The next drama was courtesy of both Jeppesen and Garmin. We got to the aircraft and found no Canada on the navigation databases. I had arranged for Jeppesen to put a subscription to international nav data on JDM – Checked for download – nothing – de nada
Called Jeppesen – US could not help as I have a European account. Called JeppesenCrawley – noone answering Called Frankfurt – nada – line drops when one selects correct choice.
Eventually via US line got through to someone in Jepp UK who was in trip planning but who was off for the day and just happened to answer his phone. He got me through a direct line to someone in Frankfurt who promised the database would be online within minutes – an hour later still nothing. Fallback position buy Transatlantic database from Garmin – download – go to aircraft – ‘this database is incompatible with this aircraft
Call Garmin 1 hour 21 mins on phone – line drops
Call Garmin again – this time the queue is shorter – it offers a call back but surely they will not call back a +44 mobile. Hmmmm – Buy US number on Skype. Call Garmin 20 minutes later get a call back on the Skype USA number – He talks me through the problem. Actually I think i sorted it myself by downloading onto an SD card which used to belong to the plane (I think it does not like new fresh SD cards – sort that out when get back.
Then discover that the international nav data does not cover Canada. Back to drawing board – buy and load Canada – but you cant have Canada and the international database side by side. That’s hopeless because as we cross the Labrador sea we cant shut down all the systems and reload the international database so we can get Greenland nav data.
Are you still with me? Its not stressful at all
So reloaded Canada and we set off for Goose Bay about 3. hours later than planned – I can sort out the rest later
We are booked into the Hotel North 2. I stayed in the Hotel North 1 in 2007 last time I passed through with a Cirrus. Then it was a low rise motel full of lumber jacks
This time it is a three storey square building with small windows which looks like a warehouse. The receptionist bloke seemed to have had a charm bypass operation, but its a room. The usual pub burger – thankfully such a facility on site – and off to bed
Tuesday dawns after a fractious night. 2am a fight in the corrdor 5am more noise – I put my head out of the door. There 2 paramedics coaching a paralytic (thats paralytic not paraplegic) how to put one foot in front of another.
We get to the FBO at just after 0700 should be enough time to get to Kangelussuaq today. Famous last words
a picture of me half in survival suit with a silly hat
More slight delays for minor reasons but we’re off by about 0830.
Weather clouds and icing are OK and soon we are at 9000ft . Winds more than forecast – we were expecting from forecast much the same as on the Houlton to Goose leg and expected to achieve 165 GS. Sorely mislead. Soon we have 20 knots on the nose.
Now this presents something of a crisis as Iqaluit is 677 miles away and any significant headwind pushes the range limits. Fuel management and speed watching every 5 mins we eventually hatch a plan to turn back if we fall below 20 gals forecast left at destination.
We then started to get over 30 knots – called for climb to 15000 and donned the oxygen. Syd’s talking a lot so I switched his off (only joking!!)
At least we get back about 5 knots – still looking fuelOK for Iqaluit
The other effect of a headwind is you slow down. realisation dawned that we would arrive in Kangerlussuaq more or less at closing time. As they charge mightily for out of hours that was not option. Ok next problem – we’d been told there were no hotel beds in Iqaluit (one reason we planned to scoot off quickly to Kangerlussuaq) But if we cant make Kangerlussuaq what to do .
I thought that the satellite phone in the Garmin Perspective (yes it has a built in Satphone) was an expensive luxury until that point. We tried calling Iqaluit hotels and FBO but noone answered. Eventually we called the lovely Wendy in Woodward Aviation who called Iqaluit and rustled up a bed and breakfast – Hoorah!! no turn back.
Never been so grateful for an expensive luxury.
The leg eventually took us over 5 hours which is about the limit if you want reasonably generous reserves (not the min 45 mins) . More on Iqaluit later