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not matching the actual, and we were changing altitudes to stay out of the clouds and away from ice. Instead of going direct and over terrain, I was forced to hug the coast. Along with a much higher than expected headwind, created a potential fuel issue. So much so that I opted to risk the ice and cut directly to Iqaluit versus running out of fuel over Baffin Bay. It was the right call, but not a comfortable one. A bit of ice formed on the leading edge of the wing, but I was able to drop back down for the approach and watch it fall off. By the time we landed our flight time was 4.8 hours; if I had stayed low and gone around, I don’t think we would have made it.
At this point I really wanted to get to lower latitudes. The last two days of flying had been intense, and I was ready for normal conditions that were pre- dictable. We were in and out of Iqaluit pretty quick, but we did get a bite to eat. The route to Goose Bay was straight down the Canadian coastline and it was spectacular – VFR with mountain views all the way.
Lesson Learned: Adapt. The weather forecast at departure showed VFR at arrival but it’s the Arctic. There was never an option to turn back to Greenland once we made it across and ran into IMC and icing conditions along the coast. I was presented with two bad decisions. Run out of fuel avoiding ice and hugging the coast in VFR or fly high over the moun- tains in IMC with ice. Ice was the “best” bad decision ... “Just fly the plane.”
Day 19: Aug. 25
Return Leg 4: CYYR:KBGR (608NM) Return Leg 5: KBGR:KHPN (608NM)
The next morning we flew to Bangor. At departure out of Goose Bay we were IMC at 200 feet in the rain and the alti- tude indicator started bouncing like a ball at around 400-500 feet. The rate of climb was acting wild as well. Not a
great feeling in IMC on departure but once again “fly the plane” popped into my head. I quickly switched to alternate static, it stabilized and I continued the departure in IMC. Once I was confident everything was working and stable, I had to make a decision: Do I go back or head on? The thought of shooting an approach in the rain to MDA was not exciting and I was now VFR on top, so I decided to stay on alternate static and continue. It was a good decision.
We landed in Bangor and cleared cus- toms then continued home to White Plains. We made it! A round trip of 6,000 NM deep in the Arctic Circle with huge water crossings and an amazing swim.
Final Thoughts
As I reflect on the whole experience, I have definitely grown as a pilot. I am more confident, but I’m also humbled by the experience and all those lessons learned.
The planning, execution, amazing visu- als and the issues along the way were a bit surreal. Flying in the Arctic is not for the faint of heart. Weather conditions change fast and rarely match forecasts. There aren’t any options for diverting, so most of the time you’re committed once you make the go decision. Since there is no en route weather, the only update you get is actual conditions along the way, or
when close enough, to contact informa- tion services. Obviously, having an SR22 that could fly into known icing would be a game changer but that wasn’t my capability, so I was faced with a lot of tough decisions. Most of our education focuses on not putting ourselves in the types of situations I faced, but to do that I would never have done the expedition. I knew it was inherently risky and so did Justin. Would I do it again? 100% yes!
What I’d say to any Cirrus pilot read- ing this is to challenge yourself to an incredible mission at least once. We can take our Cirrus aircraft to some pretty incredible places, so just go for it.
The Final Lesson: The plane went in for an annual right after we returned. It was assumed the heavy rain had blocked the static tubes up in Ilulissat and Goose Bay. They checked everything and there were no issues. We started a test flight right after the annual and there was no airspeed on the roll, so I shut it down. When I brought it back into the shop, they opened the floor panel behind the pilot’s seat and found that the tube that connects the pitot and static together had popped out. It had probably started up in Greenland and finally failed com- pletely after the annual test flight.
For more information on our expedition please visit www.greatarcticswim.com
Arriving back home at KHPN after the adventure of a lifetime.
VOLUME 18, NUMBER 7
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TRAVELOGUE McDaniel
TRAVELOGUE
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