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Saskatchewan to Yellowknife

gerrychuck

Well Known Member
Thinking of doing a flight from Moose Jaw to Yellowknife in early July this year. The most direct route would be via Fort Mac, as it's right in line and its pretty much exactly half way, BUT, that route takes me right through the middle of the Primrose Lake Air Weapons Range, which is really not a good idea. Experience of friends who have done the flight tells me that going through La Ronge or Buffalo Narrows in northern Sask is not a great idea, as the north sask route leaves you over major amounts of nothing for most of the flight, while flying via Alberta is much more hospitable. So...currently I am thinking of going via Lac La Biche, which has 24 hr card lock fuel and is also pretty much halfway. This route would also leave Hay River pretty much right under my flight path, giving me the option of landing there without diverting, and also lets me cross the lake along the western edge so I can stay pretty close to land all the way across.

Looking for input from anyone who has flown to Yellowknife from Alberta/Sask as to what works best. I have talked to two pilots who did MJ to Yellowknife last summer for the airshow. Both went up via Alberta (one, my son, went straight to Fort Mac and up, but he gets to fly through Primrose Lake because he's flying an RCAF Harvard II. Jerk.) and both came back through La Ronge. My son in the Harvard had no issues with the Saskatchewan route from 30,000 ft, but my friend in his Pitts said he would never do that route again in a single engine piston plane, so that is the opinion I am listening to at the moment.

Any and all comments and advice welcome! Thanks in advance.
 
The NE route around Primrose does look pretty remote.
I've flown the Calgary - Lac La Biche - Ft Mac - Ft Smith - Yellowknife route a few times & though flying over fairly remote terrain, was reassured that other aircraft were following the same basic route regularly.
Keep an eye out for the bright yellow sand dunes south of Lake Chippewan!
 
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Like Ralph did the Calgary, Fort Mac, Fort Smith Yellowknife and was a good thing as there is a height of land just prior to Fort Mac where ceilings got low and my son and I diverted to a Cenovus private strip back near Anzac for a couple hours.

Stayed overnight in Fort Smith and saw the pelicans at the "falls" (more like rapids) at midnight, around the 23 of June.

Anyway, recommend west of Primrose.
 
That all sounds about right. One of the comments my son made was that going through Alberta there was almost always a camp with an airstrip in sight, and often more than one from his cruising altitude.

So...going via Forth Smith, it looks like less than 15 minutes to cross the lake; the biggest body of water I usually cross is Lake Diefenbaker, which takes about 30 seconds to cross at RV speeds, so the water crossing is one of my biggest concerns for this trip. Any issues there? I'm thinking you would never actually be out of sight of land at cruising altitude?
 
The NE route around Primrose does look pretty remote.
I've flown the Calgary - Lac La Biche - Ft Mac - Ft Smith - Yellowknife route a few times & though flying over fairly remote terrain, was reassured that other aircraft were following the same basic route regularly.
Keep an eye out for the bright yellow sand dunes south of Lake Chippewan!


So this is pretty much the standard route? BTW thanks to both you guys for your responses.
 
I know the commercial operators have no problem shooting diagonally across northern Alberta, but that's a bit too remote for my liking. I tend to fly where I know there is 'some' traffic & airstrip options. Note to monitor the local frequencies as there is larger regional jet traffic mixed in with the small stuff there too.
I tracked straight north of Ft. Smith and traversed the islands east of Yellowknife, as ditching in Great Slave Lake would be no option at all...
I guess I mis-labeled Lake Chip.. actually the sand dunes are south of Lake Athabasca.
 
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