Midwest Flyer Magazine

(Op p o s i n g Pa g e Ph o t o s, L/R, To p/Bo t t o m): 1) A 1957 de Havilland Otter at Miminiska Lodge,
Ontario. 2) Twin Falls on the Keezhik River. 3) Pat O’Malley, owner of “Pat O’Malley’s Jet Room
Restaurant” in Madison, Wis. 4) Pilots and their guests seen on the lake, following dinner in the
lodge, and enjoying shore lunch. 5) Dave Maliszewski of McFarland, Wis. with a trophy Northern
Pike. 6) Pat O’Malley with his catch of Walleyes. 7) Pilots pack up to head home.
MIDWEST FLYER
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2008 MAGAZINE
Serving The Midwest Aviation Community Since 1978
Ca n a d i a n Fly-Ou t Co n t i n u e d
countries will allow a 15-minute
window, plus or minus, to your ETA.)
Usually there is no problem
contacting Princeton Flight Service
by radio in the air or on the ground,
but due to a recent change in which all
radio transmissions to Princeton are
handled through Ft. Worth, Texas, no
one responded on 122.3. Fortunately,
Green Bay FSS picked up our call
when we went to activate our flight
plan, but others in our group had
to call Grand Marais Unicom after
departure and the airport relayed
messages by telephone. We not only
needed to activate our flight plans, but
also obtain a transponder code to cross
the U.S. and Canadian border. Since
Minneapolis Center cannot be reached
at low altitudes in this region, Flight
Service must call Center and get
transponder codes by telephone. Once
assigned a transponder code, you must
cross the border within 1 hour, which
is very doable, so long as you keep
moving. The FAA also requires that
the pilot is in communication with
either Air Traffic Control or Flight
Service when crossing the border,
which can be challenging under such
circumstances. As a last resort, we
could contact Thunder Bay Approach.
Once over the border, VFR aircraft are
required to change their transponder
code to squawk 1200.
I was flying a Cessna 182 Skylane.
Other aircraft in our group included
Bill and his friend, Jim, in another
Skylane; Larry and his passenger,
John, in a Cessna 172 Skyhawk;
David and his brother, Brian, and
brother-in-law, Brian, in a Cessna 210
Centurion; Phil and his son, Mark, in
Phil’s Piper Archer, and Pat and his
copilot, John, in Pat’s Cherokee 180.
A Piper Seneca joined our group a day
later, making seven the total number
of aircraft participating in the fly-out
this year.
Upon our arrival at Thunder
Bay, Ontario (CYQT), we were
instructed by Ground Control to taxi
to the general aviation ramp to clear
Canadian Customs. If a Customs
officer doesn’t meet the aircraft,
the pilot-in-command can leave the
aircraft to call 1-888-CAN-PASS to
obtain a “visitor number.” In the 20
years I have been flying to Canada,
Canadian Customs officers have
only met our aircraft twice – once
in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and once at
Kenora, Ontario. You are required to
retain your assigned visitor number
until you are back in the United
States.
At Grand Marais and Thunder Bay,
it was great to finally meet all of the
pilots who I had been emailing and
speaking with over the telephone for
the past several months, and to meet
their passengers for the first time.
The weather was excellent and the
enthusiasm was high.
After clearing Customs, topping
off our tanks one last time, filing our
flight plans, and answering a few last
minute questions, we took off from
Thunder Bay for the 196 nm flight to
Miminiska Lodge. I also called the
lodge with our ETA as an added safety
measure, but also to give the head
chef a heads up that we would not be
late for dinner! Miminiska Lodge is
an all-inclusive lodge, so meals are
prepared for you, and housekeeping is
provided.
Departing towards the northeast,
we saw majestic Mount McKay (a
mafic sill formed 11 million years
ago by the mid-continent rift system)
towering the city at 1585 feet MSL
east of Thunder Bay, and soon found
ourselves in “the middle of nowhere!”
It is no-man’s land, but thanks
to the gift of flight, those of us who
fly and ride in small aircraft get to
experience it from a unique and safe
vantage point.
Randy Arneson
Dr. John Beasley
Jim Bildilli
Bill Blake
Phil Boyer
Jim LaMalfa
George Larson
Ed Leineweber
Dan McDowell
Myrna Mibus
EDITOR/PUBLISHER
Dave Weiman
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR
Peggy Weiman
PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
Jenifer Weiman
Stacy Wilk
PHOTO JOURNALISTS
Don Winkler
Geoff Sobering
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
ADVERTISING
PHONE: (608) 835-7063
FAX: (608) 835-7063
E-MAIL: dave@midwestflyer.com
WEBSITE: www.midwestflyer.com
ISSUE CLOSING DATES
DEADLINE
ISSUE
November 1 December - January
January 1
February - March
March 1
April - May
May 1
June - July
July 1
August - September
September 1 October - November
COPYRIGHTS
MIDWEST FLYER MAGAZINE is published bimonthly by
Flyer Publications, Inc. with offices in Oregon, Wis. and
Bloomington, Minn. Copyright 2008 by Flyer Publications,
Inc. All rights reserved. Nothing in whole or in part may be
reproduced without the written permission of the publisher.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
$15 per year,
or $25 for two years.
Field Morey
Allen Penticoff
Judy Peterson
Greg Reigel
Pete Schoeninger
Geoff Sobering
Jeffery Taylor
Tom Thomas
Gary Workman
Karen Workman
DISTRIBUTION
Readership consists principally of aircraft owners, fixed base
operators, and airport management in Wisconsin, Minnesota,
North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Indiana,
Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska.
MAIL ALL ORDERS
& CORRESPONDENCE TO:
MIDWEST FLYER MAGAZINE
P.O. BOX 199
OREGON, WI 53575-0199 USA
EXPRESS SHIPMENTS TO:
MIDWEST FLYER MAGAZINE
6031 LAWRY COURT
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2008 MIDWEST FLYER MAGAZINE 9
Listing Writers EtC MASTERAug08.indd 1
9/11/08 8:14:20 AM