Bravo, so I switch from the flight following frequency to the training area's advisory frequency where everybody's speaking French only and I have no idea where anybody is until a Cessna almost lodges itself on my windscreen. Jacques gets on the radio and guides me to his grass field across a little stream.

Day 5, September 6, 2008: Quebec City, QC
Spend the day in this wonderful city.

Day 6, September 7, 2008: Saint-Lambert-De-Lauzon, QC, to Danbury, CT
Depart Jacques' field in the afternoon enroute to Burlington, VT (KBTV). File an International Flight Plan in the air and remain on flight following the whole way. Arriving in KBTV, I encounter an extremely irate CBP Officer who says: "Well, I hope the trip was really worth it because it's gonna cost you $10,000 in fines and I am going to impound your aircraft." He said I should've called two hours in advance. I apologized profusely and he said I should wait by the aircraft and disappeared. A while later (felt like an eternity) he showed up with an official, printed warning and let me go. Moral of the story: make sure to call U.S. Customs in advance before flying back in. It was night already, but a clear, calm one, and since so may flights on this trip were at night I decided not to break with tradition and flew all the way back to Danbury. End of another really fun trip.

Here are some photos from the trip:

More photos. why can't I attach more than two images per posting?

Two more.

This is an old thread, but new news. There is a blanket permission form for SLSA
to fly in Canada. Became valid 4 Nov 2009. I've attached a copy.
So, enjoy flying over or landing in Canada without CDN$100 SFA any more.

Furthermore for the border crossings the eApis system needs to be dilligently followed in both directions as well you need a transponder code from ATC BEFORE you cross the border.

And then of course the flightpan...